Television

And absolutely nobody was remotely surprised: Todd Chrisley’s former business partner testified in his federal fraud trial Tuesday that they paid a blackmailer $38,000 in cash after the anonymous person threatened to expose their intimate relationship. Mark Braddock, who turned Chrisley and his wife Julie into the FBI, told an Atlanta jury that he had an affair with Chrisley for …

David Marcus writes for Fox News: The first blatant example of electioneering, on Star Trek Discovery, was a cameo by current and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as none other than the President of Federation of Planets. The second was a weird plot twist in the pilot of new show, Strange New Worlds in which the 2020 capitol riot …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Another syndicated daytime talk show is coming to an end: NBCUniversal’s veteran tabloid talker Maury, hosted and executive produced by Maury Povich. The show will end original productions at the end of this season, when Povich plans to retire. Original episodes will air through September, after which repeats of Maury will continue to air in syndication. The …

The Associated Press reports: Pete Davidson has bowed out of a short ride to space on a Jeff Bezos rocket. The “Saturday Night Live” star is no longer able to make the flight, which has been delayed for nearly a week, Bezos’ space travel company said Thursday night. The company announced earlier this week that Davidson would be one of …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Stacey Abrams may be running again to be Governor of Georgia, but the avowed Star Trek fan makes a pretty good President of United Earth in the 32nd century, as was proven in the Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 finale that launched today. “Nothing to discuss,” she says to Federation President Laira Rillak (Chelah Horsdal) right near …

The Associated Press reports: Jussie Smollett was released from jail following six nights behind bars after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should be free pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack. The former “Empire” actor walked out of the Cook County Jail on Wednesday surrounded by security. …

Deadline reports: After months of legal anticipation following his December 2021 firing by Jeff Zucker, Chris Cuomo has just launched the official opening salvo in what looks to be protracted battle with CNN over not only $125 million in cash, but his character and family drama as well. “As a result of Turner’s indefensible choice to unceremoniously fire him, Cuomo …

The Verge reports: CNN Plus, the streaming platform from the cable news giant, will debut in the US on March 29th, the company said Friday in a news release. For early subscribers — those who sign up in the first four weeks of its launch— the service will cost $2.99 per month, and they’ll lock in that price for as …

Mediaite reports: Far-right One America News is suing DirecTV and its parent company AT&T for breach of contract, after the TV provider announced it would drop the channel from its lineup. Herring Networks, which owns OAN, filed a 36-page lawsuit in the Superior Court of California in San Diego this week. The company stated that its relationship with AT&T, and …

UPDATE: Jussie Smollett has been sentenced to 150 days of jail and 30 months of probation. He will have to pay back the City of Chicago just over $120,000 in restitution and was also fined $25,000. Following the sentencing, he had an emotional outburst and screamed “I am not suicidal and I did not do it.” BREAKING: Jussie Smollett sentenced …

The Associated Press reports: An estimated 38.2 million TV viewers watched President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, according to Nielsen ratings. That surpassed the audience of 37.2 million for Donald Trump’s last such address in 2020, but fell short of the 45.6 million who tuned in for Trump’s first State of the Union speech in 2018. Fox News …

USA Today reports: “Saturday Night Live” did not go for laughs kicking off its first show after hiatus with host John Mulaney on Feb. 26. After the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, intensified Saturday, “SNL” paid solemn tribute to the people of Ukraine with a powerful choral version of “Prayer for Ukraine” during the normally raucous cold open …

The South China Morning Post reports: China’s censors have deleted multiple scenes and altered reference about a recurring lesbian character in the 1990s US television sitcom Friends, which has sparked outrage among the popular show’s large audience on the mainland. That has practically buried the lesbian identity of recurring character Carol Willick in the first season of Friends, which major …

Variety reports: Whoopi Goldberg has been suspended from “The View” for two weeks after facing wide criticism for her remarks that the Holocaust was “not about race.” Goldberg’s suspension was announced in a statement released by ABC News public relations on Tuesday night. “Effective immediately, I am suspending Whoopi Goldberg for two weeks for her wrong and hurtful comments,” reads …

USA Today reports: Cheslie Kryst, the 2019 winner of the Miss USA pageant and a correspondent for the entertainment news program “Extra,” has died at age 30. Police said Kryst jumped from a Manhattan apartment building and was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday morning. Her family confirmed her death in a statement. According to police, Kryst’s body was found …

NBC News reports: Long-running “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider lost in an episode that aired Wednesday, ending the second-longest winning streak in the quiz show’s history. Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, was defeated by Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, who raked in $29,600 in the latest game, besting Schneider, at $19,600. She left the show with nearly $1.4 …

CNET reports: Betty White was a comedy icon who collected millions of fans the world over in a broadcast career that stretched well over half a century. Her legions of fans were gearing up to celebrate the beloved actress’ 100th birthday, which falls on Monday, when she died on Dec. 31. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate her …

Yahoo Entertainment reports: Bob Saget, who played Full House dad Danny Tanner, has died. He was 65. “We are devastated to confirm that our beloved Bob passed away today,” the Saget family said in a statement obtained by Yahoo Entertainment on Sunday. At just after 4 p.m. on Sunday, Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department deputies were called to the Ritz-Carlton …

Mediaite reports: FOX has canceled its annual Times Square New Year’s Eve broadcast, citing safety concerns for cast and crew members amid a surge of Omicron cases in New York. In a statement posted on Twitter, the network called any attempt to safely broadcast this year’s Fox’s New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast “impossible.” The network said, “While we are …

The Washington Post reports: All Disney-owned content, including ABC and ESPN, went dark on YouTube TV late Friday after a breakdown in distribution negotiations between Disney and Google. The financial dispute between the media giants over carriage fees has led to the first major blackout for Google-owned YouTube TV, which has more than 3 million subscribers and is one of …