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“The Last of Us” Holds Steady in Ratings Post-Pascal But Down Substantially from 1st Episode

Roger Friedman
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“The Last of Us” Holds Steady in Ratings Post-Pascal But Down Substantially from 1st Episode

Season 2 of HBO’s “The Last of Us” started off with a bang in the ratings — 938,000 linear viewers.

We thought the only place to go from there was up. We were wrong.

Episode 2 told the story. Over 300,000 viewers were bored or busy, putting the total at 643,000.

By the end of that episode, Pedro Pascal, the show’s star was out. His character, Joel, had a violent exit.

Since then, “The Last of Us” has found its groove at around 770,000 viewers. That’s good for cable and HBO, but it’s not the breakout we expected.

Without Pascal, the show is rudderless. It would be like Don Draper getting killed off before “Mad Men” second season, or Noah Wyle getting it now in “The Pitt.”

The producers say they’re staying true to a video game, which is ridiculous. They should have kept Joel alive until the end.

There are only three more episodes in this mini season. This past Sunday, the show looked like an episode of “The Walking Dead,” and it was dull. It’s always good to see Jeffrey Wright, but that’s not what we bought in the first season. Also, I’m waiting for Catherine O’Hara to tilt her head and get back in comedy form.

“Yellowstone” Lives! CBS Spin Off Features Luke Grimes Returning as Kayce Dutton as a Montana Marshal on the Old Ranch

Roger Friedman
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“Yellowstone” Lives! CBS Spin Off Features Luke Grimes Returning as Kayce Dutton as a Montana Marshal on the Old Ranch

“Yellowstone” lives!

The first sequel to the original show has turned up as a CBS series.

“Y: Marshals” is the worst title I can think for a show about Kayce Dutton and his family sticking around the Montana ranch.

CBS says Kayce, played again by Luke Grimes, combines his skills as “a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region’s war on violence.”

Kayce gave away the Dutton Ranch at the end of “Yellowstone,” but apparently he kept an acre for himself and his family.

The show will air Sundays at 9pm on CBS, not Paramount. It’s not clear if Taylor Sheridan will be involved.

So what happens to Kayce’s sister, Beth, and her husband, Rip, played respectively by Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser? Will they get their own spin off? Will there be cross over episodes? This can’t be the end of branding “Yellowstone.” I mean brand marketing, not branding the cows.

Don’t worry. Paramount and CBS haven’t even begun to wrangle all the life out of “Yellowstone.”

PS This is the show that “The Equalizer” was canceled for. Better be worth it!

Golden Globes Move Away from Movies, TV, Will Offer Best Podcast as New Category This Year

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globes Move Away from Movies, TV, Will Offer Best Podcast as New Category This Year

The Golden Globes aren’t just going to be about movies and TV anymore.

Desperate for ratings and new fans, the Globes have announced they will offer Best Podcast as a new category.

Movies and TV involved acting, which the Globes have always celebrated. Even their recent Best Stand Up Comic meant a central person in a performative role.

But now Best Podcast? Sort of like a talk show? Or investigative reporting? Or recipes? Unclear what they mean.

By 2027 the Globes will have an award for Best Influencer, no doubt. And video games, absolutely.

The Globes say the “top 25 podcasts” will qualify for consideration, with a total of six final nominations for the category. Eligibility requirements for those rankings and other details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Will Joe Rogan be a presenter? Or a nominee?

But what top 25? From where? No information yet, but you know this is going to end in tears.

It’s also a further diminishing of Hollywood. Owned the same companies as Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline.com, the Globes are going to become the equivalent of a modern book store — not just books, but greeting cards, video games, small toys, and other tchotchkes.

That’s entertainment!

Uncancelled: Simon & Schuster to Publish “Not Particularly Funny” Dramatic Novel by Comedian Louis CK

Roger Friedman
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Uncancelled: Simon & Schuster to Publish “Not Particularly Funny” Dramatic Novel by Comedian Louis CK

Louis CK is publishing a novel. Simon & Schuster is publishing it.

The once cancelled comedian calls “Ingram” a “dramatic story” and “not particularly funny.”

The novel is coming on November 11th. Louis CK is reading the audio version but he says he hasn’t done it yet, and he’s nervous.

He jokes: “The price for Ingram will be $1 million per copy. I know that sounds like a lot, but my thinking is that this way, we only need to sell one book to have great success.  Okay—that’s a joke. The price is a normal book price.” 

From Louis’s description, the novel doesn’t seem autobiographical. He was born to people of means in Washington DC. They moved to his father’s home in Mexico until Louis was 7. His bio says he only spoke Spanish until they moved to tony Newton, Mass, where Louis went to high school.

During the first wave of #MeToo, several women accused Louis of sexual harassment. His thriving career was destroyed, although he’s made a comeback selling out theaters for his stand up routine. He’s still considered somewhat of a pariah.

Here’s what he says, in full:

Ingram is literary fiction (I just learned that). It’s a very dramatic story. And I better confess to you this book is not particularly funny. I’m not saying you will never laugh while reading it. You will probably laugh a few times. You might even laugh a lot. If you are insane. 

But essentially, Ingram is not a comedy book. It’s a literary novel. It is literally a literary novel.  

Ingram is the story of a boy who lives in a very nowhere place with no one to talk to and nothing to do and very little to eat. He is forced to leave that place and go out into a chaotic, cruel, confusing, and fascinating world. He commences to do the only things left to him as options. He survives, he suffers, he learns, he wonders, cries, laughs, and he grows just as anything that doesn’t die continues to grow.

Over the last few years, I’ve been writing a lot of fiction. Mostly short stories. I don’t know if I’ll publish any of them, but I love writing them.

So, one day I got this voice of a simple but eloquent country boy in my head and I sat down to write his story. I had no idea it was going to be a book, and I had no idea what would happen to him. For many months I sat down almost every day and I would ask Ingram what happens next, and he would tell me. 

And then just like that, one day, as suddenly as he had shown up, it was over. That’s Ingram. 

I’m writing another novel now, by the way.  It’s completely different from Ingram. Maybe I’ll publish that someday.

The experience of working with BenBella and making the book has been wonderful and educational. If I can, I’d love to keep doing it.

Well, that’s about it. I hope you buy the book. Go here if you want to preorder it. I hope you read it. I hope you like it.  

This Year’s Emmy Awards Host Never Watched “Succession,” Prefers Shows That Aren’t Art, Won’t Get Nominated

Roger Friedman
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This Year’s Emmy Awards Host Never Watched “Succession,” Prefers Shows That Aren’t Art, Won’t Get Nominated

Stand up comic Nate Bergatze — nice guy, I’ve met him — is hosting the Emmy Awards this fall.

Cutting edge comic? Not so much. Man of the people, that’s his calling card.

Bergatze — who’s hosted “SNL” twice recently to meh ratings — is hosting the Emmy Awards this fall. He tells Esquire magazine in a cover story that he doesn’t watch TV shows that are “art.” For example, he never watched the very popular, raved about Emmy winning HBO drama, “Succession.”

“I did not watch Succession,” he says. “I know it’s the greatest show ever to exist. I’m not a moron. Everybody understands it’s the greatest show in the world. I want to watch it. This has nothing to do with the show. But no one watched it in the grand scheme of things.”

“You know what?” he continues. “Maybe the Successions are a little bit easier to make because you’re making it for such a specific audience. You get the runway to make it for five, six years because it’s cool. What if no one watches? It doesn’t matter.”

We can draw the conclusion that he’s never seen “The Sopranos” or “Veep” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and definitely not “The Crown.”

The shows and movies that everyone watches, Esquire asks? King of Queens, plus Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Alone, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. “Those are the ones you go back to,” he says. “Those are the ones that are hard to make.”

Lucky for Bergatze, “Succession” has wrapped up its run. But network shows do not get Emmy Awards. “Abbott Elementary” is the lone entry from the big four networks. It doesn’t win (it’s fun but it’s “The Office” set in a grade school).

The only shot for an actor in any of the main categories this year is Kathy Bates in “Matlock.” She’s a shoo-in.

Everything else will be from Hulu, Netflix, HBO, FX, Apple, and Amazon. Bergatze has all summer to bone up on the shows he obviously doesn’t watch.

“Why did they pick me to do it?” he says rhetorically to writer Michael Sebastian. “Well, the election probably helped.” It got Hollywood executives asking: “Who doesn’t live in L.A.? Who’s available?”

PS I always loved Esquire. Glad to see they’re still making waves.

Bebe Neuwirth Kicks Off the Nominees Party for Broadway’s Chita Rivera Awards

Regina Weinreich
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Bebe Neuwirth Kicks Off the Nominees Party for Broadway’s Chita Rivera Awards

Last night, at the great Bond 45 restaurant in the theater district, in a roomful of notable talent from this year’s great shows, the late legend Chita Rivera would have felt quite at home.

The occasion: to announce the nominees for the Chita Rivera Award, honoring choreographers, dance ensembles, and featured dancers on stage and on screen. The Awards presentation is scheduled for May 19.

Kicking off the evening, Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth quoted Chita: “There’s nowhere I’d rather be than in a roomful of dancers.”

Veteran columnist Michael Musto introduced me to Donna McKechnie, the Tony winning star dancer of the landmark dance musical, “A Chorus Line”, now on the nominating committee.

I asked her, ‘Is it cheeky to ask which shows you like the most this season?’ She whispered yes, it is, and noted, she liked “Just in Time” a lot.

And then, on cue, Jonathan Groff, star of “Just in Time. descended the stairs. His role as hitmaker Bobby Darin is nominated for Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway show, as are the dancers for Best Ensemble in a Broadway show. Even a movie Groff is in, “A Nice Indian Boy,” is nominated for Outstanding Choreography in a Feature Film. “You’re the heartthrob, I venture,” to wit he grins, Imagine that.

For Outstanding Ensemble “Just in Time” competes with A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical, Death Becomes Her, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Smash, Boop! The Musical, and already a fan favorite, Buena Vista Social Club. Dancers Carlos Falu and Angelica Beliard enthused about their show: “Come see us backstage.” They are nominated for Outstanding Dancer in a Broadway show.

Nominated choreographers, Christopher Gattelli from “Death Becomes Her” and Joshua Bergasse from “Smash” spoke to me about the challenges and joys of working on these productions. Gattelli had to work out the intricate Megan Hilty falling down a flight of stairs from the “Death” script.

Bergasse had to collaborate with the multi-Tony winning Susan Stroman, a choreographer/ director. He had created the dance for the hit television show Smash, and “Stro” in her role as the Broadway musical’s director merely sat on his shoulder for him to bounce ideas to. They seemed to agree on everything.

I sat with a sample group from the “Boop”’s” ensemble: Courtney Arango, Gabriella Sorrentino, Nina LaFarga, and Lawrence Alexander, munching on pepperoni pizza and sauteed broccoli rabe. It’s hard not to exude about a musical featuring a song called the patron saint of short women.

“I’ll remember that,” said the star, Tony nominated Jasmine Amy Rogers. Did she know about Betty Boop growing up? She made her mom buy her a doll when they were at Universal Studios. “She was in my life, but now she’s much more.”

The Chita Rivera Awards take place on Monday, May 19th at the NYU Skirball Center with an all-star roster in the audience including Ben Vereen (Pippin), Donna Murphy (Passion), Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), Savion Glover (Bring in ‘da Noise…), Tituss Burgess (Oh, Mary!), Stephanie Pope (Fosse), Nathan Lee Graham (Mid-Century Modern), Joy Woods (Gypsy), Vy Higginsen (Mama, I Want to Sing!), Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson (Mama, I Want to Sing!), and Chita Rivera Award Nominees: Jonathan Groff (Just In Time), Robyn Hurder (Smash), Josh Bergasse (Smash), Warren Carlyle (Pirates! The Penzance Musical), Jasmine Amy Rogers (Boop! The Musical), Shannon Lewis (Just In Time), David Neumann (Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics Choice Award Honoree for his Choreography in Swept Away), and more.

Here are the nominees:

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A BROADWAY SHOW

Joshua Bergasse, Smash

Warren Carlyle, Pirates! The Penzance Musical

Patricia Delgado / Justin Peck, Buena Vista Social Club

Christopher Gattelli, Death Becomes Her

Shannon Lewis, Just In Time

Jerry Mitchell, Boop! The Musical

Rickey Tripp / DeWitt Fleming, Jr., A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical

OUTSTANDING DANCER IN A BROADWAY SHOW

Angélica Beliard, Buena Vista Social Club

Kevin Csolak, Gypsy

Carlos Falú, Buena Vista Social Club

DeWitt Fleming, Jr., A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical

Jonathan Groff, Just In Time

Robyn Hurder, Smash

Héctor Juan Maisonet, Buena Vista Social Club

Ilda Mason, Buena Vista Social Club

Marielys Molina, Buena Vista Social Club

Jasmine Amy Rogers, Boop! The Musical

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A BROADWAY SHOW

A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical

Boop! The Musical

Buena Vista Social Club

Death Becomes Her

Just In Time

Pirates! The Penzance Musical

Smash

FILM & DOCUMENTARY

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY IN A FEATURE FILM

A Nice Indian Boy, Choreographers: Ziana D’Mello, Breanna English, Christian Lagasse

Emilia Perez, Choreographer: Damien Jalet

Sh’ma: A Story of Survival, Choreographer: Suki John

Snow White, Choreographer: Mandy Moore

Wicked, Part 1, Choreographer: Christopher Scott

OUTSTANDING DIRECTION OF A DANCE DOCUMENTARY

A Resilient Man, Director: Stephane Carrel

Better Man, Director: Michael Gracey

Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story, Director: Bruce David Klein

Two Roads, Director: Susan Wittenberg

Who Cares About Pal Frenak, Director: Gloria Halasz

“Grey’s Anatomy” Rises in Slightly Total Viewers But Key Age Demo Falls Stunning 14% from Last Week

Roger Friedman
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“Grey’s Anatomy” Rises in Slightly Total Viewers But Key Age Demo Falls Stunning 14% from Last Week

The continuing saga of “Grey’s Anatomy” continues.

Last Thursday’s episode rose slightly, by 8.13% from the previous week. That’s a little improvement, with 2.085 million total viewers. It’s still one of the lowest of the season.

More worrisome is the key demo dropped 13.64% to just 190,000 of those two million. That tied a low for the season. The first two episodes of this had 300,000 people watching between 18 and 49. A third of them are gone.

“Grey’s” has been renewed for Season 22, but at this rate they should really start writing a big finale in which Patrick Dempsey is revealed to be alive, and Katherine Heigl bombs the hospital.

The White Lotus Cast Goes to the Met Ball: Who Were “The Uninvited” After All? Not Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood

Roger Friedman
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The White Lotus Cast Goes to the Met Ball: Who Were “The Uninvited” After All? Not Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood

This stuff, I don’t get into much.

But I had to watch 9 or 10 hours of “The White Lotus,” so I’m invested.

There’s been a scandal brewing between two cast members, Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Wood. They played a couple on the show, Rick and Chelsea. The actors spent 6 months together in Thailand.

What do you think happened?

Suddenly, the rumor mill says there’s been a “falling out” between the two of them. They’ve each “unfollowed” each other.

Last night they came to the Met Ball. In the same car. Along with co-star Patrick Schwarzenegger, who for some reason left his long time fiancee, Abby Champion, back in Los Angeles and accompanied Aimee Lou.

If Champion were a medical resident or Supreme Court clerk, you could understand her not coming to fashion’s Super Bowl. But she’s a model. A fashion model. If Patrick weren’t being used as a beard, Champion would have attended even if she measles and COVID!

Walton’s wife, Nadia Conners, was also nowhere to be seen. Recently, Nadia directed a movie in which Walton appears, called “The Uninvited.” It seems like she and Patrick’s fiancee were actually The Uninvited last night.

Do we need to a play by play football chalkboard out for this discussion?

Goggins barely mentioned “The Uninvited” during the thrall of “White Lotus” publicity. He showed up for one or two small screenings. I was among those surprised it even existed. The movie was DOA.

Now People reports Walt and Aimee are “following” each other again on Instagram. It must have been quite a Ball last night!

Do I have to paint you a picture? What happened in Thailand didn’t stay there, did it?

Even if Goggins and Wood don’t get Emmy nominations, they deserve some kind of real life acting award. Am I cynical? Yes. But six months at a luxury resort halfway around the world? Even Melania would look good under those circumstances!

Summer Reading Bonanza: Christie Brinkley Sings, Barry Diller Confesses, Keith McNally Reveals, Tina Knowles Explains

Roger Friedman
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Summer Reading Bonanza: Christie Brinkley Sings, Barry Diller Confesses, Keith McNally Reveals, Tina Knowles Explains

It’s going to be a wild summer for beach readers in the Hamptons and Malibu.

And a lot of other places.

The celebs are dropping their memoirs, and they’re all churning up the headlines.

Today comes Christie Brinkley’s “Uptown Girl,” about the supermodel’s amazing rock and roller coaster life. Christie talks about her marriage to her happier marriage to Billy Joel and fearful one with the famous louse, Peter Cook.

Christie is like a bright yellow daffodil in any garden, so the book is a tell-some with an upbeat attitude. We still don’t know why she looks so amazing at 70. But God bless, really.

“Uptown Girl” enters the amazon best seller list at #143.

Barry Diller stirs the pot this morning with an excerpt from his memoir, “Who Knew,” in New York Magazine. An uber media mogul, Diller finally reveals the extraordinary story of his love life, from decades of romancing and marrying Diane von Furstenberg to being incredibly bisexual. He hit it all and now it’s being told.

Diller writes: “I’ve lived for decades reading about Diane and me: about us being best friends rather than lovers. We weren’t just friends. We aren’t just friends. Plain and simple, it was an explosion of passion that kept up for years. And, yes, I also liked guys, but that was not a conflict with my love for Diane. I can’t explain it to myself or to the world. It simply happened to both of us without motive or manipulation. In some cosmic way we were destined for each other.”

“Who Knew” hits the stands on May 20th.

New York restaurant owner Keith McNally arrives at #346 on amazon with “I Regret Almost Everything.” This memoir is about the Balthazar/Minetta Lane/Morandi owner’s also up and down life and career making and losing money, divorcing two wives, having two gay romances, and so on.

But McNally’s book is really about his life altering stroke that’s left him physically depleted but ever more astute, observant, and glib. He settles some scores, reveals others, and looks for a fight. A certified showman, he’s having not one but two book parties this week at Balthazar. And British actor Richard E. Grant voices the audiobook.

Also: Beyonce’s mom has a hit with her book, “Matriarch.” Tina Knowles has a lot to say, and many want to know how he raised one of the world’s superstars, and as well, in Solange, a great musician and creator. Last week, Tina got a launch from Oprah with an incredible musical performance of Jennifer Hudson singing “The Impossible Dream.”

Armie Hammer, Famous Non Cannibal, Announces Fake Film Project with Safdie Brothers: “Persona Non Grata”

Roger Friedman
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Armie Hammer, Famous Non Cannibal, Announces Fake Film Project with Safdie Brothers: “Persona Non Grata”

Armie Hammer, famous being labeled a cannibal, made an announcement yesterday.

With his career in tatters, Armie posted news of either a documentary or a narrative film called “Persona Non Grata.” He announced it tonight on Instagram. He said it would be made by Josh and Benny Safdie.

What is real? No.

Hammer escaped to the Cayman Islands but is back looking for work in Hollywood. He is Persona Non Grata. As he acknowledges, no one wants anything to do with him. How will he overcome that? He’s got a podcast and has picked up parts in B films. But maybe this film will do the trick and bring him back from the dead.

The movie does sound tasty. But it’s also kind of sad that Hammer published this post. He’s going to have to get real at some point.

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