Happy New Year. If only 2017 weren't looking so much like the year we just had that really bad break-up with. Fortunately there are some new shows to look forward to (Taboo, Emerald City, Star, Riverdale ) as well as returning faves (Scandal, Suits, How to Get Away with Murder, The Fosters, Pretty Little Liars ). Cable news is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. And what the hell, Kim Burrell?
One of the best things about having a lesbian ensconced on daytime is there's always someone waiting there, with a huge audience, ready to fight homophobia. Black gospel singer Kim Burrell, who appears on Frank Ocean's latest album as well as the soundtrack to Hidden Figures, went on an anti-gay tirade that has spilled over onto social media and, now, Ellen DeGeneres' show.
Burrell is quoted by BET on Jan. 3 saying, "I believe than an enemy [of the spirit] has invaded gay people. I just can't believe they were born that way. I just can't believe God makes mistakes like that." Her previous long anti-gay rant can be heard on YouTube. Trigger warning: it's vile.
Burrell was originally set to appear on Ellen's show with Grammy winner Pharrell Williams to promote Williams' soundtrack to the new film Hidden Figures. But when Ellen heard Burrell's anti-gay sermon about lesbians and gays being "confused" and "deluded" and tools of Satan, she uninvited the singer. The video of Burrell shows her walking back and forth on the dais of the Houston church where she serves as pastor, talking about lesbians and gays. She refers to "the perverted homosexual spirit" and says, "The spirit of delusion and confusion, it has deceived many men and women."
Williams immediately condemned her comments, as did singer and performer Janelle Monae, often rumored to be a lesbian. Monae also appears in Hidden Figures. On Twitter, Ellen said simply, "For those asking, Kim Burrell will not be appearing on my show."
Williams appeared with Ellen Jan. 5 and the dialogue between him and Ellen was powerful. Ellen explained why she had disinvited Burrell: "I didn't feel like that was good for me to have her on the show to give her a platform after she's saying things about me [as a lesbian]." Williams, who is straight, was equally succinct. "There's no room for any kind of prejudice in 2017 or moving on. There's no room."
Williams said Burrell's "a fantastic singer" and added that he loves her, "just like I love everybody else." But he was clear he has no time for bigotry and won't be party to it. "We all have to get used to everybody's differences and understand that this is a big, gigantic, beautiful, colorful world. And it only works with inclusion and empathy." Preach.
Williams spoke about Hidden Figures, which he produced, and the importance of making films about the achievements of women. About misogyny, Williams noted everyone needed to remember, "A woman's body has brought you into this world."
Williams urged people to acknowledge the impact of hate speech. While not mentioning Trump directly, it was clear to whom he was referring. He noted, "Whenever you hear any kind of hate speech, all you have to do is put your own group in the sentence and you can see it's hate. You have to choose what side you're on. I am choosing inclusion."
The beautiful, emotional, gutting hour-long documentary Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church can be viewed on BET.com. We urge you to watch it. It's an hour well-spent. But tissues are necessary.
The new boss
One of the new 2017 shows is NBC's The New Celebrity Apprentice, which is only new in its 15th season because the host is former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to NBC, the show's former host and executive producer Donald Trump chose to hand over the hosting "out of respect" for the presidency.
Schwarzenegger is advised by top entrepreneurs including investment guru Warren Buffett; former Microsoft CEO and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer; supermodel and CEO Tyra Banks; actress, author and entrepreneur Jessica Alba, founder and chief creative officer of The Honest Company and Honest Beauty. The contestants include a mix of gays, women, celebs and sports figures. Notables include Jon Lovitz, Vince Neil of Motley Crue and Snookie Polizzi. On the gay side are Carson Kressley and Boy George.
We had to watch, and of course it's a train wreck, but then it always was. Remember Omarosa? She's now Trump's advisor on African American affairs. On Jan. 6, Trump went into a Twitter tirade (can't take intelligence briefings, but can scan Variety for ratings) about Schwarzenegger's ratings being lower than his. After all, this is Trump's franchise, and as was revealed Jan. 5, Trump is $1.5 billion in debt. At 7:34 a.m. Trump tweeted, "Wow, the ratings are in, and Arnold Schwarzenegger got �swamped' (or destroyed) by comparison to the ratings machine, DJT." The ratings machine.
Then: "So much for being a movie star – and that was season 1 compared to season 14. Now compare him to my season 1. But who cares, he supported Kasich & Hillary."
Schwarzenegger responded far more presidentially, with a gentle reminder in his first tweet, linked to Trump's: "There's nothing more important than the people's work, @realDonaldTrump." Followed by, "I wish you the best of luck and I hope you'll work for ALL of the American people as aggressively as you worked for your ratings."
Welcome to the next four years of the reality TV presidency.
In cable news news, there was some shifting of the white people guard. Megyn Kelly pivoted out of Fox News into NBC where she will host two shows. Fox News alum Greta Van Susteren moves to MSNBC to host For the Record with Greta on weeknights. It replaces the timeslot of Bloomberg's political television show With All Due Respect, which ended in December.
Tucker Carlson, one of the most irritating of all white male conservative pundits, was promoted to Kelly's spot on Fox News, where his bow tie will vie with that of George Will. According to a source at Fox, Carlson was hand-picked by Rupert Murdoch, who is turning Fox News into Trump News, in case you haven't been watching (and we hope you haven't been). Carlson was last seen losing a battle with Teen Vogue writer Lauren Duca, then lauding Julian Assange and asserting, a la Trump, that US intel is lying about Russia.
We're sure Van Susteren will slither comfortably into place at MSNBC, which has been moving center for quite some time. For the most part Van Susteren, like Nicolle Wallace, is an old-school moderate GOP and, like Wallace, appears on mainstream talk shows and knows how to be polite in public. Whether Kelly will be able to pull off the mainstream after all those years at Fox News is another story. She told viewers, "This was a tough decision." She's beautiful and smart, but she also is well-known for insisting Jesus and Santa are white in a full-on tirade, so time will tell.
TV drama is looking tres dystopian in the new season premiering over the next few weeks, as befits the national mood. NBC's new drama Emerald City, based on The Wizard of Oz, will remind some of Once Upon a Time and more of Game of Thrones. It won't remind many of The Wizard of Oz, which is its main failing.
In this modern update, Dorothy is not a kid anymore, she's not in Kansas, and she's not white. Dorothy is played by Latina actress Adria Arjona, whom we have previously liked in Person of Interest and True Detective, and she's speaking Spanish at the outset.
There's a solid cast that includes veterans Vincent D'Onofrio as The Wizard and Joely Richardson (Vanessa Redgrave's daughter), who plays Glinda. There's also a plethora of non-white actors, which makes us happy, since TV is still aching for diversity. Florence Kasumba is very Nona Hendrix as the Wicked Witch of the East.
Unlike most diversity casting, about which we have complained lo these many years, Emerald City doesn't have that two-for-one "we now have our black lesbian character" quotient feel. Rather, it seems like the world Dorothy lands in with her dog is one we live in, peopled with difference.
One compelling reason to watch is Tip, played by Jordan Loughran. Tip appears in the sequel to Wizard of Oz and has an androgynous, Peter Pan-like quality. Spoiler alert: Tip appears to be a boy but is really a gender-non-conforming girl. We are very much down for that and for seeing more of Loughran on screen. Tip's plaintive "Everyone keeps telling me who and what I am, when do I get to decide?" will resonate with many LGBT viewers.
Emerald City feels intended for a gay and/or gay-friendly audience. It's not just Tip, it's the look and feel of this show. It's lush, with gorgeous sets and costumes reminiscent of Julie Taymor's The Lion King. The well-known figures from Judy Garland's version are all still there, but their modern/dystopian representations really work. For Garland devotees, this will be a hard sell, but think of it as the next chapter. Emerald City airs after Grimm, now in its sixth season. That's a good placement, these shows work well together. And we need fantasy more than ever.
Other new shows worth a look include Taboo, a miniseries from Ridley Scott. The FX/BBC One production is a period piece thriller with stellar actors. Tom Hardy is the lead, with Oona Chaplin, Jonathan Pryce, Michael Kelly and David Hayman as the main cast. The show premiered on FX Jan.10, but you can catch up on demand.
We also recommend the dark side of Archie and Veronica in the CW's Riverdale, produced by out gay showrunner Greg Berlanti. One new character: Casey Scott plays Kevin Keller in this dark update of the classic comics. Kevin is openly gay and very popular. Not everyone in Riverdale is white, and not everyone is squeaky clean. But everyone is beautiful because this is the CW. Loss of innocence is worth watching here.
NBC's best new show of 2016, This Is Us, returned Jan. 10 with its newly hatched gay storyline. Jan. 19, the TGIT line-up with its various LGBT storylines returns with Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. The aftermath of the fire will likely lead HTGAWM, and the HIV storyline will return as well. Plus, Lauren is pregnant, but Wes is dead. Who's the father, Frank or Wes? Grey's has several lesbians, all single, so who will bed whom? Scandal has been MIA for a full season due to Kerry Washington's pregnancy, so what will Cyrus be up to next? And what about his husband?
Finally, we are still not over the sudden death of George Michael, and our fave late-night host James Corden did a touching tribute to him, noting, "We owe him so much." Michael was the first to do Carpool Karaoke with Corden in a 2011 comedy sketch. Corden credits Michael with getting his now-famous shtick started.
Corden said, choking up, "I feel like I've loved George Michael as long as I've kind of loved music, in a way, and I know so many of his fans feel the same. I can remember so many times in my life where I might have felt on my own, and George's music, it would feel like you would listen to a song and he would reach his hand out and tell you that you weren't on your own." What more can we say except, stay tuned.