Watch American treasure J.J. Watt fanboy out over American treasure, the ‘Cheer’ kids

I know you’re sick of everyone you know telling you that you have to watch Cheer on Netflix. But listen to me very carefully: YOU HAVE TO WATCH CHEER ON NETFLIX. As I’m sure you know by now, Cheer is a documentary about the championship cheerleading team from Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas, preparing for the National Cheerleading Championships in Daytona, Florida. Like every great sports documentary, it leaves you in awe of the athletes’ abilities while rounding them out as individuals with inspiring and sometimes heartbreaking stories.

It’s such a great series, it has inspired some of Houston’s greatest athletes, including Simone Biles who wants to join the squad as soon as she’s back from Japan:

netflix series CHEER had me convinced after 2020 I’m trying out for Navarro Cheer

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) January 23, 2020

i showed this tweet to @monicaaldama @Lexi_Brumback @Jerry_K2TR @MorganSimianer @GabiButlerCheer @L_Marshall17 today and they said, YOU'RE IN!

— Netflix US (@netflix) January 24, 2020

Also a fan, Texans’ star, J.J. Watt (AND I KNOW, I POSTED THIS TWEET ALREADY. SHUT UP, IT’S PERTINENT.):

Kealia: I’ve heard people say CHEER on Netflix is really good, we should watch it.

Me: I guess we can give it a shot.

Me 2 episodes in: JERRY HARRIS IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF NAVARRO COLLEGE CHEERLEADING. IF HE DOESN’T MAKE THE MAT, I WILL RIOT.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 21, 2020

Watt, who happens to be in Rockefeller Center this week to host Saturday Night Live, took a little time out of rehearsal to swing by The Today Show to say hello to Monica, Jerry, Gabi, and La’Darius. He surprises them at the 5-minute mark and it is adorable. I hate football, but I have to admit that, like Jerry, J.J. Watt is impossible not to love. He’s a stumbler! Put him on the squad, Monica!

Speaking of Jerry, the heart and soul of the Navarro squad, if you need a little pick-me-up during the workday, just play this on repeat:

Jerry from Cheer "mat talks" people arriving at work pic.twitter.com/LJEZDKttiE

— Netflix US (@netflix) January 29, 2020

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If you just can’t wait until Sunday, here are the new Masked Singer costumes. I’m not sure which is the most insane, The Taco, The Llama, or the obviously male Kangaroo who has a pouch for some reason.

Team Kelly Ripa. Always.

After having been pre-empted by the Senate trial, General Hospital began airing episodes again yesterday, but only on the West Coast. The rest of us will have to catch up on ABC.com, on the ABC app, on Hulu or On Demand.

Here’s Leslie Jones explaining how Chris Rock got her the audition at SNL, and how she didn’t want the job.

James Corden explains himself:

Matt Gutman, the ABC correspondent who reported that all of Kobe Bryant’s daughters died in the helicopter crash, has been suspended.

Today I inaccurately reported it was believed that four of Kobe Bryant’s children were on board that flight. That is incorrect. I apologize to Kobe’s family, friends and our viewers. pic.twitter.com/yYwuB9vpZl

— Matt Gutman (@mattgutmanABC) January 27, 2020

Love is dead.

Impeachment Corner!

We’re nearing the end of the Yam Sham, my little sweet potatoes. After a small scare there, it looks like The Most Dangerous Man to the Republic, Mitch McConnell has pulled his coalition together and there probably are not four Republicans who will vote to hear from witnesses after all. McConnell and his fellow goblins are crying that hearing from witnesses would just take too long, that to hear Bolton’s testimony, we might have to drag this thing out for another week or two, and President Temper Tantrum, he wants this over before Super Bowl Sunday, so they’re helpless but to give in to his demands.

But before they can vote to acquit President Gobbledygook, we have another day of questions to get through. Yesterday, the Senators were able to ask questions of the House Managers and the White House legal team, and it was … something. Mostly, the questions from the Republicans were along the lines of, “Just how innocent is the President?” and “Is the President the greatest president in American history or is he the greatest leader in world history?” and “In your opinion, should the President receive the Nobel Peace Prize?” and “Could you please repeat the Whistleblower’s name? I think I misspelled it and I want to be sure to get that right.” Whereas the Democrats’ questions were basically, “So once we remove him, can we try him for treason? Is hanging him out of the question?”

In all seriousness, one of the highlights — if that’s the correct word — of yesterday’s arguments from the White House lawyers came from kiddie-toucher and pedo-defender Alan Dershowitz who argued that if a President believes that his re-election is in the best interest for the country and does something in furtherance of that re-election, it’s all good, he can’t be impeached. The logic of this, as you can imagine, is terrifying. I’m sure this doesn’t need explaining, but giving someone carte blanche to do whatever they want in an election because they “believe” that it is in the best interest of the nation opens up the door to authoritarianism. If it’s OK to bribe foreign nations for election dirt, then it is presumably OK to collude with foreign nations to tamper with the election, and presumably it is OK to cancel the election altogether. After all, it’s in the best interest of the country if he stays in office, right?

Those are, of course, unlikely to happen (well, at least that last one), but my lawyer husband points out that now that this argument has been made in this trial, if the President is acquitted — which he will be — the damage is more than just to the next election:

“Alan Dershowitz’s argument to the Senate yesterday was, even by his standards, a serious departure from ethical norms. Arguing that a president can take even illegal actions to secure his reelection is not only a false statement of the law (see Model Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3) but an incredibly reckless statement. It’s made worse by the fact that the Senate is sure to acquit his client, meaning that Dershowitz’s argument could gain some degree of precedential value.”

Meaning, even if we kick this piece of shit out of the White House in November, another president could come along, take a hit out on his election opponent, and his lawyers could argue in an impeachment trial that because he did it in an effort to be reelected, like the acquitted President Tang, he can’t be removed from office.

Just something to keep you up at night as we near the end of this mockery of an impeachment trial!

Renewals

• Days of Our Lives has been officially renewed for season 56 at NBC.
• Court Cam has been renewed at A&E for a second season.

Cancellations

• The Mel Robbins Show has been canceled after one season.

In Development

• Langdon, a series based on Dan Brown’s books, has been given a pilot order at NBC.
• The Bradshaw Bunch, a reality show about Terry Bradshaw’s family, is coming to E!
• Physical, a dramedy starring Rose Byrne, is coming at FX.
• The Hospital, an animated series produced by Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne, has been ordered at Amazon.
• On the Verge, a comedy created by Julie Delpy, has been set at Netflix.
• Fairfax, an animated series, has been ordered at Amazon.
• I’ll Be the One has been bought at HBO Max.
• The Maze and Meet the Chimps are both coming to Disney+.
• One Piece, a Japanese manga, is being developed at Netflix.
• A comedy based on Aida Rodriguez’s life is in the works at HBO Max.
• Builder Brothers’ Dream Factory, an animated series based on the Property Brothers is in the works.
• Barrett-Jackson Live is moving to History Channel and FYI.
• Carmi Zlotnik, after leaving Starz, has signed a deal with Apple TV+.
• Jessica Biel’s production company has signed a deal with Paramount TV.
• Andrew Flintoff, the host of Top Gear, is doing a documentary about his eating disorder with BBC One.
• Children Ruin Everything a comedy from the creators of Schitt’s Creek and Modern Family, has been ordered by Canada’s CTV.

Casting News

• Tyler Cameron and Delia Kenza will host Barkitecture on Quibi. It’s a doghouse show. No, really.
• Tireni Oyenusi is joining Americanah on HBO Max.
• Kerri Medders is joining Panic on Amazon.
• Laurie Segall is joining 60 in 6 on Quibi.

Mark Your Calendars

• As if I need to remind you that J.J. Watt is hosting Saturday Night Live this week.

• Better Call Saul returns on AMC on February 23. And another familiar face is in there …

• The Walking Dead also returns on February 23 on AMC. Click here for new key art.
• Desus & Mero will return on Showtime on February 2. Their first guest will be David Letterman.
• EE British Academy Film Awards will air on BBC America on February 2.

R.I.P.

Marj Dusay, Actress on All My Children and Guiding Light

Harriet Frank, Jr., Screenwriter who wrote HUD and Norma Rae

WATCH THIS

Supernatural: Sam and Dean play pool. Winter finale. 7 p.m., The CW

The Good Place: The best existential comedy on TV ends with a one-hour special episode, followed by a 30-minute live interview with the cast. Goodbye, Little Show, you were terrific. Series finale. 7:30 p.m., NBC

Evil: The team is led to a fertility clinic with a link to all of their previous cases in the season finale. 9 p.m., CBS

30 for 30: Vick: A look at the life of disgraced quarterback, Michael Vick. Premiere. 8 p.m., ESPN

Late Night:

• Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: J.J. Watt, Louis Tomlinson
• Late Night with Seth Meyers: Leslie Jones, Max Greenfield, Taika Waititi, Chris Coleman
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Samantha Bee, Michael Stipe
• The Late Late Show with James Corden: Antonio Banderas, Kesha
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Renee Zellweger, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Caroline Polachek
• The Daily Show: Matthew A. Cherry
• Conan: Jonathan & Drew Scott
• Lights Out with David Spade: Megan Gailey, Brent Morin, Benji Aflalo
• Watch What Happens Live: Desus & Mero

THUR

7:00

7:30

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8:30

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9:30

ABC

Station 19 (new)

Grey’s Anatomy (new)

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CBS

Young Sheldon (new)

The Unicorn (new)

Mom (new)

Carol’s Second Act (new)

Evil (new)

CW

Supernatural (new)

Legacies (new)

News/Local

FOX

Last Man Standing (new)

Out-matched (new)

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Super-store (new)

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