Hoo boy. So, Damon Lindelof who has been working on the TV adaptation of The Watchmen just threw everyone a HUGE fucking curveball on Instagram yesterday, announcing that the planned HBO series is not going to be an adaptation of the original comics, nor a sequel, but a new story set in the Watchmen universe taking place in contemporary times. The five-page letter explaining his intentions is deeply personal and absolutely amazing and worth your time to read:
Let’s be REAL CLEAR, I am a Lindelof apologist. I think that The Leftovers is one of the best shows of the decade and still believe that the Lost finale worked. (By the way, happy anniversary of the finale, guys.) So when I say that I’m convinced he can pull this off, it probably doesn’t actually mean a whole lot since I drank the Lindelof Kool-Aid 14 years ago and never looked back.
But I would also like to note that I am one of those people that he is trying to convince: in addition to being a fan of Lindelof, I am also a fan of The Watchmen — in fact, I read The Watchmen after I learned that it was such a huge influence in Lindelof’s life and by extension, Lost. And the bottom line is I quite agree with him that we do not need another adaptation of the original graphic novel — the Zack Snyder film ruined it perfectly well on its own and does not need to be replicated — and that the themes of The Watchmen are very relevant to the times we are currently living in. I can’t wait to see how Lindelof explores all of this craziness that we are living in through the prism of The Watchmen.
Others, understandably, are more skeptical.
Speaking of our dystopian times, at the annual Deadline Club Awards dinner, Leslie Stahl told this charming story about talking with Donald Trump at Trump Tower before he was the Liar-in-Chief:
“I met with him in Trump Tower and he really is the same off camera that he is on camera, exactly the same, at one point he started to attack the press,” said Stahl. “He’s attacking the press, there were no cameras, there was nothing going on and I say, ‘You know that is getting tired. Why are you doing this? You’re doing it over and over it’s boring.’”
“He said, ‘You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all, so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you,’” Stahl said. “He said that. So put that in your head for a minute.”
First of all, NO SHIT. No fucking shit, y’all. He has been doing this right in front of our goddamned eyes FOR YEARS NOW. Second, to all the people who are mad at Stahl for only now coming forward with this story instead of ahead of the election: do you honestly think it would have made any difference? His supporters are right now screaming that this whole story is FAKE NEWS. Third, I guess the one bright side is that for those of us who have been wondering, we now know the answer to the question of whether or not he is aware of what he is doing and the damage it creates. He is.
He is, and he attacks the media for the exact same reason he is attacking the Justice Department right this very second: because truth and justice are the only powers that can keep him contained. And he knows to maintain control he must undermine and destroy the institutions that would hold him accountable. It’s terrifying and alarming but the only thing that surprises me at all about this story are how many people seem to be shocked and surprised by it. THIS IS WHO HE IS, Y’ALL. THIS IS WHAT HE HAS BEEN DOING THE ENTIRE TIME. ARE YOU AWAKE YET? BECAUSE THIS SHIT IS SCARY.
But sure, Bill O’Reilly, let’s call the press the real enemy, you are absolutely on the right side of this:
For the sake of complete disclosure, O’Reilly was apparently talking about the North Korea issue here. Nevertheless, attacking the press as the enemy of the people is not only shitty and un-American, it’s downright dangerous.
And irony of ironies: Trump’s defense against Summer Zervos, the former Apprentice contestant who is suing him? She’s a liar.
In Other TV News
Emilia Clarke told Vanity Fair that Daenerys’ final moments on Game of Thrones: “It fucked me up. Knowing that is going to be a lasting flavor in someone’s mouth of what Daenerys is…” WHAT DOES THAT MEEEEEEEEEEEAN?
PONY UP THE GHOST MONEY, HBO. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE IT.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus will receive the Mark Twain Prize for Humor because she is a comedy goddess.
The Hollywood Reporter breaks down the diversity on TV and behind the scenes, and while it is notable that CBS has increased their diversity significantly, the most notable thing to me is how much ABC has reversed their diversity trend. Meanwhile, everyone sucks at hiring diverse showrunners. Guh.
Here are the new series that critics want to see succeed. (Very predictably, Abby’s and In the Dark are the leading contenders because they are exactly the kind of shows that critics love, and gain a cult audience and everyone else ignores.)
Oh my God, Bachelor in Paradise viewers (and I know y’all are out there, don’t lie): Ashley I. and Jared are finally dating.
Even my cold black heart is warmed by Caleb and Maddie.
The Voice has a winner and The Middle said goodbye.
The showrunner for Roseanne talks about what he hopes to do in season two, and, yeah, I just don’t see George Clooney swinging by. I wouldn’t hold my breath for that one, Bruce.
The Parents Television Council is coming for 13 Reasons Why. Took them long enough.
Holly Marie Combs is still mad the Charmed reboot isn’t featuring the original cast.
Here is a New York Times piece in which the reporter has lunch with Ryan Murphy and Janet Mock, a transgender writer and activist with whom Murphy is working with on Pose, and it’s an interesting interview if you can get past the fact that the writer claims Nip/Tuck was Murphy’s first show WHEN EVERYONE KNOWS POPULAR WAS. HEY, MAYBE CHECK IMDB, NEW YORK TIMES.
REMINDER: Fox & Friends are a bunch of uninformed idiots.
Renewals
- Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas has been renewed for a second season by HBO.
- Babylon Berlin has been renewed for a third season.
- Krypton has been renewed for a second season by Syfy.
- PAW Patrol, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Rusty Rivets, and Top Wing have been renewed by Nickelodeon.
- Scene of the Crime with Tony Harris has been renewed by Investigation Discovery.
- Step Up: High Water has been renewed by YouTube for a second season.
In Development
- Leah Remini’s next project will take on the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
- Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz have replaced Bryan Fuller as the showrunners of Amazing Stories. This seems like a good fit.
- Six Underground, a film starring Ryan Reynolds from Michael Bay, has been bought by Netflix.
- Amazon has bought a finance documentary series from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. It will be hosted by Kal Penn.
- ESPN will be the home for UFC now.
- Love at Sea will air on the Hallmark Channel.
- This is Jane, a film about an underground abortion clinic, has landed at Amazon.
- Boomerang has ordered Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?, Yabba-Dabba Dinosaurs!, Be Cool Scooby-Doo!, Bunnicula, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, New Looney Tunes, The Tom and Jerry Show and Wacky Races.
Casting News
- Kim Cattrall is going to star in Tell Me a Story on CBS All Access.
- Jamie Foxx will host the BET Awards this year.
- Richard Gere will star in BBC’s MotherFatherSon.
- Elisha Henig is joining the cast of The Sinner.
Mark Your Calendars
- Double Dare returns on Nickelodeon on June 25.
- Disenchantments, Matt Groening’s new animated series, will debut on Netflix on August 17.
- TKO will debut on CBS on July 11.
- Big Brother will return on CBS on June 27.
- Salvation will return on CBS on June 25.
- MasterChef returns on Fox on May 30.
- The Tunnel returns on PBS on July 1.
- Cultureshock will debut on A&E on June 25.
- Scene of the Crime will return on Investigation Discovery on June 3.
- Vet Gone Wild will debut on Animal Planet on June 10.
- Love Means Zero premieres on Showtime on June 23.
R.I.P.
Clint Walker, Star of Cheyenne
Philip Roth, Legendary novelist
Bill Gold, Movie poster designer — this isn’t TV related, but this guy was pretty remarkable. He designed posters for everything from Casablanca to A Clockwork Orange to Dirty Harry and more.
WATCH THIS
The Real Housewives of New York City: OH GOD, IT’S THE BERKSHIRES. 8 p.m., Bravo
Empire: Cookie, Lucious and Andre all make power plays for Empire’s future in the season finale. 7 p.m., Fox
Survivor: Finale! A winner is chosen. 7 p.m., CBS
Law & Order: SVU: In the two-hour finale the unit discovers a dangerous crime network. 8 p.m., NBC
Star: Take 3’s future is at risk in the season finale. 8 p.m., Fox
Krypton: Seg races to save his city in the season finale. 9 p.m., Syfy
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Mindy Kaling, Andy Cohen, Lil Pump Late Night with Seth Meyers: David Letterman, Aurora, Steven Wolf The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: ason Bateman, Stephen King, Jim James The Late Late Show with James Corden: Amanda Peet, Johnny Knoxville, David Blaine Jimmy Kimmel Live: Shailene Woodley, Jordan Klepper, Blink-182 Conan: Anthony Joshua, Lake Street Dive Watch What Happens Live: Kyle Richards, Simon Baker
| WEDS. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Toy Story 3 | 20/20: Lights, Camera, Summer! (new) |
| CBS | Survivor (new) |
| CW | Supergirl (repeat) |
The Originals (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | Empire (new) |
Star (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Law & Order: SVU (new) |
Law & Order: SVU (new) |
I do like how you mention people like BIll Gold in your RIP section. Its nice to see the lesser known contributors get credit.
Re: The Watchmen in current times. People get so incredibly mad at the stupidest shit. I’ll never get it.
You mean like ditching Netflix because someone with different political views than you got a contract to develop shows?