Cynopsis 08/06/18: Patrick Stewart boards Star Trek again for CBS All Access; The Americans cleans up at TCA; Ergen says Univision blackout is "probably permanent"

ABC: The Bachelorette at 8p

AMC: Better Call Saul at 9p, Lodge 49 at 10p

Disney: Bug Juice: My Adventures at Camp at 7:30p

DIY: DIY Network Ultimate Retreat at 8p

Estrella TV: El Mameluco at 4p

Food Network: Kids Baking Championship at 9p, Reality Cupcakes at 10p

Tonight’s Finale:
Travel Channel: Man v. Food at 9p

IN THE NEWS

Sir Patrick Stewart joined executive producer Alex Kurtzman at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention to announce he will be returning to the role of Jean-Luc Picard for a new CBS All Access Star Trek series. “I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course,” said Stewart. “It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning.” The series is not a reboot, but will tell the next chapter of Picard’s life.

Kelly Kahl, president of CBS Entertainment, addressed speculation that the network would cancel its Television Critics Association press tour event on Sunday following allegations in The New Yorker of sexual misconduct by CBS CEO Leslie Moonves. Acknowledging, “This has been a tough week at CBS,” Kahl said, “There are literally thousands of talented producers, writers, actors, crews. Not to mention all the people at CBS who have been preparing for months to launch the fall season. They worked incredibly hard and they deserve our best efforts to share all the new shows with all of you. We are committed to a collaborative, inclusive and safe workplace.” As for Moonves, Kahl added, “Leslie has been an excellent boss and mentor for a long time. He put me in this job. At the same time….All allegations need to be and are being taken seriously.”

NCIS: New Orleans EP Brad Kern has been formally suspended as CBS investigates long-term allegations that Kern created a toxic, sexist work environment. “I’m told we will have results soon,” Kahl told reporters at TCA.

Code Black, canceled after three seasons, might not be most sincerely dead. Kahl said at TCA that while “economics challenged” the medical drama, the network “would like to figure out a way” to resuscitate it….The Big Bang Theory will launch season twelve in the fall, and “We don’t believe it’s the final season,” said Kahl. “We are in preliminary discussions to renew the show.”…Dick Wolf (Law & Order) didn’t rule out the possibility of spinoffs for his upcoming CBS effort, FBI, noting, “It’s worked before.”

CBS’s Murphy Brown (1988-1998) revival will pick up on Donald Trump’s election day before moving to the present day, where the former FYI gang will be working at a cable news network. “When we left these characters in 1998, there was no Internet. There was no social media. Cable news was just getting started,” said series creator Diane English at TCA. “To take these characters and put them in the world of cable news is very rich.” Charles Kimbrough will be reprising the role of anchorman Jim Dial for a multi-episode arc.

FX’s The Americans was the only multiple award winner at the Television Critics Association Awards, nabbing honors for Keri Russell, Outstanding Achievement in Drama and Program of the Year. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan won for Individual Achievement in Comedy, Netflix’s Queer Eye took home the Reality trophy, NBC’s The Good Place won for Comedy, and BBC America grabbed honors for Outstanding New Program.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN) topped the TCA’s News and Information category. Accepting the award, director/producer Morgan Fallon said of the late Bourdain, who died of suicide in June, “At the core of what I think he did, and what I hoped we helped him do, was walk through any door, sit at any table with the same humility and respect, no matter who he was sitting across from.”

The pickup of limited series Devs, from writer/director Alex Garland, was among FX’s announcements at TCA on Friday. Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) will star. “After reading all 8 scripts and hearing Alex’s brilliant vision and commitment to direct all of the epsiodes, it was an easy decision to order Devs to series,” said John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions. FX ordered another limited series, Shogun, based on the novel by James Clavell. Fargo will return for season four with Chris Rock starring, and American Horror Story, heading into season eight, was renewed for season ten.

In his FX panel, Landgraf pointed to the net’s progress in achieving diversity. In 2015, 88% of series on FX were directed by white men, he noted, versus shows airing through 2018, of which 51% will be directed by white men, 22% by white women, 22% by non-white men and 5% by non-white women. “We’re moving in the right direction,” said Landgraf. “We someday look forward to showing you numbers that demonstrate true fairness and equal opportunity across the board. We remain intent on fixing what has been a broken system.”

Landgraf, coiner of the term “peak TV,” said his 2015 assessment of original content overload was wrong: “The number of new series I’ve seen announced just this week, including ours alone, makes me suspect the Golden Age of television has become the Gilded Age.” With the “epic battle” of companies set to compete in the streaming business and invest in scripted content, said Landgraf, “I think my earlier estimate that peak TV would have peaked are wrong now.”

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media are facing lawsuits for allegedly sharing sensitive information and using it to drive up local TV advertising prices. The companies were among several hit with lawsuits after the Wall Street Journal reported that the DOJ is looking into improper manipulation of ad pricing. "Instead of competing with each other on prices for advertising sales, as competitors normally do, Defendants and their co-conspirators shared proprietary information and conspired to fix prices and reduce competition in the market," according to a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

60 MInutes executive producer Jeff Fager, accused in the New Yorker piece of enabling an atmosphere of harassment at the newsmag and making unwanted advances himself, will not be back at his CBS office today following a planned vacation. Having heard the investigation into the allegations, which Fager has denied, is wrapping up soon, “Jeff has decided to stay on vacation,” said a CBS rep.

In response to Lost (2004-2010) star Evangeline Lilly saying during a podcast interview that she was “mortified and trembling” after being “cornered” into doing a scene partially naked, creators and executive producers J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jack Bender and Carlton Cuse apologized for the alleged incident. “Our response to Evie’s comments in the media was to immediately reach out to her to profoundly apologize for the experience she detailed while working on Lost,” they said in a statement. “We have not yet connected with her, but remain deeply and sincerely sorry. No person should ever feel unsafe at work. Period.”

Dish Network ended 2Q18 with 10.65 million Dish TV subscribers and 2.34 million Sling TV subscribers. That total of 12.99 million is down from 13.33 million in the period last year. In a 10-Q filing with the SEC, Dish said it is facing increasing competition not only from the likes of Netflix and Amazon, but also direct-to-consumer offerings from programmers like HBO. “Some of these companies have larger customer bases, stronger brand recognition and greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do,” wrote Dish.

We Love This Day in History: 1911 – Lucille Ball was born.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question: Who guest-starred as a Neil Diamond impersonator on 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001)? Bryan Cranston. Kudos to: Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/London, Marni C. Gold/Saddle Brook, NJ, Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX, Sandra Krate/Astoria, NY, Matty Fera-McGarryBowen/Chicago, Samantha Salvatore-WNET/NYC, John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Jim Katz-The Carney Awards/LA

Today’s Trivia Question:What state was the birth mother of Monica and Chandler’s children from on Friends(1994-2004)? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four correct answers from each time zone will be selected.)

Answer to Friday’s Anagram: Regrets Hip Show = Ghost Whisperer. Kudos to: Charlene White-A+E Networks/Stamford, CT, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL