This Week in TV News: Sandwich Wars and Leslie Jones

This week we’re talking about what Leslie Jones is doing after “Saturday Night Live,” the fried chicken sandwich war between Chick-fil A and Popeye’s, the growing number of SVOD subscriptions and HBO’s early streaming release of episodes airing on Sunday.

Popeye’s sandwich goes viral. The restaurant announced it sold its entire launch inventory of chicken sandwiches, which was supposed to be last through September. The sandwiches launched on August 12, and the “Great Chicken Sandwich Twitter War of 2019” began. Twitter users began debating which brand has the better sandwich: Popeye’s or Chick-fil-A. The marketer behind the sandwich launch? Fernando Machado, global CMO of Burger King. Read more about the launch and why it wouldn’t have been a success without Black Twitter. (Adweek) 

More and more people use SVOD services. About 75% of U.S. homes subscribe to at least one of the top SVOD services, including Amazon Prime, Hulu or Netflix, according to research from Leichtman Research Group. That’s an increase from 64% in 2017 and 52% in 2015. About 27% of respondents said they shared their Netflix login with someone outside their home, respectively 19% of Hulu users and 10% of Amazon users. (Light Reading)

HBO gets a jump on LBD weekend. If you have plans Sunday and were going to miss your Sunday evening shows, you’re in luck. Episodes of HBO’s “Succession,” “Ballers” and “The Righteous Gemstones” that normally air Sunday night will be available to stream today via HBO Go, HBO Now and its on-demand platforms. (The Wrap) 

Leslie Jones announces she’s leaving “S.N.L.” Jones is leaving the storied sketch show after five seasons to pursue film and TV projects, including a gameshow reboot called “Supermarket Sweep,” which Jones will host and executive produce. Check out The Times’ roundup of Jones’ funniest S.N.L. moments, including “Upper East Side” and her many appearances on “Weekend Update” with Colin Jost. (Deadline) 

Read last week’s TV news.