VERY MINOR SPOILERS
Episode 8 of “Succession,” Season 4 is one you’d better pay close attention to, like turn off the phones and feed the dog.

It’s Election Night. Mencken, aka Trump, is running against Jimenez — a liberal Democrat — for president. Connor Roy is also running, but that’s a joke and not to be taken seriously. You can only feel sorry for Connor. At one point in the episode he declares, on TV, “I’m a billionaire,” as if it means something.

Back to the election: all three siblings have a stake in the results. Roman, who wants to end the deal with Mattson, thinks a Mencken win means he’ll have an ally. Shiv, as we know, has been working entre nous with Mattson to finalize the deal so she’ll get to be COO of the new company. Kendall wanted to stop the deal, he and Roman have no idea Shiv is a spy, but he’s terrified Mencken will destroy the country.

And then there’s Tom and Greg. Tom is lost in a flailing career and a deteriorating marriage. Greg, always considered a numbskull by his cousins, is starting to show signs of a unexpected horse on the outside of the track suddenly gaining speed.

Everyone in episode 8 is excellent, of course, but Sarah Snook wins by a nose. Shiv is living up to her name, in both directions. During an impromptu revelation about her concealed pregnancy, Snook does something with her face that wins her all awards this season. Her face collapses, rebounds, and collapses again in a moment that you will play over and over in your mind. It’s a pivotal moment lasting a nano second. But everything changes as we head into the last two chapters. Unreal.

The actual election and its results are played like the movie “Fail Safe.” Nailbiter? I actually felt like the world was going to end.

The producers and stars of CBS’s just cancelled “East New York” think it has a chance of finding a new home.

It should. This kind of series in the past would run on CBS Sundays for five or six years. It had an average of 5 million viewers a week. It was just edgy enough without being offensive. The actors, like Jimmy Smits and Richard Kind, were endearing and engaging. The writing was very good.

In the old days. a Warner Bros produced series on CBS was a no brainer. Before running CBS, Les Moonves ran WBTV. The two were hand in glove and the result was very likeable network fare.

But CBS is telling all its shows that budgets are too high. They cancelled “SWAT” then changed their minds the next day after star Shemar Moore threw a temper tantrum on social media. So something had to go, and it was “East New York.”

Let’s hope one of the many other platforms pick it up. It happened a couple of years ago for “Manifest,” cancelled by NBC then picked up by Netflix.

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Jackie Zeman was one of a bunch of actors brought into the ABC soap opera “General Hospital” around 1977 to liven things up. They were all so popular they stayed, coming and going but always returning. Most of them are still on the show now.

Zeman passed away Wednesday at age 70 after a short battle with cancer, accordingto ABC.. She played nurse Bobbi Spencer, who was a major part of the show for four decades. Unlike a lot of scene chewers on daytime TV, Zeman had a light touch that endeared her to fans. She started out as a bad girl but became a heroine in the 1990s. Along the way she picked up four Daytime Emmy nominations.

Zeman was married three times, and had two daughters with her third husband. But I always thought it was cool that her first husband, from 1979 to 1981, was Murray the K aka Murray Kaufman, one of the most famous radio disc jockeys of the early rock and roll era. He was 31 years her senior. I’m sorry she didn’t get to write a book about that, the best of all her soap opera plots, no doubt.

Zeman’s real life death is in stark contrast to a soap opera death. On those shows characters often “die” only to return via science fiction like stories. A real death of an actor and a character is harder to take. Reality sucks.

Condolences to Zeman’s leagues of fans, her friends, and family.

I am deeply saddened to hear about the passing of the talented and beloved actress, @JackieZeman I recall the wonderful times we spent working together on General Hospital. Her warm personality and infectious energy always brightened my day. Jackie will forever hold a special… pic.twitter.com/MdV65RC6xT

— John Stamos (@JohnStamos) May 11, 2023

On behalf of our @GeneralHospital family, I am heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved @JackieZeman. Just like her character, the legendary Bobbie Spencer, she was a bright light and true professional that brought so much positive energy with her to work. pic.twitter.com/DxGdjYavab

— Frank Valentini (@valentinifrank) May 11, 2023