-Fox is going to stop reporting overnight ratings— which is a bold move. Personally, I still think they’re important for indicating people’s viewing priorities, but whatever.
-The trailer for Shameless season 6 is here. As much as I liked the last season I was going to drop this one because #peakTV, but then in the promo Dylan McDermott takes off a pair of panties with his teeth and goddamit I’m back in!
-Speaking of peak TV, I was following a Twitter convo between TV critics about all the shows they have to catch up on before compiling their year-end ‘best of’ lists, and one of them put it all in a Google doc. I think I watch too much TV, but I haven’t seen half of these.
–Tyra Banks quither own daytime talk show after just two months.
-When the NYT’s Maureen Dowd started reporting on sexism in Hollywood, an executive dismissively told her she should “call some chicks.” So she did, and the result is a pretty amazing article.
–Jenny McCarthy should not be allowed to publicly discuss any medical issue ever again, k?
-Go to this site, type in the password “XPhiles” and enjoy the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spoilers. I totally blocked out the fact that Mulder and Scully have a son named William.
-The summer of celebrity splits continues: Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green have decided to separate after 11 years together. BRB, going to switch careers and become a Hollywood divorce lawyer.
-Congrats to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The super private actor (who only recently revealed he’s married on the Nerdist podcast) is now a dad!
-Also, I love that her role in Our Brand is in Crisis (which is coming to TIFF) was originally written for George Clooney. “About two and a half years ago I put out feelers saying, ‘I’’m not reading anything I’m excited about. Are there any male roles out there that [the filmmakers] don’t mind switching to female?'”
-I friggin’ love that Ken Marinomade the invite list for Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux‘s wedding. An (almost) norm like him being there almost makes it seem like we were there, ya know?
-Also, if you want to peep a super blurry photo of Aniston and Theroux‘s muppet wedding cake, have at ‘er.
–Rihanna may need her friends to roll out the Intervention banner again; she’s reportedly FaceTiming with Chris Brown.
-Well, this is despicable: Shannen Doherty is suing her management firm for not paying her medical insurance when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
–Kelly Clarkson is so good she can even transform weird Tinder profiles into amazing songsfor Jimmy Kimmel.
-I’m guessing this blindis about Jennifer Garner, seeing as she’s been trying to get a “View for moms” show off the ground for years.
-I kind of love that Kristen Stewartinvited Taylor Lautnerto her new movie premiere (’cause lord knows he wasn’t getting the invite on his own).
-Meanwhile, Kristen and Jesse Eisenberg are awkwardly charming in this new Esquire interview,where they (very politely) admit to not getting along with Walton Goggins on set, and describe themselves as “skittish” and “socially paranoid.” I’m seeing the movie tonight and am unusually optimistic about it, given the stars.
-The correction at the end of this NYT article on Rose McGowan might just be my favourite correction of all time.
-The Suicide Squad cast gave each other matching tattoos, which looks as bad as it sounds.
-Wonderful news: Rosie O’Donnell’s teen daughter is safe and back home.
-Despite everyone (including me) complaining that there’s too much good TV, I also really like Vulture’s plea for longer TV seasons. I’ve only watched two shows this summer (UnREAL and Mr Robot), and at 10 episodes each, both felt like they were just gearing up as the seasons were winding down. And for little-watched shows like You’re The Worst, short seasons mean they’re off the air for over a year, which is doing them no favours. In my ideal world, comedies and cable dramas would do 13 episodes, while network dramas would keep it to 16-18.
-Speaking of Mr Robot, Showcase posted the full first episode online in advance of its Sept 4th Canadian debut. Dooooo it!!!
-Also, Mr Robot creator Sam Esmailtalked to Buzzfeed about the show’s casual inclusion of a transgender character. I love this so much, especially because the show is obsessed (and actively playing) with themes of identity.
-The fact that the Walking Dead prequel is following the beginning of the zombie outbreak but won’t explain why it happened is insane. Reviews about it being slow at the start aren’t helping, either.
–Hailee Steinfeld and Brit Marling play protective sisters in the new trailer for The Keeping Room.
-Speaking of trailers, Matt Damon has a surprise for NASA in this excellent new, surprisingly action-packed promo for The Martian.
-It’s great that Taylor Swift keeps unloading all these “Bad Blood” bts goodies(maybe to make up for the fact that it’s her worst single in years?), but can we quit it with all the “squad” talk?
-TIFF just announced its first wave of movies. There’s some really good gets here (The Martian, Family Fang, Freeheld, Trumbo), but I’m surprised Angelina Jolie’s By the Sea didn’t make the first round. Also, the world premiere status struggle remains real.
-The TCA tour started today so expect a wave of TV news this week. First up was Netflix’s presentation. They said they hope to release a new Marvel series every six months, which would theoretically put the Jessica Jones premiere around October.
-Also, today’s Netflix presentation cemented their rep as a major player on the TV landscape. They went from having one original program in 2011 to 36 this year. That’s *insane* growth.
-Now that Jon Stewart is on his way out, all the scoop is floating to the surface. The latest (and weirdest)? President Obamaheld secret meetingswith him at the White House.
–Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen have a wild Christmas Eve in The Night Before‘s hilarious red band trailer. Damn, that is some spot on Wrecking Ball analysis by Mindy Kaling and Lizzy Caplan.
