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CBS’s “Boston Blue” Will Have to Work Without Ties to “Blue Bloods” or Much Logic Why Danny Moved to Beantown

Roger Friedman
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CBS’s “Boston Blue” Will Have to Work Without Ties to “Blue Bloods” or Much Logic Why Danny Moved to Beantown

CBS wanted somehow to keep “Blue Bloods” but get rid of Tom Selleck, who was paid a king’s ransom.

So tomorrow night comes “Boston Blue,” in which Donnie Wahlberg — who’s from Boston but play Danny Reagan from Brooklyn, is the star.

No more Selleck or that whole family sitting around the dining room table for 14 years.

Now Danny/Donnie has mysteriously left his close knit family in New York for Boston. Luckily, he has a Boston accent already.

From the promos, people are still sitting around dining tables, so that will seem familiar. But other than a cameo in episode 1 from Bridget Moynahan, we probably won’t be seeing Danny’s family. And conversely, he’s not going to visit them even though there’s a super fast Acela train.

Well, when Lou Grant left Minneapolis for Los Angeles, we never saw Mary, Ted, or Murray. They completely disappeared. Spin-offs are tricky because you can’t keep going back to the original show unless everyone’s on board. On “Frasier,” we did see the “Cheers” gang in the first couple of seasons, but once it took off it was goodbye. And when Frasier moved back to Boston for the terrible sequel, he pretended like he knew no one there.

Tom Selleck was squawking when “Blue Bloods” was cancelled because he knew what CBS was up to. He just didn’t express it very well. But he was right. “Boston Blue” won’t make much sense — what happened to Danny’s long time partner and love interest, Maria (Marisa Ramirez)? Didn’t she wait a decade to get some action? Now, nothing!

Well, that’s how the cookie crumbles in TVLand.

Justin Bieber Doubling Down on “Swag” Failure with 2nd Volume of Tanked Album

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Doubling Down on “Swag” Failure with 2nd Volume of Tanked Album

Justin Bieber is doubling down on failure.

“Swag II” is coming tonight, a second volume of an album that didn’t sell well.

Indeed, Vol. 1 hasn’t hit 300,000 units. It’s at number 96 on iTunes. Like the 1st “Swag,” this one has no marketing or promotion.

Let the games begin!

“Hamilton” (The Filmed Version) Gets It First Sing-a-long Screening as 10th Anniversary Campaign Sets Up Theater Release

Roger Friedman
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“Hamilton” (The Filmed Version) Gets It First Sing-a-long Screening as 10th Anniversary Campaign Sets Up Theater Release

The “Hamilton” 10th anniversary marketing campaign rolls on.

Last night, Lin Manuel Miranda and a lot of his original Broadway cast came to Shakespeare in the Park’s Delacorte Theater for a huge screen showing of the filmed version of the famed musical.

The audience, composed of family, friends, and ardent fans, sang along like they were at a Taylor Swift concert.

On Friday, Disney — which already shows this version on Disney Plus — is putting it into theaters. Is that necessary at this point?

The answer, after seeing it in this form, is a resounding Yes. And much as I thought, Oy, Hamilton again? You forget. Lin Manuel Miranda’s work is a tour de force. There’s nothing quite like it. Maybe it’s a cliche to say it’s a work of genius, but go back and take a second or third look. It’s amazing.

LMM took Ron Chernow’s huge biography of Alexander Hamilton and worked on an adaptation for six years before showing it or playing it for anyone. Then he called director Thomas Kail and all the other artisans he needed, telling them he’d written a musical about Alexander Hamilton.

All of them rolled their eyes simultaneously.

You can still see the celebrated result on Broadway, where the show is selling out into its 11th year. And you can find it on Disney Plus. But the effect of being in a real movie theater is sensational. I remember opening night at the Public Theater, when no one knew what we were going to see. The show blasted off like a rocket and never stopped.

The same is true seeing it on a big screen, with no interruptions from your phone or other digressions. LMM structured Hamilton’s rise to power under George Washington, his frenemy like relationship with Aaron Burr, and his romantic life with Schuyler Sisters like spinning tops. Kail responded by staging the show that way. It never lets up. Neither does the humor or the pathos.

LMM introduced the movie from the stage. In the audience was not only Chernow, and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler but also Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renee Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, and the effervescent Daveed Diggs. They are all Broadway megastars now. (Also in attendance was Kail’s wife, actress Michelle Williams, with bff Busy Phillips.)

The “Hamilton” experience — seeing it with 1800 people — can’t be duplicated. It’s sort of like listening to the Beatles. How did this happen? There are so many moving parts, subplots, and loads of historical information that LMM distilled into more than a dozen very catchy songs, it kind of boggles the mind.

Some highlights last night: Christopher Jackson, singing George Washington’s exit song, is more moving than I remembered. The audience was mesmerized by him, by the Soo and Goldsberry as the Schuyler Sisters. The latter has showier material that she really wows with while the former turns out to be the heart of the story. And of course everyone loves Jonathan Groff as King George (he couldn’t be there as “Just in Time” is a hit on Broadway).

“Hamilton” in movie theaters is a treat. It won’t last long. Highly recommended.

Kelly Clarkson Returns to Her Syndicated Show on September 29th After a Year of Public Kvetching and a Sudden Death

Roger Friedman
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Kelly Clarkson Returns to Her Syndicated Show on September 29th After a Year of Public Kvetching and a Sudden Death

Remember all the times Kelly Clarkson said she might leave her show?

Well, after a whole year of threats and kvetching, Kelly is back on September 29th.

Did you really think she’d give it all up?

Maybe after a tough summer of performing concerts, Kelly realized that the talk show is money in the bank, a walk in the park.

Her Las Vegas shows were not selling out when she suddenly to abandon them. Her ex-husband, Brendan Blackstock, suddenly died of cancer at 48. He was a bad guy but he was the father of her children, so respect had to be paid.

Kelly also managed to release one single so far this year. “Where Have You Been?” was not a top 40 hit and sold just 42,000 copies via streaming. There’s not been an album. I don’t understand why Atlantic doesn’t just package up her “Kellyoke” songs from her TV show and release them. Should be a no brainer.

Anyway, let’s hope contract negotiations are over for now, and there will be no more public complaining. Enough already!

Sabrina Carpenter’s New Album, Released Just Under Wire for Grammy Awards, Looks at Huge First Week Number 1 Debut

Roger Friedman
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Sabrina Carpenter’s New Album, Released Just Under Wire for Grammy Awards, Looks at Huge First Week Number 1 Debut

Woof!

Sabrina Carpenter is heading for a huge number 1 debut on Friday.

Her “Man’s Best Friend” is predicted to sell 350,000 copies including physical sales (205,000) and streaming.

The title track is already a hit and a few others, like “Tears,” are burning up the radio.

“Man’s Best Friend” was the last release to make Grammy eligibility last Friday.

If I were a Carpenter, I’d be waiting for many Grammy nominations this fall, certainly Album of the Year.

Sabrina is the biggest story of the week in pop.

Not so much is indie artist Sombr, who I expected to see his debut album take off like a rocket.

Sombr, aka Sean Boose, has had big indie singles all summer with “Undressed” and “Back to Being Friends.” But the album, “I Barely Know Her,” has been a bit of a fizzle with just 24,000 copies predicted, all of them via streaming. The album had no follow up single, and all Sombr’s fans already owned or had streamed the hits.

And don’t stop thinking about yesterday: Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” is selling 23,000 copies this week and coming in at number 20. It’s 90% from streaming, but still…I was in swaddling clothes when that album was released!

“SNL” Adds Some New Faces and One You’ll Recognize, Plus It’s the End of “Please Don’t Destroy” Mini Films

Roger Friedman
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“SNL” Adds Some New Faces and One You’ll Recognize, Plus It’s the End of “Please Don’t Destroy” Mini Films

More news from “Saturday Night Live”:

Redhead Ben Marshall — who looks like he could be Conan O’Brien’s kid — from Please Don’t Destroy is joining the cast. No more videos from PDD. Martin Herlihy is going to be a writer on the show.

John Higgins — whose dad, Steve, is the head poobah at the Tonight Show and a big producer on “SNL” — is leaving to act and write elsewhere.

It’s too bad because we love the trio and they were a lot of fun.

See below the other newbies. Tommy Brennan had an audition of sorts on the Tonight Show back in June.

Nothing explains why Heidi Gardner is leaving, however. Or Michael Longfellow.

No more changes, at least for today.

UPDATED Bruce Springsteen “Electric Nebraska: Box Set Coming: Will Support “Deliver Me from Nowhere” Film

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Bruce Springsteen “Electric Nebraska: Box Set Coming: Will Support “Deliver Me from Nowhere” Film

UPDATED 9/4 All confirmed today. Thank you.

As you may have heard, “Deliver Me from Nowhere” had quite a launch at the Telluride Film Festival.

James Mangold’s film about how Bruce Springsteen created his acclaimed “Nebraska” album is going to be a big hit. Jeremy Allen White plays Bruce, and Jeremy Strong is his manager, Jon Landau. Reviews are off the charts.

The movie will play the New York Film Festival at the end of this month, and open at the end of October.

So what else is coming? I’m hearing an avalanche of Springsteen music will be available. There are already reports that at the end of the movie there’s a full band version of “Atlantic City,” which is a surprise and an omen.

Allegedly a box set of “Nebraska” will drop in late October containing a full “electric” album — you see, the original “Nebraska” was solo. The box set should also include a remastered version of the original album, and a CD of a live performance that apparently took place on April 22nd of this year at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey.

What remains would be a soundtrack of some kind to the movie with Jeremy Allen White singing the songs. That’s exactly what Columbia Records did last year for the Bob Dylan movie, “A Complete Unknown.” We got to hear Timothee Chalamet singing all those Dylan songs, so well.

All that’s left is a live concert of Chalamet and White performing together. Then the multiverse will collapse!

Howard Stern Delays Return, Announcement About Sirius Contract from Today Until Next Monday

Roger Friedman
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Howard Stern Delays Return, Announcement About Sirius Contract from Today Until Next Monday

Howard Stern has made a change of plans.

He was supposed to address his fans and the world at large today on Sirius XM.

The subject, much teased, is his Sirius XM contract and what his plans are for the future.

The announcement was supposed to come today after a summer long build up of speculation.

But earlier this morning he announced a change to September 8th.

Why the delay? Maybe just to play out the drama for a few more days. Or maybe the contract hasn’t been ironed out completely. Stern’s audience on Sirius has dropped significantly, but he’s still the mascot of the satellite radio company. There have been rumors all summer that Sirius wants to cut his enormous $100 million a year contract.

So another 6 days…

MIA: “Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues” Premieres in 10 Days with No Press Screenings So Far, and Little Buzz or Info At All

Roger Friedman
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MIA: “Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues” Premieres in 10 Days with No Press Screenings So Far, and Little Buzz or Info At All

Where the heck is “Spinal Tap 2”?

The Rob Reiner directed sequel to his beloved 1984 mockumentary opens on September 12th (really the night before).

There’s a premiere set for September 9th in Los Angeles, and an IMAX premiere the next day, but otherwise there’s no buzz around this movie at all. The ticket advance sale is minimum at best to date.

“Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues” reunites Reiner with Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and even Fran Drescher. Paul McCartney and Elton John appear in it as real rock stars.

But so far there are no scheduled press screenings. Most movie press is now consumed by film festivals in Venice, Telluride, and Toronto. No one I’ve spoken to has heard a word about “Spinal Tap 2,” which is coming from the tragically beleaguered Bleecker Street Films.

In April, Bleecker Street lost its much loved founder, Andrew Karpen, only 59, to rare brain cancer. You can’t blame them for not being organized. But business goes on, and no one knows what’s happening.

Like a lot of fans of the original “This is Spinal Tap,” I was really hoping for something outrageously funny after 41 years. But all we have to go on is the trailer, released in July, and no other press since then. We know more about a dozen movies at least that open well after September 12th. Very strange, indeed.

Here are the trailer, and before that, a clip they released with Elton John that seems to have gone nowhere.

Rudy Giuliani’s Car Accident: New Hampshire State Police Offer Two Different Versions of What Happened But Say They’re the Same

Roger Friedman
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Rudy Giuliani’s Car Accident: New Hampshire State Police Offer Two Different Versions of What Happened But Say They’re the Same

The New Hampshire State Police are offering two different versions of what happened with disbarred attorney and former mayor Rudy Giuliani’s accident on Saturday night.

A press release from them, oddly, contains both accounts.

In the first one, sent out August 31st, Rudy and his driver were hit by another car. But the woman who supposedly waved them down prior to that — she was across the highway, and local police were already answering her 911 call.

In the second version, issued today, Rudy and his driver were flagged down by the woman, helped her, called 911, then left. It was only afterwards that they were rear ended by another car.

In the refreshed account, Giuliani and his aide. Theodore Goodman, come off as heroes. In the original version, their accident was a separate event. They were not part of the 911 call.

A spokesman emailed me: “They are the same scenario. The crash occurred while Troopers were still at the scene of the initial incident, which Giuliani and his driver had just departed from minutes earlier.”

You decide: I’ll update accordingly

August 31:

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