Bill Cosby might be a free man, but he remains a monster.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

H’oh boy, we’re going to need some cuteness up in here today because I am fucking furious.

All Other TV News

Ugh. The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction, and he will be set free today.

From what I understand, the district attorney of Montgomery County, Bruce Castor Jr. (who was one of the Former Sexual Assaulter-in-Chief’s second impeachment attorneys, if that name is ringing a bell), declined to prosecute Cosby in 2005, believing he didn’t have enough evidence against him. But Castor didn’t leave it at that: instead, he encouraged Cosby in a “non-prosecution agreement” to cooperate in a civil case one of his accusers brought against him. In the depositions for that civil case, Cosby admitted to giving quaaludes to women he wanted to rape — I’M SORRY, “HAVE SEX WITH.” Then some years later, a new district attorney came to office and chose to criminally prosecute Cosby, and was successful thanks in part to his own statements in the depositions from the civil case. 

The Supreme Court’s finding is that the district attorney who criminally prosecuted Cosby violated his due process rights by charging him, that they violated the non-prosecution agreement that Bruce Castor Jr. made with Cosby back in 2005. Furthermore, the Supreme Court decided that by participating in the civil case, Cosby was forced to testify against himself, testimony that was then used to criminally prosecute him. 

This whole thing makes me sick. My thoughts are with all of the women Bill Cosby violated who must be devastated today.

And I’m not going to post Phylicia Rashad’s tweet, because it is frankly too painful to do so. My respect for her has come to a screeching, terrible halt.

And in “So Stupid You Can’t Make This Up News,” the National Security Agency put out a public statement saying that, in fact, they are not spying on Tucker Carlson contrary to his paranoid delusions, because 1. he’s not that important, but more importantly 2. he’s not a foreign agent.

Carlson’s been out here trying to claim the NSA is reading his and other Fox News employee’s emails which, I mean.

Senator Elizabeth Warren wants the FTC to take a very close look at Amazon’s acquisition of MGM.

First they tell me that Succession probably only has one or two more seasons and now Jeff Garlin is out here saying that Curb probably only has one more season? I can only take so much bad news, guys.

I finally got around to watching the first episode of the second season of Evil last night (and it was SO GOOD, you guys) and it turns out they’re dubbing in profanities now that they are over on a streaming service and no longer beholden to the FCC and CBS censors. Interesting!

A Real Housewives ex-boyfriend is running for Governor of California, and you know, sure. Why not. 

Again, I thought we knew that Cecily Strong was probably not coming back to Saturday Night Live? What I want to know is Kate McKinnon and Keenan Thompson’s status, please.

Interesting: House of the Dragon is going to return to certain sets in Spain that were used for King’s Landing, after rumors suggested they wouldn’t.

Alright nerds: here’s a wiki for a sci-fi show that never existed.

Apparently, Sonja Morgan and Ryan Serhant dated and the biggest surprise about this story is how surprised Andy Cohen is by it.

Going Viral

Bad news first: cases are ticking up while testing is going down, which means we probably have a lot more cases out there than we actually know about. Last week the 7-day average number of cases was 11,370; today that number is 11,534. And testing over the same period has dropped 19%. Fortunately, hospitalizations and deaths continue to trend downwards, but the slight uptick in case count suggests that the Delta variant is taking hold, particularly in our unvaccinated population. And while it’s easy to be dismissive of the unvaccinated, and take the position that they brought it on themselves, it’s helpful to remember that children under 12 are among those who can’t be vaccinated.

As for those vaccination rates, we’re at 66% of all adults having received at least one dose. Of course, the distribution of those vaccinations vary wildly depending on what part of the country you’re in: Vermont has 74% of their population — TOTAL population — vaccinated, while in Mississippi and Alabama, that number is 38%. I’ve been to Mississippi and Alabama recently, and they’re not wearing masks, y’all.

There’s some talk about whether or not we’ll have to return to mask-wearing thanks to this rapidly-spreading Delta variant, but the CDC seems to be suggesting that there will be no reconsideration of mask recommendations for those of us who are vaccinated. And frankly, the areas that are most vulnerable to this new variant are the least likely to mask up, anyway.

The good news, as promised: we may not need booster shots for our vaccines after all, as a recent study shows that the mRNA vaccines (your Pfizer and Modernas) provide long-lasting protection. Vaccinate, folks.

Springsteen on Broadway became the first Broadway show to reopen on Saturday — and for vaccinated audiences only — so of course dummies showed up to protest. Listen! No one is making you get a vaccine, but there will be consequences if you don’t. You don’t get to enjoy the full benefits of society if you’re unwilling to do your part.

The big Sun Valley media and tech event for elites will require proof of vaccination. (As if all those billionaires weren’t the first people to get the jabs, come on.)

Also, we still have to wear masks on planes, you dingdongs. Just put on the damn mask.

Just For Laughs Montreal will feature in-person performances, but will also have shows in New York and Los Angeles to accommodate travel restrictions.

The Amber Ruffin Show will have an in-person audience (for the first time) when it returns in August.

Australia’s Got Talent shut down production because of a “surge” of new COVID cases. Ask me how many new cases they had last week, go ahead. FEWER THAN 200. Still, that’s a 100% increase from the week before, so good on them for taking it seriously unlike our dumb country.

Televangelist Jim Bakker — who is a convicted fraudster — has been ordered to pay $156,000 in restitution for selling fake COVID cures.

This is an interesting story about why the soaps avoided COVID storylines, and basically it was a combination of wanting to give the audience a break from the reality of it all, but also cost-measures as the scripts were already written.

John Waters wants a David Cronenberg COVID-sploitation movie and talks glory holes, because John Waters never disappoints.

Renewals

Cancellations

  • Counting On, a Duggar series, has FINALLY been canceled at TLC in the wake of the Josh Duggar mess.

In Development

  • The Idol, a series about a pop star who falls in love with a cult leader, which will star and be written by The Weeknd, is in the works at HBO.
  • Hard Cell, a comedy starring Catherine Tate, has been ordered at Netflix.
  • Echoes, a psychological mystery twins drama, has been greenlit at Netflix.
  • Unknown, a series based on the Liam Neeson film, is being developed at TNT.
  • If Only You Were White is being adapted for television by producer Magic Johnson at Apple TV+.
  • Safe Space, a movie starring Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, Drea de Matteo, Nik Sanchez, and Mackenzie Astin has been greenlit at Lifetime.
  • My Life With the Walter Boys is being adapted for Netflix.
  • The Galaxy Quest TV show is being developed by Simon Pegg and Georgia Pritchett.

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • Jolt will premiere on Amazon on July 23.
  • Roswell, New Mexico returns on The CW on July 26.
  • Awkwafina is Nora From Queens will return on Comedy Central on August 18.
  • Work in Progress returns on Showtime on August 22.
  • Chapelwaite will premiere on Epix on August 22.
  • The Wine Show will return on SundanceTV on July 29.
  • Playing with Sharks will debut on Disney+ on July 23.
  • Tattoo Redo will premiere on Netflix on July 28.
  • Animal Kingdom returns on TNT on July 11.
  • Up Close with Sage Steele premieres on ESPN+ today.
  • For Life is now available on IMDb TV and they are reportedly considering ordering a third season, keeping the canceled series alive.
  • The Simpsons: The Good, The Bart, and The Loki will premiere on Disney+ on July 7.
  • Destination Fear returns on Travel Channel and Discovery+ on July 24.

R.I.P.

Stuart Damon, Actor known best as Dr. Alan Quartermaine on General Hospital for thirty years

Alison Greenspan, Television producer of For Life and a producer of the film Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

John Erman, Emmy-winning producer and director who worked on Star Trek, M*A*S*H, Peyton Place, and Roots

Delia Fiallo, Writer known as the “mother of the telenovela”

Robert Sacchi, Actor known for being a Humphrey Bogart lookalike

WATCH THIS

Sophie: A Murder in West Cork: In 1996, a French filmmaker was murdered outside her vacation home in a small Irish town. This docuseries explores the still-unsolved crime (though there is one main suspect). (And if you’re interested, you should listen to the excellent podcast on the murder, West Cork.) Netflix

America: The Motion Picture: An all-star voice cast including Channing Tatum, Simon Pegg, Judy Greer, Olivia Munn, Will Forte, and Andy Samberg tell a very tongue-in-cheek version of the American Revolution in this animated film. Premiere. Netflix

Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch: RuPaul’s Queens and original Brady Bunch cast members come together for this Pride special. Paramount+

UFOs Declassified: Another special about those 9 pages!  7 p.m., Discovery, Science, Travel

The Bold Type: The future is bright for the ladies of The Bold Type in the series finale. 9 p.m., Freeform

Late Night:

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Harvey Keitel, Randall Otis
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Heidi Klum, Ed Sheeran
  • Watch What Happens Live: Amrit Kapai, Garcelle Beauvais

WEDS. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Press Your Luck
(new)		 The $100,000 Pyramid
(new)		 Card Sharks
(new)
CBS The Price Is Right at Night
(repeat)		 S.W.A.T.
(repeat)		 S.W.A.T.
(repeat)
CW Kung Fu
(new)		 In the Dark
(new)		 Local
FOX MasterChef
(new)		 Crime Scene Kitchen
(new)		 News/Local
NBC Chicago Med
(repeat)		 Chicago Fire
(repeat)		 The Blacklist
(new)

5 thoughts on “Bill Cosby might be a free man, but he remains a monster.”

  1. Of course Tucker Carlson wasn’t investigated by Intelligence. That would require him to have intelligence.

    Reply

  2. Cosby being released on a technicality is maddening (to understate) but remember, it was a _technicality_. He was tried and found guilty on the _evidence_. He is still a convicted sexual predator. People know what he is. He may be free to walk around but he will never be free of the stigma of his crimes.

    Reply

    1. And I know you’re right, Jim. Not only that, I also understand why it’s important from a Constitutional perspective that his fifth amendment rights not be violated. But it still feels like a knife in the heart to all the brave survivors who came forward, and a reason for future survivors to never tell their stories. But – and I mean this genuinely – thank you for the perspective.
      -T

      Reply

  3. Cosby walking is maddening, but it definitely shines light on how the system protects some people. I really hope this won’t cause people to come forward in the future. Some stigmas need to be changed.
    I worry for my friends with young children. As of today both of my boys are fully immunized and I can relax. I need to look into immunized people and spreading covid. It will affect some decisions for the Boy Scout troop I run. Im not just following the national guidelines.

    Reply
  4. Pingback: Everybody dislikes Meghan. – foolish watcher

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