Television

Variety reports: We can bear-ly believe it: Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin was unmasked as the Bear on Wednesday night’s edition of “The Masked Singer,” and her song choice was… well, unexpected. Palin, who performed “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix A Lot in the episode, told host Nick Cannon that “to not be able to see much of anything …

TMZ reports: Ja’net Dubois — one of the main characters on “Good Times” — was found dead Tuesday, TMZ has learned. Ja’net played the Evans family’s sassy neighbor Willona Woods on the classic ’70s TV series. Her family tells us Ja’net died unexpectedly in her sleep overnight at her home in Glendale, CA. Ja’net might be most famous for “Good …

The Wrap reports: Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was all anybody could talk about on Tuesday, but “Ellen’s Game of Games” showed up for NBC too. This third SOTU from the 45th president of the United States of America is currently down 26% in Big-4 broadcast viewers from his second. For NBC, “Ellen’s Game of Games” at 8 …

PBS NewsHour reports: It is with great sadness that we share the news that co-founder and longtime anchor of the PBS NewsHour Jim Lehrer died today, Thursday, January 23, 2020, peacefully in his sleep at home. Lehrer, born May 19, 1934, served as anchor of the NewsHour for 36 years before retiring in 2011. Lehrer and Robert MacNeil founded the …

CBS News reports: The parent company of the Hallmark Channel said Thursday that CEO Bill Abbott is stepping down. The move comes about a month after the network became embroiled in controversy after pulling commercials featuring a same-sex couple, then reversing the decision after a consumer backlash. The statement on Wednesday from Crown Media didn’t give a reason for Abbott’s …

Variety reports: The opening day of President Trump’s senate impeachment trial drew a substantial amount if viewers across the three cable news and major networks that broadcast the proceedings. In total, around 11 million people tuned in to see prosecutors and attorneys for the White House argue. Fox News led the way with 2.65 million viewers (from 12:30 p.m. to …

Yahoo News reports: A scene in The New Pope, an HBO mini-series starring Jude Law and John Malkovich, in which sexy young nuns dance in their nighties beneath a giant fluorescent crucifix, has incurred the wrath of the Catholic Church. The provocative scene, which was filmed in a former monastery in Venice, was denounced as “offensive” by the archbishop of …

Page Six reports: For baby boomers and classic TV fans, the name Burt Ward is instantly recognizable as the loyal and extremely excitable Robin on the campy “Batman” series which ran on ABC from 1966-1968. Just this week he happily unveiled a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which he called an “amazing experience.” The Caped Crusaders costumes were …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Marriage Story leads the film nominees for the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, landing six nominations, followed by The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with five apiece. Joker and The Two Popes landed four noms each. On the television side, Chernobyl, The Crown and Unbelievable are tops with four noms apiece. Following with …

NBC News reports: Shelley Morrison, a beloved character actor known for memorable roles on two classic TV sitcoms, “The Flying Nun” and “Will & Grace,” died Sunday at 83 after a brief illness, her husband confirmed. Morrison died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center from heart failure, the filmmaker Walter Dominguez, her husband of many years, with whom she adopted three …

Fox News reports: Supporting President Trump and taking a conservative stance in public ruined Chuck Woolery’s career and got him shadow-banned from Twitter, said the former game show host on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday. Woolery tweeted about his personal political beliefs last week and claimed he paid a heavy professional price for simply expressing how he felt. “My career kind …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Disney revealed Wednesday that streaming service Disney+ has already drawn 10 million sign-ups. That number, which the company ascribed in a press release to “extraordinary consumer demand,” may help explain why the service experienced widespread outages after launching early Tuesday. The glitches, which the company attributed to unexpectedly high interest that overloaded its technological infrastructure, diminished over …

Axios reports: “Sesame Street” officially turns 50 this weekend. That’s 50 years of Bert and Ernie, 50 years of Oscar and Big Bird, and 50 years of expanding minds, stretching boundaries, and occasionally stirring up controversy. Why it matters: As was the original intent, “Sesame Street” has played a huge role in teaching generations of kids not only how to …

The Christian Post reports: Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are planning to launch a subscription-based streaming service for faith-based viewers as part of MGM’s LightWorkers entertainment. “They are looking to expand and provide direct to consumer content for a very large and underserved segment of the population,” a representative for Downey told The Christian Post. Since its inception in 2016, …

Yahoo News reports: Sean Spicer’s continued success on Dancing With the Stars is beginning to frustrate viewers. Despite consistently low scores for his dancing from the judges, Spicer has remained on the show because of his relationship with President Trump. Since the beginning of the season, Spicer has run his appearance on the show like a political campaign. In fact, …

TV Line reports: Move over, Alec Baldwin. There’s a new Donald Trump in town. Harry Potter vet Brendan Gleeson has been cast as President Trump in CBS Studios’ four-hour limited series based on former FBI Director James Comey’s bestselling book, A Higher Loyalty. Jeff Daniels will star as Comey in the as-yet-untitled project, which is being written and directed by …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Rachel Maddow is heading to The CW’s Batwoman. The MSNBC host — currently enjoying a big ratings bump amid talk of a presidential impeachment — will have a key role in the Ruby Rose-led drama. Maddow takes on the role of Vesper Fairchild, a character from the Batman comics. Fairchild is a television and radio personality …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Diahann Carroll, the captivating singer and actress who came from the Bronx to win a Tony Award, receive an Oscar nomination and make television history with her turns on Julia and Dynasty, died Friday. She was 84. Carroll died at her home in Los Angeles after a long bout with cancer, her daughter, producer-journalist Suzanne Kay, …

Market Watch reports: Disney is banning Netflix ads across its TV networks, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, ahead of the launch of the entertainment and media giant’s Disney+ streaming-video service next month. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ report said Disney told staffers not to accept ads from any rival streaming services, but later …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Sean Spicer flashed across the screen in a neon green puffy shirt for his debut on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars — at least he chose a blinding lime over Trump orange. He danced a salsa with professional Lindsay Arnold to the Spice Girls “Spice Up Your Life,” and while he earned some respect for the judges …