Happy Electoral College Day! Don’t forget to leave out cookies and bourbon for your slate of electors!

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

It is Monday, and here is skateboarding French Bulldog in a puffy vest.

Political Crapller

As my 16-year-old just put it: “So let me get this straight: each state casts its popular vote in November, and then a month later they assign electors to vote for the president in the electoral college for whoever won the state. And then a month after that, both chambers of Congress meet, presided over by the Vice President of potentially the outgoing administration to confirm the electoral college votes that would oust him. But! if one senator and one congressman object to the votes of any state, they can force both chambers to vote on whether or not to challenge the votes. If both chambers vote to do so, the votes go back to the governors of those states to determine their legitimacy?” When I confirmed that this is, in fact, our process, his conclusion was, and I quote: “Our federal system is trash.” And I think no matter who you voted for, you might be inclined to agree this time.

Happening as I type this: electors in every state are casting their votes, 306 for Joe Biden and 232 for President Fraud. And because the Instigator-in-Chief refuses to accept his defeat and has fired up his base, in some states, those electors had to cast their votes in undisclosed locations, and under police escorts for their own safety.

Meanwhile, the Republicans refuse to accept reality and are doing a little political theater today in some states, putting up an alternate slate of electors which they intend to submit to Congress.

THIS. IS. NOT. NORMAL. First of all, in the past, Americans haven’t paid the slightest bit of attention to the electoral college vote day because it’s just mostly a required procedural symbol. It’s weird for all of us to not only know what day the electoral college votes, but to be watching them do so on cable news lest anything weird happen. Not only should nothing weird happen, we shouldn’t have to worry that something weird might happen!

But second of all, electors shouldn’t feel threatened to do their constitutional duty, and the President of the United States shouldn’t try to confuse the American people by pretending that he can just send in his own electors because he doesn’t like the result. All of this is wrong, all of this is dangerous and I worry about what happens to us next.

Going Viral

Today is a huge day: the first vaccines are arriving all over the country and being administered to health care workers on the front lines. A nurse in Queens, New York was the first American to receive the shot this morning. Here in Houston, only one hospital will receive the vaccine today, M.D. Anderson, but more is coming. Fun fact: my next-door neighbor is the President of M.D. Anderson, so I guess I don’t have to worry about contracting the virus from him. But also, he’s not the first person I know who has taken a vaccine: two of my dear friends, one a physician herself and the other our very own Whitney have participated in the trials and neither has reported any issues. This vaccine is nothing to be afraid of, it’s our way out of this, please get it when you can.

This is going to be the largest vaccine program ever deployed in this country — and during a time when vaccines in general are met with more skepticism than ever. It’s a daunting task. And that’s why I am once again disappointed by the White House — for a reason that might surprise you.

Yesterday it was announced that the White House staff would be among the first to receive the vaccine as early as this week. And while I understand why some found this news distasteful to even repugnant (how dare the same people who dismissed the seriousness of this virus shove their way to the front of the line to inoculate themselves from it!), I thought it was the right thing to do. As much as I hate this administration, I consider the people who surround the President to be essential workers. Additionally, I would hope that counted among the “White House staff,” would everyone down to the janitors and cooks who will be staying on for the Biden administration next month. But most importantly, the President and his staff receiving the vaccine sends out a message to his supporters that he trusts it. This administration has been so vehemently anti-science not just since the beginning of the pandemic, but from day one, that they have a lot of trust-building to do, particularly with his base, regarding this vaccine if it’s going to be successful.

So color me unsurprised and yet still disappointed to hear that President Anti-Masker reversed this decision.

In the Disaster-in-Chief’s defense (did I just type those words?), this is a truly damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t situation where he was going to be criticized — particularly by my side of the aisle — no matter what he chose. Still, I think if he and his staff don’t receive the vaccine, and receive it very loudly and publicly before he leaves the White House, there is a non-zero chance he will undermine the vaccine efforts the moment he returns to Mar-A-Lago in an attempt to hurt Biden. He’s already allowed 300,000 Americans to die on his watch, we can not allow him to hurt this vaccine project further.

As for the rest of us, Dr. Fauci thinks we could all be vaccinated as soon as March or April. I am going to choose to believe this instead of focusing on how this administration has made a clusterfuck of the vaccine efforts already.

Here’s something I hadn’t thought about: COVID-19 has been particularly brutal for foster kids. Fewer foster parents are available because of lockdowns and work-from-home situations, and many foster kids who do have homes, aren’t being allowed to visit their biological parents thanks to social distancing rules. Reminder: CBS is airing their annual A Home for the Holidays special that shines a light on the foster system this Sunday.

Charley Pride, Texas’s own pioneering country singer, passed away from COVID this weekend. Just a month ago, he was given a lifetime achievement award at the CMA awards — an event that was held indoors, and maskless.

Carol Sutton, New Orleans actress who appeared in Tremé, True Detective, and Lovecraft Country, among countless other movies and theatrical performances, passed away from COVID.

Nancy Grace and her family, including her 88-year-old mother, have all tested positive.

Ashanti has also tested positive for COVID-19.

Google is pushing back its back-to-the-office date to September — but might make some work-from-home jobs permanent. It will be interesting to see what the long-term ramifications of this virus will be on how we live our day-to-day lives.

Judge Judy does not have time for your maskless shenanigans and will go off on your ass.

Please do not eat a raw meat sandwich this holiday season. The hospitals are kinda dealing with other stuff right now and won’t be able to take care of your dumb ass if you get sick.

All Other TV News

The decision by Warner Bros. to release all of their 2021 movies in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously continues to upset people. Judd Apatow is the most recent filmmaker to attack the decision, calling it a “disrespect.” What’s interesting is that Apatow, who unlike Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve is not exactly considered an auteur, gets to the core of what is actually pissing filmmakers off about this deal: their bottom line:

It’s somewhat shocking that a studio for their entire slate could call what appears to be nobody. It’s the type of disrespect that you hear about in the history of show business. But to do that to just every single person that you work with is really somewhat stunning.

It creates a financial nightmare, because most people are paid residuals — they’re paid back-end points. What they get out of it for years and years of hard work is usually based on the success of their films. And so now what does it mean to have a movie go straight to streaming? How do they decide what to pay you? Do you even have a contract that allows you to negotiate, or is it really just up to them at this point? It raises thousands of questions, which I’m sure are very complicated.

I mean, it’s not an unreasonable question! But it also suggests that what really bothers filmmakers about the deal is not so much that their art is being compromised, but that their wallets may be. Exhibit B: The head of the Endeavor talent agency is SO MAD about this deal because he thinks it’s Warner Brother’s way of using their clients who are in their movies to promote HBO Max without giving those clients any financial remuneration. Again, not an unreasonable position to take! These are the sorts of deals every Hollywood player makes when signing up for a movie, and Warner Bros. does seem to be taking advantage of the pandemic crisis to get around these issues.

Meanwhile, WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar thinks it’s “painful” that everyone is so mad at the company — they’re just doing the best they can, guys!

IMAX’s CEO thinks this whole thing will blow over and that Warner Bros. will not stick to this plan for the whole year. I mean, I don’t know why they wouldn’t, but I guess if you are the CEO of a theater chain right now, you have to tell yourself something.

Henry Cavill suffered what is being described as a “minor” leg muscle injury on the set of The Witcher. Production is continuing while he’s on the mend. BE CAREFUL WITH HENRY CAVILL.

Something I learned today: we have Bob Odenkirk to thank for the classic Saturday Night Live sketch Chris Farley’s “Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker,” also known as “I LIVE IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER.”

The Crown took some obvious liberties with the truth, but that Phantom of the Opera story was not one of them.

The cast of The Sopranos is reuniting this Friday to raise money for Friends of Firefighters, a nonprofit founded after 9/11 to support firefighters and their families.

When a fake marriage ordered by a cult leader can’t last, what chance do any of us have?

Renewals

  • The Good Type is (probably) renewed for season five on Freeform.

Cancellations

  • Helstrom has been canceled after one season on Hulu.

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendar

  • Walker will debut on The CW on January 21.

  • Bridgerton will debut on Netflix on December 25.

  • RuPaul’s Drag Race will return on VH1 on January 1.

  • Dickinson will return on Apple TV+ on January 8.

  • Charmed returns on The CW on January 24.

  • Outside the Wire will debut on Netflix on January 15.

  • Herself will premiere on Amazon on January 8.

  • Real Time with Bill Maher will return on HBO on January 15.

  • Equinox will premiere on Netflix on December 30.

  • Secrets of Sulphur Springs will premiere on Discovery Channel on January 15.

  • Creator Spotlights will debut on YouTube today.

R.I.P.

John Le Carré, Legendary spy novelist

Richard King, Member of the King World Production family

Victoria Racimo, Actress in Falcon Crest and The Prophecy among others

Giggy, Lisa Vanderpump’s beloved dog

WATCH THIS

The Shot: The Race for the Vaccine: Now that the first vaccine has been approved, 20/20 takes a look at how the vaccines were developed and how the government plans to deliver them to millions of Americans in record time. 9 p.m., ABC

The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All: Well, a handful of the men tell some. 7 p.m., ABC

Deliciousness: Tiffani Thiessen hosts this spinoff of Ridiculousness, in which they celebrate viral food moments. Series premiere. 7 p.m., MTV

Tiny Pretty Things: Elite ballet dramaz. Series premiere. Netflix

Lonestar Christmas: I’m mostly including this because it’s the first time I can personally remember a Lifetime holiday movie being set in Texas. I certainly could be wrong — I’m not a holiday movie scholar or anything, but most of these sorts of films take place in some anonymous Northeastern or Midwestern town where there is an abundance of snow and opportunities to wear sweaters. 7 p.m., Lifetime

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Gal Gadot, Ricky Martin, Lana Del Rey
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: The Chicks, Jamie Demetriou, Christina Aguilera
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Chance the Rapper, Christopher Walken, Laura Benanti
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Kyle Chandler, Meghan Trainor
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Taylor Swift, Christian Serratos, Sabrina Claudio
  • The Daily Show: The Daily Social Distancing Show
  • Conan: Jay Pharoah
  • Watch What Happens Live: Kate Chastain, Francesca Rubi

MON. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Bachelorette
(new)		 20/20: The Shot: The Race for the Vaccine
(new)
CBS The Neighborhood
(new)		 Bob ♥ Abishola
(new)		 All Rise
(new)		 Bull
(new)
CW iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2020
(new)		 Local
FOX L.A.’s Finest
(new)		 Cosmos: Possible Worlds
(new)		 News/Local
NBC The Voice
(new)		 Nurses
(new)

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