Lock your doors, bears are coming for your groceries.
RACIAL Justice
Over at ESPN, they have a mess on their hands. According to a New York Times piece that came out this weekend, one of their hosts, Rachel Nichols, who is white, was caught on tape complaining that her fellow host Maria Taylor, who is Black, was given the NBA Finals hosting gig while she was stuck doing sideline reporting. Nichols suggested that Taylor was chosen for the job over her to address some of ESPN’s struggles with diversity.
“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said in July 2020. “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
All of these comments, which were being made to Adam Mendelsohn, LeBron James’s advisor, and James’s agent, Rich Paul, were caught on Nichols’ own video camera, by the way. An employee at ESPN happened to see the video via a company server, recorded it on a cell phone, and soon the comments were being circulated among other employees, some of whom were considering boycotting coverage of the Finals in response.
As the story broke, ESPN pulled Nichols from sideline coverage, replacing her with Malika Andrews. Nichols issued a brief apology at the beginning of her show, The Jump on Monday.
Rachel Nichols' apology at the top of ESPN's The Jump earlier today.pic.twitter.com/q5U6U0ZZCK
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) July 5, 2021
ESPN preempted her show on Tuesday.
NEWS: ESPN canceled Rachel Nichols' The Jump for today, The Post has learned.
The plan is to have it on tomorrow.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) July 6, 2021
During the dark times I always remember that I am in this position to open doors and light the path that others walk down. I’ve taken some punches but that just means I’m still in the fight. Remember to lift as you climb and always KEEP RISING ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ztSIx9CLpO
— Maria Taylor (@MariaTaylor) July 7, 2021
Remember, @ESPN didn’t suspend Rachel Nichols for what she said.
UNC’s didn’t reconsider @nhannahjones’ tenure because they received more information about her qualifications.
They took action BECAUSE WE FOUND OUT.
— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) July 8, 2021
BREAKING NEWS: Jesse Watters is still a fucking idiot.
Big Brother has its most diverse cast ever and people are here for it.
Hold on… did @CBSBigBrother get a new head of casting… because finally it’s a diverse cast! I don’t ever think I’ve seen this many people of color move in to the BB house at once! I’m here for it! #bigbrother23 #BB23 pic.twitter.com/zNUIKHVHSB
— Karamo (@Karamo) July 8, 2021
i’m sorry it hasn’t fully set in but look at how diverse this cast is 😭😭 #BB23 pic.twitter.com/fj3OVYHB47
— Daniel ICON Brown #BB23 (@danieliconbrown) July 6, 2021
I just want to say a huge thank you to the casting team this season for giving us the most promising cast I’ve ever seen. I know it’s early but these people are all so diverse and interesting and seem to truly love the show. ♥️♥️ #BB23
— Andy Herren (@AndyHerren) July 8, 2021
An update on the stupid “Critical Race Theory” battles erupting around this country:
Some parents recently confronted TN's ed commissioner about "critical race theory" in schools. https://t.co/B2SlZYIbLc What specifically were they complaining about? A curriculum teaching elementary school students about school desegregation. https://t.co/aYRWLJQypC pic.twitter.com/mQxKoMeBvc
— Matt Barnum (@matt_barnum) July 7, 2021
JUST IN: Award-winning journalist @nhannahjones reveals on @CBSThisMorning she has declined the University of North Carolina's offer for tenure and will be the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Reporting at @HowardU. pic.twitter.com/w9j0gVe0cd
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) July 6, 2021
“This hopefully also sends a message to other Black folks, who’ve gotten to a certain status in their career, that we can come home and build our own.” Thank you @aaronlmorrison for this interview and for understanding what the message should be.
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) July 8, 2021
All Other TV News
I know you know about Frankenbiting, the unethical practice that some reality TV shows use to make it sound like someone said something they did not say, but this long piece about it is still fascinating. Long and short of it: if you don’t see someone actually say something, tread carefully.
Good Girls was canceled because a supporting actor demanded more money? Yeah, that doesn’t … sound right.
Are you vacationing with children or starring in a gripping medical drama?
General Hospital has built itself a pool.
Yeah, sure, Coronation Street received a visit from the Queen, but does it have its own swimming pool?
Once I was in the spa in a hotel in Vegas getting a massage. When I finished I turned over and to my shock Paul Rudd was massaging me. He saw me go in and convinced the masseuse to let him take over, thinking I’d notice immediately. I didn’t, and Paul did the entire rest of it.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) July 5, 2021
And Damon Lindelof is having some fun with it:
Fox News is looking for liberals willing to be on their network.
Tucker Carlson was pursuing an interview with Vladimir Putin right before he started screaming about the NSA monitoring his emails. Which complicates things, right? I mean, the NSA’s response to Carlson’s accusations that he and his staff were being spied on was that he wasn’t a target, and that they only monitor foreign actors’ communications. But if Carlson was emailing with a bunch of Russians, then, yeah, it’s possible the NSA saw his emails when they were monitoring the Russians’ communications. And for all the conservatives who were OUTRAGED by Carlson’s claims of being spied on, where was that outrage for the CNN, Washington Post, and New York Times reporters who literally did have their emails and phone calls collected by the Trump Department of Justice? Hmm?
Former President Illiterate is suing Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for being suspended from the platforms after he stoked an insurrection and the storming of the Capitol. I would mock this as it doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of going anywhere (the First Amendment only prevents the government from impinging on your right to free speech; private entities have no obligation to host your speech) except it’s clearly being used to 1. stoke outrage towards the platforms and 2. raise money.
This is the definition of a successful ad. Less than six hours after this video was posted, Toyota put out a statement promising to stop donating money to the sedition caucus:
New — Toyota announces it will stop contributing to members of Congress who opposed the election certification https://t.co/V55ycn6qgE pic.twitter.com/Y19BeGvQWV
— Riley Beggin (@rbeggin) July 8, 2021
Well done, guys.
Renewals
- Evil has been renewed for a third season on Paramount+ (HOORAY!)
- Rutherford Falls has been renewed for a second season on Peacock.
I’m freaking ecstatic to announce that #RutherfordFalls will be back for season 2!!! Can’t wait to get new eps in front of your eyeballs soon! Until then, get your tush to @PeacockTV and catch up on season 1! What a day!!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽❤️😭 pic.twitter.com/3EjW5OtxuN
— sierra ornelas (@sierraornelas) July 8, 2021
- Pause with Sam Jay has been renewed for a second season on HBO.
- The Standups has been renewed at Netflix for season three.
In Development
- Pride & Prejudice: An Experiment in Romance, a “Regency-style dating series that will require hopeful suitors to bring the ultimate romance back to dating,” has been ordered at Peacock.
- Unrapped, a hip-hop competition series from 50 Cent, is being developed at ABC.
- Kendra Sells Hollywood has been bought at Discovery+.
- Married to Real Estate has been ordered at HGTV.
- Faust is being turned into an animated series.
Casting News
- Jeff Goldblum is joining the cast of Search Party on HBO.
- Kiefer Sutherland will be your new Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- Matt Bomer, Gavin Creel, Sierra McCormick, Ashley Martin Carter, Paris Jackson, Belissa Escobedo, Kaia Gerber, Aaron Tveit, Rhenzy Feliz, Madison Bailey, Kyle Red Silverstein, Amy Grabow, John Carroll Lynch, Naomi Grossman, Dyllon Burnside, Nico Greetham, Charles Melton, Kevin McHale, Danny Trejo, Billie Lourd, and Virginia Gardner have all been named as cast members in American Horror Stories on FX on Hulu.
- Henry Simmons and Joy Bryant have been cast in Cherish the Day on OWN.
- The Bachelor in Paradise cast has been announced.
- Sophia Brown will co-star in The Witcher: Blood Origin on Netflix.
- Luke Kleintank, Heida Reed, and Vinessa Vidotto will star in FBI: International on CBS.
- Millicent Simmonds will star in True Biz.
- Kapil Talwalkar is joining the cast of the Night Court pilot at NBC.
- Benjamin Hollingsworth has joined the cast of Joe Pickett at Spectrum.
- Jessica Henwick, Arisa Shida, Will Yun Lee, Shinshu Fuji, Samira Wiley, Takako Honda, Brian Cox, Wes Bentley, Josh Duhamel, Taiten Kusunoki, Peyton List, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Stephen Root, Hochu Otsuka, Barkhad Abdi, Takayuki Kinba, Gregg Henry, Masane Tsukayama, Henry Czerny, Akio Nojima, Jason Spisak and Kazuki Yao have joined the voice cast of Blade Runner: Black Lotus on Adult Swim.
- Jeff Daniels will narrate 9/11: Inside the President’s War Room on Apple TV+.
Mark Your Calendars
- American Horror Stories will premiere on FX on Hulu on July 15.
- Scenes from a Marriage will premiere on HBO in September.
- Mr. Corman will debut on Apple TV+ on August 6.
- McCartney 3,2,1 will premiere on Hulu on July 16.
- Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage will premiere on Netflix on July 23.
- Resort to Love will premiere on Netflix on July 29.
- Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace will premiere on Lifetime soon.
- The Kissing Booth 3 will debut on Netflix on August 11.
- Kingdom: Ashin of the North will debut on Netflix on July 23.
- Control Z will premiere on Netflix on August 4.
- Baki Hanma will debut on Netflix soon.
- Red Notice will premiere on Netflix on November 12.
- Street Outlaws: Memphis will return on Discovery on July 19.
- Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty returns on BBC America on July 10.
- Chopped: Playing with Fire will debut on Food Network on August 10.
- The Hunt for a Killer will premiere on Sundance Now on August 12.
- State of Our Union: Vice President Kamala Harris will debut on BET News on July 9.
- CMT Music Awards will be broadcast on CBS on April 3.
R.I.P.
Robert Downey Sr., Director and father of Robert Downey, Jr.
Ayesha K. Faines, Broadcast and print journalist
Rick Laird, Bass guitarist with Mahavishu Orchestra and Return to Forever
WATCH THIS
Gossip Girl: It just doesn’t feel like all that long ago that the original Gossip Girl was on the air? Is this what getting old is like? HBO Max
grown-ish: Zoey and friends go to Mexico in the season premiere. 7 p.m., Freeform
Son: A mother with a dark past tries to save her creepy son from sinister forces in this new horror film. Shudder
Late Night:
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Nick Kroll, Chiney Ogwumike, Macy Gray & the California Jet Club, guest host Wanda Sykes
THUR | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
ABC | NBA Playoffs (live) |
CBS | Young Sheldon (repeat) |
United States of Al (repeat) |
Love Island (repeat) |
Bull (repeat) |
CW | World’s Funniest Animals (repeat) |
World’s Funniest Animals (repeat) |
ET Presents… 9021OMG! The Cast Tells All (new) |
News/Local |
FOX | Beat Shazam (new) |
LEGO Masters (repeat) |
News/Local |
NBC | Making It (new) |
Good Girls (new) |
Law & Order: Organized Crime (repeat) |
Have you ever found the time to watch Motherland: Fort Salem?