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Television production is starting to pause because of the Omicron scare. COVID is wreaking havoc on schedules everywhere.
Shows on pause right now include “Grey’s Anatomy,” “NCIS,” “General Hospital,” “Station 19,” “The Rookie,” “NCIS Los Angeles.”
Some were on holiday hiatus and hope to return to work next week. Some will go back in February. For the soaps, which took several months off in 2020, COVID is particularly dicey. As we know, two long time “General Hospital” cast members were let go because they wouldn’t get vaccinated.
Everyone must be vaccinated to work on a TV show! From the stars through the cast and the whole crew. No exceptions.
When Betty White first hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2010 there was still a TV audience and a culture. She has also had 1 million people who’d signed a petition to get her on the late night classic. the result was 12 million viewers.
Those days are long ago. Since then, the culture has been eaten by dozens of other distractions including streaming platforms. So we didn’t expect a huge number for the Betty White redux re-showing of that episode on New Year’s Day night. Actually, the number wasn’t bad.
The 12 year old episode managed to find 3.1 million viewers, about a quarter of the original. The show was much raunchier and less political than the current version. Actually it was very raunchy. I was surprised looking at it now. But we’re in a timid period in comedy thanks to everyone being “woke” and politically correct.
It was instructive looking back. Jay Z seemed mystified about why he was there, and in awe of White. Whatever happened to Jay Z? And whatever happened to the guy he performed with, named Mr. Hudson? Did he fall into the Hudson?
The Grammy Awards are postponed indefinitely. The Critics Choice Awards haven’t annonced a new date. The Sundance Film Festival is going on line and telling everyone to stay away from Park City.
In Los Angeles, “Hamilton” is down until at least January 23rd. In New York, on Broadway, shows keep closing and re-opening, actors are in and out, some shows like “Mrs. Doubtfire” are taking long — and I mean long, breaks. Tomorrow, fingers crossed, “The Music Man” returns after many days dark.
Even “Spider Man” is slowing down. Last night’s grosses were off by 25% from Monday, down to just $5.9 million, and down 72% from last Tuesday.
Still scheduled: The Oscars, for March 27th. I’m going, even if I have to wear a hazmat tuxedo made by Ralph Lauren. Whoopi Goldberg can host since she’s just had COVID.
The whole thing stinks, doesn’t it? What we need is a new album by The Weeknd– wait we get one this Friday. And next Friday, Elvis Costello. And “355” in movie theaters this Friday.
The Park City film festival set for later this month will be all virtual, no in person events or screenings. Luckily, yours truly already signed up for virtual tickets. Whew!
Apparently, the decision was made before the weekend and just announced now.
It makes sense. They want to avoid a super spreader, of course. Next year in Park City. Amen.
📢 Despite ambitious protocols, the Omicron variant with its unexpectedly high transmissibility rates is pushing the limits of health safety, travel and other infrastructures. Thus, #Sundance 2022’s in-person Utah elements will be moving online. More: https://t.co/orExAzKnEupic.twitter.com/Q93P8p5J9Z
I also told you a few days ago that the New York chapter of the Recording Academy had postponed their annual toast cocktail party set for January 10th.
Now comes the official word that the Grammys are being reset for– no date specified. This is the surprise since I thought they would definitely give a replacement time. But nope, nothing, it’s just in the wilderness. This has a lot to do with availability of the Staples Center, the progress in resolving COVID, and so on.
Official statement:
“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy® and CBS have postponed the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards® Show. The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience, and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night® on a future date, which will be announced soon.”
The Janet Jackson documentary is set for January 28th on A&E and Lifetime. It looks pretty good considering I was expecting a big whitewash. Janet says she’s “guilty by association” with brother Michael, and her mother can’t even talk about him. I don’t know why Janet thinks that she’s guilty by association.
I see that Janet is depending on her brother, Randy, which may be why her career is so disheveled. In the trailer, Randy tells Janet that Justin Timberlake has contacted them about a Super Bowl re-do. As we know, Janet declined and Justin did the show again without her.
The film may also discuss Janet’s marriage to James DeBarge, and the rumor of their “secret love child.”
Omicron? It’s like a Blue Meanie. The Beatles are coming!
The Fab Four will release the “Let it Be” rooftop film, drawn from Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” extravaganza, to IMAX theaters next month.
But first they’ll stage a special screening on January 30th at IMAX with a Peter Jackson Q&A to follow.
That’s the 52nd anniversary of the rooftop concert being performed at 3 Savile Row in London over the Apple Records offices.
A global theatrical engagement of the 60-minute feature, “The Beatles: Get Back–The Rooftop Concert,” will then run February 11-13, 2022.
The bigger news is that the complete docuseries, “The Beatles: Get Back,” will also be available on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.S. on February 8, 2022. That’s what I want!
Now the only thing missing from this “Let it Be” anniversary enterprise is the re-release of the original Michael Lindsay Hogg movie in a proper fashion. And then the “Let it Be” celebrations will be complete.
And then what for the Beatles? Remixed “Revolver” and “Rubber Soul” will be down the line, I suppose. And then we just get to enjoy all this stuff for the rest of our natural lives.
There was rending of garments, murder of a popular character and many declarations on Sunday night’s episode of “Yellowstone.”
There were also a lot of viewers. The season 4 finale of Kevin Costner’s horse opera drew over 10 million viewers on cable. The Paramount Channel grabbed 9.3 million, and Country Music Television lured in another 960,000.
No other program on Sunday night on cable or broadcast TV came close to those numbers except for NFL football. “NCIS: Los Angeles” on CBS only had 5.5 million viewers, by comparison.
But “Yellowstone” is no “Dallas.” Costner’s show only has 10 episodes per season, less than half of what typical network series had back in the day. And the season itself is undefined. We may not see “Yellowstone” Season 5 until next fall or winter at the earliest.
Nature abhors a vacuum. If I were the Paramount channel, I’d rerun all of “Dallas” and “Knots Landing” right now to fill the void. The time is right even to reboot the latter (the former has already had its chance).
Meantime, “Yellowstone” has two spin offs already running with “1883” and “Mayor of Kingstown,” and more coming. It’s a whole business now for Costner and creator Taylor Sheridan.
All eyes will be on CBS and the Grammy Awards today. Should they stay or should they go on January 31st?
In Los Angeles, the COVID surge continues. I’ve been told that top talent is wary of packing into the Staples Center on the 31st, let alone the LA Convention Center on the 29th for Joni Mitchell’s Musicares Person of the Year dinner.
But moving the Grammy weekend isn’t easy. That would push the whole package including Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy dinner, to April or May. Anything is possible and so far no one seems to know what’s going to happen. I’m told even host Trevor Noah is clueless.
So stand by… the envelope with the answer will be opened any minute…
Joan Copeland was one of my favorite people I ran into over the years. The famed actress sister of legendary playwright Arthur Miller died today at her house out in Amagansett at age 99.
Joan was a pip. Flashback to the summer of 2013, Joan appeared in the lobby of the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. This was a good 45 minutes away from her house. We were all there for the opening night of “Irma Vep.” “Joan,” I asked, “how did you get here?” She looked at me like I was crazy. She said, “I drove, of course. It’s only 45 minutes! The roads were very clear.”
Joan Copeland appeared in 13 Broadway productions. She won a Drama Desk Award in 1981 starring in her brother’s play, “The American Clock.” Four years earlier she’d been nominated for a Drama Desk Award in “Pal Joey.” She served as Katharine Hepburn’s standby in “Coco,” as well.
On TV, Joan was a staple on Procter & Gamble soap operas like “Search for Tomorrow” (a five year run from 1967 to 72), “Love of Life,” “One Life to Live,” and “The Edge of Night.” She was also a regular on “Law & Order,” appearing in 8 different episodes. She also appeared in several movies, but she was a real New York actor — the kind that barely exists anymore — and split her time between the soaps and Broadway.
Condolences to her family, especially niece Rebecca Miller, who I know was very close to her. Joan was a talented, lovely lady, a connection to really classic New York theater, and she will be very much missed.
