The giraffe was real.

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

Y’all. This is literally where I am going TOMORROW.

TOMORROW.

@tahoeskitech

How we take the dogs out during winter time. I call it the “thunderdome” #tahoe2023 #walkingthedog #aintnothang #okay #ilied #itsamission #somuch #snow #tahoedeep #thunderdome #laketahoe #truckee #justkeepshoveling #fyp

♬ original sound – tahoeskitech

@kaylaandbirdy

Dogs in Lake Tahoe right now… #laketahoecalifornia #laketahoe #snow #blizard #tahoesnow

♬ original sound – Kayla and Birdy

WHY THOUGH.

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

ALRIGHT. I assume you’ve all done your homework and we can talk about Sunday’s season finale for The Last of Us, yes? If not, scroll on down until you see the giraffe.

While we’re on the subject of the giraffe, yes, those were real giraffes from the Calgary zoo in that scene. They simply didn’t have time to make VFX giraffes, and it was better for it.

It was a stroke of poetic genius to cast Ashley Johnson, the actress who portrayed Ellie in the game, as Ellie’s mother in the series. “It’s wild. It’s surreal and bizarre,” the actress tells EW of getting this opportunity. “To be able to give birth to the character and to also be the first character to fight to keep Ellie alive… Yeah, the layers of it are not lost on me.” And those babies? Were 12-day-old twins. I didn’t know they were allowed to use babies that young in film and television. 

Johnson wasn’t the only original game actor to appear in the episode: one of the nurses was Laura Bailey, who played the nurse in the game as well as a number of other smaller roles, and a major one in The Last of Us, Part II.

As for the bleak ending: Mazin never had any intention of changing what happens in the hospital. “Neil, in the smartest, most generous, and flexible way, was always open to the process of adaptation. He understood what adaptation meant,” Mazin said. “But the ending, there was never a question. As a player, I got to the end. Why would I ever want to change that? It’s awesome.”

Does Ellie believe Joel’s story about what happened in the hospital? Well … it’s more nuanced than that according to Mazin and Druckmann:

Mazin: I’m not sure if Ellie is saying you’re lying to me and I’ll move on, or you’re lying and we’re now changed forever in a negative way, or you’re lying and it’s incredibly important to you, and because I love you I won’t dwell on it. Or is she so terrified of the truth that she wants to believe him, because the alternative is so terrifying. It can be any of those things, and that’s why I love it. There was never an option of her believing it. She will simply choose to believe it, and the why will come later.

Druckmann: Ellie didn’t know beforehand what would happen to her at the hospital, but when she knows Joel has lied, she’s able to figure out what would have happened to her. She’s a smart girl. I agree with each interpretation, and she’s going through every one in her head – but at no point do we ever feel she believes the lie. That is not on the table, she’s already doing the math asking why Joel would possibly do all of this and the only reason could be because I was going to die.

Yeah, the word “zombie” was never actually banned on set, and Craig Mazin says he called them that all the time. But in regards to those infected, the creators heard the complaints that there weren’t enough of them in season one and we can expect to see more of them in future.

As for season two, no Bella Ramsey is not going to be recast, why would anyone even think that?

Oh, and this seems important: The Last of Us, Part II will be adapted into multiple seasons, not just one.

The Last of Us‘ finale had the biggest viewership yet — and it was on against The Oscars. Sunday’s episode brought in 8.2 million same-night viewers, and the previous six episodes are averaging around 30 million, beating out even House of the Dragon.

And this is sorta about The Last of Us, but I just didn’t see Dwight Schrute arguing with Barbara Howard on Twitter about anti-Christian bias on TV coming.

The Oscars did OK ratings-wise: 18.7 Million tuned in, which grew 12% from last year, and is the best any awards show has done in at least three years.

Kimmel says that he and his Oscars writers had countless more jokes about Will Smith that didn’t make the cut, and many went much harder. But 1. they didn’t want to make the entire night about The Slaps and 2. they decided to leave those harder jokes to Chris Rock.

Mira Sorvino is pissed. And she should be.

This is a good and interesting list of House of the Dragon storylines that could deviate from the original source material in upcoming seasons. (I hadn’t considered the Seasmoke and Laenor problem until just now.)

DO A VEEP REVIVAL, YOU COWARDS.

The A.V. Club demands that Netflix quit splitting up seasons, and I sympathize. However, what they don’t seem to appreciate is that often they split the seasons not just to keep up “social media chatter” but to maintain subscription numbers over multiple quarters. Stranger Things‘ last season which premiered in May and then picked back up in July is an excellent example of this: by releasing those last episodes in July, their subscription numbers didn’t drop from Q2 to Q3.

Young Sheldon is starting to talk about season 7 being its last.

And Millie Bobby Brown is about done with Stranger Things, thanks.

Andy Cohen assures you that tomorrow night’s episode of Vanderpump Rules was not recut in light of Scandoval.

Diddy is the newest mogul throwing his hat into the ring to buy BET.

Don’t worry, New Girl fans: Jake Johnson believes Nick and Jess are still together.

Congratulations to Christina Hendricks and George Bianchini!

#MeToo

Stranger Things actress Grace Van Dien (she played Chrissy) says she’s taking a break from acting after a movie producer asked her for sexual favors.

Sharon Stone has revealed that THAT scene in Basic Instinct cost her custody of her son. “When the judge asked my child, my tiny little boy, ‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?’ This kind of abuse by the system, that it was considered what kind of parent I was because I made that movie.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas says that her newest project, Citadel on Prime Video, is the first time in her career that she achieved pay parity with her male costars.

Bam Margera has been arrested for domestic violence after allegedly kicking a woman.

Lukas Gage says that he was dropped by an agent because he refused to label his sexuality.

Pat Sharp, a British presenter known for Top of the Pops, made a completely inappropriate joke at a woman’s expense at an awards ceremony, and had to apologize. He has also been fired from his job at Greatest Hits Radio in the aftermath.

And Fiona Bruce, the host of Question Time on BBC, has stepped down from her role with a domestic abuse charity after defending Boris Johnson’s father against accusations that he is a wife beater.

Harvey Weinstein screwed Goldie Hawn and Madonna out of making Chicago. Yeah, that sounds right.

Something weird is going on with Tiger Woods and his ex-girlfriend Erica Herman. She wants out of an NDA she signed at the beginning of their relationship — which, the fuck? — citing a sexual harassment and abuse law. That doesn’t necessarily mean that any abuse took place, of course, and Woods is claiming she’s just a jilted ex trying to get revenge. Stay tuned.

Casting News

  • Oscar Isaac will (likely) star as Kurt Vonnegut in Helltown at Prime Video.
  • Yvette Nicole Brown will guest star on General Hospital on ABC as part of the tribute to Sony Eddy.
  • Mark Ballas is leaving Dancing With the Stars on ABC after 20 seasons.
  • Kanoa Goo is joining Fire Country on CBS.

Mark Your Calendars

  • Mrs. Davis will premiere on Peacock on April 20.
  • It becomes Live with Kelly and Mark on April 17.
  • Queen of the Universe returns on Paramount+ on June 2.
  • Think. See. Do. — The Legacy Of Pete Carril will premiere on CBS and Paramount+ on March 25.
  • FX released a sizzle reel:

R.I.P.

Tom Joyner, Frank Capra Award-winner and longtime film crew member in various roles

Rolly Crump, Legendary Disney animator, designer, and Imagineer who helped design The Haunted Mansion, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and It’s A Small World among others

Dick Fosbury, Olympic gold medalist

WATCH THIS

Superman & Lois: The Kent boys find themselves being pulled in opposite directions in the season premiere. 7 p.m., The CW

Gotham Knights: Bruce Wayne’s adopted son is framed for his murder in the series premiere. 8 p.m., The CW

The Bachelor: The Women Tell All: I don’t have any idea what these women can possibly have to say about the most boring season to date. 7 p.m., ABC

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Bryan Cranston, Penn Badgley, Maya Hawke
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: James Spader, Ian McShane, Ms. Pat, Nic Collins
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Regé-Jean Page, Mae Martin, John Mayer
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden: Bad Bunny, Josh Gad, Samara Weaving, Ellie Goulding
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Seth Rogen, Rachel Zegler
  • The Daily Show: Guest host Kal Penn
  • Watch What Happens Live: Chloe Fineman, Danielle Cabral

TUES. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC The Bachelor
(new)		 Will Trent
(repeat)
CBS FBI
(new)		 FBI: International
(new)		 FBI: Most Wanted
(new)
CW Superman & Lois
(new)		 Gotham Knights
(new)		 Local
FOX 9-1-1: Lone Star
(new)		 Accused
(new)		 News/Local
NBC Night Court
(new)		 American Auto
(new)		 The Voice
(new)		 That’s My Jam
(new)

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