Getting ready for the weekend with a quick spin through the week’s greatest hits.
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1) THE EMMYS ANNOINT NEW WINNERS: While tried-and-truly hilarious HBO comedy, Veep, repeated its wins for Best Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the Emmys largely made major room for newbies at Sunday’s ceremony.
Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale was the first-ever streaming title to snag Best Drama Series, one of eight total statues it collected (HBO mini-series, Big Little Lies, tied for the same amount of wins). Saturday Night Live, however, was the biggest winner overall with nine awards—taking the Best Variety Sketch Series trophy for the first time since 1993. Other champs included Netflix’s Stranger Things (five wins) and FX’s Atlanta, with uber-creator/star/writer/director/producer, Donald Glover, taking home two Emmys for his excellent work on the series. Naturally, I had plenty to say about alllll of this.
2) BUT NEW, LESSER KNOWN WINNERS MEANS LOWER RATINGS: We may be amidst the Peak TV(!) era, but folks aren’t watching the Emmys like they used to: 11.4 million viewers tuned in to this year’s ceremony, the second lowest-rated telecast in the award show’s history. Trump seized on the stat via Twitter, Colbert blasted back on his show, and we were all reminded that Hollywood glamour had given way to the daily grind.
3) ARNOLD AND LINDA WILL BE BACK: James Cameron was just waiting for the rights to Terminator to swing back his way, and now that he has them in his grip, we’re getting a reboot that places original stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and ultimate badass, Linda Hamilton, at the center of the action. Bring on the cyborgs.
4) WATCHMEN PILOT A ‘GO’ AT HBO: Following the middling movie adaptation released in 2009, the iconic modern graphic novel classic, Watchmen, is coming to HBO as a series helmed by the genius behind Lost and The Leftovers, Damon Lindelof. As RuPaul would say: Now, don’t f*ck it up.
5) BIG BROTHER, BIG SHOCKER: It looked like a sure thing that Paul was going to take the half-million dollar prize after a lackluster season of Big Brother, but crybaby du jour, Josh, managed to snag the win in the end from an emotionally-motivated jury. You know I had so much to say about this tragically fitting turn of events.
6) GOT SPIN-OFFS? GoT HAS FIVE: As of this week, we now have five—FIVE!—potential Game of Thrones spin-off series in the works, the latest being a prequel from one of the show’s executive producers. Exciting stuff, but at the very least, there better be dragons involved, bokay?!
7) KIMMEL TAKES ON WASHINGTON (THREE TIMES): Jimmy Kimmel took Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy and Trump to task in the opening monologue of his show the past three nights, after Cassidy counter-punched earlier this week by saying that Kimmel doesn’t “understand” the new Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill. This fire and brimstone comes after Cassidy lied about protections for children’s healthcare on the host’s show back in May, referring to the guarantee as ‘the Jimmy Kimmel test’ after the host’s newborn son faced serious heart issues. When the senator reneged, Kimmel was not having it.
8) WILL & GRACE & HULU: Ahead of next Thursday’s return of the series (I CANNOT WAIT!), all episodes of Will & Grace are available for streaming on Hulu as of yesterday. So, brush up on your ‘Just Jack’ routines and how to mix a Karen-style martini (the secret: keep the glass full at all times) to get ready for a new round of Must-See TV.
9) A STAR IS BORN SOONER THAN EXPECTED: The much-anticipated remake of the beloved classic, A Star Is Born, starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, just got a big boost of confidence: Warner Bros. has announced that it will now hit theaters on May 18, 2018, instead of its originally planned September 2018 drop-date.
10) RIVERDALE LEAD AVOIDS RUIN: After a late night shoot in Vancouver, Riverdale star K.J. Apa—who plays the titular redhead, Archie, from the famous comic book series—crashed his car after leaving set on his way home from work in the early morning hours. While Apa was thankfully uninjured in the accident, it’s opened up a critical conversation about keeping cast and crew safe in the wake of often too-long overnight filming. Safety first, Hollywood.