That ‘Succession’ finale could have gone very differently

No caption. Too perfect.

All Other TV News

Unsurprisingly, there were a few different takes for the final moments of that Succession finale. What is surprising is that each take was slightly different but could lead in fundamentally different directions for season four, and the actors didn’t know which take would be used.

Also:

I don’t know if you follow The Root writer Michael Harriot on Twitter, or if you even are on Twitter, but his dark take on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is reason enough to do so.

Uh-oh, a Real Housewife said a very racist thing — specifically, and I quote: β€œIt’s not fair to put me with someone [like Jen]. When I think about Jen, I see heartless, I see a thug,” Crosby said during the episode. β€œLike, you know, those Mexican people that make all those drugs. To pit me with that?!” — and has had to apologize, while managing to play her own race card:

This is an interesting piece on how TV reboots’ secret weapon to make them relevant is adding LGBTQ storylines. They’re not wrong? Related: the new reboot of The Real Housewives of Miami? First out Housewife.

Sean Hannity has finally responded to the revelation that he was texting Mark Meadows on January 6, begging him to make Former President Hair Transplant stop the riot and he is … whining about his private text messages being released publicly: “And by the way, where is the outrage in the media over my private text messages being released again publicly? Do we believe in privacy in this country? Apparently not.”

I would laugh at Lauren Boebert having a meltdown about being parodied on Saturday Night Live, but the truth is, she’s just taking a page out of Former President Whiny Baby’s playbook and it won’t hurt her a bit with any of her voters.

Here is a good thing:

Going Viral

Last Week:

New York Times

This Week:

New York Times

That 50,000,000 cases number is wildly misleading — it’s certainly much higher than that as these are only the cases that have been reported. As someone who is pretty sure she had COVID back in February 2020, long before tests were available, I can attest that not all the cases have been counted. But 50 million is a huge number: “It is more than the combined populations of Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio. More than the entire population of Spain.”

And we’ve also passed the 800,000 death mark, which is also most definitely lower than the actual number. I’m old enough to remember how depressing it was when we reached the 100,000 death mark. Eight times as many people have since died. And what’s worse is that some countless number of those were utterly preventable. 99% of those 1,300 people who die every day right now are completely preventable. Maybe I’m naive, but I assume most of the people who read Foolish are smart enough to have been vaccinated by now. If you are among them, please get boosted. And if for some reason you haven’t been vaccinated, now is the time. Protect yourself. Protect your kids. And protect your loved ones — the sick ones, the old ones, the littlest of the littles — who need a little extra protection.

AND LISTEN. This isn’t political. I know perfectly well there are plenty of anti-vaxxers out there who are much more aligned with me politically than otherwise. Jordan Klepper tried talking to some of them and it is just as infuriating as the MAGA anti-vax nonsense:

A Fox News anchor, Julie Banderas, got into a Twitter spat with someone who called her crazy for getting the vaccine and booster.

She defended her choice.

Meanwhile, Banderas’ co-worker Tucker Carlson is out here saying that contracting COVID … feminizes people?

A few things about this: 1. Fuck your casual misogyny, Tucker, but 2. If it does “drain” the life force, then … maybe … I dunno … GET THE VACCINE?

AND NO, MOUTHWASH IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE VACCINE.

That idiot Ingo Rademacher is now suing ABC after being fired from General Hospital for refusing to get vaccinated. Good luck, asshole. (He went on Tucker Carlson’s show, by the way, because of course he fucking did.)

Erika Girardi, Lisa Rinna, and Garcelle Beauvais have all tested positive for COVID, temporarily pausing production on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. However, filming soon continued with the rest of the cast who, as of now, is not positive.

COVID is why Charlie wasn’t in the Supernatural finale. CHARLIE WAS ROBBED. TWICE.

BBC is going ahead with production of Race Across the World despite, you know, everything.

Broadway is effectively shutting back down again. This week, Freestyle Love Supreme, Little Shop of Horrors, Mrs. Doubtfire, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Ain’t Too Proud all had to cancel performances thanks to breakthrough cases.

Crews for Coldplay, and Lil Nas X tested positive, and Doja Cat tested positive, forcing them to pull out of the final iHeartRadio Jingle Bell performances.

Let me also note that while you should get vaccinated, you shouldn’t get this vaccinated.

Renewals

  • Why Women Kill has been renewed for a third season on Paramount+.
  • D.P. has been renewed on Netflix for season two.
  • Music Box has been renewed for a second season on HBO.

Cancellations

  • When I mentioned that Servant had been renewed for a fourth season on Apple TV+, I didn’t mention that it will be its final season.

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • The Cleaning Lady will debut on Fox on January 3.
  • Pivoting will premiere on Fox on January 9.
  • Next Level Chef will premiere on Fox on January 2.
  • The LCD Soundsystem Holiday Special will premiere on Amazon on December 22.
  • Too Hot to Handle returns on Netflix on January 19.
  • Slugfest will premiere on Roku on December 24.
  • Smiling Friends debuts on Adult Swim on January 9.
  • Home Team will premiere on Netflix on January 28.
  • Gary Owen: Black Famous debuts on Showtime on December 31.
  • Neymar: The Perfect Chaos will debut on Netflix on January 25.
  • Babble Bop premieres on Peacock on December 23.

R.I.P.

Michael Gargiulo, Emmy-winning producer who made the “impromptu 1959 ‘kitchen debate’ between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and the Soviet leader, Nikita S. Khrushchev, in Moscow”

Ken Kragen, Manager and producer who created “We Are the World.” As a manager, he represented Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, The Bee Gees, Olivia Newton-John, Burt Reynolds, The Smothers Brothers, and Trisha Yearwood among others.

Les Emmerson, Singer for Five Man Electrical Band

WATCH THIS

The Masked Singer: Two-hour season finale. 7 p.m., Fox

Survivor: Three-hour season finale. 7 p.m., CBS

Young Rock: It’s a Young Rock Christmas. (Or three). 7 p.m., NBC

Kenan: The team prepares for the annual holiday spectacular. 7:30 p.m., NBC

Mr. Mayor: The mayor forces his staff to work on “L.A. Christmas Eve.” 8 p.m., NBC

Dead Asleep: Did Randy Herman Jr. really kill his friend Brooke Preston in his sleep, or was it just a convenient excuse? Hulu

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: PenΓ©lope Cruz, Kid Cudi, Joanna Stern
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Turnstile, Joe Russo
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Denzel Washington, Maggie Gyllenhaal, a 20th Anniversary celebration of “Lord of the Rings,” featuring special guests
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Ariana Grande, RuPaul, Jimmie Allen
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Ben Affleck, Jay Ellis, the Record Company
  • Watch What Happens Live: Shannon Beador, Sherri Shepherd

WEDS. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Goldbergs
(repeat)
The Wonder Years
(repeat)
The Conners
(repeat)
Home Economics
(repeat)
The Chase
(repeat)
CBS Survivor
(new)
CW iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2021
(new)
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(repeat)
Local
FOX The Masked Singer
(new)
News/Local
NBC Young Rock
(new)
Kenan
(new)
Mr. Mayor
(new)
A Very Chrisley Christmas
(new)
Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around

One thought on “That ‘Succession’ finale could have gone very differently

  1. Just watched the Mr. Mayor Christmas episode, and while I was ready to laud Bobby Moynihan as the show’s secret sauce (and he is terrific), I just have to call out the show’s composer, Jeff Richmond (Mr. Tina Fey, who did such great work for 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). Richmond’s contribution to these shows is at the level of John Williams (Star Wars) or Michael Giacchino (Lost and many Pixar films). Brilliant and essential.

Leave a Reply