Jimmy Kimmel Rose to the Occasion in His Late-Night Return, Reminding Us Why We Have to Speak Out Against Tyranny

Jimmy Kimmel never thought he’d be here. But Kimmel has the skill to rise to this moment, at a jarring time in this country’s history as freedoms are under attack and democracy hangs on just by a thread.

On Tuesday’s return of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” we were reminded of that. Kimmel struck the perfect tone, acknowledging the gravity of what had just happened, telling his audience that both sides of the aisle should cherish and celebrate free speech — and then not pulling any punches in joking about what Donald Trump has been up to over the last few days. Political satire has been a late night staple since the dawn of the entire genre, and Kimmel was going to make sure it isn’t going anywhere.

“You had the feeling that this was an important moment,” said one audience member who attended the Tuesday taping. “It felt very cathartic, like, not everything is lost.” It was a good reminder that part of the promise of America has being able to speak without fear of government intimidation.

We all love Jimmy, but he never asked to be drafted to be the protector of the First Amendment and free speech in this nation. He’s a late night talk show host, not an activist. A comedian whose job is to simply poke fun at our nation’s elected leaders.

“This show is not important, what is important is we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this,” Kimmel said.

But these days, just pointing out our government’s foibles makes you an enemy of the state. Kimmel found that out last week, but he’s not the only one. President Trump is still celebrating the impending disappearance of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” And he promises that Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers are next. Trump has the power of the FCC, the DOJ and other agencies ready to do his bidding — and last week, the administration came very close to getting what it wanted: The silence of one of the few prominent voices still poking fun at the madness coming out of Washington.

Let that sink in for a second: Talk show hosts — comedians whose main job is to crack audiences up and help a rotating cast of guests promote their latest projects — are so embedded in the craw of Trump that he’s demanding his agencies find a way to shut them up.

“I just want to say how alarming it is to feel like late night is important,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” writer Louis Virtel said this week on his podcast. “Nobody takes this job thinking, ‘and you know why I decided to make jokes about, whatever, Melania Trump today? To make a difference.” On the one hand, Trump loves to bash the hosts as being low-rated no-talents — yet “he’s the one who is constantly bringing up every day how important these people’s speech is.”

Like many Angelenos, I’m old enough to remember when Kimmel was “Jimmy the Sports Guy” on KROQ’s “Kevin & Bean,” and waiting in line for the annual Christmas cassette that he helped produce. Trust me, “Jimmy the Sports Guy” wasn’t planning on becoming the national lightning rod for free speech — he started off his career by just wanting to be entertaining on the radio.

But Kimmel’s tenacity and talent was always there, even when he was loitering at stations in Phoenix and Los Angeles, waiting for his big break. After he made his way onto “Kevin & Bean” — famously, the morning show hosts had no idea their program director had even hired him — he quickly found success as the sidekick on “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” as comic relief on “Fox Sports Sunday” and then as one-half of “The Man Show” with Adam Corolla.

Read more here.

The Return of My Annual Fall TV Network Presidents Survey

It’s the return of my annual Fall TV Network Presidents survey! I asked 18 programmers — from Netflix, ABC/Hulu, NBC, CBS, Fox, The CW, TBS/TNT/TruTV, HBO/HBO Max, Showtime, FX, A+E, Freeform, AMC, Discovery, Paramount Plus, Epix all included — the think that irks them the most about the biz; what show they’d steal from a rival; their potential sleeper hit; their pandemic hobby and more. See all answers here.

And we got 13 of them on to this chart, which ran in the most recent issue of Variety. Click to make it larger:

Quarantine Cocktails: Big Sky Mule Edition

ABC threw a virtual premiere event on Thursday night for "Big Sky," its new drama from David E. Kelley. The series, set in Montana, is a bit of a thriller -- with surprise twists throughout. Speaking of twists, as part of its "Big Sky" premiere delivery, "attendees" were given mixers to create a twist on the traditional Moscow Mule — in this case, a "Big Sky Mule." The secret is the Cold Spring huckleberry vodka. (Apparently, huckleberries are a thing in Montana?) The Cock & Bull ginger beer is a nice touch -- love the extra ginger kick. Here's the recipe:

Final Upfronts Wrap-Up: Priyanka Chopra, Mariah Carey, James Corden and Nicki Minaj Take Over New York

\

Another week in New York for the annual network upfronts -- when the big dogs pimp their new TV wares to advertisers -- ended over a week ago. And as I wrote for Indiewire, the big story of the year was broadcast networks acting, well, like broadcast networks again.

It feels like a rather antiquated practice, yet the broadcast networks still pull in around $9 billion annually -- so it's still a pretty big deal. We don't obsess about the schedules quite as much as we used to, but it's still a fun part of the pomp and circumstance. The networks still put on a show for advertisers -- including Adult Swim's annual late-night Wednesday event, which this year featured Nicki Minaj (above). More highlights from the week:


James Corden does a "Hamilton" parody at the CBS upfront.


Priyanka Chopra opens the ABC upfront.


CBS gives us a sneak peek of the new "Star Trek" series' logo.


Fitz and the Tantrums performs at The CW upfront.


Mariah Carey makes a grand entrance at the NBC upfront.


Kiefer Sutherland introduces his new series "Designated Survivor" at the ABC upfront.


ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey introduces Jimmy Kimmel.


Fox jabs at CBS, notes that "Gotham's" new villain was "Lex Moonves."


NBC Universal stars at the upfront pose behind Kate McKinnon (as Ellen DeGeneres), parodying Ellen's Oscar selfie.


At the Fox upfront, Homer Simpson reminds us that "The Simpsons" will hit an astounding 600 episodes next year.


The "Downward Dog" looms over ABC stars.


"Hamilton" was hot this upfront. Jimmy Fallon did his own parody as well.


Rachel Bloom and Gina Rodriguez on stage at the CW upfront.


Stephen Colbert at Carnegie Hall for CBS' upfront.


The cast of "Empire" performs at Fox's upfront.


The cast of "The Big Bang Theory" offer up "Star Trek" suggestions to new CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller.


"Supergirl" star Melissa Benoist hits The CW stage with stars of "Arrow," "The Flash" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow."

KCRW's The Spin-Off: ABC Shakeup, Pilot Season and More

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe, Lesley Goldberg and I focus on what's up at ABC, and what's trending this pilot season:

There's been a shakeup at ABC. It was no secret that Paul Lee and his boss Ben Sherwood didn't always see eye to eye, but no one expected an ouster in the middle of pilot season. Lee did have some misses during his tenure, but on balance, he'll be remembered as a strong network president with a bold creative vision and an ability to truly increase diversity on ABC's shows.

His replacement is Channing Dungey, the former head of drama at ABC, and now the first African American to head a major broadcast network. She's known for her strong relationship with showrunner superstar Shonda Rhimes.

And to the dismay of many, pilot season does indeed still exist, and this year, among the 87 new pilots hoping to get series pickups, the family comedy is king. On the drama side, legal and crime thrillers are proving popular following the success of shows like The Jinx and Making a Murderer.

Listen below!

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: Meet the People Who Decide When and If Shows Live or Die

On the latest edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I talk to two of the execs who help decide which shows live and which ones die -- and where they land up on the schedule.

Kelly Kahl is in charge of scheduling at CBS and Andy Kubitz heads up scheduling at ABC. Kubitz and Kahl tell us about the planning process for the new TV season and what goes into their decision making. As Kahl explains, "It's never an easy year."

Listen below!

KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: Chatting with "Fresh Off the Boat" Creator Nahnatchka Khan (LISTEN!)

For our second March episode of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I chat with "Fresh Off the Boat" creator and executive producer of that show, Nahnatchka Khan:

ABC's new comedy Fresh Off the Boat is a first time an Asian American family has been featured in a prime-time sitcom in 20 years. Along with shows like Black-ish and Cristela, Fresh Off the Boat is part of ABC's push for more diversity on television.

Fresh Off the Boat is nearing the end of a strong freshman season, despite a tough placement on Tuesday nights. Khan tells us about the process of developing the show, which is based on Eddie Huang's memoir of the same title, and why she ended up taking it to ABC. She shares how she creates strong, fully realized characters that don't become caricatures, and how she went about casting Fresh Off the Boat.

Khan also reflects on her earlier career--from Pepper Ann to Malcolm in the Middle to her six years on American Dad, a working environment she describes as "like an Alaskan fishing boat" because of the lack of women.

Khan went on to create the ABC show Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, which was canceled after two seasons, despite having support from ABC's Paul Lee. Between that experience and Fresh Off the Boat, Khan knows all about the highs and lows of working in network comedy.

Fresh Off the Boat airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on ABC.

It's a great conversation. Khan talks about being one of the few female writers in the Seth McFarland universe; how bad it hurt when "Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23" was canceled, how she reacted to Huang's New York magazine piece about the show; and remembering that moment during TV Critics Assn. press tour when a reporter asked an offensive question. Listen by clicking below!

A Conversation with the Stars of ABC's "Black-ish"

Last Thursday I had a blast moderating a SAG Foundation panel for the new hit ABC comedy "Black-ish." Stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross were great, and their chemistry as the show's husband and wife is evident. But like I mention in the opening, the show's secret weapon may be the young actors who play their children on the show -- they're all strong.



Panels like these, when the stars come to play, laugh and perform, are a joy to moderate. I dug this one. And best of all, even though Anthony Anderson can easily take over a room, I think I managed to keep things in control. Watch below!

COMIC-CON: Watch My "The Blacklist," "Resurrection" and "Constantine" Panels

Last week I posted video of "Greendale Forever: TV Guide Magazine's Tribute to Community," one of the panels I moderated at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. That was my key panel this year, mainly because we helped organize and schedule it. But it was a busy weekend in San Diego, where I moderated three other panels as well: The Blacklist, Constantine and Resurrection.

Below, check out pics and videos of all three panels!



The Blacklist was another big highlight, as star James Spader was in top form. (Pic above by The Blacklist NBC website.) Watch it below.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Above, there I am with Resurrection stars Frances Fisher and Kurtwood Smith after moderating their show's panel. I can't find a full video of the panel, but here's an excerpt via Vine below.





Moderating the Resurrection panel, which also featured stars Omar Epps, Fisher, Smith and Devin Kelly, and executive producers Aaron Zelman, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. (Pic via Facebook and Lynn Telzer.)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Here I am following the Constantine panel with Series stars Matt Ryan, Harold Perrineau, Charles Halford and Angelica Celaya, as well as executive producers Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer. Watch the panel below:





And above, another pic from the panel, this time of the stage. (Pic via Bleeding Cool.)

Your Final Upfronts Recap: A Look at the Week in Pics, Including Outkast, Neon Trees, Alan Cumming's Nipples and Rizzoli & Isles' Selfie

Another week in New York for the annual network upfronts -- when the big dogs pimp their new TV wares to advertisers -- is now long over. But before it's a distant memory and we start watching pilots, here's a quick look at some snapshots from the week that helped coin "eventize" as a new catch phrase and ended several major TV streaks (Most notably: CBS will enter fall without a comedy on Mondays at 9 p.m. for the first time since 1948 -- with a bit of an asterisk in 1988, when the TV writers' strike delayed fall.) Above, Seth Meyers opens NBC's upfront


NBC sales chief Linda Yaccarino touts NBC's return to No. 1


Fred Armisen and the 8G Band perform at the NBC upfront


NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt at the NBC upfront


"The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon at the NBC upfront


Fallon awards Carson Daly the "Even Whiter Ryan Seacrest" title


Fallon also has a gag for NBC Universal boss Steve Burke


Pitbull, who will host Fox's New Years Eve special this year, opens the Fox upfront


Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly proclaims Fox as "America's Next Generation Network"


Fox calls on Andy Samberg to provide a few yuks. First up: Fox's new research system, the "E.N.E.M.A.S."


Also, a few new shows on the horizon, according to Samberg: First up, CBS' "CSI: Mike & Molly." (Everyone's still making "CSI" jokes, 14 years later!)


Also: "CSI: CSI Production Offices"


At ABC, Samberg offers up "The Disney Butt Implant Funtime Hour"


CBS reveals its schedule at its annual morning breakfast, the Wednesday of Upfronts


Another tradition: Turner's annual Wednesday post-upfront lunch. Here, my table mates Eric McCormack ("Perception"), Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander ("Rizzoli & Isles") take a selfie.


At Carnegie Hall, Alan Cumming performs at the CBS upfront.


David Letterman gives his farewell at his final upfronts appearance.


Neon Trees performs at The CW's upfront.



And of course, you can see my whole collection of pics from Adult Swim's Outkast concert here.