I don’t know what to say right now. Talking about TV seems dumb and pointless when all that is on my TV right now is coverage of another school shooting. This time it was in my backyard. The shooting that happened today is 37 miles from where I am sitting writing this. The shooter is a 17-year-old boy, the same age as my oldest son. 9 people are dead … so far. And now it’s 10.
I am numb. I’m sure the anger and the sadness will come soon, but right now, I’m just numb. I want to cry, I know I am going to but I’m not there yet. Right now I am just numb and feeling powerless. And bracing for the cycle of horror and outrage and demands for answers, demands for change, answered with thoughts and prayers and maybe a suggestion that something could change, something might be done this time … only, it won’t. It never does. Because in the end, this country loves its guns more than it loves its children.
I wish I had something more enlightening to say, but I don’t. All I can think to do is urge you to vote, both in your primary elections and this November and maybe donate to an anti-gun violence group of your choosing. A few to consider:
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
This. This is the world you’ve made for your babies, America:
But hey, it’s a TV blog, so I guess we should talk about TV. But know that I wrote almost all of this before I learned of today’s shooting. Blerg.
Tina Fey is hosting Saturday Night Live tomorrow. She’s about the only person in the world who could make us smile right now. She’s also a mother, and I expect her to have some thoughts tomorrow night on today’s horrors:
This is a sketch that was cut from last week’s episode. It was for the best:
There are still five series who are waiting to learn their fates: Ghosted, LA to Vegas, Timeless, Champions, and Code Black.
LA’s Finest, that Bad Boys remake from Gabrielle Union, might still become a series.
Roseanne is making some changes: most notably, Whitney Cummings is out as showrunner. The series is also planning on bringing back her Muslim neighbors and adding Hispanic characters. Great.
Michael Avenatti and the Mooch are possibly shopping a Crossfire-type show to cable news networks, God help us. Avenatti claims he’s not interested in television “right now” despite being on all of the news networks all of the damn time.
Emilia Clarke is pretty sure they are filming multiple endings for Game of Thrones. Which, good for them if they want to spend the money. But I demand that we get to see all the endings they shoot, dammit.
This is a great write-up about AMC’s upcoming Dietland which makes me VERY EXCITED for it to debut next month.
This is a nice timeline of working-class sitcoms, going all the way back to the beginning of television. It’s interesting to see how they tend to lump together during specific periods of time — mostly because television is an inherently conservative medium that depends on trends. Still, it’s enlightening.
The funniest story out there right now is that people at Fox News are FREAKING OUT because the network has instituted required sexual harassment training, a new trans policy, brought in a female CEO and installed Mulsim prayer rugs in what used to be Oliver North’s office. LOLOLOLOLOLOL
The Royal Wedding is the big event this weekend. If you read one story about Harry and Meghan, make it this one. Representation matters.
Time’s Up
In an alarming story, Evangeline Lily accused the stunt coordinator on Lost of intentionally injuring her in retribution for speaking out against him.
Starz’s series The Spanish Princess has hired all female directors.
Women have taken over the top positions at the Miss America Organization.
Jason Statham is sorry for the things he’s not sure he said.
Renewals
- Big City Greens has been renewed for a second season ahead of the series premiere.
In Development
- Hulu and Vice Media have signed a deal, and Hulu picked up 15 of Viceland’s shows.
Casting News
- Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield are joining the Netflix series Sex Education.
- Charlotte Hope will star in Starz’s The Spanish Princess.
- Tenoch Huerta, Joaquin Cosio, Jose Maria Yazpik, Teresa Ruiz, and Alyssa Diaz are joining Narcos.
Mark Your Calendar
- A&E Investigates will air “The Plot Against America” and “The Spy Who Raised Me” on June 4.
- Hard Knocks returns on HBO on August 7. It will follow the Cleveland Browns this season.
WATCH THIS
FRIDAY
13 Reasons Why: Second season. Netflix
Blindspot: Jane and Weller hunt Roman in the season finale. 7 p.m., NBC
MasterChef Junior: A winner is selected. 7 p.m., Fox
Once Upon a Time: The final chapter for Storybrooke. Series finale. 7 p.m., ABC
Hawaii Five-0: The Five-0 discover a Russian spy ring when a nuclear sub appears off the coast. No reason. Season finale. 8 p.m., CBS
Marvel’s Agents of Shield: It’s life or death for Coulson in the season finale. 8 p.m., ABC
SATURDAY
The Royal Wedding: You know you want to watch. Times vary depending on which station you watch it on, but the wedding itself is scheduled for 6 a.m., Central Standard Time. 3 a.m., CBS; 3:15 a.m., PBS; 3:30 a.m., NBC; 4 a.m., ABC & CNN; 5 a.m., MSNBC & BBC
The Royal Wedding Live with Cord and Tish: 6:30 a.m., Amazon
Saturday Night Live: Tina Fey & Nicki Minaj close out the season. 10:30 p.m., NBC
Fahrenheit 451: Michael B. Jordan stars in this adaptation of the classic Ray Bradbury novel. 8 p.m., HBO
SUNDAY
America’s Funniest Home Videos: Season finale. 6 p.m., ABC
2018 Billboard Music Awards: Music prizes. 7 p.m., NBC
NCIS: Los Angeles: The team heads to Mexico to save Mosley’s son in the season finale. 7 p.m., CBS
The Simpsons: Bart is struck by lightning in the season finale. 7 p.m., Fox
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Jake and Amy get married in the NOT series finale. (Yay!) 7:30 p.m., Fox
Family Guy: Peter meets God in the season finale. 8 p.m., Fox
Bob’s Burgers: The Belchers cater a wedding in the season finale. 8:30 p.m., Fox
Madam Secretary: The President prepares for a retaliatory nuclear attack in the season finale. 9 p.m., CBS
Fear the Walking Dead: Strand wrestles with Madison’s decisions. 8 p.m., AMC
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Friday): Sterling K. Brown, Willie Geist, Chef Danny Bowien The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: (Friday): Benedict Cumberbatch, Mary Gallagher Jimmy Kimmel Live (Friday): Ryan Seacrest, Gillian Jacobs, Julia Michaels Watch What Happens Live (Sunday): Retta, Ashley Darby
| FRI. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Once Upon a Time (new) |
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (new) |
20/20 (new) |
| CBS | Undercover Boss: Celebrity Edition (new) |
Hawaii Five-0 (new) |
Blue Bloods (repeat) |
| CW | Harry and Megahn: A Love Story (new) |
Life Sentence (new) |
Local |
| FOX | MasterChef Junior (new) |
Local |
| NBC | Blindspot (new) |
Dateline (new) |
—
| SAT. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| ABC | American Idol (repeat) |
20/20: The Royal Wedding (new) |
News/Local |
| CBS | Royal Romance: The Marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (new) |
48 Hours (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | MasterChef Junior (repeat) |
Showtime at the Apollo (repeat) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Stanley Cup Playoffs (live) |
News/Local | Saturday Night Live (Tina Fey & Nicki Minaj) |
—
| SUN. | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos (new) |
American Idol (live) |
Deception (new) |
| CBS | 60 Minutes (new) |
NCIS: Los Angeles (new) |
Madam Secretary (new) |
| FOX | Bob’s Burgers (repeat) |
Bob’s Burgers (new) |
The Simpsons (new) |
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (new) |
Family Guy (new) |
Bob’s Burgers (new) |
Local/News |
| NBC | Dateline (new) |
2018 Billboard Music Awards (live) |
“Mankind is resilient: the atrocities that horrified us a week ago become acceptable tomorrow”
I think of this every time this happens. Then I rack my brain trying to come up with a solution that will actually have a chance of passing through congress. I guess its the engineer in me trying to solve the problem.