What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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T22 WHATS UP! May 28 - June 3, 2023 The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Last Monday [April 24], Fox News fired Tucker Carlson. I can't believe it! Whoo! I finally get to say that on TV. ... Fox's loss is someone else's gain, because over at conservative network Newsmax, prime-time viewer- ship has surged. That's big news for their prime-time lineup: the security camera at a bait and tackle shop. Ron DeSantis just returned from a foreign trip that was officially billed as an "attempt to build Florida's economic relationships with the U.K., Israel, South Ko- rea and Japan." Yes, he was try- ing to boost sales of Florida's top exports: unemployed alligators, SpongeBob face tattoos and drunk bachelorettes wandering around going, "Guys, where's Liz? Where's Liz? I'm supposed to go back to the hotel with Liz. Wait, I'm Liz." (R) Today [March 20] Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin. Putin was just happy to get out of his bunker, while Xi was like, "Worst spring break ever." Yep, Putin and Xi were to- gether for over four hours, wait- ing for the other one to sip their drink first. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon On Saturday night [April 29] he [President Biden] gave some re- marks at the White House Cor- respondents' Dinner. Yep, Biden made jokes about his age, Ron DeSantis, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Fox News. After- wards, he called me up and said, "Jimmy, I got to say, your job's not that hard." (R) Netflix announced that they're going to start releasing fewer, but better, movies and every actor who's ever done a Netflix movie was like, "Um, rude." Jimmy Kimmel Live! Uber just released their annual lost and found index. This is a list of stuff passengers say they left behind in the Uber. They say April was the most forgetful month for Americans. They had more items lost in April than any other month, and I can give you 420 reasons why. (R) Apple yesterday [March 28] unveiled a new function called "Pay Later." The way it works is you get a loan from Apple that you can use to buy Apple prod- ucts, and then you pay it later. In other words, Apple invented the credit card. And I wonder what happens if you don't pay? Does, like, the biggest guy from the Genius Bar show up and break your texting thumbs? Good news, your phone is now a loan shark, everybody! (R) Trump's chief Republican rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis, is busy waging culture war in Florida. Remember the "Don't Say Gay" law they passed last year that bans teachers from talking about gender or sexual orientation with kids from kin- dergarten through third grade? Well, now the State Board of Education wants to expand that through high school. Do you know Florida has high schools? They do. But not every politi- cian in the Sunshine State is working on stupid stuff: some of them are working on even stupider stuff. Late Night With Seth Meyers House Speaker Kevin McCar- thy delivered an address today [May 1] to Israel's parliament and was welcomed with the Ea- gles' song "Hotel California," as opposed to the more fitting choice, "Desperado." In a new interview, former president Trump said that he has been treated worse than every other president before him, including Abraham Lin- coln. What are you talking about? Are you mad because you went to the theater and had to watch the whole play? Lincoln not only got murdered, but they also put him on the only money that everybody hates to get. A presentation by a health offi- cial about STDs at a virtual meeting of a Brooklyn commu- nity board was delayed last week after a man was caught masturbating. Said the man, "I was giving a safe-sex demon- stration." LATE LAUGHS BY MICHELLE ROSE TV Media Cancelled and renewed: In the rapidly shifting TV land- scape, it appears even high rat- ings don't guarantee a show will avoid cancellation. A few weeks ago, Fox shocked everyone by announcing the cancellation of "9-1-1," its high- est-rated scripted series. Then, while fans and critics were still processing the sad news, ABC stepped in and quickly picked up the series, adding it to the network's lineup for the 2023-24 season. It's one of the most high-pro- file network moves in recent history, and it all seemed to happen so fast. But as Deadline reported back in March, "9-1-1," which hails from Disney's 20th Television production division, was also Fox's most expensive series due to costs associated with its visual effects and a big- name cast led by Oscar nomi- nee Angela Bassett ("Black Pan- ther: Wakanda Forever," 2022). Fox hasn't owned the series since Disney acquired 20th Television (formerly 20th Cen- tury Fox Television) in 2019. Since then, season renewals have depended on the outcome of negotiations between the net- work and the studio over the re- ported "high-seven-figure li- cense fee" (per Deadline, which estimated the cost at $9-10 mil- lion an episode) — and last year, an agreement for Season 6 was only reached at the last minute. For Season 7, fans will have to switch channels and head to ABC next season, but spinoff series "9-1-1: Lone Star" is stay- ing put at Fox, which officially renewed the Rob Lowe-led dra- ma for a fifth season. "Thanks to the creative drive of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear, as well as the talented cast, '9-1-1' has been one of the most defining and original dramas on network television over the last six sea- sons, and we are honored to bring it to the esteemed group of series on ABC," Craig Er- wich, president of Disney Tele- vision Group, said in a state- ment. "It's a privilege to keep '9- 1-1' in the family with 20th Tele- vision producing, and we look forward to telling more heart- racing and uplifting stories about these beloved characters on our air." Un-Cancelled: More cancel- lation drama played out at CBS, which announced earlier this month it had cancelled "S.W.A.T." after six seasons. Starring Shemar Moore ("The Young and the Restless"), the crime drama was a modern take on the 1970s cop show of the same name and a Friday night fixture on CBS. Sure, it wasn't sitting at the top of the ratings like "9-1-1," but it was a solid per- former and managed to grow its audience this season, reaching an average of 6.82 million view- ers in a seven-day period. "For six seasons, the amazing talents of the 'S.W.A.T.' cast, led by Shemar Moore, the writers, producers and crew guided by executive producers Shawn Ryan, Andy Dettman and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, brought us compelling, action-packed epi- sodes that also addressed impor- tant social issues and contribut- ed to the success of our prime- time lineup," Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment, said in a statement. "We sincere- ly thank them for their incredi- ble work and passion and also thank our dedicated fans who tuned in every week." But wait: just two days later, and after fans rallied behind their show, CBS reversed its de- cision and handed "S.W.A.T." a reprieve. The series will now be returning for a seventh and final season on CBS, and Moore, who took to Instagram to voice his disappointment when the can- cellation was announced, will be credited as an executive produc- er. Like "9-1-1," licensing fees are to blame for this situation ("S.W.A.T." is a co-production of CBS Studios and Sony Pictures TV). In a March interview with The Hollywood Reporter's "TV's Top 5" podcast, show- runner Shawn Ryan explained the new reality for broadcast TV: "It's not the same place; the economics are completely different. Right now, it's up in the air whether 'S.W.A.T.' will get picked up for a seventh season, and that has nothing to do with ratings. You would never see that situation 15 years ago. 'S.W.A.T.' is third in the demo at CBS; there's no reason why the show shouldn't be picked up other than the economics of the business are changing. CBS and Sony will or will not figure out a way to economically make a season seven work." Luckily, they figured out how to make it work — though the same can't be said for the now- cancelled "East New York." Guest spot: One show that definitely isn't cancelled, "Doctor Who," is rolling out the carpet for "Glee" star Jona- than Geoff. Geoff, who played Jesse in the popular musical series and Agent Smith in "The Matrix Resurrections" (2021), has been tapped for a key guest role — though few details about that role have been released. You certainly won't find any additional hints in the casting announcement, which includ- ed this statement from show- runner Russell T. Davies: "This is an incredible coup, and a great honor, to get such a huge star striding on to our set. So strap on your space boots; this is going to be a blast!" Peter Krause and Angela Bassett star in "9-1-1" STARS ON SCREEN