The country’s ongoing struggle with the pandemic along with continued protests over racial inequality served as recurring themes across several scripted programs presented during CTAM’s first-ever virtual Television Critics Association summer tour.

The Aug. 3-11 event, featuring virtual presentations from more than a dozen cable networks and streaming services, offered inside looks at several drama and sci-fi series that draw parallels between fantasy and the real events Americans are experiencing on a day-to-day basis, producers and cast members said.

Related: Programming Review: ‘Lovecraft Country’

HBO’s Lovecraft Country, from executive producers Jordan Peele, Misha Green and J.J. Abrams, follows the exploits of three African-Americans in the Jim Crow U.S. of the 1950s in search of a missing relative. Along the way, they encounter supernatural monsters and other fantastical creatures (see Review, this page). The challenges with mythical terrors faced by the main characters often mirror the fight African-Americans continue to wage today with regards to equality and justice, Green said.

“I think that monsters are a metaphor for the racism that's kind of always been through America and even globally,” she said. “For me, genre works best when it is the metaphor on top of the real-life emotions that you explore in real-life problems.”

AMC’s Soulmates, which offers a futuristic look at love in a world in which a test unequivocally tells you who your soulmate is, and Amazon Prime Video’s Utopia, a conspiratorial thriller about a group of comic-book fans trying to stop the end of the world, deal with anxieties that arise from an uncertain and uncharted future, much like viewers are dealing with during the COVID-19 era.

“I think that this will be an amazing respite from what the world is dealing with right now in that it delves into relationships,” said Betsy Brandt, co-star of Soulmates, which bows Oct. 5. “It’s a crazy time, and I think this show is perfect for what we’re all dealing with right now.”

Utopia star John Cusack said the show’s “theme itself included viruses, it included famine, it included perhaps a nuclear accident. It was kind of disturbing and surreal to see it come so close to life ... with the pandemic.” The show will be available starting Sept. 7.

HBO tackles the pandemic head-on Sept. 12 with series Coastal Elites, which tells contemporary stories of politics, culture and COVID-19 through the eyes of several socially distant characters. Stars Bette Midler, Issa Rae, Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Levy and Sarah Paulson filmed the series under quarantine in separate locations to better reflect the conditions of today, Coastal Elites executive producer and writer Paul Rudnick said.

“One of the great advantages [filming] so in the moment and so quickly with people who were so adaptable was that we could weave both the pandemic and the Black Lives Matters protests into the material,” Rudnick said. “It was a very natural fit for all these characters, because they’re all people going through everything right now.”

Vicki Lins is president and CEO of CTAM,  a marketing organization focused on the media entertainment and technology industry. One of CTAM’s projects is to organize, twice a year, press tours that bring together members of the Television Critics Association and a range of content companies to talk about network strategies and let critics ask questions directly to show creators and stars. The last such gathering, in January, included sessions with HBO, Discovery, FX, Oxygen, AMC, Hulu and Apple TV Plus, among others. This summer, the tour, like so many other events, is going virtual, with CTAM planning on half days between Aug. 3 and Aug. 7. Participating networks have not yet been announced. Lins, who joined CTAM in 2015 after stints as chief marketing officer at United Way Worldwide and Clear Channel Outdoor, caught up with B+C content director Kent Gibbons about the whys and hows of a virtual critics’ tour.

How do these get-togethers, between critics and show creators and talent, fit the CTAM mission and inform the public more than they would be otherwise? CTAM exists to strengthen the industry business model, build collective brand and market best-in-class consumer experiences including the content they love. The press tour is an opportunity for the networks to bolster their marketing efforts, and for some networks it is an opportunity to expose critics to content they may have otherwise passed over. The immediate coverage during the CTAM portion of this year’s TCA Winter Press Tour secured over 10,000 press mentions in one week. That type of exposure is quite valuable when you take into account the majority of the coverage spans the six months between tours.

Do you think much will be lost by not having the questions and answers be face to face? Not really. When we’re live in the dark ballroom, talent cannot see the critics while sitting on stage with bright lights pointed at them. In all seriousness, the pandemic and cancellation of the TCA tour drove the decision to present virtually. The opportunity at hand for our industry has been to step up and deliver. It’s allowed us to create new opportunities, to reinvent traditional engagement and move forward in different ways. CTAM and our participating networks have had a lot of ideas and this allows us to flex our creative muscles. 

Might there be an upside, that talent will participate who might not have come to a live session? Feel free to name names. Scheduling talent is always a challenge, and there’s a chance that all of us being at home could change the dimension of participation. Currently, we’re not in a position to talk about the details behind the schedule. Networks always try to put their best foot forward. We’re all very enthusiastic about the lineup. 

How has the rise of streaming services affected the TCA tour? There’s more content available to consumers and they are viewing more content than ever before, making it harder to break through. The competitive nature of the environment makes the tour more important during this time of Peak TV. Having a focused forum for programmers to showcase their work and tell their stories becomes more important. The press tour creates opportunities for networks to expose consumers to content where they are and potentially expand their audience or deepen their existing relationship with the consumer. 

Do you have a favorite moment from TCA sessions past? I love the creative energy that flows throughout the tour. I have dozens of favorite moments ranging from learning about shows I want to watch, to hallway conversations with talent, to laughing out loud with the critics about something funny — or sometimes ridiculous — someone said on stage.

Kent Gibbons and Michael Malone talk about TCA Winter Press Tour, FX on Hulu, Fargo on FX...and Netflix, You on Netflix, and more.

Apple TV+ has renewed its drama series Home Before Dark two months before its April premiere date, the streaming service announced during its Television Critics Association Winter press tour.

The series, which will debut on Apple TV+ April 3, stars Brooklyn Prince as a young journalist who returns to her father’s hometown and begins to investigate a cold case that residents of a small town have ignored, said the service. The series is inspired by the work of real-life 13-year old journalist Hilde Lysiak.

The series, executive produced by John Chu, also stars Jim Sturgess, Abby Miller, Louis Herthum and Michael Weston. 

Comedy Central Tuesday announced it has renewed its original series Awkwafina is Nora from Queens prior to the series' debut on the network.

The series, which is based on the real-life childhood experiences of series star/executive producer Nora "Awkwafina" Lum, premieres on the network Jan. 22. 

The series also stars BD Wong, Lori Tan Chinn and Bowen Yang, according to the network.

Awkwafina earlier this month won a Golden Globes award for lead actress in a comedy or musical for her role in The Farewell, the first actress of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe award in a lead actress film category.