It’s Monday again.
And I mean, I guess you can do this, but why would you?
All Other TV News
Today’s big TV news is that WarnerMedia (home of HBO, TNT, TBS, and others) is going to merge with Discovery, becoming a single huge media company better situated to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney. No word on what the new company will be called, or what it means for competing streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+ (will they merge into one platform, or remain separate sort of like Disney+ and Hulu? To me, it would make sense to merge into one streamer, to better compete with Netflix. The only reason that makes sense to keep Disney+ and Hulu separate is to keep Disney+ a family-friendly entity, something Discovery and HBO Max technically don’t have to concern themselves with, but what do I know?) Anyway, nothing should actually change for viewers and subscribers or happen until sometime in 2022.
Is the binging era nearing an end? (I mean, no probably not.)
Fox is shutting down in the U.K. and its programming is moving to Disney+. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: this is the future.
Streamers are moving towards restricting password sharing. As someone with a kid in college and one on his way, I DO NOT LIKE.
Courtney Love does not approve of the upcoming Hulu project Pam & Tommy and she kinda has a point?
Jeopardy! might be magic.
Excuse me but Jeopardy (filmed weeks in advance) manifested Bennifer 2021 AND their getaway to Montana with the clues that aired tonight!!! āØāØ#Jeopardy #Bennifer pic.twitter.com/08kX7NXsVW
— Bex Lester (@GlamBex) May 15, 2021
CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is over, but Don Lemon is not leaving CNN, calm down.
Hey everyone. Not what you think. Iām not leaving CNN. Tune in for the handoff on Monday at 10pE and Iāll explain. pic.twitter.com/oOwDferY2i
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) May 15, 2021
Hey, remember that dumb “National Garden of American Heroes” that Former President Grub Worm announced as a fuck you to those taking down statues of Confederate figures? It was going to have 244 (!) statues featuring everyone from Susan B. Anthony to Bob Hope to Whitney Houston? And people were like, “What the hell is this totalitarian nonsense about?” Yeah, President Biden is canceling it.
Dan Crenshaw doesn't like Chuck Todd bringing up the fact that he signed onto the Texas lawsuit to toss out swing state votes, then says "you guys in the press" like doing this because they're "largely liberal."
Todd: "Donāt start that. Thereās nothing lazier than that excuse." pic.twitter.com/FGRS7tF8UL
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 16, 2021
NBC has finally accepted that no one wants to watch a talk show at 1:30 in the morning.
Marv Albert is retiring. 1. I had no idea Marv Albert was still working, much less still alive. 2. Talk about someone who benefitted from the pre-#MeToo era. Seriously: how was this man still working?
Jeffrey McWilliams, who appeared on Restaurant Impossible, has been arrested for murder in a four-year-old cold case. What’s going on over there, Food Network?
Congratulations, Katy Tur and Tony Dokoupil!
Going Viral
Cases continue to drop across the country, even as the vaccination rate slows a bit (although it looks like the rate rose a bit recently now that 12-15-year-olds can receive the shot). Cases have especially dropped in the Northeast which has the highest rate of vaccination (Nationally, we are at about 47% vaccinated with one shot — in New Hampshire, they are at 85% vaccinated! Whereas here in Texas, we’re only at 41%. I know New Hampshire is a small state, but STILL.)
And as predicted, people are screaming at businesses who have not lifted their mask requirements even though it’s a business’ right to refuse service to people who are endangering the health of others. What was maybe not entirely predicted is that one of those people would be Ricky Silver Spoons Schroder (although, considering he donated to Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense fund, maybe it’s not that big of a surprise that this asshole would be an anti-masker).
Don’t tell Ricky, but masks will still be required on TV and film sets for the foreseeable future.
Masks will be optional in outdoor spaces at Disney World but still be required on attractions, which is a reasonable compromise. Meanwhile, over in France, Disneyland Paris is set to reopen on June 17.
Renewals
- B Positive and United States of Al have both been renewed for a second season on CBS.
- Clarice and SEAL Team have both been renewed, but will be moving from CBS to Paramount+. SEAL Team will air its first few episodes on CBS before moving to the streamer, whereas Clarice will stream exclusively on Paramount+.
- The Tonight Show has been renewed for five more years at NBC.
Cancellations
- The Unicorn and All Rise have been canceled at CBS after two seasons each.
In Development
- Good Sam and Smallwood have been ordered to series at CBS.
- Ways & Means, the Sarah Cooper/ Cindy Chupack single-camera comedy, and Welcome To Georgia are not moving forward at CBS.
- Drama pilots National Parks Investigation, Dark Horse, Epic, Promised Land, and Triage are still being considered for a midseason pickup at ABC, but have not yet been officially ordered to series.
- Drama pilot Acts of Crime and comedies Black Donāt Crack and Bucktown are not moving forward at ABC.
- At NBC, they are still considering Night Court, Hungry, Someone Out There, Dangerous Moms, and Getaway for midseason or even the 2022-2023 season.
- NBC has ordered special holiday episodes of Kenan, Young Rock, and Mr. Mayor.
- Next Level Chef, another cooking competition hosted by Gordon Ramsay, has been ordered at Fox.
- Has Bedrock, the animated Flinstones series, been ordered by Fox? MAYBE.
- Naked and Afraid of Love, Mating Season, and Mountain Love have been ordered at Discovery Channel. They have also ordered two motor series, Getaway Driver and The Hop.
- UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record is being adapted into a movie at HBO Max.
- The Cabin Chronicles, Extraordinary Stories Behind Everyday Things, RE(Motel), and Where We Call Home have been added to the Magnolia Network’s summer slate.
- Lily Topples the World has been acquired by Discovery+.
Casting News
- Gillian Anderson is joining the cast of The Great as Catherine’s mother.
- Nelson Ascencio, Gary Cole, Toby Huss, Zoe Levin, John Carroll Lynch, Zak Orth, Tony Plana, and Tre Ryder have joined the cast of The White House Plumbers on HBO.
- Danica McKellar, Vernon Davis, and Steven Price will serve as the judges on the Fox reality competition series Domino Masters.
- Morris Chestnut is joining the cast of Our Kind Of People on Fox.
- Anna Grace Barlow is joining the cast of The Big Leap on Fox.
- Sam Asghari has been added to the cast of Black Monday on Showtime.
- Cosmo Jarvis, Suki Waterhouse, Richard E. Grant, and Nikki Amuka-Bird are joining Persuasion on Netflix.
- Tiffany Moon is NOT leaving The Real Housewives of Dallas, contrary to reports otherwise.
Mark Your Calendar
- The Me You Canāt See will debut on Apple TV+ on May 21.
- Dr. Death will debut this summer on Peacock.
- Sweet Tooth will debut on Netflix on June 4.
- We Are Lady Parts will debut on Peacock on June 3.
- Black Women OWN The Conversation will premiere on OWN on May 25.
- The Good Fight returns on Paramount+ on June 24.
- iCarly will debut on Paramount+ on June 17.
- Conscious Living will premiere on PBS in June.
R.I.P.
Jerome Young, Extreme Championship Wrestler and WWE wrestler
Damon Weaver, Student journalist, and the youngest person to ever interview President Obama
WATCH THIS
MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted: Reality television is celebrated, because, yes, that’s what reality TV deserves. 8 p.m., MTV, VH1, Logo, CMT
The Neighborhood: The Johnsons’ lives are changed forever in the season finale. 7 p.m., CBS
Bob ā„ Abishola: Bob and Abishola enlist their friends and family to help them speed up their wedding in the season finale. 7:30 p.m., CBS
Bull: Bull’s upcoming wedding is put on pause. Season finale. 9 p.m., CBS
Breeders: Paul must make the hardest decision of his life. Season finale. 9 p.m., FX
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: P!nk, Eric Bana, Natti Natasha & Becky G
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: Julianna Margulies, Josh Duhamel, Alaina Castillo, Brian Frasier-Moore
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Cindy McCain, Mj Rodriguez
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Barack Obama, Kelly Rowland
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Shaquille O’Neal, Patton Oswalt, Chase Rice
- The Daily Show: The Daily Social Distancing Show
- Conan: Timothy Olyphant
- Watch What Happens Live: Billy Crystal
- A Little Late with Lily Singh: Matty Matheson
| MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Monsters Inc. (new) |
The Good Doctor (new) |
| CBS | The Neighborhood (new) |
Bob ā„ Abishola (new) |
All Rise (new) |
Bull (new) |
| CW | All American (new) |
Black Lightning (new) |
Local |
| FOX | 9-1-1 (new) |
9-1-1: Lone Star (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
Debris (new) |
Of all the shows in development I hope “Night Court” is picked up.
I watch them both and it makes me so angry that they cancelled The Unicorn and decided to renew B Positive. Unreal
The bottom line is the ratings. Overall, ‘B Positive’ was CBS’s 11th most popular show. ‘The Unicorn’ came in at 19 of 24. In a season that saw every returning show lose viewership, ‘The Unicorn’ lost the most on CBS, losing around 36% from last year. I think the bottom line is that ‘The Unicorn’ — while a charming series — just isn’t CBS material, and a Chuck Lorre show like ‘B Positive’ is. CBS seems to want to branch into smart single-camera, non-laugh-track comedy, but every time they do, it fails.
-T