This is Daisy and Luna. Daisy doesn’t like car rides so Luna comforts her until they both fall asleep. H*ckin heartwarming. 13/10 for each pic.twitter.com/lH07PmHJWh
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) June 22, 2021
All Other TV News
After 28 years, two networks and three shows (with five variations) Conan O’Brien is ending his talk show career tonight. But he is not retiring, he’s moving on to HBO Max where he will do a weekly variety show. I’m old enough that I watched the very first episode of The Late Show with Conan O’Brien in my sophomore dorm room, was furious with the way NBC treated him in favor of Jay Fucking Leno, and am genuinely happy and excited for him as he ends this stage in his career.
Honestly, the talk show format is a little stale, and Conan hasn’t seemed creatively challenged by it in a long while. In fact, his best bits, the bits where he clearly is having the most fun, have always been the pre-taped pieces and his travel specials rather than his interviews. Here’s to hoping this new HBO Max series leans into those, and Conan continues to make us laugh for years to come.
Tonight, two men I respect tremendously close a chapter of their brilliant careers. Conan made doing his job the hard way look easy. He & Andy are among the funniest of the many funny people I’ve met. Congratulations to you & your co-workers on a remarkable achievement.
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) June 24, 2021
I was at SNL when @ConanOBrien was a writer and when Lorne said he was going to give Late Night to Conan, every one of us said "Great. He's the funniest person I know."
Congrats to all my friends at @TeamCoco on an incredible run.— Mike Shoemaker (@shoemakermike) June 24, 2021
A lot of people been sharing their favorite Conan late night memory so I’ll do mine. Conan’s Tonight Show farewell speech. It’s something I think about at least once a year. Thank you Conan for giving me and so many others the greatest advice in comedy. The best to ever do it. pic.twitter.com/eZtIIVQMod
— Steven Castillo (@STEEEZUSCHRIST) June 24, 2021
One time in 2003 I skipped school and went to a taping of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Seeing all the people working behind the scenes made me realize that more than anything I wanted to work in late night television. What I’m saying is he ruined my life.
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) June 24, 2021
This was one of the single funniest things I ever saw on television. Conan’s setup, the clip, the reaction. It was perfect. pic.twitter.com/uP8cw5v1vv
— Jeff D (MovieRankings.net) (@JeffDLowe) June 24, 2021
Tonight @ConanOBrien takes off his basic cable pants and gets ready for streaming.Not that streaming's new to him. I’ve peed on Conan many times. Not on the show. It’s how I kept my job. Please don’t repeat that story. I'm saving it for Fallon.
I KEED
And this kiss was consensual pic.twitter.com/mjGSjajv5i— Triumph® ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴsᴜʟᴛ ᴄᴏᴍɪᴄ ᴅᴏɢ™ Headquarters💩 (@TriumphICDHQ) June 24, 2021
Honestly words cannot describe how cool it’s been to be a very very small part of that’s been making the most incredible comedy for my whole life. When I told the boss this is the best job I’ve ever had he said “You’ve probably only had like 5 jobs so that means almost nothing.” pic.twitter.com/fX78fSqwdz
— Skyler Higley (@skyler_higley) June 24, 2021
I'm going to miss seeing Conan in late night. I remember how much that show meant to me as a little kid and how upset my mom was when I asked her to explain the masturbating bear
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) June 24, 2021
There are thousands of wonderful Conan bits, but some of my favorites are from the early days of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, when he was trying to convince Houston’s NBC affiliate, KPRC, to move his show from 2:40 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Conan came down to Houston to find out who was watching the show at that time (absolutely no one except for one gentleman named “Buffalo” who had some criticisms). Later, he made a commercial for one of his sponsors in this terrible timeslot, Hilton Furniture (“That’s a fact, Jack!”)
And here’s a fascinating little Late Night with Conan O’Brien fact: his very first musical guest ever was Radiohead:
Speaking of comedies: The New York Times compiled a list of the best 21 comedies of this century and while I agree with most of these choices I am OUTRAGED at a particular omission — which they include in their “Toughest Omissions” section. THIS WILL NOT STAND.
This is genius:
While we celebrate the Summer of Jean Smart (although for some of us, Jean Smart isn’t seasonal), we learn that she very nearly wasn’t in Watchmen. I mean Sigourney Weaver is great and would have been well cast as Laurie, but she’s no Jean Smart.
It turns out that not everyone is Netflix material.
The Peabodys — easily the best awards organization — announced their winners this week, and it’s hard to argue with Ted Lasso, Unorthodox, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Good news Amazon Fire users: Peacock is now available!
The Blacklist‘s creator and executive producer, Jon Bokenkamp, is leaving the show after 8 seasons.
The Walking Dead has released the episode titles for the first 8 episodes of the final season.
TV Insider made a list of shows that benefitted from a shorter season, and they’re all procedurals. And there is no doubt that a shorter season made NCIS better, but the dirty little secret is that most shows benefit from shorter runs. Give me a 10-episode season any day.
Poor Mike Lindell thought it would be a good idea to do an interview with Jordan Klepper. Free advice: If you’re a right-wing lunatic, it’s NEVER a good idea to do an interview with Jordan Klepper.
But then, Mike Lindell thought it would be a good idea to leak the interview before it aired on The Daily Show? Because he thought this made him look … good? What even is this?
Thoughts and prayers to the HBO Max intern.
BURN THE WITCH:
The night before my first @Jeopardy taping, I was alone in the hotel, trying to calm down and "visualizing" a win. I sketched myself at a podium, with a winning-type dollar amount.
And that winning-type dollar amount was $19,201. This is real. pic.twitter.com/a6nQZtCs1n
— Katie Sekelsky (@Sekelsky) June 16, 2021
RACIAL Justice
So the right wing’s newest bugaboo is “Critical Race Theory,” which according to Wikipedia is “an academic movement of civil-rights scholars and activists in the United States who seek to critically examine the law as it intersects with issues of race and to challenge mainstream liberal approaches to racial justice. Critical race theory examines social, cultural, and legal issues as they relate to race and racism,” and according to right-wing fearmongers is the Left’s attempt to corrupt our children, destroy America and rewrite history to make white people the villains.
From what I understand — which admittedly is not much — Critical Race Theory is a philosophical framework that is used in higher academics, not in elementary schools, but let’s not allow facts to get in the way of us banning any discussion of racism in our schools because it might make white people feel bad to be reminded their ancestors enslaved people. As of last month, three states have banned Critical Race Theory from being taught in schools and thirteen more states are considering it.
The New York Times is finding itself having to defend its Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, while Fox News has latched onto this non-existent problem to terrify your parents.
Fox News has mentioned "critical race theory" nearly 1,300 times in the past 3.5 months — doubling month over month https://t.co/GUnBC7sb4P pic.twitter.com/w7DmIr9Nr3
— Media Matters (@mmfa) June 15, 2021
The whole outrage is being manufactured by right-wing think tanks, amplified by conservative media and it’s working: now people are losing their damn minds over absolutely nothing at all:
Two arrests made at the Loudoun County, Virginia school board meeting after it was declared an unlawful assembly and some parents here to protest against critical race theory and a transgender policy refused to leave right away #CriticalRaceTheory pic.twitter.com/dsZDrqJ0Gp
— Gabriella Borter (@gabriellaborter) June 22, 2021
There was one recent bright spot in all of this nonsense. Sex-pest Matt Gaetz criticized the military for being too “woke” during a House Armed Services hearing yesterday, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, he had some thoughts on that:
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, on Matt Gaetz's critical race theory remarks: "I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned, non-commissioned officers of being 'woke' or something else." pic.twitter.com/syogXkaeem
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 23, 2021
Hey, @mattgaetz, see those stripes on Gen Milley’s right sleeve? Each one represents 6 months in combat. SecDef Austin has more, but they aren’t on his suit. You really want to do this? https://t.co/vwiSfm1aNc
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) June 23, 2021
Brian Williams stuffed @mattgaetz in a locker pic.twitter.com/73ZWpqJkV4
— Wu-Tang Is For The Children (@WUTangKids) June 24, 2021
But don’t worry, Matt Gaetz, Laura Ingraham stands with you:
An angry Laura Ingraham says she’s totally outraged over General Milley after she suggests withholding funding to the military pic.twitter.com/wApq1qytRV
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 24, 2021
We live in an insane time. I’ll let Amber Ruffin have the last word on this topic:
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway show-turned-film In the Heights was warmly received by critics and audiences last week, but there was some criticism that the film lacked dark-skinned Afro-Latinos, and eliminated a storyline about anti-Black racism within the Latino community. Miranda responded to the criticism with an apology:
-LMM pic.twitter.com/CHfdLgFUz3
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 14, 2021
Soon after, Rita Moreno was on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he asked her about the criticism, and in an attempt to defend Miranda, Moreno said, “There’s a lot of people who are puertorriqueño, who are also from Guatemala, who are dark and who are also fair. We are all colors in Puerto Rico. This is how it is, and it would just be so nice if they hadn’t come up with that and left that alone, just for now. They’re really attacking the wrong person.” And then SHE issued a Twitter apology the next day:
In addition to applauding Lin for his wonderful movie version of In The Heights, let me add my appreciation for his sensitivity and resolve to be more inclusive of the Afro-Latino community going forward. See, you CAN teach this old dog new tricks – RITA
— Rita Moreno (@TheRitaMoreno) June 17, 2021
Newsmax is reviewing some old tweets by Greg Kelly about morale in the military under white leadership. It appears Kelly was attempting to be sarcastic and mocking the whole idea of racial identity being a factor in troop morale, but BOY HOWDY, it comes off bad.
Apparently, ABC was planning on bringing Chris Harrison back to The Bachelor, but Michael Strahan killed that following his interview with Harrison on Good Morning America, when he said, “His apology is his apology, but it felt like I got nothing more than a surface response. Only time will tell if there is any meaning behind his words.” And with that, Harrison’s fate was sealed.
Amazon has created a new inclusion policy and playbook.
Helen Hunt says she wanted to remake Twister with all Black and brown storm chasers, but no one would buy it.
Billie Eilish is sorry for singing along with a song that included an Asian slur when she was 13.
And in good news, we’ve officially turned what had been a Texas holiday, Juneteenth, into a federal holiday. (Though there were fourteen Republicans who were opposed to it because Republicans gonna Republican.)
Imagine being so racist you don’t want the day off https://t.co/ZoeueZWjXP
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 17, 2021
Renewals
- Legendary has been renewed for a third season at HBO Max (yay!).
- The Upshaws has been renewed for a second season on Netflix.
- Couples Therapy has been renewed for a third season on Showtime.
- The Hardy Boys has been renewed for a second season on Hulu.
- The Challenge has been renewed for a 37th season on MTV.
Cancellations
- #blackAF has been canceled at Netflix.
In Development
- J.J. Abrams is producing a UFO docuseries for Showtime.
- Strange Planet is being turned into an animated series at Apple TV+.
- An Interview with the Vampire series has been greenlit at AMC.
- For Your Own Good is being adapted into a series at HBO Max.
- Highway to Heaven is being developed into an event movie series at Lifetime starring Jill Scott.
- Will Smith is getting a variety comedy special at Netflix.
- The Nigerian Princess, a comedy series from Ziwe, is being developed at Amazon.
- Big Vape: The Incendiary Rise of Juul is being turned into a documentary at Netflix.
- The Deep House, an underwater haunted house movie, is coming to Epix.
- Unhuman, a teen horror film is also coming to Epix.
- Married to Real Estate has been greenlit at HGTV.
- Miami River Cops, a cop drama, is being developed.
- Rhino Reboot, a docuseries about The Rochester Rhinos, is in the works.
- Kiff, an animated children’s series has been ordered at Disney Channel.
- Captain Laserhawk is being developed at Netflix.
- Fight Like A Girl is being adapted into a TV series.
- Martyrs Lane has been bought by Shudder.
- Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, and Kiya And The Kimoja Heroes have been ordered by Disney.
Casting News
- Dean Winters is going to play Jeff Lowe (genius), and Lex Mayson will be Saff in Joe Exotic on Peacock.
- Gary Cole is in talks for a major role on NCIS at CBS.
- Sophie Turner is joining the cast of Strangers on Netflix.
- Kate Mara and Brian Tyree Henry will star in Class of ’09 on FX on Hulu.
- Lacretta is joining the cast of the Night Court pilot at NBC.
- Madison Taylor Baez is going to star in the Let the Right One In pilot at Showtime.
- Ari Graynor, Stephan James, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, François Arnaud, Marianne Jean Baptiste, and Millie Brady are joining the cast of Surface on Apple TV+.
- Constance Marie, Benito Martinez, and Vincent Rodriguez III have been cast in With Love on Amazon.
- Sarah Desjardins, Kevin Alves, and Alexa Barajas will join the cast of Yellowjackets on Showtime.
- Kristin Kreuk, Marc Bendavid, Willie C. Carpenter, Currie Graham, Harvey Guillén, and Maxwell Jenkins are joining Reacher on Amazon.
- Jorge Lopez, Alicia Jaziz, Dario Yazbek Bernal, Alicia Sanz, Jack Duarte, and Miranda de la Serna have been added to the cast of Now and Then on Apple TV+.
- Sean Patrick Flanery, Nick Wechsler, and Miles Gaston Villanueva are joining The Boys on Amazon.
- Savannah Guthrie will co-host the Olympic Coverage for NBC.
- Morena Baccarin, Ryan Michelle Bathé, Kamal Bolden, and Noah Bean are joining an untitled NBC drama pilot.
- Adam Rodriguez is joining The Real Magic Mike! on HBO Max as a mentor.
- Bill Engvall will host Blue Collar Auction on Circle TV.
Mark Your Calendars
- Ted Lasso returns on Apple TV+ on July 23.
- The Harder They Fall will premiere on Netflix soon.
- The White Lotus will premiere on HBO on July 11.
- The Shrink Next Door will debut on Apple TV+ on November 12.
- Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will debut on Lifetime soon.
Not all fairytales have the perfect ending…catch a sneak peek of the upcoming Lifetime Original Movie Harry & Meghan: #EscapingthePalace ❤ pic.twitter.com/0LLznj9Qko
— Lifetime (@lifetimetv) June 22, 2021
- The Beast Must Die will debut on AMC on July 5.
- The Patrick Star Show will debut on Nickelodeon on July 9.
- Sophie: A Murder In West Cork will premiere on Netflix on June 30.
- The Dog House: UK will premiere on HBO Max on July 8.
- The Pursuit of Love will premiere on Amazon on July 30.
- Looney Tunes Cartoons returns on HBO Max on July 8.
- This Way Up returns on Hulu on July 9.
- Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson will premiere on Apple TV+ on July 30.
- Eden will debut on Spectrum on July 12.
- Sky Rojo 2 will premiere on Netflix on July 23.
- Heist will premiere on July 14.
- Robin Robin will premiere on Netflix on November 27.
- The Witcher will return on Netflix soon.
Lost in the woods no more. Meet Ciri in #TheWitcher Season 2. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/zIweEHxtYw
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 11, 2021
- Arcane will premiere on Netflix in the fall.
Nothing like a little sibling rivalry.
Watch the first clip from #Arcane, the @LeagueofLegends animated series coming fall 2021 to Netflix. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/m25ciGHr9M
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 11, 2021
- Fena: Pirate Princess will debut on Adult Swim sometime this summer.
- Ice Cold will premiere on YouTube on July 8.
- How I Became a Superhero will premiere on Netflix on July 9.
- Young Royals will debut on Netflix on July 1.
- Titans will debut on HBO Max on August 12.
- Middlemost Post will premiere on Nickelodeon on July 9.
- Sex Education will return on Netflix on September 17.
- Breakaway will premiere on ESPN on July 13.
- This Is Me: Pride Celebration Spectacular will stream on Disney+ on June 27.
- The Beatles: Get Back will stream on Disney+ beginning November 25.
- The 2021 ESPYS Presented by Capital One will air on ABC on July 10.
- Love in Paradise: The Caribbean, A 90 Day Story will premiere on Discovery+ on July 18.
- Betraying the Badge will premiere on Vice on July 19.
R.I.P.
Frank Bonner, Actor best known for playing Herb Tarlek on WKRP in Cincinnati
John Paragon, Actor and comedian who played Jambi on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse
Janet Malcolm, Author and long time writer for The New Yorker
John David McAfee, Software engineer, fugitive, weirdo, possible murderer
WATCH THIS
Conan: Conan says goodbye to broadcast TV and the talk show format after nearly 30 years. Series finale. 10 p.m., TBS
Making It: The makers have to craft a toy that shows their personality on the season premiere of the nicest show on broadcast television. 7 p.m., NBC
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: RuPaul’s moves over to Paramount+ which, combined with Evil being on the streamer, is reason enough for me to be a subscriber. Season premiere. Paramount+
The Good Fight: How am I just now seeing that every episode in the fourth season was titled, “The Gang (does X, Y, or Z)”???? Welp. I guess I have to go back and watch all of this show now. Good thing I’m a subscriber, as noted above. Paramount+
When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren: Helen Mirren narrates this cheeky new nature documentary series. Series premiere. 7 p.m., ABC
False Positive: Ilana Glazer and Justin Theroux star in this twist on the Rosemary’s Baby story. Hulu
Epstein’s Shadow: This series studies Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s partner and enabler. Series premiere. Peacock
Sisters On Track: The story of the Sheppard sisters, Tai, Rainn, and Brooke, who become track superstars despite living in challenging conditions. Netflix
LFG: This documentary follows the USWNT’s quest for equal pay and treatment and their 2019 World Cup win. Premiere. HBO Max
Mary J. Blige’s My Life: A look back at the inspiration for the legendary R&B’s star’s 1994 album, “My Life.” Premiere. Amazon
Bosch: Final season premiere. Amazon
Who Are You, Charlie Brown?: A love letter to Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts, and a look at his legacy. Premiere. Apple TV+
Central Park: Season premiere. Apple TV+
United States of Al: Al and Vanessa try to convince Riley to take advantage of his military benefits in the season finale. 7:30 p.m., CBS
Good Girls: Things become more complicated (than they already are??) in the two-hour season premiere. 8 p.m., NBC
Legacies: The past comes back for Hope in the season premiere. 8 p.m., The CW
Clarice: Clarice is imprisoned in an animal testing facility where she finds a number of trafficked women in the season (series?) finale. 9 p.m., CBS
Godzilla Singular Point: Premiere Netflix
An Unquiet Grave: A husband who loses his wife too soon enlists her sister to help him raise her from the grave in this horror film. Shudder
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Jon Hamm, Ozuna, Rojo Perez
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: John Cena, Kristen Schaal, Kristina Schiano
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Robert Duvall, JP Saxe with John Mayer
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Liam Neeson, Anthony Ramos
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Chris Pratt, Michael Cohen, the Isley Brothers & Snoop Dogg
- Conan: Jack Black
- Watch What Happens Live: Ian Somerhalder, Annie Murphy
THUR | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
ABC | When Nature Calls with Helen Mirren (new) |
Holey Moley (new) |
The Hustler (new) |
CBS | Young Sheldon (repeat) |
United States of Al (new) |
Mom (repeat) |
B Positive (repeat) |
Clarice (new) |
CW | Walker (new) |
Legacies (new) |
News/Local |
FOX | Beat Shazam (new) |
LEGO Masters (repeat) |
News/Local |
NBC | Making It (new) |
Good Girls (new) |
Good Girls (new) |