PROFILE
FROM Liz Shannon Miller
TV Roundup: 'The Leftovers,' 'The Affair,' 'Homeland' It was a season premiere showdown on premium cable last night. HBO’s The Leftovers was back for season two, and Showtime had premiers of both The Affair and Homeland. Meanwhile, there’s a deal in the works to develop a TV version of the podcast Serial.
TV Roundup: 'Hannibal' Cancelled, Amazon's 'Catastrophe' In our weekly television roundup, we look at two British-American collaborations, one cancelled and one renewed. Last week, NBC announced it’s cancelling the fan favorite Hannibal. Meanwhile, the British rom-com Catastrophe, distributed here via Amazon, is being renewed for a second season.
TV Roundup: Pirating the Fight of the Century, 'Game of Thrones' As you may have heard, there was a boxing match over the weekend. Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao in the so-called Fight of the Century, and more people tuned in than expected. HBO and Showtime had exclusive rights to the match. The cable channels charged customers $100 to watch it. But many viewers pirated the fight, which is bad news for TV rights holders and pay-per-view broadcasts. We discuss this and more in our weekly television roundup.
TV Roundup Mad Men isn’t the only show grabbing viewers' attention. AMC’s Better Call Saul, a spin-off of Breaking Bad, is wrapping up its first season tonight. Also, a lesser-known show called Outlander, which is based on a series of novels set in 18th century Scotland, begins a new season on Starz. We discuss those and the much talked about revival of Twin Peaks, which may now be heading to the valley of the damned.
Recommended
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
How do Trump supporters feel about the Paris Accord? Globally and around the U.S., there are strong opinions whether or not the Paris Climate Accord is a good idea. The American exit is either a horrifying abdication of American leadership or a forceful and long overdue statement about U.S. sovereignty.
Why did Jared Kushner want a back channel with Russians? News broke Friday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, tried setting up a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government. What are the consequences for Kushner, President Trump, and the investigation into Russian meddling?