Pour one out for “The Bushie,” it’s looking like Billy Bush will be permanently out at The Today Show. Adios, mofo.
Wait, is it possible that Billy Bush is responsible for the downfall of Billy Bush? According to this story in “Page Six,” Dum-Dum was bragging about this story while down in Rio, but didn’t tell NBC News about it before taking The Today Show gig, which might trigger the morality clause in his contract. Billy Bush = national embarrassment/American hero.
Is Carson Daly the new Billy Bush? Well, yes, at least for now.
And here’s Nancy O’Dell’s reaction to the whole Trump mess. Team O’Dell forever.
So now Mark Burnett is claiming that he even if he wanted to release Apprentice footage, he can’t release any Apprentice footage because MGM. His hands are tied, guys! And so are MGM’s because of reasons!
But tapes or no tapes, people formerly associated with The Apprentice and the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants are starting to step forward to tell their own stories about working with Donald Trump and it is shockingly not flattering. Here are some highlights, but you should read the entire thing:
On the show [The Apprentice], Trump repeatedly emphasized the female contestants’ looks. “When we first started shooting and there were still a lot of contestants and you don’t necessarily know all their names well, he definitely would describe the girls by their bodies and their physical attributes,” says a source who worked on the show who declined to be named. “Like the girl with the really big chest and blonde hair, and the really hot one,” whereas male contestants would be referred to by the college they attended or their business background.
…
Sources who worked closely with Trump when he owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants claim he demonstrated a bias against women of color. One recalls he did not want African-Americans in the top 10 of the Miss USA pageant. “He was very concerned one year. He did not want one woman to win because she was Puerto Rican,” says the Miss USA source. “He said, ‘She can’t win. Don’t get me wrong she’s a beautiful girl, I just don’t want her to win.’”
…
Pinkett went on to win his season – the first African-American champion on the show. However, the triumphant finale was dampened by what he deemed to be a “racist” and “insulting” comment Trump made on air.
“After Donald declared me the winner and said, “Randall, you’re hired,” he asked me a question that he had never asked any contestant prior and never asked of any contestant after me. He asked me if I wanted to share a title with the white runner-up,” he recalls.”The better question is: Why did Donald ask me to share? And my only answer is that he did not want to have an African-American have a clear, clean, full victory.”
The person Trump wanted him to share the prize with? A 23-year-old female financial journalist named Rebecca Jarvis. “Leading up to my finale, Donald was interviewed by Us Weekly and when the interviewer asked asked what he thought about the two of us, he said that he thought I was lazy and he thought that she was beautiful,” Pinkett says. “It just felt like a really bizarre choice of words to call the black guy lazy and to call the woman beautiful.”
Here’s Seth Meyers’ take on pussygate and the debates, in case you missed it:
And Stephen Colbert managed to take the WORST POSSIBLE WEEK for vacation. As such, he’s been reporting from his home, with a kitten:
The final point on this topic, I promise, here is how the Presidential Debate is like a Real Housewives reunion.
In the least surprising Game of Thrones news ever: Lady Mormont will be in the next season. YEAH WELL, SHE DAMN WELL BETTER BE.
We can start talking about ratings: Hawaii Five-0 is making a strong comeback; It’s looking like The CW’s No Tomorrow is off to an OK start; Blindspot is not doing great, but probably won’t be canceled; ABC’s Conviction, on the other hand…; and Scream Queens has to do better.
Halt & Catch Fire will fire up a fourth and final season on AMC.
Do you miss The Grinder as much as I do? Well, it’s not coming back, but the creators have sold a workplace comedy to FOX.
In other development news:
- FOX bought a college rape drama from the guys who helm This Is Us.
- ABC picked up a comedy about a rapper from Daveed Diggs.
- ABC also picked up a father-son comedy.
- ABC also bought a sitcom about brothers from a 2 Broke Girls writer.
- Netflix has added a dark comedy from Mexican filmmaker Manolo Carlo.
- OWN greenlit a docuseries from The United Way called The Hero Effect.
WATCH THIS
Channel Zero: This new horror series about a children’s program that makes kids do things looks legitimately terrifying. Series premiere. 8 p.m., Syfy
Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?: Yep, they gave Bachelor Ben and his fiance Lauren their own reality show despite being two of the most boring human beings on the planet. Series premiere. 7 p.m., Freeform
American Housewife: In this new series, a woman who doesn’t fit in with her fancy suburban neighbors is all sassy. I have to be honest, the pilot wasn’t great, but maybe it’ll improve. Series premiere. 7:30 p.m., ABC
The Middle: Season premiere. 7 p.m., ABC
Fresh Off the Boat: Season premiere. 8 p.m., ABC
The Real O’Neals: Season premiere. 8:30 p.m., ABC
Chicago Fire: Season premiere. 9 p.m., NBC
Halt and Catch Fire: Season finale. 8 p.m., AMC
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Kevin Hart, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, James Bay Late Night with Seth Meyers: Lena Dunham, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Thaddeus Dixon, Corey Glover & Vernon Reid Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jennifer Connelly, Stephen A. Smith, CRX The Daily Show: Charlamagne Tha God Watch What Happens Live: Molly Shannon, Billie Joe Armstrong
| TUES. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Middle (new — PREMIERE) |
American Housewife (new — PREMIERE) |
Fresh Off the Boat (new — PREMIERE) |
The Real O’Neals (new — PREMIERE) |
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (new) |
| CBS | NCIS (new) |
Bull (new) |
NCIS: New Orleans (new) |
| CW | The Flash (new) |
No Tomorrow (new) |
Local |
| FOX | Brooklyn Nine-Nine (new) |
New Girl (new) |
Scream Queens (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
This is Us (new) |
Chicago Fire (new) |
Thanks for sharing the Seth Myers clip. I hadn’t seen it, and it’s brilliant.
Different subject – how do you choose which shows to recap? I started following you because of your Mad Men recaps, which were among the best out there. I’m sure your level of analysis must be time-consuming to do.
Cheers…