Sometimes, especially on the Monday after Thanksgiving, you just gotta scratch that itch:
@bearsinmypool We named our first bear Charlie! This is a special one! #blackbears #californiaadventure #wildanimals #cuteanimals #bears #bearvideos
Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News
Hold up, did Paramount Network really refer to next week’s Yellowstone finale as a season finale instead of a series finale? I can’t imagine they would be so sloppy with language if they didn’t mean it.
Why did they say season finale on #Yellowstone episode preview tonight, not SERIES FINALE?
— Boom, Koutch Boom (@koutchboom.bsky.social) 2024-12-02T05:22:54.617Z
Did anyone catch that- during the scenes from next week's #Yellowstone the voiceover said "Only one more episode until the SEASON finale"…. SEASON finale- not SERIES finale.. Does this mean we are getting a season 6????#YellowstoneTV
— @IAmYaYa71 (@iamyaya71.bsky.social) 2024-12-02T02:21:24.889Z
Yes, that was a Good Place easter egg in A Man on the Inside, and it was delightful.
And now we know, whether we want to or not, what Ted Danson says after sex. Proceed at your own risk.
Dane Cook might have been cast on SNL if he hadn’t had a panic attack. Can relate.
Rough Thanksgiving for the Modern Family family. Hope everyone’s feeling better!
Speaking of Modern Family, Judy Greer could have been Claire. (But it’s really hard to imagine anyone else in the role other than Julie Bowen.)
Eddie Murphy’s son and Martin Lawrence’s daughter getting married sounds like the set-up of a Netflix rom-com.
Oh no, heal quickly, Danny Pintauro!
POLUGHTICS
I gave myself a much-needed break from political outrage last week, but Inauguration Day time stands still for no one, so here are some things I guess we should discuss.
Today’s big news is that after saying he would not, President Biden gave his son Hunter a blanket pardon for his gun and tax-related felony convictions and a 10-year period between 2014-2024. There are a number of people, including Democrats who are OUTRAGED by this, furious that Biden would take advantage of his pardon power for a family member, or furious because he went back on his word, or furious because this apparently will be the thing that will embolden The Former Pardoner of Ridiculous Criminals in Chief-Elect to do whatever the hell he wants once he’s in office.
So let’s take this step-by-step. First, President Biden released a statement:
“I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”
Ankush Khardori, a former federal prosecutor at the Department of Justice, wrote a good piece on how while the gun case against Hunter Biden was pretty open and shut, it was also almost unprecedented for the DOJ to pursue a case like this, a plea deal is most often the path crimes of this nature take, and that it was all clearly political theater to attack the Biden family.
And I, perhaps naively, believe that had Kamala Harris or Joe Biden himself had won the presidency this year, he wouldn’t have pardoned Hunter. Hunter’s conviction still stood as a somber reminder that the justice system does not favor the powerful, and if you do crimes, you should do time.
But the problem is, Former President Enemies Within-Elect has vowed vengeance on the Biden family, and there’s no reason to not take him at his word, especially now that the Supreme Court has given him unlimited power. While there is nothing preventing his incoming Department of Justice from taking aim at Hunter or Joe after January 20, there’s no reason for President Biden to not protect his son from these wolves where he can.
Because this pardon is not just for the convictions — it also covers the period when Hunter Biden served on the board of directors for Ukrainian natural gas company, Burisma. That appointment has been the fixation of Former President Russia Russia Russia-Elect, his administration, and the far-right, despite no evidence ever being found of any corruption taking place. With full control of the White House and Congress, there is no way this nonsense wouldn’t be dredged back up again, with Hunter investigated and possibly prosecuted for allegations that have been found to have no merit by two Republican Senate committees. I mean seriously, do you ever want to hear the word “Burisma” again?
And as for this argument that this pardon is the one thing that will give Former President Insurrectionist-Elect the confidence and permission to do whatever he wants once in office? Have you not been paying attention to anything in the past 10 years? The people who are angry at President Biden for pardoning his son are the same ones who are utterly nonplussed about Former President What’s In It For Me-Elect pardoning his daughter’s father-in-law for setting his brother-in-law up with a prostitute, and then using photos of that encounter to blackmail his own sister out of testifying in a federal criminal case against him AND THEN AFTER PARDONING HIM, APPOINTED HIM AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE. It’s absurd.
“Well, now Former President Confederate Statue Lover-Elect’s going to justify pardoning the January 6th criminals!” they cry, as if THAT WASN’T ALWAYS GOING TO HAPPEN.
GROW UP.
Because, honestly, if your kid was in the DOJ crosshairs and you knew in a month Kash Fucking Patel was likely going to be taking over the FBI, you wouldn’t do the same? Be serious.
Meanwhile, Joe and Mika are still out here deluding themselves, thinking that they can talk sense into Former President Twitter Thumbs-Elect. Keep it up, guys, it’s going great.
Any time you begin a statement with “Elon Musk is right,” you should probably check for other stroke symptoms. Bernie is high on his own supply if he thinks DOGE is going to cut military spending first, if at all.
Any hope we might have had of Cheryl Hines coming to her damn senses and leaving her lunatic husband have officially gone out the window:
View on Threads
Hucksters gonna huck.
In Development
- A new iteration of Duck Dynasty is allegedly in production. Super.
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North, starring Jacob Elordi, has been acquired by BBC.
- Armando Iannucci has launched a production company that has partnered with BBC.
Mark Your Calendar
- Clash of the Cookbooks will premiere on Roku on December 6.
- The Traitors U.K. is returning on BBC One on January 1.
- Ferry 2 debuts on Netflix on December 20.
- UniverXO Dabiz will premiere on Netflix on December 20.
- Check in Hanyang debuts on Netflix on December 21.
- Mismatched returns on Netflix on December 13.
- Smile 2 debuts on Paramount+ on December 3.
R.I.P.
Wayne Northrop, Actor who appeared on Days of Our Lives and Dynasty and husband to General Hospital actress Lynn Herring
Marshall Brickman, Oscar-winning screenwriter and Woody Allen collaborator
Morgan Lofting, Veteran voice actor who is known for her work on G.I. Joe, Spider-man, Total Recall and others
Niels Arestrup, French-Danish actor who appeared in War Horse and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Adam Somner, Oscar-nominated producer and assistant director who worked with Steven Speilberg, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Ridley Scott
Bob Bryar, Drummer for My Chemical Romance
Hal Lindsey, Author of The Late, Great Planet Earth
WATCH THIS
Superman & Lois: The Kents fight with everything they have in the series finale. Goodbye, CW’s superhero days. You lasted longer than anyone might have expected. 7 p.m., The CW
9-1-1: Lone Star: Carlos is determined to solve his father’s murder in the fall finale. 7 p.m., Fox
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune: Pat’s back! 7 p.m., ABC
Days of Our Lives: It’s the 15,000th episode of the long-running favorite. Peacock
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Jude Law stars in this adventurous new series set in the New Republic. Series premiere. Disney+
Late Night:
- Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Shailene Woodley, Nathy Peluso
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Daniel Craig, Auli’i Cravalho
- After Midnight: Kurt Braunohler, Opey Olagbaju, Mamrie Hart
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jamie Lee Curtis, Hannah Einbinder, Ava Max
- The Daily Show: Sally Yates, host Jon Stewart
- Watch What Happens Live: Stephanie Hsu, Ralph Fiennes
| MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (new) |
Press Your Luck (new) |
Press Your Luck (repeat) |
| CBS | The Neighbor-hood (new) |
Poppa’s House (new) |
NCIS (new) |
NCIS: Origins (new) |
| CW | Superman & Lois (new) |
Trivial Pursuit (new) |
Local |
| FOX | 9-1-1: Lone Star (new) |
TMZ’s Merry Elfin’ Christmas (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
Brilliant Minds (new) |