It was revealed that Les Moonves himself oversaw the $9.5 million payout to Eliza Dushku to protect Michael Weatherly (of course Moonves’ fingerprints are all over this), and that the payment was hidden in the Bull budget so that it wouldn’t show up in CBS’s books. Totally legal and totally cool.
Look, ladies, I don’t doubt that Weatherly was a good friend to you, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t incredibly shitty to Dushku. And by rushing to defend him, going to Twitter and proclaiming that he was a nice guy to you, you are just making yourselves complicit in behavior that was so flagrant and terrible that CBS had to pay one person nearly $10 million to keep quiet about it. Maybe the best way to support your friend is by not saying anything at all? Just chew on that for a while.
Here’s a timeline of CBS’s terrible horrible no good very bad year.
Here’s how Time’s Up is going to use the money it received from Moonves’ severance.
Because I focused more on the whole Eliza Dushku/Michael Weatherly/Bull thing last week, I didn’t focus on the actress Sondra Locke, who passed away last week. From the sound of it, she was royally fucked over by Clint Eastwood, and should be recognized for her talents and projects, not as someone’s ex-wife. Shame on The Hollywood Reporter for referring to her as Eastwood’s “embittered” ex-wife in their obituary headline.
Speaking of shitty headlines: “Jennifer Lawrence Denies Sleeping With Harvey Weinstein, Shooting Down New Lawsuit’s Claim.” A woman who is suing Weinstein for sexually assaulting her said that Weinstein told her he had sex with Jennifer Lawrence, and Lawrence is denying Weinstein’s claim. Weinstein lying to this woman about his sex partners has no bearing on whether or not he sexually assaulted her and doesn’t shoot down her claims at all.
Yael Stone has accused Geoffrey Rush of inappropriate behavior, including using a mirror to watch her shower, sending sexual text messages and dancing naked in front of her. NO THANK YOU.
DC has canceled the comic Border Town after its creator Eric M. Esquivel was accused of sexual abuse.
Morgan Spurlock will pay Turner Media $1.17 million for a series that was shelved after he wrote a confessional #MeToo post.
Bill Cosby is still insisting he didn’t get a fair trial.
I didn’t think it was possible, but Idris Elba just got sexier.
In Other TV News
Fortunately, Pete Davidson is OK after a disturbing Instagram post that sounded awfully suicidal and which drove Ariana Grande to rush over to 30 Rock (only to be sent away). But I worry about him.
Pacific Life pulled their ads from Tucker Carlson’s show after he said immigrants make us “poorer and dirtier.” GOOD FOR YOU, PACIFIC LIFE. ARE YOU LISTENING, OTHER SPONSORS?
This is just the one Best Of list that you can not disagree with, I’m afraid.
A Daredevil actress is claiming that it was Netflix’s decision to cancel the show, not Marvel’s. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Megan Amram’s attempt to win an Emmy forced the Emmys to change the Emmys. NEVER GIVE UP, MEGAN, THEY OWE YOU AN EMMY, GIRL.
There’s not much TV news as we head into the heart of the holiday season, so here are some theories about two of the wackiest shows on TV:
Who is the Gargoyle King on Riverdale?
Wait, how is Michael alive on Jane the Virgin?
Michael Cudlitz has some thoughts about the writing on The Walking Dead and boy, he ain’t wrong.
Shadowhunters fans don’t have a sense of humor.
No one wants to do the Super Bowl Halftime Show with Maroon 5, lol.
Give Jeff Bridges all of the prizes for being Jeff Bridges.
GIVE NONE OF THE PRIZES TO CHUCK LORRE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CRITICS?
The Miss Universe pageant was last night and while I could care less who won (Miss Phillippines) it was notable that Spain’s entry was the first transgender contestant for the pageant. Good for them!
Are the people on 90 Day Fiance really worth all the effort of death threats?
Oh, Steven Miller, you’re just embarrassing yourself, you daytime vampire.
The Unindicted-Co-Conspirator-in-Chief’s fee-fees were hurt by Saturday Night Live again:
First of all, that’s not what “collusion” means, but I suppose this does explain why you think you didn’t commit collusion — you have no idea what it is. But second of all, go ahead and sue SNL. Do it. I dare you. I BEG YOU. SUE! SUE! SUE! SUE! SUE!
Renewals
- black-ish, The Goldbergs, The Kids are Alright, and Single Parents all got extra episode orders.
In Development
- The Last Spy, a CIA drama, is being developed at NBC.
- The Black Tapes podcast is being developed into a series at NBC.
- Embody, a sci-fi drama from James Corden’s production company, is being developed at CBS.
- Peanuts are coming to Apple.
- Say Yes to the Nest is being developed at HGTV.
- Bonding, a dark comedy series, has been picked up at Netflix.
- Mary’s Mosaic is being developed into a limited series.
Casting News
- Tisha Campbell will join Last Man Standing as Carol Larabee.
- Willow Shields is joining the cast of Netflix’s Spinning Out.
- Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Nathalie Emmanuel are joining the voice cast of Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance on Netflix.
- Benicio Del Toro is your new Swiper the Fox. Because the world is really weird right now.
Mark Your Calendar
- Timeless will air its two-hour series finale this Thursday!
- Brexit will air on HBO on January 19.
- Black Monday will debut on Showtime at January 20.
- Strike Back will return on Cinemax on January 25.
- Breaking the Silence will air on Lifetime on January 14.
R.I.P.
Rodney Kageyama, Actor and activist
Colin Kroll, Creator of Vine and HQ Trivia
WATCH THIS
America’s Got Talent: “A Holiday of Champions” — basically a clip show designed to refresh our memories before the midseason spinoff, America’s Got Talent: The Champions. 9 p.m., NBC
The Year in Memoriam 2018: A celebration of the people we lost this year, including the Bushes, John McCain, and Aretha Franklin. 9 p.m., ABC
Fail State: A look into the predatory businesses associated with higher learning, including for-profit colleges and student loans. 8 p.m., Starz
Bleed Out: And if that’s not cheerful enough for you, how about this documentary about medical errors? 7 p.m., HBO
Late Night: Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Black Thought featuring Salaam Remi Late Night with Seth Meyers: Saoirse Ronan, Mike Birbiglia, Patrick Droney, Richard Danielson The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Sandra Bullock, Barry Jenkins The Late Late Show with James Corden: Armie Hammer, Amber Heard, Middle Kids, Cardi B Jimmy Kimmel Live: Seth MacFarlane, Andrea Savage, Kodak Black The Daily Show: Eve Ewing Watch What Happens Live: Lala Kent, Adam Pally
| MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Great Christmas Light Fight (new) |
The Year in Memoriam 2018 (new) |
| CBS | The Neighborhood (new) |
Happy Together (new) |
Magnum P.I. (repeat) |
Bull (repeat) |
| CW | Arrow (repeat) |
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | The Resident (repeat) |
9-1-1 (repeat) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
America’s Got Talent (new) |
It’s “Dushku.” (Never mess with a Slayer.)
-Jim
Yes, thank you, I know that. I think I have a mild form of undiagnosed dyslexia that makes me swap letters and numbers.
-T