As I’m sure you’ve heard, there is this 16-year-old Swedish climate activist named Greta Thunberg (who happens to have Asperger’s syndrome) who sailed to the United States from Europe, lead Friday’s climate change school walkouts and then yesterday, spoke in front of the United Nations to DEMAND that they do something about the climate issue. She’s a tiny badass in the mold of Lady Mormont and she has definitely crawled under the skin of climate change deniers, right-wingers and even our President.
She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! https://t.co/1tQG6QcVKO
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
Rule #1 of social media: Do not come for the children on social media:
Other people Greta has stirred up: a bunch of idiots on Fox News. Because obviously.
In a segment about her, a Fox News contributor, Michael Knowles, called her a “mentally ill Swedish child” and claimed that she is being manipulated by her parents and the “international left.”
Fox News, to their credit, apologized for the comment: “The comment made by Michael Knowles who was a guest on ‘The Story’ tonight was disgraceful — we apologize to Greta Thunberg and to our viewers” and The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Knowles will not be invited back on the network (don’t hold your breath, though).
Fox News is not apologizing, however, for Laura Ingraham’s ongoing attacks on Thunberg, including last night when she compared her to the Children of the Corn — because Ingraham has never met a child activist that she didn’t want to bully:
Laura Ingraham compares Greta Thunberg to Children of the Corn pic.twitter.com/eiCvYIbthr
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) September 24, 2019
But someone who is apologizing: Ingraham’s brother, Curtis:
Clearly my sister’s paycheck is more important than the world her three adopted kids will inherit. I can no longer apologize for a sibling who I no longer recognize. I can and will continue to call out the monstrous behavior and the bully commentary born out of anger. https://t.co/afrSuraQqt
— Curtis Ingraham (@CurtisIngraham1) September 24, 2019
Good for you, Curtis.
Meanwhile:
Two years ago, we got a call from a United States government official warning us of the imminent arrest of a New York Times reporter based in Egypt named Declan Walsh. Though the news was alarming, the call was actually fairly standard. Over the years, we’ve received countless such warnings from American diplomats, military leaders and national security officials.
But this particular call took a surprising and distressing turn. We learned the official was passing along this warning without the knowledge or permission of the Trump administration. Rather than trying to stop the Egyptian government or assist the reporter, the official believed, the Trump administration intended to sit on the information and let the arrest be carried out. The official feared being punished for even alerting us to the danger.
Eventually, The Times went to the Irish embassy who helped remove the reporter from Egypt. Jesus fucking Christ.
And lest you think this animosity towards media outlets is harmless, a U.S. soldier was arrested this weekend for planning on planting a car bomb outside of CNN’s headquarters. Good times, y’all.
In Other TV News
Here’s a sobering fact for broadcast networks: it’s been THIRTEEN (13) years since a broadcast drama won Outstanding Drama at the Emmys. And it’s been five years since a broadcast comedy won Outstanding Comedy.
Tick tock, HBO. Now with Game of Thrones over, what’s next? (Actually, I suspect they’ll be just fine. They may not have another huge hit like GoT for a while — if ever — but they know from talent, so.)
Speaking of Game of Thrones, Kit Harington is going around claiming he didn’t watch the final season. OK, bro.
Also, just in case you were wondering, it was always going to be Bran. Now, why they didn’t make that revelation MAKE ANY GODDAMN SENSE or MEAN ANYTHING AT ALL, you’d have to ask Benioff and Weiss.
Please stop yelling at Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child. And why are you yelling at Michelle Williams in the first place? Her Emmys speech was amazing. Y’all need to calm down.
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates is going to be Oprah’s first book for the Apple TV+ series, Oprah’s Book Club.
Modern Family will have a happy ending, instead of the tragic one we were all expecting.
In Development
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge has just signed a huge deal with Amazon Studios following her take over of the Emmys. CHEERI-FUKCING-O, GIRL.
- A Walker, Texas Ranger reboot starring Jared Padalecki is in the works, y’all.
- Mourning Songs, a musical family comedy, has been picked up by ABC.
- Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have signed a first-look deal with National Geographic.
- Triangle is not going forward at ABC.
Casting News
- Blythe Danner is joining American Gods.
- Queen Latifah, Chosen Jacobs, Sophie Thatcher, Sam Strike, Ben Ahlers, and Julia Sarah Stone have set in When the Street Lights Go On at Quibi.
- Derek Theler, Beth Riesgraf, Usman Ally, Lamont Thompson, Artur Benson, and Aaron Glenane are joining the cast of 68 Whiskey at Paramount.
- Natacha Karam, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael Silva, and Julian Works have been added to the cast of 9-1-1: Lone Star on Fox.
Mark Your Calendars
- Servant will debut on Apple TV+ “soon.”
- Glad You Asked will debut on YouTube on October 8.
- The Walking Dead returns on October 6 on AMC. Here’s an exclusive clip if you’re interested. Angela Kang promises more Negan “fun” this season, by the way.
- Impact Wrestling will move to Tuesdays on AXS TV on October 29.
R.I.P.
J. Michael Mendel, Producer on Rick & Morty and The Simpsons
Jan Merlin, Emmy-winning actor and writer
WATCH THIS
The Conners: Becky’s baby is here. Season premiere. 7 p.m., ABC
NCIS: Ziva gives Gibbs a cryptic warning. Season premiere. 7 p.m., CBS
The Resident: Red Rock Mountain Medical takes over the hospital and brings new rules with it. Season premiere. 7 p.m., Fox
Bless This Mess: Mike and Rio host the Huskers kickoff party. Season premiere. 7:30 p.m., ABC
Empire: Lucious is on the run while Cookie tries to focus on new projects. No one mentions Jamal. Season premiere. 8 p.m., Fox
FBI: A bomb detonates at a restaurant in Queens. Season premiere. 8 p.m., CBS
mixed-ish: Rainbow’s parents move the family from a cult to the suburbs in this new spin-off of black-ish. Series premiere. 8 p.m., ABC
This Is Us: Jack meets Rebecca’s parents. Season premiere. 8 p.m., NBC
black-ish: Pops reveals he’s getting married. Season premiere. 8:30 p.m., ABC
Emergence: A young girl survives a mysterious plane crash in a small town in the opener of this mystery box series. Series premiere. 9 p.m., ABC
NCIS: New Orleans: Pride has to cut his vacation short when Hannah is suspended. Season premiere. 9 p.m., CBS
New Amsterdam: Max tries to deal with becoming a parent and the catastrophic accident. Season premiere. 9 p.m., NBC
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Demi Moore, Justin Hartley, Mark Ronson featuring Yebba
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: Gwen Stefani, Bradley Whitford, Emily Spivey
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Whoopi Goldberg, Ta-Nehisi Coates
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Terrence Howard, Allen Leech, Bryce Vine, and Loud Luxury
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Morgan Wallen
- The Daily Show: ???
- Conan: Anna Faris, Gavin Matts
- Lights Out with David Spade: Michael Rappaport, Christina Pazsitsky, Dulce Sloan
- Watch What Happens Live: Kelly Dodd, Meghan McCain
- A Little Late with Lily Singh: Elizabeth McGovern, Allen Leech, Hugh Bonneville
| TUES. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Conners (new) |
Bless This Mess (new) |
mixed-ish (new) |
black-ish (new) |
Emergence (new) |
| CBS | NCIS (new) |
FBI (new) |
NCIS: New Orleans (new) |
| CW | Pandora (new) |
Mysteries Decoded (new) |
Local |
| FOX | The Resident (new) |
Empire (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
This Is Us (new) |
New Amsterdam (new) |