As we brace for another winter storm and cross our fingers that the grid will hold down here in Texas, may I introduce you to one dog who happens to love the snow? A story in three parts:
@ivytheberner Are all your dogs ready for the blizzard? #dogs #patience
♬ Howl’s Moving Castle – Merry Go Round of Life – Vitamin String Quartet
@ivytheberner Ivy’s blizzard update – how’s the storm where you are? #blizzard #boston #bernesemountaindog
♬ Howl’s Moving Castle – Merry Go Round of Life – Vitamin String Quartet
@ivytheberner Ivy’s final report – 24 inches here! How much did you get? #blizzard #boston #bernesemountaindog #happydog
♬ Howl’s Moving Castle – Merry Go Round of Life – Vitamin String Quartet
It’s not me.
All Other TV News
An update on yesterday’s big story: ABC has suspended Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks, following her controversial take on the Holocaust. While I don’t agree with this decision — she did apologize and she did seem to be open to learning why what she said was so offensive — I am not surprised by this in the least, after seeing the comments on social media about this mess, particularly from her conservative critics.
But to those same people trying to make this point: no, this is not the same as the Roseanne Barr mess. Barr’s tweet about Valerie Jarrett was grossly racist, and instead of taking responsibility for it and trying to learn from it, she claimed it wasn’t racist, and that she was on Ambien when she tweeted it out.
Over on The View, they barely addressed Whoopi’s absence, clearly wanting to move on. “You all saw the news,” Joy Behar said. “Whoopi will be back here in two weeks.” They then launched into the first “Hot Topic.”
Meanwhile, Meghan McCain, unsurprisingly, is enjoying some schadenfreude over the whole situation, and using it as an excuse to call attention to herself.
Oh damn, what?
Jeff Zucker just announced his resignation to a stunned CNN. pic.twitter.com/sWXYNBO20d
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 2, 2022
What his memo and some of the coverage of this story is leaving out is that the woman with whom he had this “consensual relationship” was Allison Gollust, who used to be the communications director for Chris Cuomo. It’s suggested that this is, mayhaps, why CNN tended to turn a blind eye to both Chris and Andrew Cuomo’s behavior. NOT COOL.
Never forget that Jeff Zucker pushed Trump on us, and CNN staff worried they were giving him so much coverage it might give him the nomination. Zucker ordered them to "keep the cameras on him [Trump] until the eyeballs leave." https://t.co/AzCuJZrTCG
— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) February 2, 2022
I am mostly irritated by this whole story because I know how much joy this will give Former President Habitual Sexual Harasser, who felt Zucker owed him good coverage because of their work together on The Apprentice. JUST KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS, MY GUYS.
And just as I was about to post, right on cue, Former President Disgrace issued a statement. Least surprising thing to happen since the sun rose in the east this morning.
Samantha is never coming back, let it go. Michael Patrick King also claims that people don’t like Che because they’re looking for a villain. Orrrrr … hear me out here … Che is a terrible character who is unpleasant and unfunny and broke up one of the tentpole relationships on the show.
Che Diaz’s Agent #AndJustLikeThat pic.twitter.com/f9KaaACpsj
— Anna Roisman (@AnnaRoisman) January 14, 2022
The audience at Che Diaz’s stand up show pic.twitter.com/4wMO2bPBkL
— Bob (@tweetsbybob_) January 20, 2022
Che Diaz is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me pic.twitter.com/XgMzHFpdYf
— Tom Smyth (@Tom_Smyth_) January 14, 2022
How I feel every time Che Diaz is on screen #AndJustLikeThat #AJLT pic.twitter.com/JAiO9uxLY1
— My Cull (@mikaltempo) January 24, 2022
Simon Cowell is out there being uncoordinated on a bike again. You would think that after literally breaking your back on a bicycle, you wouldn’t get back on one again. You’d think wrong. Get better soon, you doof, and stay away from bikes.
Billy Crystal is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards this year.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees are out if you’re interested.
Elizabeth Vargas, a star of Real Housewives of Orange County, found herself in a scary situation when her ex barricaded himself in her home and SWAT had to be called.
On the 40th anniversary of Late Night, David Letterman launched a YouTube channel with some of his greatest hits from both Late Night and The Late Show.
Call me a cynic, but I can’t help but think that the NFL chose to announce that the Washington Football Team finally settled on a name (The Commanders ~yawn~), on the same day that former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores appeared on CBS This Morning with receipts in his racial discrimination case against the NFL.
Real quick for those of you, like me, who don’t give a shit about football: The NFL has what is called “The Rooney Rule” which is designed to try to increase diversity at the highest levels. The rule stipulates that when they have a coaching vacancy, they have to interview at least one Black candidate for the job. So Flores was scheduled to interview for the head coach position at the NY Giants when he received a text message from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick congratulating him on getting the job. Now, Flores hadn’t interviewed yet, so he was understandably confused until he realized Belichick intended to text Brian Daboll, a white man, who the Giants apparently intended to hire all along.
As part of the lawsuit, Flores provides the below shown screenshots showing Patriots HC Bill Belechick accidentally congratulate Flores, believing he was congratulating Daboll, PRIOR to Flores interviewing with the Giants ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0a1PHDtoFn
— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) February 1, 2022
Lol, whoops.
Oh, and it should be added that Flores was fired from his job coaching the Miami Dolphins despite giving them two consecutive winning seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years. I’m sure his firing had nothing to do with his accusation that the Dolphins’ owner offered him $100,000 a game to lose so as to improve their draft position. Nothing to do with that AT ALL.
And once again, in conclusion, the NFL is the fucking worst.
Going Viral
Last Week:
This Week:
Yay! Cases are going down! Boo! Deaths are still going up! The bright side is that the case numbers really are on a sharp decline:
But the virus is far from done with us just yet. In fact, it’s killing Americans at a much faster rate than other first-world countries because we are lagging in vaccination rates among older adults. Please keep wearing masks in public (go get some for free) and obviously get the shot if you haven’t already.
More positive news: The FDA has finally approved a two-dose vaccine for kids under five, the last group of Americans that have not been eligible for the vaccine. Shots should begin going into arms next month.
Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, a bunch of athletes are testing positive. Again, hosting an event that brings together people from all over the world during a global pandemic just seems like a great way to create the newest variant, but WHAT DO I KNOW.
As I mentioned last week, Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify in protest of their keeping Joe “Disinformation” Rogan on their platform. Fellow folk icon, Joni Mitchell, also pulled her music as did Graham Nash and Nils Lofgren, longtime member of the E Street Band. Then, podcaster Brené Brown announced that she would not be releasing new episodes on Spotify; Mary Trump is pulling her podcast; and Harry and Meghan have fired a warning shot at the streamer. Meanwhile, singer India Arie is pulling her music after hearing Joe Rogan’s gross conversation with terrible human Jordan Peterson in which Rogan decided he was the expert on who is really “Black.”
All of this volatility is costing Spotify: they lost $2 billion in stock value last week. Which is why it is unsurprising that Spotify then put out a statement promising to “add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19.” Yep! That’ll do it! That will solve everything!
Rogan was forced to put out a statement about his spreading of disinformation that falls short of a real apology. He insists he’s just trying to have conversations with people outside of the mainstream, but says he’ll try to “do better.” The problem is, Rogan is amplifying dangerous voices, and instead of pushing back on their misinformation, he often nods along in agreement, giving his 11 million listeners his seal of approval for their lies and dangerous opinions.
But hey, Rogan is being applauded by “Dwayne Johnson, Kevin James, Jewel, Jamie Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, Troy Aikman, Kat Von D, Dominic Monaghan, Candice Owens, Jillian Michaels, Tomi Lahren and Andrew Dice Clay,” so we have learned fuckall here. When you find yourself on the same side as Tomi Lahren and Candice Owen, you need to really take a hard look at your position.
Dominic Monaghan, our favorite hobbit and former one-hit-wonder, is an interesting person to be included in that list … until you remember that he dated fellow Lost co-star Evangeline Lilly for a long while — and guess who was at that bullshit anti-vaxx rally 10 days ago …
Oh, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have officially broken up (20 years after you assumed they had) because their lead singer Dicky Barrett produced an anti-vaxx song for Robert Kennedy, Jr. Barrett is also the announcer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! — or, rather, was. He’s been replaced.
And not to keep bringing up that tub of rancid sour cream, but Meghan McCain got COVID and wrote a whole thing about how it’s President Biden’s fault for not having enough testing. Curiously, she didn’t mention anything about her own party’s position on testing. (It’s not great.)
Kid Rock is threatening to not perform at any venue that has any COVID protocols in place. LOL, OK.
Disneyland has given a vaccine deadline for its employees, so I guess Kid Rock won’t be performing there anytime soon.
This story about a nurse who has been arrested for selling fake vaccine cards is wild even before you get to the part where her husband was disciplined in 2017 after piloting an NYPD spy plane on a penis-shaped flight path.
And this isn’t COVID-related news, exactly, but Moderna is moving ahead with human trials on an HIV vaccine, based on the same mRNA platform they used for the COVID vaccine. Great news all around.
Renewals
- Hell’s Kitchen has been renewed for two more seasons on Fox.
- The Game has been renewed for a second season on Paramount+.
- Saints & Sinners has been renewed for a sixth and final season on Bounce.
In Development
- Guru Nation, a docu-style comedy from Bob Odenkirk and David Cross (!) is coming to Paramount+.
- Dear Edward has been ordered by Apple TV+. It stars Connie Britton, Taylor Schilling, and Colin O’Brien.
- Flashdance is also being turned into a series at Paramount+.
- Billy Summers, a Stephen King novel, is being turned into a limited series.
- Demascus has been given a series order at AMC.
- Invitation to a Bonfire is being adapted into a series at AMC.
- Christmas With the Campbells has been acquired by AMC+.
- Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is in the works at Paramount+.
- Nothing Compares, a documentary about Sinead O’Connor, has been picked up at Showtime.
- The spy series starring Kiefer Sutherland at Paramount+ is going to be called Rabbit Hole.
- Will Trent, a crime drama, has been given a pilot order at ABC, contingent on the cast.
- It Takes Two is being turned into a TV series.
- The Criminal Minds reboot is still happening on Paramount+.
- Fox and Hulu have signed a deal to allow the streamer to run all out-of-season episodes of key Fox unscripted and animated series.
Casting News
- Jamie Dornan and Gal Gadot will star in Heart of Stone on Netflix.
- Tom Ellis is joining the cast of Washington Black on Hulu.
- Jada Pinkett Smith will guest star on The Equalizer on CBS.
- Ellie Taylor, Kaden Kearney, Amir Bageria, and EaeMya ThynGi are joining the FX pilot Belated.
- Rick Cosnett is returning to The Flash on The CW.
- Isabella Laughland, Kulvinder Ghir, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Ella-Rae Smith, Dimitri Leonidas, Ben Daniels, Holt McCallany, Mikael Persbrandt, Rachel House, and Nimrat Kaur have joined the cast of Foundation on Apple TV+.
- Hong Chau, DB Woodside, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei, Enrique Murciano, and Sarah Desjardins have been cast in The Night Agent on Netflix.
- Denzel Whitaker, Jonathan Majors, Nicole Beharie, Colman Domingo, and Jeffrey Wright will be featured in Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches on HBO Max.
- Here’s a Love is Blind casting announcement. Love is Blind returns on Netflix on February 11.
Mark Your Calendars
- The Offer will premiere on Paramount+ on April 28.
- I Want You Back will debut on Amazon on February 11.
- No Exit will debut on Hulu on February 25.
- Uprooted will premiere on Discovery+ on February 18.
- Your Attention Please returned on Hulu yesterday.
- Ali Wong: Don Wong will debut on Netflix on February 14.
- Doomsday (which is a limited series, apparently) will be available on VOD and digital on March 1.
- The CMT Music Awards will now take place on April 11, and air on CBS.
- Life & Beth will debut on Hulu on March 18.
- The Courtship will premiere on NBC on March 6.
- Minx will debut on HBO Max on March 17.
- Rise Up, Sing Out is premiering at Disney+ today.
- Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries have announced their March premiere dates.
- Unprotected Sets returns on Epix on February 4.
- Players will debut on Paramount+ later this year.
R.I.P.
Monica Vitti, Italian film actress and icon
WATCH THIS
Celebrity Big Brother: “Celebrities” do the Big Brother challenge. Season premiere. 7 p.m., CBS
South Park: 25th season premiere. 7 p.m., Comedy Central
The Tinder Swindler: A group of women who were conned by a man on Tinder team up to find him and recover the millions of dollars he stole from them. Netflix
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Maluma, Julia Garner, Kamasi Washington
- Late Night with Seth Meyers: Charlie Day, Sam Richardson, Hayley Brownell
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Tim McGraw, Martha Stewart
- The Late Late Show with James Corden: Annette Bening, Dave Franco, the Linda Lindas
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Andy Cohen, Slash, Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators
- The Daily Show: Gugu Mbatha-Raw
- Watch What Happens Live: Gina Kirschenheither, Larsa Pippen
| WEDS. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Goldbergs (new) |
The Wonder Years (new) |
The Conners (new) |
Home Economics (new) |
The Chase (new) |
| CBS | Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (new) |
The Amazing Race (new) |
Good Sam (new) |
| CW | DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (new) |
Batwoman (new) |
Local |
| FOX | I Can See Your Voice (new) |
Next Level Chef (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Chicago Med (repeat) |
Chicago Fire (repeat) |
Chicago P.D. (repeat) |