The TCAs have finally ended, but my coverage of them has not, thanks to having to take an unexpected trip out of town. There is a lot of material to get through here, so I’m going to actually split it up between today and tomorrow.
Hulu goes to the TCAs:
Hillary will debut on March 6. At the TCA panel, Hillary Clinton stirred up some shit when talking about Bernie Sanders, saying: “Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.”
When asked if she would endorse him if he receives the nomination, she added:
I’m not going to go there yet. We’re still in a very vigorous primary season. I will say, however, that it’s not only him, it’s the culture around him. It’s his leadership team. It’s his prominent supporters. It’s his online Bernie Bros and their relentless attacks on lots of his competitors, particularly the women. And I really hope people are paying attention to that because it should be worrisome that he has permitted this culture — not only permitted, [he] seems to really be very much supporting it. And I don’t think we want to go down that road again where you campaign by insult and attack and maybe you try to get some distance from it, but you either don’t know what your campaign and supporters are doing or you’re just giving them a wink and you want them to go after Kamala [Harris] or after Elizabeth [Warren]. I think that that’s a pattern that people should take into account when they make their decisions.
I am not going to say anything lest the Bernie Bros find me (but she’s not wrong).
Hillary also urged people to vote for the candidate who can not just win the popular vote but the electoral college as well, because “because lord knows what will happen if we don’t retire the current incumbent and his henchmen.” 1. I am pretty sure she’s still talking about Bernie here and her worry that he can’t win in a general election but 2. whomever she is talking about: TRUTH.
Little Fires Everywhere will debut on March 18. Here’s a great piece about Witherspoon and Washington at the TCA panel where they discussed adapting a novel with these larger themes of race, womanhood, and motherhood. It also discusses how one of the actors added dimension to her character the author of the novel approved of even though it was not in the original book. “It’s a lot to unpack.” NO DOUBT.
The Great will premiere on May 15. It comes from the genius who made the film The Favourite, and was inspired by the one thing about Catherine the Great you probably have heard. You know, the horse. Do not expect the series to be historically accurate.
Normal People will debut this summer:
- High Fidelity will debut on February 14.
- Ramy will return on May 29.
- Solar Opposites, a new animated comedy from the Rick & Morty team, will debut on May 8.
In Development:
Hulu has ordered a true crime and mystery comedy starring Martin Short and Steve Martin and produced by Dan Fogelman, the creator of This Is Us. It doesn’t have a title yet, but I mean, with this pedigree, it doesn’t need to have one yet.
Hustlers; The Upside; and I Feel Pretty will be coming to Hulu and Freeform.
Madagascar: A Little Wild; TrollsTopia; and The Mighty Ones have been ordered.
Renewals:
Wu-Tang: An American Saga has been renewed for a second season.
Dollface has been renewed for a second season.
Casting News:
Patton Oswalt, Sam Richardson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ben Schwartz, Aimee Garcia, Melissa Fumero, Beck Bennet, and Jon Daly will provide voices for Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.
And all those other shows?
The head of Hulu has no regrets about the controversial ending to the 4th season of Veronica Mars. As for the series’ future, Craig Erwich isn’t talking.
Here’s your reminder that The Orville has moved to Hulu. No premiere date yet.
Erwich isn’t really worried about exclusive rights to all streaming shows, just Hulu’s shows. OK.
Over at National Geographic:
Dates:
- Genius: Aretha will debut on National Geographic on May 25.
- Cosmos: Possible Worlds will premiere on National Geographic on March 9.
- The Hidden Kingdoms of China will premiere on March 23. Michelle Yeoh will narrate the series.
- Heartland Docs, DVM will premiere on Nat Geo Wild on January 25.
- Critter Fixers: Country Vets will premiere on Nat Geo Wild on March 7.
- Dr. Ole will premiere on Nat Geo Wild sometime this summer.
- Secrets of the Zoo: Down Under will debut on March 1. Naomi Watts will narrate.
- World’s Biggest Zoo will premiere sometime this fall.
- Alaska Animal Rescue will debut on April 11.
- Jungle Animal Rescue will premiere on April 18.
- The Real Black Panther will premiere in the winter.
- March of the Polar Bears will premiere this winter.
- Savage Kingdom returns this winter.
- Secrets of the Zoo will return on February 23.
- Secrets of the Zoo: Tampa will return this summer.
- Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet will return on March 21.
- Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER returns on May 31.
- The Incredible Dr. Pol returns sometime this summer.
Renewals:
Brain Games; Running Wild with Bear Grylls; Life Below Zero; Life Below Zero: Port Protection have all been renewed.
In Development:
Limitless, a fitness series that will be hosted by Chris Hemsworth and produced by Darren Aronofsky and Jane Root, has been ordered.
Race To the Center of the Earth, a competition series from the Amazing Race team, is in development.
The producers of Free Solo have signed a first-look deal with Nat Geo.
#impact, a docuseries produced by Gal Gadot, has been ordered. It follows the stories of young women who overcome obstacles to accomplish great things.
And all those other shows:
National Geographic is in active talks to turn The Hot Zone into an anthology series.
In Other TV News
The SAG Awards happened this weekend. Here are the TV winners but let me just say that it is some straight-up bullshit that The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel beat out Fleabag FOR ANYTHING.
OK, have you watched Sunday’s premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm yet? Because I can not stress enough how you should watch Sunday’s premiere of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Brilliant.
Awkwafina is the voice of the New York subway system this week as a promotion for her Comedy Central series, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens. From The New York Times article:
Mr. Phillip said he enjoyed the pithy announcements. “It’s funny,” he said. “And better than some old man robotic voice.”
Mr. Phillip is not from New York.
An hour-long episode of The Price is Right can be edited down to only 11 minutes of gameplay. Fascinating.
Netflix is set to spend $17 billion on content this year. Holy shit.
David Lynch released a surprise short film on Netflix and it involves a monkey. I don’t know, guys.
Impeachment Corner!
Welcome to the sham impeachment trial of President Chucklehead! Before we get started, we need to pause and remember that we all know how this is going to end: the Senate Republicans are going to acquit our criminal president because they are a bunch of spineless cowards who are afraid of a mean tweet from the Bully-in-Chief. But, even The Worst Person in American Politics, Mitch McConnell knows that they have to at the very least appear to hold a trial, even if they rig the rules of said trial so thoroughly that no witnesses or evidence — you know, trial things — are ever heard. Just don’t get your hopes up, is what I’m saying.
So what happened (is happening) today? The Man Most Responsible for Destroying the Republic, Mitch McConnell, he proposed a bunch of rules for how the trial would go, and those rules were, how shall we say … BULLSHIT.
In his rules, both sides would be allowed 24 hours for their opening arguments, but said arguments would all be compressed into two days — meaning that some of these arguments would be held in the middle of the fucking night, literally at 2 a.m. Also, they would vote AFTER those arguments are made whether to subpoena witnesses or documents. Basically, he’s trying to make this all go away as quickly as possible, with as few people watching and with as little actual testimony or evidence entered into the record for the world to see.
But then, this afternoon, The Man Who Gives Not a Shit About the Constitution, Mitch McConnell, he apparently heard an earful from his fellow Republicans who found the compressed timeline for the arguments too much to get behind and they adjusted the amount of time for arguments to be three days instead of two. Which, super.
HOWEVER, in return, it appears that The Most Devious Man in Washington D.C., Mitch McConnell, he extracted a promise from the Republican Senators to present a unified front on today’s votes. See, the Democrats, they were allowed to propose amendments to The Man We Should Blame When the Dystopian Hellscape is Fully Implented’s trial plan, including voting on subpoenaing witnesses and evidence BEFORE the trial began — you know, how real trials work — only to have the Republicans vote in lockstep to delay such a vote until after the trial. They’re going to say it’s not that they are voting to not hear witnesses, that this is just a procedural thing. But make no mistake: by voting to postpone a vote on witnesses and evidence now, they are building in an escape hatch for themselves to vote against hearing any witnesses or seeing any evidence later. After all, the trial will be done! You don’t see evidence or hear witnesses after the trial has taken place, don’t be ridiculous.
Unsurprisingly, polls strongly suggest that a majority of Americans want to hear from witnesses — up to 75% of us — because, you know, we don’t like coverups or being lied to. SO GOOD LUCK WITH ALL THIS, GOP. WAY TO THINK LONG TERM, GUYS. I’M SURE THIS IS DEFINITELY GOING TO WORK OUT FOR ALL OF YOU IN NOVEMBER, YOU FUCKING COWARDS.
Renewals
- The World According to Jeff Goldblum has been renewed for a second season at Disney+.
- Liza on Demand has been renewed for a third season by YouTube.
- America’s Court with Judge Ross; Justice for All with Judge Cristina Perez; Supreme Justice with Judge Karen; Justice with Judge Mablean; and The Verdict with Judge Hatchett have all been renewed.
In Development
- Prospect, a single-camera comedy, has been ordered by ABC.
- A Leonard Bernstein film starring and produced by Bradley Cooper, has been ordered at Netflix.
- Just One Drink, a dramedy starring Laura Dern, has been ordered at Quibi.
- Immoral, a comedy starring Bill Burr has been ordered by Quibi.
- Mucho Mucho Amor, a documentary about astrologer Walter Mercado, has been ordered by Netflix.
- David Blaine will have a live special on YouTube.
- Fantasy Food Fight has been ordered at HBO Max.
- Fall River, a true-crime documentary, has been bought by Epix.
- Magical Girl Friendship Squad; Wild Life; and Devil May Care, all adult animation series, have been ordered at Syfy.
- Netflix will add 21 animated films from Studio Ghibli.
- A six-part documentary about women’s gymnastics has been set at YouTube.
- Central Ave, a weekly entertainment magazine series, has been greenlit at Fox stations.
- The Pembrokeshire Murders, starring Luke Evans, has been ordered at ITV.
- Vigil, a thriller series, has been ordered by BBC.
- Good People is not moving forward at Hulu.
Casting News
- Josh Hutcherson, Bryce Gangel, Curtiss Cook, and Darren Pettie have been cast in the Showtime dramedy pilot Rita.
- Allison Miller, James Roday, Sarah Chalke, Kadeem Hardison, and Richard Schiff have joined the cast of Psych 2: Lassie Come Home on USA.
- Keon Alexander, Nadine Nicole, and Jasai Chase Owens are joining The Expanse on Amazon.
- The Bella Twins will guest star on The Substitute on Nickelodeon.
- Joanna Vanderham is joining DC’s Legends of Tomorrow on The CW.
- Philip Anthony-Rodriguez will join Tommy on CBS.
- Charles Jazz Terrier is joining Legacies on The CW. (And that is quite a name, I have to say.)
- Damon Gupton is leaving Black Lightning on The CW.
Mark Your Calendars
- Killing Eve will return on BBC America in April.
- Brockmire will return for a final season on IFC on March 18.
- Horse Girl will debut on Netflix on February 7.
- Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project will debut on Oxygen on April 5.
- Sacred Lies: The Singing Bones will premiere on Facebook Watch on February 20.
- Manhunt: Deadly Games will debut on Spectrum on February 3.
- My Brilliant Friend will return on HBO in March.
- Quiz will air on AMC on May 25.
- Mo’Nique & Friends: Live from Atlanta will debut on Showtime on February 7.
- Some History Channel dates: Black Patriots will premiere on February 19; Auschwitz Untold will premiere on January 26; Washington will debut on February 16.
- Disney Fam Jam will premiere on Disney on February 23.
- The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne will air on A&E in the summer.
- Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine will return on Discovery on February 21.
- The Aquarium returns on Animal Planet on February 9.
R.I.P.
Norma Michaels, Actress in countless shows and movies, including King of Queens, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Modern Family, Mind of Mencia, Ally McBeal, and Mr. Show with Bob and David.
William Bogert, Actor in countless shows and movies, including Law & Order, Chappelle’s Show, Small Wonder, Trapper John, M.D., and The Greatest American Hero.
Christopher Tolkien, Son of J.R.R. Tolkien and caretaker of his father’s literary estate.
Gregg Smith, Dancer, choreographer and casting director
David Olney, Singer-songwriter and cinematographer
Gerry Lewis, International movie marketing, publicity and distribution consultant
WATCH THIS
The Conners: Becky brings her new boyfriend home in the winter premiere. 7 p.m., ABC
Bless This Mess: Mike and Rio need to decide on a crop. Winter premiere. 7:30 p.m., ABC
Project Blue Book: Things are getting hinky in Roswell in the season premiere. 9 p.m., History
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Martin Short, David Dobrik, Yola
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: Aidy Bryant, Lewis Black, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Adam Marcello
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Patrick Stewart, Dick Cavett
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Liv Tyler, Michael Irvin, Awkwafina, Marcus King
- The Daily Show: BD Wong
- Conan: Jeff Goldblum
- Lights Out with David Spade: Doug Benson, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Steve Ranazzizi
- Watch What Happens Live: Scheana Shay, June Diane Raphael
- A Little Late with Lily Singh: RuPaul
| 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) |
FBI: Most Wanted (new) |
| CW | Arrow (new) |
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (new) |
Local |
| FOX | The Resident (new) |
Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Ellen’s Game of Games (new) |
This is Us (new) |
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (new) |
Have you read Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow? It casts doubt on Hillary’s dedication to protecting women…