Yesterday was NBC’s turn at the TCAs
The Good Place will end with “exactly the story we wanted to tell under the wire,” according to creator Mike Schur. Schur explained that he was inspired by Breaking Bad‘s brevity and wanted to tell this story “really fast,” hence short (too-short in my book) seasons, and only four of them. I GET IT BUT I DON’T HAVE TO LIKE IT.
More interesting to me were Schur’s comments on goodness and what it means to be a good person. He explained that the show was originally going to be about what it means to be a “good” person, but then that question became …. complicated:
Schur said that during the run of the series, they presented a lot of options in how to be good — and plenty that they didn’t describe. He said that it wasn’t necessarily about being good, but more about the effort.
“The newfound belief about being good is that you’re trying,” said Schur. “As long as you’re trying, you’re on the right path.”
Schur also discussed the difficulty of keeping Trump’s bullshit out of the series: “I was like ‘We can’t function as a show if all we’re doing is talking about this.’ So we have like appointed times where we discuss current events and what’s going on — and then we work,” he continued. “And we’ve tried to keep the ethics that our characters are discussing and the ethics of modern-day America [separate].” Our country is so fucked.
In other news, I’m going to miss this little show.
Also on the panel, Kristen Bell commented on the possibility of more Veronica Mars, and she basically said it’s an issue of just lining up everyone’s schedules. Make it happen, kids!
At the Bluff City Law panel, Jimmy Smits said some boring things about returning to a law drama and then revealed that his former NYPD Blue co-stars were trolling him (and his dead character) from the set of the reboot: “He received pictures from the set from the cast saying, ‘Wish you were here, but you’re dead!’” It sounds like NBC is feeling good about Bluff City Law: they’ve ordered six more scripts ahead of the premiere.
Fascinating: Sunnyside, the new immigration comedy from Kal Penn, is written entirely by immigrants or children of immigrants. Also, Penn’s character was inspired by Anthony Weiner — just not the creepy stuff.
At the Perfect Harmony panel, Bradley Whitford had some hopeful things to say about the state of TV: “Reflecting on the changing TV landscape since his Emmy award-winning stint on West Wing, Whitford said, ‘a show of the West Wing’s aspiration used to be an anomaly. I actually think we’re living in this amazing time where those kind of aspirations are no longer anomalies. I think network TV is reacting to that elevation of the aspiration.’” I mean, kinda. I don’t know that TV has become more aspirational, there are just more spaces available for aspirational programming.
In Non-TCA News
Interesting — the Daytime Emmys are merging Outstanding Young Actor and Young Actress into one category. The guest actor category is already gender-neutral. Considering there are only four soap operas left, this makes sense. However, there is an argument out there that all awards ceremonies should follow this gender-neutral trend in all acting categories. The TCAs already do it as do the MTV TV & Movie awards (in fact, they were the first to do so). It’s an interesting argument.
The upcoming Amazon Lord of the Rings series is going to be 20 episodes long in its first season and will take place in Middle Earth’s Second Age, following Sauron’s rise to power. In an interview, Tolkien scholar and supervisor to the series, Tom Shippey, revealed that the Tolkien Estate requires that specific details of the story not be altered:
“The Tolkien Estate will insist that the main shape of the Second Age is not altered. Sauron invades Eriador, is forced back by a Númenorean expedition, and returns to Númenor. There he corrupts the Númenoreans and seduces them to break the ban of the Valar. All this, the course of history, must remain the same.”
“You can add new characters and ask a lot of questions, like: What has Sauron done in the meantime? Where was he after Morgoth was defeated?” Shippey said. “Theoretically, Amazon can answer these questions by inventing the answers, since Tolkien did not describe it. But it must not contradict anything which Tolkien did say. That’s what Amazon has to watch out for. It must be canonical, it is impossible to change the boundaries which Tolkien has created, it is necessary to remain ‘Tolkienian.””
Hey, here are a bunch of season 10 The Walking Dead photos, if you’re interested:
Time’s Up
No, you can’t go to Europe, Harvey Weinstein, are you insane?
Inspired by a cringey Dora the Explorer movie review, this is a collection of incredibly sexist reviews of movies and TV shows which serves as an argument for why diversity in criticism is so important. I need to warn you, Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News is in here twice and you won’t be able to unread either of his reviews — they are stomach-churning and as my husband said, could “constitute sufficient probable cause for a search warrant of his basement and his computer.”
Renewals
- Mr. Iglesias has been renewed at Netflix.
In Development
- Leslie Jones is getting her own Netflix special.
- The Asphalt Kiss is being adapted into a series.
- Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, Danger Mouse, Inspector Gadget, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Madeline and Heathcliff are all coming to CBS All Access.
- Quavo from The Migos is producing an animated kids series based on the Atlanta hip hop scene.
Casting News
- Talitha Bateman, Ato Essandoh, Mark Ivanir, Ray Panthaki, and Vivian Wu are joining the cast of Away on Netflix.
- Bryan Greenberg and Charles Michael Davis will co-star in the ABC holiday movie Same Time, Next Christmas.
- Q’orianka Kilcher and Jennifer Landon are joining Yellowstone.
- Colton Haynes is not going to be in the final season of Arrow.
- The showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy has teased that they are trying to bring back an alum, but she wouldn’t say which cast member, specifically.
Mark Your Calendar
- Good Eats: The Return will debut on Food Network on August 25.
- Criminal will debut on Netflix on September 20.
- Peaky Blinders will return on BBC One on August 25. Netflix hasn’t announced a date yet.
- The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon will air after Sunday Night Football on five separate occasions, September 8; October 6, 20, 27; and December 1.
- Marriage Boot Camp: Family Edition will premiere on WE tv on October 11.
- Temptation Island will return on USA in October.
WATCH THIS
FRIDAY
GLOW: The ladies take Las Vegas in the third season of one of my favorite little shows. Season premiere. Netflix
The Family: A documentary about a powerful but shadowy group that wants to blur the line between church and state. Netflix
The Shining: A good reminder during the hottest month of the year that snow isn’t all that great, either. 6 p.m., Ovation
SATURDAY
Aquaman: Come for the Jason Momoa, stay for the Jason Momoa. 7 p.m., HBO
My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres: I will watch Julio Torres in anything, is the thing. 9:30 p.m., HBO
Los Espookys: For instance, Julio Torres stars in this wonderful little series which is having a marathon so you should watch it in the event you missed it when it first aired. I’m serious. 7 p.m., HBO Comedy West
SUNDAY
Succession: I don’t know why this series didn’t get the love and attention it deserved when it debuted, but this is honestly the best thinly veiled depiction of the Murdoch assholes and it is WORTH YOUR TIME, if only for Cousin Greg. Season premiere. 8 p.m., HBO
The Walking Dead: Season 10 Preview Special: It doesn’t return until October, but sure. 7 p.m., AMC
Curse of Akakor: OK, so there’s this mystical lost city in the Amazon, known as Akakor, and for the past 40 years, many explorers looking for it have gone missing. This series sends a bunch of experts into the jungle to try to figure out what’s going on. Series premiere. Facebook
Late Night:
- Watch What Happens Live (Sunday): Sherri Shepherd, Ashley Darby
| FRI. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | We Day (new) |
What Would You Do? (new) |
20/20 (new) |
| CBS | Hawaii Five-0 (repeat) |
Magnum P.I. (repeat) |
Blue Bloods (repeat) |
| CW | Masters of Illusion (new) |
The Big Stage (new) |
Hypnotize Me (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | BH90210 (repeat) |
MasterChef (repeat) |
Local |
| NBC | American Ninja Warrior | Dateline (new) |
—
| SAT. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| ABC | Shark Tank (repeat) |
Press Your Luck (repeat) |
Card Sharks (repeat) |
News/Local |
| CBS | NCIS: New Orleans (repeat) |
48 Hours (new) |
48 Hours (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | So You Think You Can Dance? (repeat) |
Beat Shazam (repeat) |
News/Local |
| NBC | America’s Got Talent (repeat) |
Dateline | News/Local | Saturday Night Live (repeat) |
—
| SUN. | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat) |
Celebrity Family Feud (new) |
The $100,000 Pyramid (new) |
To Tell the Truth (new) |
| CBS | 60 Minutes (new) |
Big Brother (new) |
Instinct (new) |
Instinct (new) |
| The CW | Local | Penn & Teller: Fool Us (new) |
Pandora (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | Last Man Standing (repeat) |
Last Man Standing (repeat) |
The 2019 Teen Choice Awards (live) |
Local/News |
| NBC | Hollywood Game Night (repeat) |
Gymnastics (new) |
Bring the Funny (repeat) |
You are aware that Harry Knowles has been accused of sexual misconduct in the past. Kinda helps explain a few things, doesn’t it?
Yep, I remember when that all blew up — pre-#MeToo. What a disgusting creep.
Thanks for reading!
-T
I’ve read you for years. I gave you info on One Life To Live, my cousin worked on the show for years, all the way to the end.
I remember that! Thanks for sticking with me, Lisa!
-T