The outspoken host again proves a burnt bridge can be rebuilt and returns to sports talk. But can you really take the politics out of sports?
Viruses Don’t Care About Your View: Why ABC Shouldn’t Have Hired Jenny McCarthy
Giving a job on The View to a anti-vaccine celebrity sends a dangerous message about public health and science in general
RIP, Cory Monteith of Glee, Dead at 31
In Glee, Monteith’s Finn was often the heart and emotional anchor of a show that could take dizzying plot twists and roller coaster shifts in tone.
Killings, Convicts, and Campers: Three New Shows to Watch for
This week sees the debuts of three of the summer’s most promising new series about murder on the border, culture clashes in prison, and love in the woods
Programming Note
I’ll be traveling outside the international boundaries of Tuned Inland for a couple weeks.
TV Weekend: Ray Donovan
Showtime’s new brooding-antihero drama is a couple of good performances in search of a show.
Paula Deen Talks to Matt Lauer, As One More “Sinned” Against Than Sinning
A tearful Deen explains herself to Lauer as a decent person who’s distraught, hurt–and the victim of “lies” from “someone evil.”
In Texas Filibuster, YouTube Stands Up While “24/7” News Falls
The ticking-clock late-night showdown over an abortion bill was riveting TV news. So why did it play out almost entirely online?
Mad Men Character Study: Dick Whitman’s Last Stand
The last moments of season 6 suggest that in season 7, Don/Dick will try to synthesize the person he invented with the person he was born.
TV Tonight: Under the Dome
CBS’s Stephen King–based snowglobe scenario asks: what if your little community suddenly became the entire world?
Paula Deen “Beg[s] for Your Forgiveness,” For Something
A vague apology video raises the question: what exactly does Deen think she did wrong?
Less Than Accidental Racist: Why Paula Deen’s Comments Insult Her Fans Too
Deen made a pile of money off a certain idea of old-school southern culture. She had an obligation not to embody its most shameful history and attitudes.
James Gandolfini (1961–2013): As a Made Man, He Made TV Great
With his forceful yet subtle performance as a suburban mobster, he wrote the blueprint for the modern, complicated TV antihero