Everyone has their fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for Luke Perry:
There were many other celebrities who wished Luke Perry well, but I included Kristy Swanson here because she co-starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer with him. It was the first movie my cousin worked on when he moved to Los Angeles, and Luke Perry was by all accounts lovely to work with and kind to even a lowly production assistant. I still have my fingers crossed for him and hope he is home and healthy ASAP.
Get better soon, Amanda Bynes.
And in even more downer news: Dennis Day, an original Muskateer, has been missing since July.
An end-of-the-week Jussie Smollett story round-up:
According to TMZ, Empire executives don’t believe the police’s story that Smollett staged the attack because he was upset about his salary, as he never complained to them about it. The brothers who were involved in the incident have released a statement expressing their regret in taking part.
Meanwhile, those two stories above will play into Smollett’s defense strategy which requires three things: 1. Discredit the witnesses, 2. Disprove the salary angle, and 3. Explain the check. Smollett’s team has already pointed out that the note on the check suggests that it was for fitness training, which he had hired the brothers for in the past.
Even if Smollett is found guilty, he’s unlikely to face prison time, according to Chicago-area defense attorneys.
Finally, Ellen Page, who so emotionally spoke out on Late Show with Stephen Colbert following the attack, wrote this powerful essay about the case. I genuinely hate this whole story and hate having to read about it and write about it. It hurts my heart because no matter what the truth is, it is a tragedy.
Time’s Up
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference has waded into the Leaving Neverland controversy, writing a letter demanding that HBO not air the documentary, calling it a “posthumous lynching.” The SCLC is an African-American civil rights organization that is closely associated with its first president Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a lot of complicated thoughts about this but don’t have the vocabulary to express them without potentially writing something that I might later regret, but I will say this: I find it disappointing that sexual abuse survivors’ civil rights are considered less important than a dead celebrity’s. Power is a corrosive element.
Meanwhile, no one wants to buy Neverland Ranch. Gee, why not?
It should also be noted that the Jackson family, while decrying Wade Robson and James Safechuck as only lodging these accusations against Michael Jackson for money and attention, are the ones suing HBO for $100 million over the documentary because they know that if it tarnishes Jackson’s reputation, the money spigot that is the estate could be turned off. (Also, at the link is a very good review of the documentary.)
Here’s a timeline of the Jackson allegation in case you need reminding.
Two more shows do the #MeToo thing: Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Into the Dark. And besides that, they also both have Stephanie Beatriz in common!
And as a chaser to all that just terrible news:
Please watch this “True Confessions” which involves Jamaica, John Rich, and a cannibal. You won’t be disappointed:
These Killing Eve promo photos are delicious.
Turns out the Lannisters and the Targaryens weren’t the only siblings making out on Game of Thrones.
Ratings
- Law & Order: SVU will never die. Also, Manifest is probably safe, despite falling in the ratings as its batshit season went on.
- Single Parents isn’t looking healthy. It’s the lowest-rated new comedy at ABC. Splitting Up Together has lower numbers, and is not looking great, either.
- Proven Innocent did not debut strong. Lethal Weapon is in trouble, too (but for different reasons).
- FAM is doing quite well at CBS.
In Development
- Baby-Sitters Club is being turned into a Netflix series.
- Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, a limited series about a woman running for Senate that will star Julia Roberts is in the works at Amazon.
- They’re turning The Sandlot into a series with the original cast —
- Resident Alien has been ordered to series at Syfy. Alan Tudyk is going to star.
- Motherland, a military witch fantasy drama, has been ordered to series by Freeform.
- Rights to the novel The Boys’ Club have been bought by Netflix.
- The Hunt for Jihadi John is being developed at HBO and Channel 4.
- A drama based on the life of Victoria Woodhull is being developed for television. “Woodhull was born in the early 1800s. In the course of her life, she lived a true rags-to-riches story, became a prominent figure in the spiritualist movement, and became the first woman to become a Wall Street broker and the first woman to run for President of the United States among other firsts.” WELL GO ON, VICTORIA WOODHULL.
- Heather Rae has signed a first-look deal with Amazon.
Casting News
- Timothy Hutton has joined the Fox pilot that is currently known as Sisters.
- Michael Emerson is starring in the CBS drama pilot, Evil.
- Josh Radnor is joining The Hunt on Amazon.
- Rebecca Hall is going to star in Tales from the Loop on Amazon.
- Chrissy Metz is going to guest on Superstore.
- Justin Bartha and Geoffrey Owens have joined the cast of (Future) Cult Classic on Syfy.
- Russell G. Jones, Olivia Lucy Phillip, and Adelaide Clemens are joining the CBS cop pilot, Tommy.
- Barry Sloane and Michael Luwoye are joining the NBC pilot Bluff City Law.
- Olivia Thirlby will star in the ABC pilot Until the Wedding.
- Carlos Gomez, Lisa Vidal, Dan Bucatinsky, and Belissa Escobedo have been cast in the ABC comedy pilot The Baker and the Beauty.
- Eve Harlow has joined the Fox A.I. pilot neXt.
- Kyla Pratt is joining the Fox comedy pilot Patty’s Auto.
- Sarah Hay, Cheyenne Haynes, and Haley Tju have been cast as the Frog Sisters in the Lost Boys CW pilot.
- Erin Darke is joining the YouTube comedy pilot, It’s a Man’s World. (Sidenote: I thought YouTube wasn’t creating any more scripted originals for a while? Am I imagining that?)
- Dawn French is going to star in the ITV drama Glass Houses.
- Amanda Payton is joining the Sky’s cop comedy Code 404.
- Shovi Rodriguez is a regular on Animal Kingdom on TNT.
- Tyson Ritter is now a regular on Preacher.
Mark Your Calendar
- When They See Us, the Ava DuVernay Central Park limited series, will debut on Netflix on May 31.
- Critters — the series — will debut on Shudder on March 21.
- Bosch returns on Amazon on April 19.
- Pure will return on WGN on May 28.
- SKAM Austin returns on Facebook on March 15.
- Fosse/Verdon released a longer trailer. It premieres on FX on April 9.
- USA v Chapo will premiere on Facebook Watch on March 11.
- Braxton Family Values will return on WE tv on April 4.
- Larva Island will debut on Facebook on March 1. YooHoo to the Rescue will debut on March 15.
- Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine will debut on Discovery on April 5.
R.I.P.
Katherine Helmond, Actress from Soap and Who’s the Boss. LIKE I SAID, TODAY iS A BUMMER.
Jay Douglas, SVP of Acquisitions at Anchor Bay Entertainment. People of a certain age (mine) should read this obituary — by releasing old B-movies on VHS, Douglas helped shape popular culture.
WATCH THIS
FRIDAY
Losers: A profile of athletes who lost and how it changed them. Series premiere. Netflix
The Widow: Kate Beckinsale stars as a woman seeking answers about her husband’s death which leads her to the Congo. Series premiere. Amazon
SATURDAY
Saturday Night Live: JOHNMULANEYALERT 10:30 p.m., NBC
Skyscraper: Watch as The Rock defies physics. 7 p.m., HBO
SUNDAY
American Idol: This is back. 7 p.m., ABC
Leaving Neverland: Two men who testified that Michael Jackson never molested them have a new story to tell in this two-part documentary. 7 p.m., HBO
Good Girls: The women’s crimes begin catching up with them in the season premiere. 9 p.m., NBC
The Bush Years: Family, Duty, Power: A six-part look at the Bush family. Series premiere. 8 p.m., CNN
The Walking Dead: “Guardians.” 8 p.m., AMC
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Friday): Ryan Seacrest, Jack Whitehall, Shin Lim
- Watch What Happens Live (Sunday): NeNe Leakes
| FRI. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Fresh Off the Boat (new) |
Speechless (new) |
20/20 (new) |
| CBS | MacGyver (repeat) |
Hawaii Five-0 (repeat) |
Blue Bloods (repeat) |
| CW | Whose Line Is It Anyway? (repeat) |
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (repeat) |
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | Last Man Standing (new) |
The Cool Kids (new) |
Proven Innocent (new) |
Local |
| NBC | The Voice (repeat) |
Dateline (new) |
—
| SAT. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| ABC | NBA Basketball (live) |
News/Local |
| CBS | Ransom (new) |
NCIS: Los Angeles (repeat) |
48 Hours (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | 9-1-1 (repeat) |
Proven Innocent (repeat) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Dateline | Dateline | Saturday Night Live (repeat) |
News/Local | Saturday Night Live (John Mulaney and Thomas Rhett) |
—
| 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 (new) |
Shark Tank (repeat) |
| CBS | 60 Minutes (new) |
God Friended Me (new) |
NCIS: Los Angeles (new) |
Madam Secretary (new) |
| The CW | Local | Supergirl (new) |
Charmed (new) |
Local |
| FOX | The Simpsons (repeat) |
Bob’s Burgers (repeat) |
The Simpsons (new) |
Bob’s Burgers (new) |
Family Guy (new) |
Family Guy (repeat) |
Local/News |
| NBC | World of Dance (new) |
World of Dance (new) |
Good Girls (new) |