MEMO TO: ERICA KIRK, CEO/CHAIR OF THE BOARD, TURNING POINT USA FR: STEVE LEBLANG, NON-PARTISAN MEDIA CONSULTANT RE: ALL AMERICAN HALFTIME SHOW 2026 Hello, Mrs. Kirk. I trust you are faring somewhat better than the most recent time we saw your organization referenced publicly. I joined the millions of your ardent members and I … Read more
Of all of the complaints that I attempt to tolerate from so many of our less frequent readers, which seems to include just about anyone else who even has a hot take let alone attempt a similar venture to this, perhaps the one that I’ll allow is more than justified is my attention to small … Read more
Not much was going on entertainment-wise this past weekend. We’re most definitely not in summer any more–heck, it freaking RAINED in SoCal Friday morning and we’re actually needing long sleeves for our morning constitutionals. But we also had no new series, linear or streaming, of consequence that launched aside from the lukewarm start to the … Read more
Yes, I’ve been devoting a sizable portion of my Saturday nights to watching SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for now more than a half-century. That alone should sum up my dating and marriage history. That lamentable fact aside, last season was a celebration–a time to fondly look back at the breadth and depth of talent and pop … Read more
As if the news itself hasn’t been all that easy to digest lately, even for people who have way better stomachs than moi, the news about reporting the news just got a bit more DiGel-inducing yesterday when an update to a story that began to percolate weeks ago rebubbled. And in certain circles, it was … Read more
I’ve just come from 25 hours of reflection, repentence and starvation where, among other things, I at least offered to try and resolve to be less judgmental and more forgiving of those who is some way cross or disturb us with their behavior. Were this musing to occur on another day, I might be much … Read more
I appear to be an outlier in paying more than a sliver of attention to NBC’s sole new fall series, ON BRAND WITH JIMMY FALLON, which was at least given the benefit of launching with an original episode of one of their most reliable and venerable shows, THE VOICE, as its lead-in. As of this … Read more
For as overjoyed as my parents were when I’d return home from college for a holiday weekend or summer break they actually weren’t the happiest people in my ‘hood. That distinction went to Mr. and Mrs. Lee, the longtime owners of the Chinese restaurant within walking distance who made a killing servicing a dedicated Jewish-centric … Read more
This week was the unofficial kickoff to the 2025-26 primetime television season, not that you likely noticed. For one thing, the current champion of what’s left of linear TV, CBS, has chosen to wait until the middle of next month to officially kickstart their schedule, though they have snuck in an original SURVIVOR just for … Read more
I’m particularly sensitive when I see newer media entities and the fresh-faced superstars of whatever “40 Under 40” survey may still exist at their helms doing their darndest to reinvent the wheel and show disdain for anything or anyone from what they consider to be an out-of-touch and irrelevant generation. A while back I shared … Read more