Disney is going to keep giving money to homophobes while telling you with a straight face that they are LGBTQ+ allies.

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

 

No cute animals today — instead, here’s Peptoc, a phone number you can call to receive a pep talk from a kindergartner: 707-998-8410. And admit it, with everything going on out there, you could use it, right?

Kids’ voices will prompt you with a menu of options:

If you’re feeling mad, frustrated or nervous, press 1. If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press 2. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press 3. If you need to hear kids laughing with delight, press 4. For encouragement in Spanish, press 5.

Pressing 3 leads to a chorus of kids sounding off a series of uplifting mantras:

“Be grateful for yourself,” offers one student.

“If you’re feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs,” another chimes in.

“Bro, you’re looking great.”

To help support the program’s hotline fees, you can click here to donate.

All Other TV News

Disney would like to have it both ways, please and thank you. As passage of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill moves forward in Florida, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek put out a memo to the company assuring them that the corporation “unequivocally” supports LGBTQ+ rights! Well, that’s terrific news! But they aren’t going to do anything crazy like stop donating to every single politician who sponsors bills that discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, including the sponsors of this bill. Chapek is really out here trying to claim that because they made Modern Family and Love, Victor, that should be proof enough that they support the LGBTQ+ community — and, if you really think about it, that is more powerful than cutting off money to bigots:

“Encanto,” “Black Panther,” “Pose,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Coco,” “Soul,” “Modern Family,” “Shang-Chi,” “Summer of Soul,” “Love, Victor.” These and all of our diverse stories are our corporate statements—and they are more powerful than any tweet or lobbying effort. I firmly believe that our ability to tell such stories — and have them received with open eyes, ears, and hearts — would be diminished if our company were to become a political football in any debate.

You’ll be shocked to hear that some Disney employees were underwhelmed with this response:

 

Bel-Air and Marry Me are Peacock’s most popular titles to date. No numbers, though, so you’ll just have to take their word for it.

Pamela Anderson is having a moment: fresh off of announcing her own documentary series, she is now set to star in Chicago on Broadway.

Benedict Cumberbatch has a very eloquent, intelligent response to Sam Elliott’s angry rant about Power of the Dog.

Ted Lasso began filming season three this week, and hinted that there might be new Nike kits available:

ALERT: Sonja Morgan is going on a comedy tour. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Mayim Bialik has heard you, and she’ll stop doing that thing you hate.

A pair of Congressional Black Caucus members are calling the IRS to investigate the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s tax-exempt status. Fair.

Charlie Cox isn’t sure a PG-13 Daredevil is going to work. I guess we’ll see?

REMINDER: Benioff and Weiss have nothing to do with the Game of Thrones spinoffs. For better or worse.

This isn’t TV-related, it’s just too good to not share:

#MeToo

Multiple actresses have come forward to accuse the late Jerry Lewis of sexually assaulting them and using his power in Hollywood to punish them. The least shocking story I’ve read since the Harvey Weinstein allegations came out.

The Supreme Court has declined to review the decision to overturn Bill Cosby’s conviction. It’s disappointing but hardly surprising.

Timothy Hutton is suing IMDb TV for firing him from Leverage: Redemption after a story came out about him raping a 14-year-old Vancouver girl in 1983. Charges weren’t filed against him because back in 1983, Vancouver’s age of consent was 14. (It’s 16 now). Hutton denies the allegations, while also arguing that there was no morals clause in his contract.

Marilyn Manson is suing Evan Rachel Wood, because of course he is.

Melinda Gates made it clear that Bill Gates’ friendship with Jeffrey Epstein was a factor in her divorce.

HBO has responded to reports of a hostile workplace on the set of Euphoria with a resounding, “Nuh-uh.”

Former NFL player Zac Stacy has been charged with multiple domestic violence battery charges.

Dylan Mills, AKA Dizzee Rascal has been convicted of assaulting his former partner.

Mira Sorvino regrets working with Woody Allen and not speaking out, and claims that her Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite, and entire career feels “tainted.”

“It’s so hard to talk about it now because I now have a very different opinion of Woody than I did now. I blame myself for not investigating further into what happened with Dylan,” Sorvino said. “There was the whole custody battle and it was in the press. It was pre-‘Mighty Aphrodite.’ But the way that the press had kind of skewed it was that this was possibly drummed up as a reason to punish him for leaving [Mia Farrow] for [adopted daughter] Soon-Yi [Previn]. Just the fact that he was with Soon-Yi should have been enough. It should have been enough for everybody to be like, ‘Hm, daughter, what?’”

EXACTLY.

Tom Hardy comes off as a real asshole in a new book about the making of Mad Max: Fury Road. Charlize Theron calls him “scary” and “aggressive” and required a female producer on set to feel safer.

The Kanye West situation continues to spin completely out of control. After posting a claymation video in which Pete Davidson is kidnapped, buried alive, and decapitated, Kanye tried to act like he is somehow the victim. Again, this is unlikely to end well.

Renewals

  • grown-ish has been renewed at Freeform for a fifth season.
  • Never Have I Ever has been renewed for a fourth and final season on Netflix.
  • Judy Justice has been renewed for a second season on IMDb TV.

In Development

  • The Gotham City P.D. series has been indefinitely postponed at HBO Max. Instead, a series based on Arkham Asylum is being developed.
  • Isle of the Dead, a spinoff of The Walking Dead starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, has been greenlit at AMC and AMC+.
  • God of War is being developed into a series at Prime Video.
  • The Driver, a drama starring Giancarlo Esposito, has been ordered at AMC and AMC+.
  • The Residence, a “screwball whodunnit” set in the White House from Shondaland, has been set at Netflix.
  • Gamergate, a series based on the 2014 Gamergate campaign, is being turned into a series.
  • Latoya Raveneau has signed an overall deal with Disney Animation and 20th Century Animation.

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • Russian Doll returns on Netflix on April 20.
  • DMZ debuts on HBO Max on March 17.
  • Deep Water debuts on Hulu on March 18.
  • Is It Cake? will debut on Netflix on March 18.
  • Below Deck Down Under premieres on Peacock on March 17.
  • Soil premieres on Netflix on March 17.
  • Catherine Cohen: The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous. will debut on Netflix on March 15.

R.I.P.

Laurel Goodwin, Actress in Girls! Girls! Girls! and the last living star of the original Star Trek pilot

Aida Takla-O’Reilly, Former president of HFPA and its longest-serving member

WATCH THIS

The Thing About Pam: Renee Zellweger stars in this limited series based on one of the craziest true-crime stories you’ll ever hear. Series premiere. 9 p.m., NBC

The Bachelor: It’s Fantasy Suite time, and per the previews, shit’s about to go DOWN. 7 p.m., ABC

Undercurrent: Another insane true-crime story, this docuseries follows the story of journalist Kim Wall who was murdered by an eccentric Danish entrepreneur on his submarine. Premiere. 8 p.m., HBO

American Auto: A TV news magazine team tries to portray Katherine in a positive light in the season finale. 7 p.m., NBC

Grand Crew: Noah and Simone wonder if they’re ready for the next step in the season finale. 7:30 p.m., NBC

I Can See Your Voice: Season finale. 8 p.m., Fox

Pam & Tommy: Season finale. Hulu

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Alicia Keys, Zoey Deutch, EARTHGANG
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Leslie Jones, Topher Grace, Brad Meltzer, Todd Sucherman
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: John C. Reilly, Kristin Chenoweth
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Jennifer Garner, Greg Kinnear, 5 Seconds of Summer
  • The Daily Show: Sadhguru
  • Watch What Happens Live: Jackie Goldschneider, Danny Pellegrino

TUES. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Bachelor
(new)		 To Tell The Truth
(new)
CBS FBI
(new)		 FBI: International
(new)		 FBI: Most Wanted
(new)
CW Superman & Lois
(new)		 Naomi
(new)		 Local
FOX The Resident
(new)		 I Can See Your Voice
(new)		 News/Local
NBC American Auto
(new)		 Grand Crew
(new)		 This Is Us
(new)		 The Thing About Pam
(new)

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