So, sometime last week a rumor started swirling that the Obi-Wan series on Disney+ had been canceled, and I had considered posting it here. However, just before I was going to add it, I saw a bunch of articles that suggested it was a debunked rumor. WELL. MAYBE NOT SO FAST. Because news just broke that the show has been put on hold and crew was sent home. As of now, the reports are the series is just being delayed, not canceled, but the delay is “indefinite.” According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the episode order has been reduced from six episodes to four and a new writer is being sought out. In part, there were concerns the series was too similar to The Mandalorian:
One source said the Kenobi story trod similar ground as The Mandalorian, seeing the Jedi master lending a protective hand to a young Luke and possibly even a young Leia, perhaps mirroring how the Mandalorian took Baby Yoda under his protective custody.
As for Ewan MacGregor, he claims the delay is about scheduling and nothing to do with creative issues.
Hey, Ray Donovan fans, Liev Schreiber seems to be concerned about the future of the show. (As he should be. At the TCAs, Showtime basically said the next season will be its last, and, honestly, 8 seasons is plenty for any series.)
Terry Crews says he’s never seen any racism on America’s Got Talent. While I appreciate that is his experience I will also note that people might be more comfortable being their insulting, racist selves around women of color than a man who looks like this:
Yes, James Corden is actually driving during Carpool Karaoke. Except when he’s not.
The upcoming animated Prince George series on HBO Max will definitely tackle Megxit. How could it not?
That upcoming adaptation of Parasite for HBO is going to be a six-hour limited series.
Impeachment Corner!
Today is Day Three of our Yam Sham, and the final day of uninterrupted arguments by the Democrats. Yesterday, the House Managers covered the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, and how President ME ME ME extorted Ukraine for political dirt on Joe Biden. They also sought to dismantle both the notion that withholding the military aid from Ukraine was done based on some legitimate worry that the Ukraine government was corrupt and Rudy Giuliani and President Tinfoil Hat’s nonsense conspiracy theories about how it wasn’t Russia who hacked into the DNC server, it was UKRAINE AND KILLARY HERSELF!
Most of yesterday’s material had been extensively covered both during the hearings held by the House Intelligence Committee leading up to the impeachment and on the first day of the trial. That said, even for someone who has been paying close attention, I found Representative Lofgren’s presentation particularly helpful in understanding the timeline and Rudy Giuliani’s involvement in this scheme a little better.
Basically, Rudy had a plan last winter/spring: he was going to work hand-in-hand with Ukraine’s corrupt prosecutor, Yuriy Lutsenko and former prosecutor Viktor Shokin, to leak incriminating information about Burrisma, the oil and gas company whose board Hunter Biden was a member of. But then! In April, Volodymyr Zelensky — a corruption fighter — becomes the President of Ukraine and plans to appoint a new prosecutor, and suddenly these dumbasses’ plans are thrown into flux. This is when Rudy decides that he needs to get rid of U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch because she might get in the way of him pressuring Zelensky to go along with this plan. And he does! Yovanovitch is stalked and fired! *AND IN FACT, THIS JUST DROPPED: here is a recording of President Tantrum yelling at Lev Parnas — who he claims he doesn’t know — to “take [Yovanovitch] out.” OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS, THE PRESIDENT LIED! Anyway, after this, the White House and President Quid Pro Quo begin their pressure campaign, using the promise of a White House visit and the military aid in exchange for the announcement of an investigation. And now here we are.
Meanwhile, incapable of debating the facts, some Republicans have taken to denying reality:
And in related news, Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia. #McCoverup #ImpeachmentHearings #ImpeachAndRemove https://t.co/1BdKESlYb3
— Chris Odell (@__Chris_Odell__) January 23, 2020
And attacking war heroes (when they’re not leaving the trial to give interviews to Fox News):
Vindman lawyer responds: āThat a member of the Senate – at a moment when the Senate is undertaking its most solemn responsibility – would chose to take to Twitter to spread slander about a member of the military is a testament to cowardice.ā 1/2 https://t.co/o8KDQd1H0w
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 24, 2020
But yesterday’s stand-out moment was Representative Adam Schiff’s succinct, stirring closing statement, boiling down what really matters here. You can watch it below, or, if you’re not able to view video, I urge you to read it here:
Okay. Heās guilty. Okay. Heās guilty. Does he really need to be removed? Does he really need to be removed? We have an election coming up. Does he really need to be removed?
Heās guilty. Is there really any doubt about this? Do we really have any doubt about the facts here? Does anybody really question whether the President is capable of what heās charged with? No one is really making the argument, Donald Trump would never do such a thing, because of course we know that he would, and of course we know that he did.
Itās a somewhat different question though to ask, okay, itās pretty obvious, whether we can say it publicly or we canāt say it publicly, we all know what weāre dealing here with this President. But does he really need to be removed? And this is why he needs to be removed: Donald Trump chose Rudy Giuliani over his own intelligence agencies. He chose Rudy Giuliani over his own FBI Director. He chose Rudy Giuliani over his own national security advisers.
When all of them were telling him this Ukraine 2016 stuff is kooky, crazy Russian propaganda. He chose not to believe them. He chose to believe Rudy Giuliani. That makes him dangerous to us, to our country. That was Donald Trumpās choice. Now, why would Donald Trump believe a man like Rudy Giuliani over a man like Christopher Wray? Okay. Why would anyone in their right mind believe Rudy Giuliani over Christopher Wray?
Because he wanted to and because what Rudy was offering him was something that would help him personally. And what Christopher Wray was offering him was merely the truth. What Christopher Wray was offering him was merely the information he needed to protect his country and its elections, but thatās not good enough. Whatās in it for him? Whatās in it for Donald Trump? This is why he needs to be removed.
Now, you may be asking how much damage can he really do in the next several months until the election? A lot. A lot of damage. Now, we just saw last week, report that Russia tried to hack or maybe did hack Burisma. Okay. I donāt know if they got in. Iām trying to find out. My colleagues on the Intel committee, House and Senate, weāre trying to find out, did the Russians get in? What are the Russian plans and intentions? Well, letās say they got in and letās say they start dumping documents to interfere at the next election.
Letās say they start dumping some real things they hack from Burisma. Letās say they start dumping some fake things they didnāt hack from Burisma, but they want you to believe they did. Letās say they start blatantly interfering in our election again to help Donald Trump. Can you have the least bit of confidence that Donald Trump will stand up to them and protect our national interest over his own personal interest? You know you canāt, which makes him dangerous to this country. You know you canāt. You know you canāt count on him. None of us can. None of us can. What happens if China got the message? Now you can say, heās just joking of course. He didnāt really mean China should investigate the Bidens. You know thatās no joke.
Now maybe you could have argued three years ago when he said, āHey Russia, if youāre listening, hack Hillaryās emails.ā Maybe you could give him a freebie and say he was joking, but now we know better. Hours after he did that Russia did, in fact, try to hack Hillaryās emails. Thereās no Mulligan here when it comes to our national security. So what if China does overtly or covertly start to help the Trump campaign? You think heās going to call them out on it or you think heās going to give them a better trade deal on it? Can any of us really have the confidence that Donald Trump will put his personal interests ahead of the national interests? Is there really any evidence in this presidency that should give us the ironclad confidence that he would do so?
You know you canāt count on him to do that. Thatās the sad truth. You know you canāt count on him to do that. The American people deserve a President they can count on to put their interests first, to put their interests first. Colonel Vindman said, āHere, right matters. Here, right matters.ā Well, let me tell you something, if right doesnāt matter, if right doesnāt matter, it doesnāt matter how good the Constitution is. It doesnāt matter how brilliant the framers were. Doesnāt matter how good or bad our advocacy in this trial is. Doesnāt matter how well written the Oath of Impartiality is. If right doesnāt matter, weāre lost.
If the truth doesnāt matter, weāre lost. Framers couldnāt protect us from ourselves, if right and truth donāt matter. And you know that what he did was not right. Thatās what they do in the old country, that Colonel Vindmanās father came from. Or the old country that my great grandfather came from, or the old countries that your ancestors came from, or maybe you came from. But here, right is supposed to matter. Itās whatās made us the greatest nation on earth. No constitution can protect us, if right doesnāt matter anymore.
And you know you canāt trust this President to do whatās right for this country. You can trust he will do whatās right for Donald Trump. Heāll do it now. Heās done it before. Heāll do it for the next several months. Heāll do it in the election if heās allowed to. This is why if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. Because right matters and the truth matters. Otherwise, we are lost.
What is happening today: This is the last 8+ hours for the Democrats to present their arguments for the conviction of the Felon-in-Chief, and they intend to focus on the second article of impeachment: obstruction of Congress. Presumably, they will just play this clip on an eight-hour loop:
The second article of impeachment was for obstruction of Congress: covering up witnesses and documents from the American people.
This morning the President not only confessed to it, he bragged about it:
"Honestly, we have all the material. They don't have the material." pic.twitter.com/DPAEFHIDjS
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) January 22, 2020
Tomorrow, the White House counsel will begin their presentation because President Tinkles wants this to be over by Super Bowl Sunday.
But once again I have to point out that it’s important to remember: none of this really matters. The Republicans are going to acquit him at the end of the day because they are spineless blobs who don’t give two shits about the Constitution, what is true or what is right.
Sex Monster News
The Grammys are this weekend, and coming in the wake of a scandal: Deborah Dugan, the recently fired CEO of the Recording Academy, has filed a complaint with the EEOC, claiming that she was sexually harassed by the Academy’s general counsel, Joel Katz. The complaint also alleges Dugan witnessed āegregious conflicts of interest, improper self-dealing by Board members, and voting irregularities with respect to nominations for Grammy Awards, all made possible by the āboysā clubā mentality and approach to governance at the Academy.ā
The complaint goes on to claim the Academy āis ripe with corruptionā and claims that āthe Grammy voting process is illustrative of the āboysā clubā mentality that exists at the Academy and amongst its Board members. Rather than promoting a transparent nomination process, the Board has decided to shroud the process in secrecy, and ultimately controls, in large part, who is nominated for Grammy Awards.ā
She also accused her predecessor, Neil Portnow, of raping a singer who is a member of the Academy, and that the Academy knew about it and covered it up. Portnow denies everything.
The Academy also denies everything and claims that, in fact, Dugan is the one who created a toxic environment, for which she was fired.
The Harvey Weinstein trial is happening. A jury has been selected, opening statements have been made, Annabella Sciorra has testified that Weinstein raped her some 25 years ago, and Weinstein’s defense strategy was to play a clip of Sciorra on The Late Show with David Letterman talking about how she sometimes makes up stories while on press tours. GREAT JOB, GUYS.
Oprah Winfrey has explained her decision to pull out of the documentary about sexual harassment and abuse in the music industry, which focused on Russell Simmons. She claims that while Simmons did pressure her, she decided to pull out because of inconsistencies in his accuser’s story. As you might imagine, Simmons’ accuser and the filmmakers are deeply disappointed.
Renewals
- Love & Marriage: Huntsville; Black Women OWN the Conversation; Ready to Love; and Black Love have all been renewed at OWN.
- The Holzer Files has been renewed at Travel Channel.
In Development
Now that the Winter TCAs are over, we have eventually entered Pilot Season.
- Rebel, an Erin Brokovitch-inspired series starring Katey Sagal, has been ordered to pilot by ABC.
- Jeffries, a comedy starring Jim Jeffries, has been ordered at NBC.
- B Positive, a kidney-donation comedy from Chuck Lorre, has been ordered at CBS.
- My Village, an empty-nester comedy, has been ordered at ABC.
- Crazy for You, a comedy from a former SNL digital producer and produced by Seth Meyers’ company, has been ordered at NBC.
- Someone Out There, a romantic comedy based on a Spanish series, has been ordered at NBC.
- American Auto, a workplace comedy from the creator of Superstore, has been ordered at NBC.
- An Untitled Jackson & Goor comedy (Dan Goor created Brooklyn Nine-Nine) has been ordered at NBC.
- The Cleaning Lady, a drama based on the Argentinian series, has been ordered by Fox.
- ShƵgun is being turned into a limited series at FX.
- A scripted series based on Last Chance U is being developed at Spectrum.
- Miss Austen is going to be turned into a TV series.
- Marta Kauffman has signed a first-look deal with Fox 21 TV.
Casting News
- Betty Gilpin is your new Ann Coulter. YESSSSSSSS.
- Bert Kreischer is going to star in Cabin on Netflix.
- Carl Anthony Payne II, Mieko Hillman, Celina Smith, Hero Hunter, and Aloma Wright have been cast in Tyler Perryās Young Dylan on Nickelodeon.
- Tosin Cole will co-star in 61st Street on AMC.
- Eddie Marsan will co-star in The Power on Amazon.
Mark Your Calendar
- Jersey Shore Family Vacation will return on MTV on February 27.
- Curse of the Bermuda Triangle will debut on Science Channel on February 9.
- Ballmastrz will return on Adult Swim on February 23.
- Tournament of Champions will premiere on Food Network on March 4.
- In Ice-Cold Blood will return on Oxygen on February 13.
- Girl on the Third Floor will debut on Netflix on February 22.
R.I.P.
Tyler Gwodwz, Bachelorette contestant. This is sad — I just posted yesterday that he had been hospitalized for an overdose, but the article said he had been released from the hospital. Unfortunately, and tragically for his loved ones, it was inaccurate. (And thanks for the notice, Joyce.)
John Karlen, Actor in Cagney & Lacey among others
Carol Serling, Wife of Rod and caretaker of the Twilight Zone property
WATCH THIS
FRIDAY
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Sabrina goes to Hell. Season premiere. Netflix
Shrill: Aidy Bryant is the literal best. Season premiere. Hulu
The Ranch: Final season premiere. Netflix
The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow: Don’t watch this, it will only encourage her nonsense. Netflix
SATURDAY
The Curse of La Llorona: A ghost who lost her own children menaces other families. 7 p.m., HBO
Saturday Night Live: Adam Driver and Halsey 10:30 p.m., NBC
Flirty Dancing: You know that thing when networks decide to kill off a low-rated show by running out the remaining episodes on a Saturday night? That’s happening here. Series finale. 7 p.m., Fox
SUNDAY
The Grammys: Music prizes. 7 p.m., CBS; Red Carpet Coverage begins at 3 p.m., on E! and 6 p.m. on CBS
The Circus: Just in time for the primary season to get jumping. Season premiere. 7 p.m., Showtime
Our Cartoon President: It no longer is satire. Season premiere. 7:30 p.m., Showtime
Shameless: Season finale. 8 p.m., Showtime
The L Word: Generation Q: Season finale. 10 p.m., Showtime
Work in Progress: Season finale. 11 p.m., Showtime
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Friday): Milo Ventimiglia, Guy Raz, Carmen Lynch
| FRI. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | American Housewife (new) |
Fresh Off the Boat (new) |
20/20 (new) |
| CBS | Hawaii Five-0 (repeat) |
Magnum P.I. (repeat) |
Blue Bloods (repeat) |
| CW | Charmed (new) |
Dynasty (new) |
Local |
| FOX | Friday Night Smackdown (new) |
Local |
| NBC | Figure Skating |
—
| 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 | FBI (repeat) |
NCIS: New Orleans (repeat) |
48 Hours (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | Flirty Dancing (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | NHL All-Star Game | News/
Local |
Saturday Night Live (Adam Driver & Halsey) |
—
| SUN. | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat) |
America’s Funniest Home Videos (repeat) |
Shark Tank (repeat) |
Shark Tank (repeat) |
| CBS | The Grammy Red Carpet (live) |
The Grammys (live) |
| The CW | Local | Batwoman (new) |
Supergirl (new) |
Local |
| FOX | Last Man Standing (repeat) |
Out-matched (repeat) |
The Simpsons (repeat) |
Bob’s Burgers (repeat) |
Family Guy (repeat) |
Family Guy (repeat) |
Local/News |
| NBC | America’s Got Talent: The Champions (repeat) |
American Ninja Warrior (new) |
Speaking of spineless blobs who donāt give two shits about the Constitution, Ted Cruz started a daily podcast about the impeachment because of course he did.
UGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH
–T