One could easily make the case that Ben Stiller’s success was genetically engineered. As the by-product of the prolific and enduring comedy team of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, whose off-screen love endured for 61 years of marriage, it’s easy to see where he got his ability to morph into memorable characters (Y chromosome) and … Read more
Happy No Kings Day to you, too. I have this tremendous sense of deja vu considering we apparently had this Day of Days a mere four months ago. Regular readers and those capable of clicking on a link know how I felt about all of this then. Probably not as giddy and anticipatory as a … Read more
If you were laying out prop “bets” on your favorite social gambling site before the 2025-26 TV season technically began on which show would be showing the greatest degree of improvement you would have been hard-pressed to convince me to even drop four bits on Kalshi on DANCING WITH THE STARS. I’ll admit Ive been … Read more
It was most def one of THOSE days for me yesterday, and that’s not just because a reality check on my excuse for a bank account revealed that despite a momentary blip of hope it will be nay impossible for me to afford even the most spartan of excursions to simply see my best friend … Read more
I have always been a fan of live theater, although I rarely have had the funds to be able to attend as many such events as I’d like. In my early New York days when my bank account was in only slightly better shape than it is now, having the same last name as the … Read more
It’s CBS PREMIERE WEEK, a fact you might have been aware of had you watched a moment of any Paramount Global media entity since, oh, July. The most-watched and most traditionally programmed broadcast network has made a VERY big deal about how they were rolling back the clock and clustering their season premieres predominantly over … Read more
It’s the end of an era in the podcast-verse today, and odds are if you pump iron you’re likely to be more aware of it than most. In fact, bros and gym rats have likely been keenly aware of today’s RINGER swan song for Ryen Russillo for weeks. Way back at the end of August … Read more
When a passion project defies the odds of even being made let alone being released on a global streaming platform that’s reason enough for celebration in my book. When said project is one that a longtime colleague and friend gets to see to fruition it’s all the more worthy. And when it’s unabashedly upbeat as … Read more
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