Let this baby penguin solve all of your problems:
@indianapoliszoo We know you wanted to see more penguin chick, so here he is. Meet Nio, whose name means “new beginnings.” Now at three months old, Nio is currently molting his soft downy feathers and growing juvenile feathers that are silvery grey in color and waterproof. After that he will begin learning how to swim. Once he can swim on his own, he will be out on exhibit. Zoo babies presented by Primrose Schools. penguins babypenguin cutenessoverload indianapoliszoo
Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News
Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN are warning ad-free subscribers that whoopsie! sometimes there will be ads. The long and short of it is, as of now it applies to sports events and other live events that have ad-breaks already built in, but frankly, I don’t trust them as far as I could throw them, and neither should you.
“We are living in an era where bad guys, the real life kind, are running the market. Bad guys who make their own rules. Bad guys who, no matter what they tell you, are only out for themselves. Who am I talking about? Well, this is Hollywood, so guess,” He said. “But here’s the weird irony in our profoundly divided country, everybody seems to agree on one thing; there are too many real life bad guys. It’s just we’re living in different realities, so we’ve all got different lists.”
“As a writer speaking to a room full of writers, I have a proposal. It certainly won’t fix everything, but maybe it’s a start. I say we write more good guys. For decades, we’ve made the villains too sexy. I really think that when we create characters as indelible as Michael Corleone, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader or Tony Soprano, viewers everywhere, all over the world, they pay attention and say, ‘Those dudes are bad ass, I want to be that cool’. When that happens, that’s when bad guys stop being the cautionary tales that they were intended to be. They [instead] become aspirational. So maybe what the world needs now are some good old fashioned, greatest generation types who give more than they take.”
You can’t help but look around and admit that he has a point.
Netflix would like you to know that they still stand behind Emilia Pérez (if not entirely behind the star). It also sounds like they’ve resigned themselves to not taking home the Best Picture Oscar with this one.
Brian Cox is snubbing Jeremy Strong again.
The Traitors know you love those terrible, and VERY SPECIFIC, song lyrics. Sounds like someone took some notes on the amazingly awful Love is Blind soundtrack.
There are rumors floating around that the next Real Housewives could be set in Seattle or … Rhode Island? Sure. Why not.
Harry Hamlin reportedly threatened to divorce Lisa Rinna if she joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but she did anyway, and they’re still married. And what I take from all of this is that Harry Hamlin lacks follow-through.
While she recovers from brain tumor surgery, Teddi Mellencamp is being sued by a former nanny and housekeeper for being super racist and a bad boss.
Jill Zarin is the reason you don’t have The Real Housewives of New York: Legacy.
If you’ve ever wondered how they measure the ratings of streaming shows … it’s complicated. That said, this is a good vocabulary guide for the business, and a reminder that if you enjoy a series on a streamer, the best way to get it renewed is to watch the entire season — which seems like a no-brainer, I know.
No one told me they’ve multiplied the Plinko winnings.
Hey, there are a bunch of fake AI-generated true crime documentaries floating around on YouTube that are designed to outrage (often on topics that the right are already frothing at the mouth about, specifically LGBTQ folks and sex trafficking) and generate clicks among people who are looking for validation of their irrational fears. Everything is great.
Spare a tear for criminal grifter Elizabeth Holmes because she found the limited series about her, The Dropout, “difficult” to watch. My heart bleeds.
This isn’t exactly about television, but my blog, don’t care blah blah blah. At the Grammys, Chappell Roan called on the recording industry to do better by artists, especially in terms of paying them livable wages and providing healthcare.
This prompted a recording industry executive named Jeff Rabhan to write the most condescending response I could ever imagine in The Hollywood Reporter, suggesting that her speech was simply performative and that she doesn’t understand the industry. Really. Go read it. If your jaw doesn’t drop, you’re more cynical than I am. As part of his response, this asshole called on Roan to basically put her own money where her mouth is, and repeatedly demanded that she “put skin in the game.”
Roan responded by pointing out that her entire point was that the recording industry is who owes support to artists — not other artists, but then she donated $25,000 to Backline, “a support charity providing mental health and wellness resources for music industry professionals and their families.” Her donation not only prompted other artists like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, and Noah Kahan to donate, but within the week, UMG launched the “Music Industry Mental Health Fund,” with the aim to “provide comprehensive, high-quality outpatient mental health resources for music industry professionals nationwide.”
And in conclusion, Jeff Rabhan can TAKE ALL OF THE SEATS.
Wendy Williams would like out of her conservatorship, please and thank you.
Oh my goodness, beat this, Katie Thurston! Get well soon.
Heal quickly, Mauricio Umansky.
Congratulations, Tanner Buchanan and Mary Mouser.
Congratulations, Lainey Wilson and Devlin Hodges.
Love is dead, THANK GOD. (I mean, his team is claiming otherwise, but come on.)
PolUGHtics
This is a quote ascribed to Napoleon Bonaparte, who launched a coup against the French Republic and installed himself as First Consul and later Emperor of the French Empire. So, yeah, things are going great.
Not only does this signal that he is likely not going to abide by any court rulings that go against him or his plans to unconstitutionally destroy this government, but it is also an open invitation to his supporters to commit violence in his name. It is literally one of the most alarming and least presidential things I’ve ever seen a President say, and if you’re not shocked or horrified, I don’t know what to tell you.
Republicans for much of 2024: "How DARE you call our candidate Mr Trump a fascist?"*President* Trump in 2025:
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan.bsky.social) 2025-02-15T20:44:05.906Z
I’m having great difficulty right now seeing how our political system doesn’t devolve into violence.
— George Conway (@gtconway.bsky.social) 2025-02-15T22:58:29.048Z
The only thing standing between us and Former President Dictator on Day One from turning this into an authoritarian state is the judicial branch, because the legislative branch has completely abdicated doing their GODDAMN JOBS. This has pissed off President Fascist and his cronies, including his Vice President JD Couch-Fucker, leading them to rant that the courts are overstepping by ruling against him.
A friend of mine who is a former judge (and for whom I have a great deal of respect despite the fact that he and I do not necessarily completely align politically: he is a good Christian man, and he is far more conservative than I am), took time to write about this administration’s insistence that the courts do not have authority over the executive branch, and it is worth a few minutes of your time:
Meanwhile, the administration:
- is trying to get DOGE into the IRS and all of your private financial data with the express intention of going after Former President Napoleon’s enemies
- fired a bunch of FAA employees following a catastrophic airplane crash that was caused in part by understaffing
- fired a bunch of employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) only to realize they were in charge of the safety of our nuclear stockpile and tried to hire them back but are having trouble because they locked the employees out of their email accounts
- fired half of the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the CDC, otherwise known as the “Disease Detectives” while a measles outbreak is raging here in Texas and New Mexico
- fired over 1,000 National Parks employees
- frozen hiring for the Veterans Crisis hotline
- and fired National Cancer Institute employees among countless others who help, you know, CURE CANCER.
And if you want to huff that they are cutting government waste, explain this to me.
They’re also coming for your antidepressants, antipsychotics, ADHD drugs, and children’s books about finding self-acceptance.
AND I HAVEN’T EVEN GOTTEN INTO ALL THE FOREIGN RELATIONS BULLSHIT WITH RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND GAZA BECAUSE I CAN ONLY SCREAM ABOUT SO MANY THINGS BEFORE I LOSE MY FUCKING VOICE.
Oh hey, The Washington Post is kowtowing to an unelected oligarch: Common Cause purchased an ad calling to “Fire Elon Musk” in the paper to the tune of $150,000, but the paper canceled the ad without explanation. But I mean, we all know the explanation …
And Axios has agreed to call it “The Gulf of America” because they don’t want to be kicked off of Air Force One.
H/T Pajiba:
This is what the news feels like now
Renewals
- The Pitt has been renewed for a second season on Max.
- XO, Kitty has been renewed for a third season on Netflix.
- Tamron Hall has been renewed for a seventh season in syndication.
In Development
- Goodbye June, a dramatic film directed by Kate Winslet, is in the works at Netflix.
- Horror comic Nights is being adapted into an animated series.
- Chosen in the Wild, a reality series that features Bear Grylls taking the director and cast of The Chosen into the wilderness, has been greenlit at Prime Video.
- The Chosen is coming to Prime Video.
- A Court of Thorns and Rose is not moving forward at Hulu.
Casting News
- Rosalía, Marshawn Lynch, and Kadeem Hardison have joined Euphoria on HBO; Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Eric Dane, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Maude Apatow, Colman Domingo, and Dominic Fike are all returning; and Sharon Stone is in talks to join. Leslie Bennett and Algee Smith are not returning.
- Isabella Rossellini has joined The Beauty on FX.
- Sophie Thatcher is in talks to star in Mr. and Mrs. Smith at Prime Video.
- Jon Lindstrom and Cady McClain are joining Beyond the Gates on CBS.
- Hank Northrop, son of soap icons Lynn Herring and Wayne Northrop, is joining Days of Our Lives on Peacock.
- Golda Rosheuvel is joining The Dream Lands on BBC.
- Tim Gunn is NOT returning to Project Runway with Heidi Klum at Freeform, Hulu, and Disney+, and says he was “devastated, then kind of humiliated.” HOW DARE THEY HURT TIM GUNN.
I know the world is on fire and there are bigger things, but I am so mad Tim Gunn wasn't asked back for the Project Runway revival. He was the heart of that show and the reason I watched in the first place.
— Persephone ✨️🐀✨️ 📚 🏴☠️ (@persephonepond.bsky.social) 2025-02-15T16:34:06.829Z
Treating Tim Gunn like this is a crime
— thehorrorhomo (@thehorrorhomo.bsky.social) 2025-02-15T09:48:06.155Z
what is the point then?
Mark Your Calendar
- The 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will stream on Netflix on February 23.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will premiere on Paramount+ on February 18.
- Tyler Perry’s Ruthless returns on BET+ on March 13.
- Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest 1977-2015 debuts on HBO on February 25.
- Pound 4 Pound will debut on BET on February 26.
R.I.P.
Biff Wiff, Character actor known for I Think You Should Leave, “Moonlighting, Night Court (both the original ’80s iteration and its current reboot), L.A. Law, Roseanne, Roswell, Reba, True Jackson VP, iCarly, The Mentalist, Pretty Little Liars, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Westworld, Fresh off the Boat, 9-1-1, PEN15, Jury Duty,” and Dave as himself
Jerry Eisenberg, Animator at Hanna-Barbera Productions
Geneviève Page, French actress who starred in Belle de Jour, El Cid and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes among others
William Roberts, British actor, director, voice artist and writer
Kim Sae-Ron, Popular Korean actress known for A Girl at My Door and The Man from Nowhere
Michael Groszkruger, Market executive at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.
Gene “Groove” Allen, New York City-based rapper
WATCH THIS
On TV: A Black History Month Special: This special examines the history of Black excellence on TV, unless the President manages to get it pulled from air because “DEI” or some shit. 7 p.m., CBS
American Murder: Gabby Petito: Gabby Petito’s family and friends tell the untold story of her tragic murder. Netflix
We Beat the Dream Team: This documentary tells the virtually unknown story of a group of college basketball players who were tasked with preparing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and the rest of the “Dream Team” for the 1992 Olympics. Premiere. 8 p.m., HBO
Late Night:
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: John Oliver, the War and Treaty
| MON. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | The Bachelor (new) |
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (new) |
| CBS | On TV: A Black History Month Special (new) |
NCIS (new) |
NCIS: Origins (new) |
| CW | All American (new) |
Trivial Pursuit (new) |
Scrabble (new) |
Local |
| FOX | Extracted (new) |
Rescue: HI-Surf (new) |
News/Local |
| NBC | The Voice (new) |
The Hunting Party (new) |