Hi. Are you back from your holiday weekend or do you have today off ORRRRR … is the very concept of a “holiday” or a “weekend” or a “Monday” some laughable remnant of a by-gone era? In any event, it’s Monday, COVID numbers are hitting all new highs in some places, and Donald Trump is still, somehow, mind-bogglingly and nightmarishly President.
So, before we get to everything else, please enjoy this video of a wild otter and his pug brothers. It’s legitimately wonderful:
This little otter does the cutest thing on walks in the snow with his dog siblings! pic.twitter.com/HOUagOq2Z3
— The Dodo (@dodo) June 30, 2020
Nick Cordero, the Broadway actor who contracted COVID-19 three months ago, lost his fight with the virus. A few things that are notable about his case and should give every single one of us pause and consider how serious this virus is: He was only 41 and very healthy; he was tested three times — two of the tests came back negative before a third test confirmed it was COVID; his initial symptom was just fatigue and it was intermittent. R.I.P., and I hope his family can find some peace.
Conan is moving production of his show to the Largo at the Coronet theater, where he will film without an audience and still do the interviews remotely. The idea is to help support the theater where he got his comedy start. Episodes will begin filming there today.
Bill Maher is also thinking about returning to the studio in a couple of months.
Days of Our Lives is also planning on returning to shooting in September.
Safehaven, a supernatural thriller series, is set to begin shooting in Louisiana. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, the U.K. is trying to sort out insurance issues so that productions can begin again there.
Everyone in this video, including the news guy, is terrific:
ABSOLUTE SCENES ON THE BBC NEWS CHANNEL pic.twitter.com/hvu9iWkkIz
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) July 1, 2020
We’ve decided on a shelf for the unicorn.
Thanks to all for kind words normalising the work-parent balance that so many are juggling amid #covid19 chaos
@BBCNews @haynesdeborah
Today Scarlett wants to be #superheroelsa pic.twitter.com/byMbCPrZQD
— Clare Wenham (@clarewenham) July 2, 2020
Disney+ and FX have announced their virtual Comic-Con panels.
The SAG Awards have been pushed back to March 14.
Dummy Jr.’s dumb, grifting girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, has tested positive for the COVID-19 after she and Dummy Jr. went to a crowded Hamptons party where — brace yourselves — Ramona Stinger of The Real Housewives of New York was also in attendance. Dummy and Kimberly then went with their COVID to the Mt. Rushmore event, and DORINDA IS NOT HAVING IT:
Anyone that attended Joe Farrell’s packed Hamptons party last week should get tested ASAP including @ramonasinger. Kimberly Guilfoyle, Top Fund-Raising Official for Trump Campaign, Tests Positive for Coronavirus https://t.co/zh5Bmf1fzT
— Dorinda Medley (@DorindaMedley) July 4, 2020
Jimmie Johnson has also tested positive.
The MLB All Star game has been canceled. But by golly, they are still going forward with games at the end of the month! (We will see.)
Marv Albert is not going to get COVID-19 just to cover the NBA for you fools.
It looks like The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It is going to be pushed back to 2021.
Meanwhile, Walmart will be hosting drive-ins in some of their parking lots.
And this guy filmed an entire horror film remotely.
Black Lives Matter
The Cleveland Indians are considering changing their names, but the Atlanta Braves, assholes that they are, are remaining silent on the issue.
The Emmy nominations are coming out soon, and there have been a ton of interviews ahead of them with folks trying to make their case for why they should receive a nod. I’ve not bothered posting most of them because yawn. But this is one of the few interviews I’ve seen with the Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who played Cal, and who reflects here on how Watchmen made him change his perspective on how TV can make profound statements and actually change things. It’s a good piece.
Hannibal Buress has made his stand-up special inspired by the time he was arrested for no good Goddamned reason available for free on YouTube:
#MeToo
Ed Henry is the latest Fox News personality to be fired for being a sex pig. BYE. Time to lift those NDAs, Fox!
Cas Anvar, the star of The Expanse, has been accused by several women of sexual harassment and assault. An investigation has been launched by the show’s studio.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend and the woman who procured young girls and women to be abused by him, as well as an accused rapist herself, has finally, FINALLY been arrested. Oh hey, here are a bunch of pictures of the sex trafficker with President Grab ‘Em By the Pussy. What a weird coincidence.
It would be a huge shame if these many pictures of @realDonaldTrump with child sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell throughout the years started trending. pic.twitter.com/zzNHfatHaV
— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) July 2, 2020
Eric Trump tweeted out a picture of Ghislaine attending Chelsea Clinton’s wedding only to take it back down because SEE ABOVE.
Meanwhile, Alan Dershowitz is remaining in character.
Mythbuster‘s Adam Savage is being sued by his sister, alleging sexual abuse. He’s denied the charges.
Dark Horse Comics Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie has been fired after multiple allegations of abuse and assault.
The Los Angeles Times’ food editor, Peter Meehan has resigned after being accused of sexual harassment and fostering an abusive work environment.
Justin Bieber is suing the shit out of the women who have accused him of sexual assault.
There is an $18 million settlement in the Weinstein case, but many victims are NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT.
All Other TV News
Now’s your chance to watch The Good Wife without having to pay for a CBS All Access subscription.
Clare’s Bachelorette season is about to start filming. Let’s hope they have added more men her age to the cast and that no one is contagious.
Daryl rides a motorcycle on The Walking Dead because he’s afraid of horses.
YouTube just became more expensive for subscribers.
The secret to keeping It’s Always Sunny funny: an endless supply of young blood.
That time John Krasinski wore a bad wig on The Office for six episodes and thought no one noticed.
This is an article on the phenomena of “channel drift” — when a network moves away from what it was originally supposed to be about (think MTV or TLC). It’s an interesting but flimsy little piece that somehow manages to leave out my favorite recent example of this: The Travel Channel which originally focused on, well, travel, and now is just a bunch of hokey paranormal shows featuring terrible reenactments.
This Korean ad for Green Onion Chex is bananas, but the story behind it is even more bananaier.
Carl Reiner died last week, but he was a giant, (please read this wonderful bit about his improvisation on Parks and Rec) and that’s why it’s important you read this wonderful thread about one man’s run-in with his hero:
I have a Carl Reiner story that I hold very dear to me. I figured I'd share it today, on the day of his passing, because I hope it will bring some other people some joy the way it does me.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
Caeser, Reiner, and the other writers on their show, including Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbart, and Woody Allen, all made my dad and uncle want to be writers, which they both ended up being.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
When Charlton Heston was a guest on the show they did a cold war spy sketch where Reiner was told to go to a restaurant and “ask for Beef Stroganoff.” He sits down and the waitress comes over. Reiner says "I'm here for Beef Stroganoff."
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
Around 20 years ago my dad had his yearly birthday call with his brother (they're twins). My dad mentioned having Beef Stroganoff and my uncle asked why he always had that on his birthday. Confused my dad just said “because of the sketch.”
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
My dad bought every DVD and VHS of Your Show of Shows he could find. He watched every clip online and every documentary, but there didn't seem to be any surviving tape of the sketch.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
My dad was desperate to ask him about the sketch in person. But knowing that he may not get the chance, he also wrote up a letter to hand to Reiner in case there was no time to ask.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
When he got to the part about how they couldn't remember whether it was Beef Stroganoff or Sauerbraten he asked Carl point blank- which was it? Carl Reiner stared at my dad, laughed, and simply said “That was a long time ago.”
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
Two months later. My dad is out for a bike ride. The phone rings. My mom answers. A man asks to speak to my father. She tells him that he's out. The man says he'll try back another time. She asks who it is and he says “Carl Reiner” and hangs up. No number. No caller id.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
He says he read the letter my dad gave him at the signing and he found it so touching that he wanted to share it “with the others.” Then he puts the phone on speaker and Carl Reiner is having dinner with Mel Brooks and Sid Caeser.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
But they all agree Beef Stroganoff is funnier, so they give the victory to my dad over my uncle.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
As a sidenote a few years later my dad went to the Museum of Television in New York and decided to watch some stuff from the archives. There they had some episodes of Your Show of Shows that aren't available anywhere else. My dad sat down and watched them all.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
So even your heroes get it wrong sometimes. But I love that my dad made the joke funnier. Thanks Carl for inspiring my dad to be a writer. And thanks for being so kind, generous and warm. He tried to follow in your footsteps in all of those things and I'm trying to follow in his.
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AshcanPress) June 30, 2020
In Development
- Emancipation, a runaway slave drama to be directed by Antoine Fuqua and star Will Smith, has been bought at Apple TV+.
- Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion is being turned into a series.
- MonsterVision is coming back.
- Rehab Addict Rescue has been greenlit at HGTV.
- Chris Paul is working on a basketball docuseries.
- What’s It Worth? is coming to A&E.
- D.P. is being produced at Netflix.
- A bunch of ViacomCBS series are going to be available on Peacock but also will be on CBS All Access and other ViacomCBS platforms? Whaaaa?
- The Rino Gulliksen series of Norwegian books is going to be turned into a series.
- Priyanka Chopra Jonas has signed a first-look deal with Amazon.
- LaToya Morgan has signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television.
Casting News
- Joel Stoffer is joining Stranger Things.
- Melvin Gregg has joined the cast of Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar will co-star in Ghosts on CBS.
Mark Your Calendars
- Boys State will debut on Apple TV+ on August 14, and, my fellow Texans, I insist you watch this trailer:
- The Old Guard will debut on Netflix on July 10.
- American Pickle will debut on HBO Max on August 6.
- The Go-Gos will debut on Showtime on August 1.
- Fatal Affair will debut on Netflix on July 16.
- Father Soldier Son will debut on Netflix on July 17.
- Lovecraft Country will premiere on HBO on August 16.
- Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe will debut on Disney+ on August 28.
- The Great Heist will debut on Netflix on August 14.
- Star Trek: Lower Decks will premiere on CBS All Access on August 6.
- Breathe: Into the Shadows debuts on Amazon on July 10.
- Darcey & Stacey will debut on TLC on August 16.
- License to Kill will return on Oxygen on August 8.
- The Greatest #AtHome Videos will return on CBS on July 24.
- Extreme Unboxing will premiere on A&E on August 4.
- Manifest will return on NBC sometime in 2021.
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things will debut on Netflix on September 4.
🚨New Charlie Kaufman alert!
I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS—an exploration of regret, longing & the fragility of the human spirit—comes to Netflix on 4 September.
Inspired by Iain Reid's novel, Kaufman's latest stars Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons, Toni Collette & David Thewlis.
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) July 1, 2020
R.I.P.
Ennio Morricone, Legendary composer
Earl Cameron, British actor, widely known as Britain’s first Black movie star
Saroj Khan, Bollywood choreographer
WATCH THIS
Celebrity Game Face: Ah, more COVID TV. Kevin Hart hosts this shot-at-home game show in which celebrities participate in trivia and physical challenges or something. Premiere. 9 p.m., E!
The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever!: An episode for the Bachelor historians out there: this episode follows the first seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. 7 p.m., ABC
Late Night:
- Conan: Nicole Byer
- Watch What Happens Live: TBD
| MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart (new) |
| CBS | The Neighbor-hood (repeat) |
Bob Hearts Abishola (repeat) |
All Rise (repeat) |
Bull (repeat) |
| CW | Whose Line is it Anyway? (new) |
Whose Line is it Anyway? (repeat) |
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (new) |
Local |
| FOX | 9-1-1 (repeat) |
9-1-1: Lone Star (repeat) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Titan Games (new) |
The Wall (repeat) |
Dateline NBC (new) |
Hey, Therese. Your Adam Savage link is pointing to the Alan Dershowitz story. I found this link instead:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/adam-savage-mythbusters-accused-rape-sisters-lawsuit-001020623.html
Now please, please don’t make me live in a world where Adam Savage is a rapist…