It’s Thursday, here are a few evil cats:
He’s on a diet. It’s not going great. from AnimalsBeingJerks
Muffin, the evil cat from EvilCats
Eldritch Cat(s) from DemonCats
All Other TV News
Looks like The Righteous Gemstones is back in production …
Which gives me a reason to post the greatest song from a TV show ever recorded:
HEY, JEOPARDY! PRODUCERS: WHAT GIVES? You’re out here announcing that Buzzy Cohen is going to host the Tournament of Champions and STILL completely ignoring the whole LeVar Burton thing?
Canada has released images of their Olympic closing ceremony outfits. Robin Sparkles called, she wants her jacket back:
— Molly Lambert 🦔 (@mollylambert) April 14, 2021
discovery+ is now available on Amazon Prime Video Channels.
WATCH: Geraldo absolutely loses it on live TV, calls @dbongino a “son of a b*tch” and a “punk”
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) April 15, 2021
BONGINO: “You wouldn’t tell me that to my face” pic.twitter.com/i3d9VcfJnP
The network news business is being shaken up in a post-Former President Asshole era.
A few more remaining bits of business stemming from the Colton Underwood story:
- Colton’s runner-ups, Tayshia and Hannah, both offer their support and wish him all the best.
- Chris Harrison re-emerged from isolation to post his support of Colton on Instagram:
Black Lives Matter
It’s been another tumultuous couple of weeks in America: Daunte Wright, a young unarmed Black man was shot and killed by the police mere miles away from where George Floyd was killed last year; footage of police officers pulling their weapons on and pepper-spraying Black Army Lt. Caron Nazario after a Virginia traffic stop from last December caused new outrage; and a U.S. Army sergeant in South Carolina was arrested yesterday after footage of him emerged harassing and assaulting a young Black man who was merely walking through a neighborhood.
It’s all very exhausting, and the protests have begun again in Minnesota, prompting the local MLB, NBA, and NHL teams to postpone games earlier in the week. Still, things seem to be changing, at least a little: the police officers involved in both incidents above have been fired, and the female officer who killed Wright has been charged with manslaughter (she claims that the shooting was a terrible accident: she meant to taze him, but grabbed her gun), and the Army is investigating the sergeant involved in the last incident.
Additionally, here in Texas, the former Sheriff who was involved in the death of Javier Ambler, which was filmed for Live PD, is facing additional charges of evidence tampering as related to the destruction of the Live PD footage.
The Neighborhood creator and showrunner, Jim Reynolds, has stepped down from the series after complaints about his leadership and two Black writers left the show.
Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then. The clarifications almost hurt more tbh.
— Regé-Jean Page (@regejean) April 7, 2021
Still just doing my thing.
Still we do the work.
We still fly.
👊🏽
The BBC’s Diversity chief, Miranda Wayland, says Luther is an inauthentically Black character because he doesn’t have any Black friends and never eats Caribbean food. She’s receiving a bit of pushback on that.
Great thing about Luther is that his skin colour isn’t the core of his identity.
— Calvin Robinson (@calvinrobinson) April 14, 2021
He’s fighting many battles. An example that we’re all human, we all struggle, but our ethnicity doesn’t always play a part in that.
That’s diversity, @MirandawTV. Equality!https://t.co/sIDc7c0pnL
In an interview with British Vogue, Thandiwe Newton revealed that her name has been misspelled for the past 30 years.
General Motors has pledged to spend more advertising dollars at Black-owned media outlets.
Over in Australia, another actor, Sharon Johal, has made allegations of racism on the set of the iconic soap opera Neighbours. One of the things Johal has claimed happened was “another former cast member imitated The Simpsons character Apu in her presence and compared her to a bobble-head toy, accompanied by the comment: ‘It’s like you guys’.”
Speaking of, Hank Azaria has come to terms with the legacy of Apu:
“I was speaking at my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input,” Azaria said. “A 17-year-old … he’s never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. It’s practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.”
The boy, “with tears in his eyes,” Azaria said, asked the actor to tell Hollywood writers what they do matters and has ramifications on people’s lives.
“Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize,” he said. “And sometimes I do.”
Azaria is just one of many actors who have since apologized for problematic roles. Let’s add Mark-Paul Gosselaar to the list.
Tucker Carlson spewed some disgusting “replacement theory” bullshit on his show last week which is just some straight-up white supremacist nonsense. The head of the ADL has called for Carlson to be fired:
.@TuckerCarlson: “replacement theory” is a white supremacist tenet that the white race is in danger by a rising tide of non-whites.
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 9, 2021
It is antisemitic, racist and toxic. It has informed the ideology of mass shooters in El Paso, Christchurch and Pittsburgh.
Tucker must go. https://t.co/FSvgNfR1KO
We need to talk about plagiarism at Fox News pic.twitter.com/XFdzYA8ao7
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) April 9, 2021
Daniel Dae Kim reveals that at the time, he was alarmed that Lost‘s pilot seemed to be dealing in Asian stereotypes, and confronted J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof about it. They urged him to trust them — and we now know that it was all the set-up for a huge twist. “I don’t think you can question the positive effect ‘Lost’ had on representation. You could even argue it has had an effect on the way we cast now, if you look at the copycat shows that came out as a result of ‘Lost.’”
Steven Yeun would rather just be known as an “actor” instead of an “Asian-American actor.”
“Yeun doesn’t seem particularly thrilled about his status as the first Asian American nominee for the best actor Oscar. ‘If I step out of myself and see what that moment might mean beyond just me,’ he remarks, ‘it’s cool that we get to establish new ground and that young Asian American kids can feel like this is possible for them, too.’ But personally, he confesses, ‘I’m just not reactive to it in any direction.’ He’s leery that such a high-profile achievement might end up a kind of burden, in which people view him as an ‘Asian American actor’ first and ‘actor’ second.”
Going Viral
Cases continue to tick upwards. After getting our case numbers down to about 50,000 a day, we’re edging back up towards 80,000 a day. And with the pause on the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we’ve hit something of a speed bump in our recent success against the virus. Be careful out there.
Ivanka posted a photo of herself receiving the vaccine and the comments are … something.
“Because of the 99.8% survival rate of a virus they’ve never identified? Anthony Fauci and Andrew Cuomo would be proud.“
“You’re joking right? 😮“
“Hell no. Why would you post this?“
“(In response to someone who said, “Her father and Melania took the Covid shot in January”) Fake NEWS”
Listen, I am actually pleased and grateful Ivanka posted this, and I do hope it gives some of her father’s followers reason to get vaccinated themselves, but based on these comments, we’ve got a long way to go to convince those who are hesitant to do what’s best for themselves and our country in general.
The White House Correspondents Dinner has been canceled again because of COVID.
Dr. Fauci called Tucker Carlson’s questioning of the vaccine “a typical crazy conspiracy theory,” before adding, “Why would we not tell people if it doesn’t work?” Carlson responded by claiming that he never questioned the vaccine (he did) before going on to question the vaccine.
California is looking to fully reopen their schools by this fall.
This Is Us will be two episodes shorter this season thanks to the pandemic.
Late-night hosts seem to be dreading the return of the studio audiences, and honestly? I’m with them. Seth Meyers’ show is honestly better with him riffing with the crew and writers and I don’t want it to go back to “normal.”
Jeff Garlin says that Curb Your Enthusiasm will address COVID-19 in one (1) episode next season. But that the show exists in a “post-COVID” world.
VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World will air on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube, iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations and the iHeartRadio App on May 8. “Selena Gomez will host the event, which will include performances by Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and H.E.R.”
International advocacy organisation Global Citizen today announced VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, a global broadcast and streaming special that aims to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and help get the COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere. During the special, Global Citizen, will call on philanthropists and corporations to donate enough “dollars-for-doses” to vaccinate more than 27 million heroic health workers that are serving on the global frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic everyday. The special will also encourage global development advocates and changemakers to call on world leaders to prioritize the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for everyone, everywhere.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s 4-year-old son pops into the feed for a hug during a CBS This Morning interview. pic.twitter.com/um6of2dhGP
— The Recount (@therecount) April 14, 2021
Renewals
- Blue Bloods; S.W.A.T.; Bull; Magnum P.I.; and NCIS have all been renewed at CBS, and yes, Mark Harmon will return.
- Call My Agent! has been renewed for a fifth season at Netflix.
Cancellations
- Mr Inbetween will end on FX after the third season.
In Development
- Blood Relative has been ordered to series at Fox.
- The Poet, a true-crime film, is being developed at Netflix.
- The Imperfects, a sci-fi drama starring Italia Ricci, has been ordered at Netflix.
- The Ballad of Renegade Nell; Culprits; and Extraordinary, three UK series, have been ordered at Disney+.
- The short animated film Blush has been ordered by Apple TV+.
- Yesterday, I posted that comedies Hungry and Someone Out There have received pilot orders at ABC. They were actually given pilot orders at NBC.
Casting News
- Brittany O’Grady is set to star in Epic, the fairytale drama pilot at ABC.
- Fabien Frankel is joining House of the Dragon on HBO.
- Rob Delaney is joining the cast of The Man Who Fell to Earth on Showtime.
- Carey Mulligan will co-star in Spaceman on Netflix.
- Pete Davidson will star in I Slept with Joey Ramone at Netflix.
- Christina Jackson will star in The Spook Who Sat By the Door at FX.
- Robert Buckley is joining Chesapeake Shores on Hallmark.
- Janet Hubert is joining the cast of The Last O.G. on TBS.
- Pepi Sonuga and Andrew Dice Clay have been added to the cast of Pam & Tommy on Hulu.
- Rachel Bay Jones is joining the cast of Why Women Kill on Paramount+.
- Daniel Breaker has joined the cast of Girls5Eva on Peacock.
- Sean Kleier will co-star in Wedding Season on Netflix.
- Page Turner will star in Fix My Flip on HGTV.
- Caitlin Reilly has been cast in a General Hospital tribute episode to her father, John Reilly.
- Anupam Kher is leaving New Amsterdam on NBC.
Mark Your Calendars
- The Underground Railroad will premiere on Amazon on May 14.
- Selena, The Series, Part 2 will arrive on Netflix on May 4.
- Ellen’s Next Great Designer will debut on HBO Max on April 22.
- Headspace Guide to Sleep will premiere on Netflix on April 28.
- We Are Lady Parts is coming to Peacock soon.
- Never Have I Ever is set to return on Netflix in July.
- Spring League Football will debut on Fox on May 8.
- The Top Ten Revealed and A Year In Music will return on AXS on May 9.
- Chesapeake Shores will return on Hallmark on August 15.
WATCH THIS
Mythic Quest: The Mythic Quest crew returns to the offices after quarantine in this standalone episode ahead of the second season premiere. Apple TV+
Wahl Street: A six-part documentary about the life and businesses of Mark Wahlberg which seems like six episodes too many but OK. Premiere. HBO Max
The Banishing: This new horror film is based on the true story of England’s most haunted house. Premiere. Shudder
Younger: The first four episodes of the final season debut on Paramount+ ahead of its Freeform premiere. Paramount+
Frank of Ireland: Brian Gleeson stars as Frank, a 32-year-old mess who is convinced the world owes him in this new comedy. Premiere. Amazon
The Year the Earth Changed: This special documents the way nature changed during the global lockdown, how small changes in human behavior had an impact on the world around us. Premiere. Apple TV+
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Ice T, Tig Notaro, Orlando Leyba
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: Rob Lowe, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Forest Whitaker, Kane Brown
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Emily VanCamp, Zoe Wess
- The Daily Show: The Daily Social Distancing Show
- Conan: Russell Brand
- Watch What Happens Live: Yvette Nicole Brown, John Stamos
- A Little Late with Lily Singh: Caleb McLaughlin
| THUR | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Station 19 (new) |
Grey’s Anatomy (new) |
Rebel (new) |
| CBS | Young Sheldon (new) |
United States of Al (new) |
Mom (new) |
B Positive (new) |
Clarice (repeat) |
| CW | Walker (new) |
Legacies (new) |
News/Local |
| FOX | Hell’s Kitchen (new) |
Last Man Standing (new) |
The Moodys (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Manifest (new) |
Law & Order Special Victims Unit (new) |
Law & Order: Organized Crime (new) |
Am I the only one sick of all of the ads for Rebel?