A demented national treasure guest starred on ‘Abbott Elementary’ last night

by Therese Odell, posted in Uncategorized

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

The location of a once-popular reality TV series is now a central part of a very big lawsuit. And that’s all I’m going to say about that, aside from “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.”

As expected, The Goldbergs killed off Jeff Garlin’s character, Murray, off-screen in the season premiere. The same day, Garlin revealed that he has bipolar disorder in an Instagram post.

And on last night’s premiere of Abbott Elementary, the school was visited by Philadelphia royalty: Gritty, the Flyers’ deranged mascot. Variety has an amazing interview with Gritty about the appearance that is worth your time:

In the episode, since he isn’t from Philadelphia, Gregory (Tyler James Williams) doesn’t understand why you’re such a big deal. How do you explain the phenomenon of Gritty to people outside of Philly?

I’m not in the business of explaining myself or my actions. You either get me or you’re wrong.

Gritty is a goddamned delight. And as someone who is married to a Philadelphian and therefore has spent a lot of time in that city, let me just assure you: Gritty is the perfect — PERFECT — mascot for Philly.

The Conners updated their title sequence to remove DJ and add Ben. So I guess Jay R. Ferguson is sticking around a while.

HBO will update The Case Against Adnan Syed after Syed was released from prison.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour revealed in a Twitter thread that she canceled an interview with the President Raisi of Iran here in the States after his people demanded that she wear a headscarf as a “sign of respect.” There are protests currently happening in Iran over the murder of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s “morality police,” and women are removing and burning their hajibs. Nine women have been killed in the protests so far. So it is outrageous and offensive that the President of Iran would demand that a western journalist cover her head for an interview that was to take place here in the States. Fuck that noise.

So … this is a spoiler alert for Monarch, the country-western soap over on Fox, so you might want to skip if you haven’t watched. But in it, a country singer and matriarch of a singing family chooses to end her life by suicide, which … feels REALLY close to what happened with Naomi Judd back in April. The showrunner for Monarch explains that the show was filmed a year ago, and was originally slated to debut in January. But then COVID delayed production, and it was pushed back for this fall premiere and he really didn’t even think about the similarities. It wasn’t until after Naomi’s funeral — WHICH HE PRODUCED AS A LIVE BROADCAST — did it occur to him how eerie it was:

I was at home a week or two later, watching all my episodes because they were just getting finished with the music and the graphics in, and I sat down one night to watch the first three episodes back to back — and it really hit me hard. I was like, oh my God, this is such a sad and strange coincidence. “Coincidence” doesn’t give it the weight I’m trying to give it. It really bothered me. It still bothers me, to be honest, just because I love those women so much.

He reached out to the family with whom he is close, gave them the heads up, and received their blessing to continue. But WEIRD, RIGHT?

You can’t run advertisements for Hot Wheels when the Hot Wheels cartoon is airing, guys.

Yesterday’s Jeopardy! winner had a historic connection to the game show. She won $40 and a set of encyclopedias back on the original show when it was hosted by Art Fleming.

There’s a whole lawsuit over The Muppet Babies that is happening, if you are in the least bit interested.

Renewals

  • After Forever has been renewed at Prime Video for a third season.

In Development

Casting News

Mark Your Calendars

  • La Brea returns on NBC on September 27. ~shakes fist~
  • The Winchesters debuts on The CW on October 11.

  • Wednesday … we still don’t have a premiere date for Wednesday, but it’s coming to Netflix sometime next month.
  • Documentary Now! returns on IFC on October 19.
  • Bardo will premiere on Netflix on December 16.
  • Save Our Squad will premiere on Disney+ on November 9.

  • Wolfboy and the Everything Factory premieres on Apple TV+ on September 30.

R.I.P.

Jennifer Kuo Baxter, Studio executive and entertainment attorney

WATCH THIS

Law & Order: Organized Crime: It’s Law & Order crossover time! A young girl is shot, and Benson and Stabler soon realize it’s not a typical crime (and will take two more primetime hours to solve). Season premiere. 7 p.m., NBC

Law & Order: SVU: Part Two! Season premiere. 8 p.m., NBC

Law & Order: Part Three! Season premiere. 9 p.m., NBC

Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter: A huge roster of A-list celebrities honor TV legend Norman Lear on the event of his 100th birthday. 8 p.m., ABC

Thai Cave Rescue: A dramatized limited series about the Thai soccer team who were trapped in a cave, and the global rescue effort to save them. Premiere. Netflix

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Tyler Perry, Jurnee Smollett, Panic! At The Disco
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Alan Cumming, Bobby Moynihan, Craig Reynolds
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Phil Rosenthal
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Paddy Considine, Taran Killam, Sean Jordan
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Allison Janney, Chris Estrada, Frankie Quiñones, Yung Gravy
  • The Daily Show: Xolo Maridueña
  • Watch What Happens Live: Zazie Beetz, John Boyega
THUR 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Celebrity Family Feud
(new)		 Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter
(new)
CBS Young Sheldon
(repeat)		 Young Sheldon
(repeat)		 Big Brother
(new)		 Ghosts
(repeat)		 Ghosts
(repeat)
CW Bump
(new)		 Whose Line Is It Anyway?
(new)		 Great Chocolate Showdown
(new)		 News/Local
FOX MLB Baseball
(live)		 News/Local
NBC Law & Order: Organized Crime
(new)		 Law & Order: SVU
(new)		 Law & Order
(new)

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