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The station featured the Yankees every day. They also had the best 11pm reruns with “The Honeymooners,” “The Odd Couple,” and “Seinfeld.”
Well, that was a long time ago, in a far away galaxy.
No one ever took Channel 11’s news shows seriously, and their ratings have always been way behind the main channels 2, 4. 4. and 7. A lot of people probably don’t realize they still have news, although I’m always pleasantly surprised to see Magee Hickey and Kaity Tong.
These days, Channel 11 is owned by guess who? Nexstar, the conservative network that just forced ABC to oust Jimmy Kimmel.
The owner of Nexstar is Perry Sook, and that name will sound familiar to WPIX viewers. Perry Sook, Jr. is a sportscaster on the station.
He’s not the lead. That’s Mark Malusis, Joe Mauceri, Nelson Figueroa. But Sook Jr. is there, and we can surmise he had at least some inside pull. I’m sure he loves sports, like all of us, but his background according to his website, is musical theater. He played Shrek in a national tour.
Singing or dancing, don’t downplay this: the Sooks are on the rise. Senior Sook controls 200 TV stations and not just at ABC but at all the networks. He is deeply conservative. In addition to Nexstar, Sook also owns News Nation, which — despite some familiar faces — a right leaning news network that would love to take on Fox News.
Coming on the heels of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension by ABC from his talk show, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, et al remained silent. They seem like they’ve been gagged by ABC.
The opening segment is a rerun of yesterday’s conversation about with discussion of Kash Patel’s Congressional Hearing.
Basically, the show opened with a birthday greeting to Sarah Haines, with a white background and colorful sprinkles on the floor.
Then the lighting darkened and the show subbed in yesterday’s segment about Patel’s hearing. There was no other morning greeting because they were now returning to somethingrom yesterday.
Guests like Eugene Levy and Terry Bradshaw are scheduled live this morning.
They returned from commercial to a discussion about RFK Jr and nothing about Kimmel or anything referring to what happened to Kimmel.
There’s absolutely no way Whoopi or Joy would not have commented on the Kimmel suspension unless ABC forbade them.
The great comedian Wanda Sykes was supposed to be a guest on Jimmy Kimmel’s show last night.
Of course, that didn’t happen since the show was suspended before taping time.
Sykes says Trump didn’t stop the Ukraine or Gaza wars as promised the first week of his administration but “he did end freedom of speech within his first year.”
“For those about to pray,” Sykes tells her followers, “now’s the time to do it.”
The Writers Guild of America is standing up for Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.
Let’s not forget that Disney’s egregious decision to suspend Kimmel’s show affects not just the host but his entire staff including Guillermo.
These are real people backstage and in the crew whose lives depend on the show.
Kimmel did nothing wrong. He’s being railroaded by people who are denying the First Amendment and buy into Trump’s authoritarian program.
Did I ever think I’d be writing such things? No. But freedom of speech and all journalism is being threatened by Trump and his cronies. We are at a major turning point.
Will Kimmel’s suspension be temporary or permanent? I can’t imagine him apologizing for what is his right as an American.
Whatever happens, it won’t be easy.
WGA Statement on ABC’s Decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice.
As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn’t have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree.
Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.
The WGA stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.
this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.
The Hot Topic should be Jimmy Kimmel getting suspended by their own network.
You can guess where Joy Behar stands on this issue. Whoopi Goldberg? I can’t imagine her not taking Kimmel’s side.
And then what? Will Disney fire all of them, too?
With the Kimmel suspension, Disney now gambles on whether anyone will do business with them again.
This could certainly affect this year’s Oscars, which are set to be hosted again by another comic, Conan O’Brien. Will Conan do the job if Kimmel isn’t back on the air?
How will ABC deal will all these comedians who go live on their air?
What’s happened tonight with Kimmel raises a lot of questions about how broadcast television is going to operate under Trump’s authoritarian regime. We might see a great migration to streaming by anyone with an opinion counter to Trump.
Meantime, Colbert and Kimmel have been leveled by Trump in a few short months. Who’s next? David Ellison wants to buy Warner Bros to get his hands on CNN. Ellison is a Trump supporter whose father, Larry, head of Oracle, has just been handed TikTok. If you extrapolate, you won’t be able to sleep…
Look for the rise of Beehiv, Substack, and even YouTube to the extent that they won’t censor content suppliers.
Meantime, Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade declared that homeless people should be euthanized. He still has his job.
Donald Trump is so thrilled that ABC has suspended Jimmy Kimmel.
He writes on social media: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJTC
When Stephen Colbert was cancelled — at Trump’s urging through new Paramount CBS owner David Ellison — Trump predicted that Kimmel would be next. He knew in July this was going to happen.
This is the same Trump who shook down CBS and ABC in lawsuits for millions of dollars. They caved to him and once that blackmail worked Trump was in charge.
Meantime, when CNN’s Brian Stelter emailed FCC chairman and Trump lackey Brendan Carr about Carr instigating the Kimmel suspension, Carr responded with a GIF from “The Office” of characters celebrating.
This is the world we live in now thanks not just to MAGA but to Democrats and Independents who voted for Trump. This means you, Brian Grazer.
Disney and ABC have shown what cowards they are again.
They’ve pulled the Jimmy Kimmel show off the air indefinitely over comments the talk show host made about Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel must be livid, and this could be the end of his show, his patience with Disney exhausted. Imagine the lawsuit the network could face for their stupidity.
What did Kimmel say? He indicated that MAGA was behind the Kirk killing. His producers and the network cleared the taped show for broadcast. It’s their fault not his if they objected to his statement. But of course, let the scapegoating begin.
As you may know, firings and suspensions from jobs are happening everywhere over anyone who says anything negative about Kirk — who was a virulent racist and misogynist. But if you say it, you’re finished in this new deep freeze against freedom of expression.
Among the fired: MSNBC’s Matthew Dowd, who said nothing wrong when Kirk died, explaining that he’d heated up the atmosphere around so this kind of thing could happen.
MSNBC immediately fired him. On Monday, Rachel Maddow — usually outspoken — curbed her remarks to just a few seconds on Kirk. Was it out of fear of reprisal? I hope not.
The report from CNBC:
″ ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ will be pre-empted indefinitely,” an ABC spokesman told NBC News.
The statement came shortly after Nexstar Media Group said its company-owned and “partner television stations affiliated with the ABC Television Network will preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ for the foreseeable future beginning with tonight’s show.”
“Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” Nextstar said.
Andrew Alford, the president of Nexstar’s broadcasting division, said, “Mr. Kimmel’s comments about the death of Mr. Kirk are offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse, and we do not believe they reflect the spectrum of opinions, views, or values of the local communities in which we are located.”
“Continuing to give Mr. Kimmel a broadcast platform in the communities we serve is simply not in the public interest at the current time, and we have made the difficult decision to preempt his show in an effort to let cooler heads prevail as we move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue,” Alford said.
The First Amendment is in peril now more than ever. Call Disney and complain! (818) 560-1000
Donald Trump is making a fool of himself at Windsor Castle.
At a state dinner with King Charles and Camilla, Consort Queen, Trump has read remarks that are suitable only for “Saturday Night Live.”
The look on Camilla’s face is utterly priceless.
Trump thinks he’s the first US President at such a dinner. I guess his staff failed to tell him about the Kennedys, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama.
But it’s Trump’s blathering about famous British writers that is most hilarious. He reads their names — Shakespeare, Orwell, Lewis — as if it’s the first time he’s ever heard of them. Then he says we’ll “probably never see them again.”
Actually, we won’t. Camilla looks like she’s in a Monty Python sketch.
Here are some highlights from this utter disaster. Watch his casual racism in the first clip, supporting the “English speaking world”:
Trump: Together we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are, and we must continue to stand for the values and the people of the english-speaking world. pic.twitter.com/rZPjLZ57pP
The Oscar drumbeat has already begun for Best Actor in a Leading Role this season.
Some performances have already been seen, like Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another” and Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners.”
Prognosticators like to include predictions for things no one’s seen, like Daniel Day Lewis in “Anemone” and Timothy Chalamet in “Marty Supreme.”
But the truly outstanding performance so far is Ethan Hawke in “Blue Moon.” The Richard Linklater movie is currently at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and releases October 17th.
Those who’ve seen “Blue Moon” know that this is Hawke’s finest and most unexpected performance. He plays songwriter Lorenz Hart, who co-wrote dozens of American Songbook songs like the title song, plus “My Funny Valentine,” “Where or When,” “My Romance,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” “(We’ll Have) Manhattan,” and so on.
Most of Hart’s hits were written with Richard Rodgers. When we meet Hart, it’s been 16 years since the duo has worked together. It’s the opening night of “Oklahoma!” — March 31, 1943 — which Rodgers has done with Oscar Hammerstein. Hart is prowling around Sardi’s where “Blue Moon” takes place, waiting for the after party to begin and reviews to be announced.
Hart is trying to get drunk at the empty bar in Sardi’s, talking mostly with the bartender (an amiable Bobby Cannavale) and the pianist, a soldier on leave named Knuckles (Jonah Lees). In time, a preppy looking older fellow is spotted drinking in a corner. That’s “The New Yorker” legend E. B. White (Patrick Kennedy), who’s struggling to finish “Charlotte’s Web” and gets another idea from Hart before the night is over.
You’d think a movie just set in Sardi’s wouldn’t have much action, but Linklater knows how to move a camera around like no one else. Also, the Robert Kaplow screenplay is so mesmerizing that the focus is on the words more than anything else, although a scene set with Hawke and Margaret Qualley in the coat check room is the surprise of the movie.
Eventually, the crowd comes in from opening, starting with Rodgers (Andrew Scott) and a variety of characters. Hammerstein introduces Hart to his 13 year old student named Stephen (as in Sondheim) and there are some other surprises — IFYKYK, as they say now.
But mainly, it’s all about Hart, who was just five feet tall, gay, and alcoholic. How Hawke and Linklater faked off the height is the real story, since Hawke is probably 10 inches taller in reality. Throughout the film, as Hawke — with his slicked back hair, sad pasty smile, and endless gab — moves around the restaurant, he’s dwarfed by everything and everyone around him.
Hawke has never had trouble talking talking talking on film or on stage. He’s basically a monologist who lets other people speak from time to time. Think of “Boyhood” or the “Before” trilogy, anything where Linklater encourages him to hold forth in filibuster. Kaplow’s screenplay is perfectly suited to the actor, who makes “Blue Moon” into a one man show that occasionally allows others to chime in.
Hart is fighting drink, loneliness, perceived failure, his homosexuality, and disappointment that “Oklahoma!” will now overshadow everything he’s written with Rodgers. Hawke is incandescent. He should get not only an Oscar but a simultaneous Tony Award he’s so good at conveying a drowning man pouring water on himself at the same time.
Cannavale, et al in the bar are very good, but Qualley is also doing top work here as the subtly ambitious daughter of the woman who runs the Broadway league. Her flirtation with the very much older Hart — who’s more interested in the men at the party — is riveting. Again, their scene in the coat check room is worth the price of admission.
I hope Sony will rev up a campaign for Hawke sooner rather than later. No prognosticators should sleep on this performance — or for that matter, this screenplay. What lovely work.
