Well, this weekend sucked.

by Therese Odell, posted in watch this

Me right now.

@rickskye

#elainestritch #broadway #newyear

♬ original sound – Rick Skye

Here’s A BUNCH OF TV News

It’s been a rough weekend, friends. First, we had another school shooting, this time at Brown University that left two students dead, and the shooter is still on the run. For some of the survivors, this was their second school shooting because we just refuse to do anything, anything at all about gun violence.

Then, there was the horrific anti-Semitic mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach, targeting Jews celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, which left 15 dead and 27 others injured.

And finally, news that broke yesterday that the beloved director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Reiner were murdered allegedly by their son in their Brentwood home. This story has shattered Hollywood and multiple generations who grew up with Reiner the actor and Reiner the director.

Reiner was a nepo baby, the son of comedian, director, producer, actor, and Mel Brooks’ partner, Carl Reiner. But Reiner became a household name by playing Michael Stivic, Archie Bunker’s son-in-law, “Meathead” on All in the Family, bringing political arguments into the American home via sitcom. He was also a fixture of late-night television, guest-hosting The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson a handful of times, and hosting the third-ever episode of Saturday Night Live, becoming the first host to fully participate in the sketches themselves. He also guest-starred on several shows and movies, including New Girl, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, It’s Gary Shandling’s Show, and many others. 

But what Rob Reiner will be most remembered for are the culture-defining films he directed. He made the ultimate mockumentary with This is Spinal Tap. He made the ultimate fantasy-action-comedy-romance with The Princess Bride. He made the ultimate coming-of-age film with Stand By Me. He made the ultimate courtroom drama with A Few Good Men. He made the ultimate fan horror with Misery. And he made the ultimate rom-com with When Harry Met Sally.

Fittingly, it was on that movie that he happened to meet his wife Michelle, a photographer and documentarian, and fell in love with her so hard, he changed the ending of the movie to give Harry and Sally that romantic happy ending. 

 
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The fact that he and his talented, beloved wife lost their lives at the hands of their son (allegedly) is a tragedy that is impossible for a lot of people to get their heads around, and the outpouring of grief has been overwhelming.

 
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Jerry O’Connell: “You know, I don’t mean this as any offense to my parents who are still with us … [but] Rob was like a father to me,” O’Connell told host Gayle King. “It’s just surreal.”

 
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And this just broke my heart.

Rob and Michelle Reiner were also very vocal supporters of progressive politics. He was the co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which launched the court challenge to the same-sex marriage ban in California; he fought to fund preschools; advocated for moderation in depicting violence in tobacco use in media; and was involved in environmental issues and labor causes. He also served on the advisory board of the committee to Investigate Russia, and at the time of his death was working on a television series exploring the relationship between President Compromat and Vladimir Putin. And so, it should not be a surprise that President Useful Idiot posted a hateful screed about Rob and Michelle’s deaths, somehow making it all about himself. I will not embed it here because I am so disgusted, but it is so foul that even Republicans are calling him out for it. 

But let’s not let that nonsense taint this good man’s memory. Instead, honor him by seeking out his movies: 

  • When Harry Met Sally is streaming on Starz
  • This is Spinal Tap and Spinal Tap II: The End Continues are both on HBO Max
  • The Princess Bride is on Disney+ and Hulu
  • Albert Brooks: Defending My Life, which was made by Michelle Reiner and features Rob, is on HBO Max
  • Misery and A Few Good Men are available to rent or buy on YouTube, Apple TV, and Prime Video
  • And you can stream the movie that meant the most to him, Stand By Me, on Netflix. 

Prime Video tried to use AI to write recaps of the first season of Fallout, but AI fucked it all up, and Prime Video had to pull them, and I, for one, am glad to see that “Recapper” is a job that can’t be replaced by computers. Yet. 

I Love LA‘s Jordan Firstman had some criticisms of the gay sex scenes in Heated Rivalry, to which the stars of Heated Rivalry said: ~shrug~. 

Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes notes that while the environment has become more challenging thanks to President Dipshit and the change at Paramount, “However, I will say that in that season, last season, all of our stories got on the air. We got them all on. We got them all on the air with an absolute minimum of interference, nothing that anyone in this room would have been alarmed by.” So that’s positive, I suppose. 

Jane Fonda (who I gently remind was once on a Netflix series) has some thoughts on the Netflix/Warner Bros. story.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Committee for the First Amendment (@1acommittee)

Oh no, don’t make me develop a kernel of respect for Tom Cruise … 

Well, well, well. Look who has grown some eyeballs.

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos snuck to London to surprise their daughter, Lola, at her debut singing performance, and it is very sweet.

“A bunch of pissed-off millionaires bitching about how much they hate millionaires and Trump and men and you and me and everybody else they got a bee up their ass about. It’s pretty funny.” — how Landman described The View on the most recent episode. It’s not exactly wrong, and I’m a fan.

HBO Max is adding a bunch of channels.

Love is dead. 

Love is dead. 

Congratulations, Debby Ryan and Josh Dun!

Congratulations, Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen!

And a tiny spot of light in these dark times: Happy 100th birthday, Dick Van Dyke!

Cancellations

In Development

  • A sequel series to Point Break is in the works at AMC, zomg. 
  • The Challenger, a series about Sally Ride starring Kristen Stewart, has been greenlit at Prime Video.
  • Hope Valley: 1874, a prequel to When Calls the Heart, has been ordered at Hallmark+. 
  • Kingmakers is being adapted into a TV series at Netflix. 
  • Torso, a feature based on the graphic novel of the same name, has been acquired by Netflix. 
  • The series adaptation of Holes is not moving forward at Disney+.
  • Kerry Ehrin has signed an overall deal with Sony Pictures Television.

Casting News

Mark Your Calendar

  • Stranger Things returns on Netflix on December 25.

  • Fear Factor: House of Fear premieres on Fox on January 14.

  • Ponies debuts on Peacock on January 15.

  • Beast Games returns on Prime Video on January 7.

  • Pole to Pole with Will Smith debuts on Nat Geo on January 13.

  • People Magazine Investigates returns on ID on January 12.

  • Crime in Progress debuts on A&E on January 1.

  • Suddenly Amish debuts on TLC on January 13.

  • Love During Lockup returns on We TV on January 16.

  • Love Is Blind: Germany returns on Netflix on January 28.

  • Alpha Males returns on Netflix on January 9. 

R.I.P.

Rob Reiner, Director of legendary films, Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men, and others, actor in All in the Family, and son of legendary comedian, director, producer, and actor Carl Reiner

Michelle Singer Reiner, Documentary filmmaker, photographer, and wife of Rob Reiner

Anthony Geary, Eight-time Daytime Emmy-winner and actor best known as Luke on General Hospital  

 

 
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More tributes from Kin Shriner, John Stamos, Anders Hove, and Johnathan Jackson can be seen here. 

 
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Dave Ward, Longtime Houston news anchor at ABC13

Peter Greene, Character actor known for Pulp Fiction and The Mask

Rachael Carpani, Actress who appeared in NCIS: Los Angeles, The Glades, and The Way Back, as well as Australian seriesMcLeod’s Daughters, and Home and Away

Jonathan Pienaar, South African actor in Blood Diamond and Cape Town

Arthur Cohn, Three-time Oscar-winning producer of documentary films

Abraham Quintanilla Jr., Selena’s father and manager

Brad Luff, Film studio executive

Jeff Wexler, BAFTA Award-winning and two-time Oscar-nominated sound mixer

Carl Carlton, Funk and R&B singer known for “She’s a Bad Mamma Jamma” and “Everlasting Love”

WATCH THIS

FBI: The team discovers a deadly plot that they must rush to stop during the holidays. Two-hour fall finale. 7 p.m., CBS

St. Denis Medical: The nurses threaten to walk out. Fall finale. 7 p.m., NBC

Watson: Watson grows suspicious of Sherlock in the fall finale. 9 p.m., CBS

Late Night:

  • Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Simu Liu, Jake Connelly, Alysa Liu, Greg Warren
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers: Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Paisley
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Paul Rudd, Lesley Manville
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Michelle Obama, Mia Goth
  • Watch What Happens Live: Victoria Beckham, Kerry Washington

MON. 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30
ABC Celebrity Family Feud
(repeat)		 Celebrity Family Feud
(repeat)		 The $100,000 Pyramid
(repeat)
CBS FBI
(new)		 Watson
(new)
CW A California Christmas Local
FOX Name That Tune
(new)		 News/Local
NBC St. Denis Medical
(new)		 The Paper
(new)		 The Voice
(new)

 

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