So I guess NBC is going to go ahead and reward President Toddler with this town hall tonight.

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

It’s Thursday, and I’m still nursing a Bachelorette hangover, be kind.

This is my new favorite Twitter hashtag: #unflatteringdogphotochallenge

Going Viral

The White House is embracing herd immunity, which, if actually followed, will leave millions dead. And not just from COVID-19, but other illnesses and conditions that will go untreated if our hospitals are overwhelmed. COOL PLAN, BROS.

Meanwhile, some college kids have been accused of deliberately contracting the virus in some plasma-selling scheme. This is why we can’t have nice things.

They played “In The Air Tonight” at President Droplet’s rally yesterday because irony is dead. It died of COVID.

Not only was President Indifferent telling Bob Woodward in February that COVID was going to be devastating — while doing nothing to stop it — the White House was telling board members of the conservative Hoover Institution that it was going to get bad, giving them a chance to prepare, while leaving the American public on their own.

Tomas J. Philipson, a senior economic adviser to the president, told the group he could not yet estimate the effects of the virus on the American economy. To some in the group, the implication was that an outbreak could prove worse than Mr. Philipson and other Trump administration advisers were signaling in public at the time.

The next day, board members — many of them Republican donors — got another taste of government uncertainty from Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council. Hours after he had boasted on CNBC that the virus was contained in the United States and “it’s pretty close to airtight,” Mr. Kudlow delivered a more ambiguous private message. He asserted that the virus was “contained in the U.S., to date, but now we just don’t know,” according to a document describing the sessions obtained by The New York Times.

The document, written by a hedge fund consultant who attended the three-day gathering of Hoover’s board, was stark. “What struck me,” the consultant wrote, was that nearly every official he heard from raised the virus “as a point of concern, totally unprovoked.”

YouTube is having to ban videos spreading fake information on vaccines. Lord.

Halloween Kills, which was supposed to open this month, has been moved back to 2021, and Blumhouse insists it WILL open then, vaccine or no vaccine.

University of Alabama’s head coach Nick Saban has tested positive.

The NFL is canceling the 2021 Pro Bowl.

Americanah is no longer moving forward at HBO Max after production was pushed back because of COVID-19. Lupita Nyong’o, who was going to produce and star had to drop out when the filming schedule conflicted with other projects.

The President Is Missing is, ironically enough, not moving forward at Showtime because of COVID-19.

Over in the U.K., Little Mix the Search had to shut down production after an outbreak on set.

black-ish and A Million Little Things are both going to tackle the pandemic this season.

This is just a bunch of photos of people watching TV in their homes, something we’re all doing these days.

Disney announced they would be focusing more on streaming to help deal with the financial losses they’ve taken during the pandemic thanks to the theme parks being closed. This was good news for Wall Street, but internally, people don’t know what this will ultimately mean.

Meanwhile, Universal has let 2,200 employees go since July.

Political Crap

Today’s insanity is just part two of yesterday’s insanity: basically, people are so pissed at NBC for hosting President Disinformation tonight in his own town hall counterprogrammed against Joe Biden’s town hall, essentially rewarding him for refusing to participate in a virtual town hall scheduled for tonight.

A bunch of A-list celebrities including NBC talent wrote an open letter to the NBC leadership, urging them to just move the time slot:

To Brian Roberts, Jeff Shell and Cesar Conde:

We are a group of writers, actors, directors and producers. Many of us have been lucky enough to work for NBCUniversal at some point in our careers. Some of us are currently employed at your studio. We have always thought of NBC Universal as both a terrific creative home and a brand that stands for the best in entertainment and broadcast journalism.

This is why we have been devastated to learn that you have chosen to air President Trump’s town hall this Thursday night at 8pm, directly opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall.

This is not a partisan issue. This is about the political health of our democracy.

President Trump refused to participate in the virtual debate scheduled for Thursday night by the Presidential Debate Commission. By agreeing to air his town hall as counterprogramming opposite Vice President Biden’s town hall on ABC, you are enabling the President’s bad behavior while undercutting the Presidential Debate Commission and doing a disservice to the American public.

We believe this kind of indifference to the norms and rules of our democracy are what have brought our country to this perilous state.

We are simply asking that NBC air the President’s town hall either before or after Vice President Biden’s so that American voters can have the opportunity to watch both.

We understand the necessities of business, especially in this difficult time. But we believe there are larger issues of civic responsibility at stake here.

Signed:

Aaron Sorkin
Abbi Jacobson
Adam McKay
Adam Scott
Alex Baldwin
Alex Barnow
Allison Janney
Allison Tolman
Amy Lippman
Amy Schumer
Aubrey Plaza
Ava DuVernay
Ayelet Waldman
Ben Stiller
Billy Eichner
Billy Porter
Brendan Gall
Chelsea Handler
Chris Bishop
Chris Meloni
Chris Miller
Chris Misiano
Chris Sullivan
Chrissy Metz
Courtney Kemp
Dahvi Waller
Damon Lindelof
Dan Fogelman
Dan Levy
Daniel Hageman
David A. Goodman
David Goyer
David Guggenheim
David Kohan
Debra Messing
Donald Faison
Dule Hill
Ely Henry
Emily Gordon
Eric Guggeheim
Greg Berlanti
JJ Abrams
Jason Moore
Jennifer Yale
Jill Knox
Jim Parriott
Joe Mantello
Jon Cryer
Jon Hamm
Jon Huertas
Josh Gad
Josh Singer
Joshua Malina
Joss Whedon
Julianne Moore
Julie Martin
Julie Plec
Justin Hartley
Keith Powell
Ken Olin
Kenya Barris
Kevin Hageman
Kumail Nanjiani
Laeta Kalogridis
Latoya Morgan
Mandy Moore
Marc Guggenheim
Marjorie David
Mariska Hargitay
Marti Noxon
Martin Gero
Mary McCormack
Matthew Lopez
Max Mutchnick
Michael Chabon
Michael Green
Malcolm Spellman
Michele Fazekas
Milo Ventimiglia
Neal Baer
Nicholas Stoller
Nicole Yorkin
Otmara Marrero
Parvesh Cheena
Patton Oswalt
Phil Lord
Preacher Lawson
Richard Schiff
Robert King
Robert Kirkman
Ryan Murphy
Samuel Baum
Sarah Schechter
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Treem
Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Rogen
Shakina Nayfack
Sophia Bush
Sterling K. Brown
Sunil Nayir
Susan Kelechi Watson
Tara Butters
Terry Matalas
Thor Freudenthal
Tom McCarthy
Tony Kushner
Travis Beacham
Vanessa Taylor
Zoe Lister-Jones

Additionally, MSNBC talent, like Rachel Maddow have criticized the decision ON-AIR:

“Are you as mad as everybody else is that NBC is doing a town hall with President Trump tomorrow, instead of the debate, at the same time that Vice President Biden is going to be on ABC?” Maddow asked.

“I’m not touching that,” Harris said, after chuckling a bit at the question. Maddow then laughed.

Maddow then asked, “Should the networks refuse to give the president other opportunities for airtime, if he’s the one who refuses the chance to debate?”

“I’m not going to tell the networks what to do, but I’ll tell you I know who I’m going to be watching, so there you go,” Harris answered.

It’s all falling on deaf ears, though. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell thinks it’s “fair.” LOL, OK.

Meanwhile, President Entitlement can’t even be grateful for the free air time, and bashed NBC and his moderator at a rally this afternoon:

“So you know I’m being set up tonight,” Trump just told a reelection campaign rally in North Carolina. “I’m doing this town hall with Concast, C-O-N, con, cause it’s a con job,” the former reality TV frontman joked with supporters as NBC and its news division are being heavily criticized for running the incumbent’s event at the same time as ABC has a previously announced event with Biden.

“It’s NBC, the worst,” Trump went on to declare. “Home of Sleepy-Eyed Chuck Todd and some others,” he added to the Greenville audience.

“I figured, what the hell, we get a free hour on television,” Trump arrogantly said, mocking moderator and Today co-host Savannah Guthrie (“she’s always lovely, isn’t she?”), NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt (“he’s a beauty”) and the town hall NBC had with Biden last week. “It was a joke,” the incumbent added of the October 5 event with the ex-VP, figuratively biting the hand that is feeding him tonight.

I mean, they should cancel it just for this alone.

Meanwhile, C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, who was supposed to moderate tonight’s town hall which is now not happening, has been placed on “indefinite leave” after he lied about a tweet. He claimed he was hacked after he tweeted Anthony Scaramucci instead of DMing him. What’s kind of amazing is that President TwatsALot had been attacking Scully on Twitter ahead of the town hall, and the tweet was just Scully asking Scaramucci how he should respond. That’s it. That was the tweet.

In other news, Barron Trump also had COVID-19. And Kamala Harris had to cancel some travel plans after two staffers tested positive.

All Other TV News

House of Dragons, the Game of Thrones prequel, will indeed film in England, not Northern Ireland, just as I feared. It’s a shame.

A Boston news anchor was fired after she appeared in the Adam Sandler Netflix movie Hubie Halloween, which seems extreme:

GHOST GUIDE.

The Charmed ladies, new and old, are still fighting, which … just … come on. Enough.

The other day, my husband wandered through the living room where I had General Hospital playing in the background while I wrote, and there was a scene in which a woman with a large bandage on her throat was lip-syncing a song about “ruins, ruins, ruins” while another woman hid in a nearby hallway and actually performed the song, and he was like, “The Hell?” and I had to tell him not to worry about it because it was too hard and too stupid to explain and what I’m saying is that this scene, as weird as it was, was nowhere near as weird as half of the things on any soap opera on any given day.

LOVE IS DEAD.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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I have written and rewritten this post dozens of times and each time I feel the same level of disbelief and extreme sadness. While I realize that this will come as a complete shock to everyone, I can assure you that this is something that has been developing in our relationship for quite a while. It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that after months of separation, Ashley and I have amicably decided to live our lives apart from one another. Please please please know that there is no one to blame, that there’s no event that triggered this decision, that no one is the victim, and that we’ve done absolutely everything we possibly can to try to salvage this marriage. I think we’ve both come to realize that we are just two very different people, with very different personalities and perspectives, who just don’t see eye to eye on a lot life fundamentals, those which are the building blocks for a happy and healthy marriage. We have created the most beautiful, sweet and loving children, and have created so many unforgettable memories that we’ll always cherish. Our differences, however, have taken a toll on our relationship and after years of attempting to repair the damage, we’ve decided that it is in our family’s best interest live our lives apart. We request that you please respect our privacy as we move forward with the newness of our lives and attempt to create a new norm for our children. Our ultimate focus is to co-parent our kids to the best of our ability and to maintain stable and healthy lives for Fordy & Essie From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all your love and support throughout the years. It has really meant a lot to us! Wishing you all love, happiness, and good health. ❤️

A post shared by J.P. Rosenbaum (@_jprosenbaum) on

 

Renewals

Cancellations

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • The Soul of America will debut on HBO on October 27.

  • For Life returns on ABC on November 18.

  • Uncle Frank will premiere on Amazon on November 26.

  • Jersey Shore Family Vacation will return on MTV on November 19.

  • Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb will debut on Netflix on October 28.

R.I.P.

Donald Douglas, Emmy-nominated editor known for his work on Murder, She Wrote

Kent Wakeford, Cinematographer

Saint Dog, Rapper

WATCH THIS

THURSDAY

NOT! The Presidential Debate: So. This was supposed to be the date of the second Presidential debate but then President Contagious got the Rona and so the Commission of Presidential Debates announced this debate would be virtual but then President SCREAMY said he wouldn’t attend a virtual debate so then Joe Biden said “Fine, I’ll use the time to do a townhall all by myself,” and that’s where we are. 8 p.m., ABC

The West Wing: The cast of the most unrealistic show to ever air on television reunite to do a staged reading of a previous episode to benefit the When We All Vote organization. Premiere. HBO Max

Social Distance: This new anthology series explores the ways people try to remain connected in socially distanced times. Series premiere. Netflix

Freedia Got a Gun: Bounce superstar Big Freedia takes on the gun violence epidemic that took the lives of her younger brother and cousin in this new documentary. Peacock

The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special: The muppets of Sesame Street tackle racism and teach young people how to stand up for equality in this new special. HBO Max

The Mortuary Collection: Five terrifying tales are shared by an eccentric mortician in this new horror film. Shudder

A Babysitter’s Guide to Fighting Monsters: A team of babysitters set out to rescue one of their charges who has been kidnapped by the Boogeyman in this new kids’ horror movie. Netflix

Star Trek: Discovery: Season premiere. CBS All Access

Late Night:

  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Josh Gad, John Kasich, Foo Fighters
  • The Daily Show: The Daily Social Distancing Show
  • Watch What Happens Live: Sam Smith, Joey King
THUR 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Vice President and the People
(live)		 Emergency Call
(repeat)
CBS Big Brother
(new)		 Young Sheldon
(repeat)		 Mom
(repeat)		 Star Trek: Discovery
(new)
CW Supernatural
(new)		 The Outpost
(new)		 News/Local
FOX NFL Football
(live)		 News/Local
NBC Trump Town Hall
(new)		 Connecting … Connecting … Dateline

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