It’s Monday and it is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
(Visit Morgan Freeman’s page today for his readings from some of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most inspiring speeches.)
I’m putting the political news to the side today. I don’t want anything to diminish what this day is and about, especially right now in this powder keg of a moment in American history. Instead, I am trying to find hope in these children, competing in the 25th Annual Foley & Lardner MLK Jr. Oratory Competition, here in Houston, Dallas, and Chicago.
Houston Winner Vivianna Serna:
I know that it is facile to believe that we might be able to find our way out of this mess one day just because these kids are so eloquent and hopeful while also being clear-eyed about the world around them. I also know that it is not their responsibility to fix this problem “someday” — it’s our problem, right now, for us to confront for them. But I am grateful for their passion and their optimism, and I hope they keep both of those flames alive in spite of a world that will want to crush them.
It’s a long hard road ahead of us — longer than I believe some of us were willing to admit before the events of January 6. But we can’t ignore the fact that White Supremacy is alive and well in our country and we can’t afford to pretend it’s not actually a threat to the very existence of the great American experiment any longer. It’s not enough to tweet out a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. and forget about him for another year, it’s time for some very difficult, painful conversations and real action and reforms. I genuinely hope that when the Democrats take leadership of the Senate sometime this week, the first piece of legislation they pass is House Bill 1, which addresses voter access and registration, election security and integrity, political spending and ethics reforms for all three branches of government, and which has been sitting untouched on Mitch McConnell’s desk since March, 2019. Let’s stop talking about making change and do it already.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, America. It’s long past time to get our shit together.
Going Viral
According to Johns Hopkins, we will probably surpass 400,000 American deaths sometime in the next 24 hours. (According to Worldometer, we already have.)
Last night, I received disturbing news, confirmed to me directly by General Perna of Operation Warp Speed: States will not be receiving increased shipments of vaccines from the national stockpile next week, because there is no federal reserve of doses.
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) January 15, 2021
I’m shocked we were lied to and there is no national reserve.Federal announcements that 2nd dose being held in reserve was going to be released led us to expect 210,000 doses next week,other Govs made similar https://t.co/ETVIqM0clH we find out we’ll only get 79,000 next week.
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) January 15, 2021
Oh, and this is amazing: Plenty of small business owners were stiffed on PPP loans last spring, but five organizations — the National Vaccine Information Center, Mercola Com Health Resources, Informed Consent Action Network, the Children’s Health Defense Co., and the Tenpenny Integrative Medical Center — received a total of over $850,000 in PPP loans. Here’s the punchline: these are all anti-vaxxer organizations. GOING INTO MY ZEN PLACE WHERE I COUNT DOWN THE HOURS UNTIL JOE BIDEN IS INAUGURATED. 45 HOURS AND COUNTING.
But now some good news:
National treasure Steve Martin has been vaccinated (and made a joke about it that some people are mad about but they can just stay mad as far as I am concerned):
Good news/Bad news. Good news: I just got vaccinated! Bad news: I got it because I’m 75. Ha! The operation in NYC was smooth as silk (sorry about the cliché @BCDreyer!) and hosted to perfection by the US Army and National Guard. Thank you all, and thank you science.
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) January 17, 2021
I signed up ON line through an NYC dot gov website (sorry I don’t have the exact site), and waited IN line at the Javits Center. https://t.co/Ohp3frxy6i
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) January 17, 2021
Right now, I’m having no fide resects. https://t.co/SUYyvOexeW
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) January 17, 2021
As has Houston’s George Foreman:
I did it! Fighting still. https://t.co/7vgdgE7QCj
— George Foreman (@GeorgeForeman) January 15, 2021
And, thank God, Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn have both received the first dose:
Country music legends Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn have received the COVID-19 vaccinehttps://t.co/3DjCGYcFeB
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 18, 2021
And now less positive news (or … actually … MORE positive news — just not in a good way)
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns has tested positive, just nine months after losing his mother to this virus.
Liv Tyler revealed that she had the virus:
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner called out rapper Bow Wow for holding a maskless concert here in town on Friday night:
These events that are scheduled with @BowWowPromoTeam today in Houston are on our radar. Other bars/clubs that are operating as restaurants, beyond capacity and social distancing requirements, please expect visits. Today we report 1964 new cases and 17 more deaths. st
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) January 17, 2021
Neither Houston nor any Texas city should be allowed to be a venue for concert promoters outside of this State because clubs/bars are allowed to reclassify as restaurants. Only legitimate restaurants should be open at this time. st
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) January 17, 2021
Concerts are not allowed in Houston at this time unless it is virtual. Please reschedule. st
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) January 17, 2021
And then Bow Wow took it personally and whined that Mayor Turner “hates” him.
Safe to say the mayor of houston hates my guts. I cant believe i get the blame for a whole weekend. This is ridiculous.
— Bow Wow (@smoss) January 18, 2021
So it turned into a whole thing:
Let me be very clear. I don’t dislike @BowWowPromoTeam. While the city is in the midst of this pandemic nearly 2000 infected and 17 dying yesterday, this is not the time for concerts. Help us get past this virus and then do your thing. The same for other bars & clubs. st #COVID19
— Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) January 18, 2021
Safe to say the Mayor of Houston @SylvesterTurner does NOT hate your guts.
He is working to stop spread of the virus during a pandemic.
1,652 Houstonians have died of #COVID19 as of Jan. 17.
It’s not personal, Bow Wow. pic.twitter.com/SK9v2GMvx3— Mary Benton (@IAmMaryBenton) January 18, 2021
Hey, Bow Wow? Grow up unless you want us to go back to calling you “Lil’ Bow Wow” again.
And Tiffany Haddish? Spreading COVID conspiracy theories and attacking the doctors who call you out on your bullshit? NOT HELPFUL.
The United Kingdom has removed TV and film productions from their travel exemption lists.
All Other TV News
Look, technically the inauguration news should probably be left under “Political Crap,” but I don’t want to sully it there and also, the inauguration is going to be a televised event so get off my back. Anyway, you missed the “We the People” concert yesterday, featuring performances by Cher, James Taylor, Ben Harper, Barbra Streisand, Will.i.am, Fall Out Boy, and DJ Cassidy, among others. And by “you,” I mean “me.”
On Wednesday, following the swearing-in, “Parade Across America,” a virtual event will replace the traditional Inauguration Day Parade:
Tony Goldwyn will host, and other performers include The New Radicals, reuniting for the first time in 22 years; DJ Cassidy’s Pass The Mic, featuring Earth Wind & Fire, Nile Rodgers, Kathy Sledge, The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, The Washington Chorus and The Triumph Baptist Church Choir; Olympic athletes Nathan Chen, Allyson Felix and Katie Ledecky; skateboarder Nathan Apodaca, also known as DoggFace; a Dance Across America, led by Kenny Ortega with 275 participants in 30 states and two territories; the Ryan Martin Foundation, a wheelchair basketball program; and the United States Coast Guard Band and the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. Day’s performance will feature figure skater Kaitlyn Saunders, known as The Skate Kid
This is happening:
John Barrowman stirred up Twitter last week by visiting the shrine to Ianto. Don’t worry if that sentence means absolutely nothing to you, it’s fine, I promise, it just means you’re not a Torchwood/Doctor Who nerd.
Out for my walk and nobody knew it was me paying some respect to #Ianto Jb #captainJackharkness #torchwood #whovian #doctorwho #Cardiff #hub pic.twitter.com/QZ2xexClUH
— John Barrowman MBE (@JohnBarrowman) January 15, 2021
The You’re The Worst cast is reuniting on January 31 for a table read to raise money for Feeding America. I miss those terrible kids.
Happy to see Dr. Dre back at home after a terrible health scare.
Cancellations
- Peaky Blinders will end with the sixth season.
In Development
- Dungeons & Dragons is being adapted into a live-action TV series by the writer of John Wick.
- Justin Hartley will star in an adaptation of The Never Game. He will produce the series along with Ken Olin.
- Valentine is being adapted into a limited series by HBO, produced by Salma Hayek and Jennifer Schuur, a producer on Unbelievable.
- I Run Hot, a comedy starring Eliot Glazer and Colton Haynes, is getting a pilot at Peacock.
- Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, and Antiracist Baby are all being adapted into series by Netflix.
- Larry Teng has signed an overall deal with CBS Studios.
- Sonsational, a docuseries about Tottenham Hotspur soccer hero Son Heung-Min, is debuting on U.K. Amazon, no word if it will premiere here in the States.
Casting News
- Ethan Hawke is joining the cast of Moon Knight on Disney+.
- Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman has been cast on Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. on Disney+.
- Michole Briana White, Ajiona Alexus, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, and Myles Truitt are joining the cast of Black Mafia Family on Starz.
- Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Tristan Mack Wilds, Caleel Harris, Tessa Ferrer, Jason Rivera, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, and James Bingham have been cast in Swagger on Apple TV+.
- Xander Berkeley is joining the cast of The Republic of Sarah on The CW.
Mark Your Calendar
- Young Rock will debut on NBC on February 16.
🚨 @nbcyoungrock
I wish my dad was around to see. Maaaaan he would’ve been proud.Yes, I kicked puberty’s ass at 15 and turned tequila tycoon by 10 😂🥃🤦🏽♂️
Cant wait to make ya laugh and share some life lessons I’ve learned along the way. #YOUNGROCK🖤@SevenBucksProd
FEB 16! pic.twitter.com/FSebsrvOHI— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) January 16, 2021
- Kenan will premiere on NBC on February 16.
- Game of Talents will premiere on Fox sometime in March.
- The Walking Dead has announced everything coming out in 2021.
New Year, new you, new #TWDU. Here’s everything coming up in 2021. pic.twitter.com/0n48cUWpK1
— The Walking Dead on AMC (@WalkingDead_AMC) January 14, 2021
- A Closer Look with Brian McKnight will premiere on ALLBLK on January 21.
- HBO Max has announced dates for Godzilla vs. Kong: March 26; Mortal Kombat: April 16 and The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It: June 4. They will be released on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously.
- Crikey! It’s the Irwins will debut on Discovery+ on February 7.
- Selena: The Series Part 2 will debut on Netflix on May 14.
- Super Bowl Greatest Commercials 2021 will air on CBS on February 3.
R.I.P.
Neil Mahoney, Emmy-nominated editor of Drunk History and Key & Peele
Philip Smith, Former CEO of Broadway’s Shubert Organization
Phil Spector, Murderer and music producer
WATCH THIS
9-1-1: The crew has to rescue passengers from a bus that has crashed into a building several stories in the air. 9-1-1 is back, y’all! Season premiere. 7 p.m., Fox
9-1-1: Lone Star: Meanwhile, in Austin, a tank is on the loose downtown (hey, remember when that actually happened in San Diego that one time?) Season premiere. 8 p.m., Fox
All American: An interview Spencer gave is published and it upsets his old teammates in the season premiere. 7 p.m., The CW
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Alex Rodriguez, Spike Lee, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis featuring Babyface
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: James Spader, Anthony Atamanuik, Julia Michaels, Sarah Thawer
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Sen. Cory Booker, Infinity Song
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Dua Lipa, Cynthia Erivo, Local Natives featuring Sharon Van Etten
- Conan: Bob Newhart
- Watch What Happens Live: Isabelle “Izzy” Wouters, Elizabeth Frankini
- A Little Late with Lily Singh: Gitanjali Rao
MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
ABC | The Bachelor (new) |
The Good Doctor (new) |
CBS | The Neighborhood (new) |
Bob ♥ Abishola (new) |
Let’s Make a Deal Primetime (new) |
Bull (new) |
CW | All American (new) |
Batwoman (repeat) |
Local |
FOX | 9-1-1 (new) |
9-1-1: Lone Star (new) |
News/Local |
NBC | Ellen’s Game of Games (new) |
The Wall (new) |
Weakest Link (new) |