Author: Bryn Elise Sandberg

October 17, 2016 6:00am PT by Bryn Elise Sandberg

Courtesy of Amazon Studios

‘Bosch’

The third season of the drama starring Titus Welliver is currently in production.

Amazon is ordering more Bosch.

The streamer has greenlit a fourth season of the crime-procedural starring Titus Welliver. The series is currently in production on season 3, with the first two seasons available to stream on Amazon Prime.

An adaptation of Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels, Bosch was the first original drama from Amazon Studios, and was part of the company’s early push to offer television and film to subscribers under is $99-per-year Prime service.

The series also stars Jamie Hector (The Wire), Amy Aquino (Being Human), Madison Lintz (The Walking Dead) and Lance Reddick (The Wire). Treme alum Eric Ellis Overmyer developed the series and executive produces alongside Connelly, Pieter Jan Brugge and Henrik Bastin. Welliver serves as a producer.

“We are excited to announce the fourth season renewal of Amazon Prime Video’s longest running original drama series Bosch,” said Amazon Studios vp Roy Price. “Prime members have loved following Detective Harry Bosch as he navigates difficult situations in his professional and personal lives, and we’re excited to let them know that even more is coming.”

“I am happy beyond words. To think we are going to get another season to explore these characters is wonderful. Our team has worked very hard to create the most realistic detective show possible and I think that is resonating with viewers,” said Connelly. “Titus and the rest of the cast and crew are dedicated to this. We are raising the storytelling bar with season three and we’ll do it again in four.”

Added Henrik Pabst, managing director at Red Arrow International: “Bosch has continued to exceed all of our expectations in terms of its US and international appeal, with the show proving hugely popular with audiences around the world. We are delighted that the show will be back for season four.”

October 16, 2016 10:39am PT by Bryn Elise Sandberg

Screengrab

Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump on ‘SNL’ on Oct. 15.

The sketch series, which again featured Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump, saw its top week-three rating in 8 years last night.

Last night’s Saturday Night Live not only managed to catch the attention of Donald Trump — who tweeted that he wasn’t impressed with Alec Baldwin’s impression of him — but a solid showing of viewers as well.

The show, hosted by Emily Blunt with musical guest Bruno Mars, was the highest household rating for a third telecast of the season since 2008, drawing a 5.0 rating in live-plus-same-day metered market households and a 2.3 rating in adults 18-49 in the markets with local people meters. The previous week three record was held by the Sept. 27, 2008 episode hosted by Anna Faris with musical guest Duffy, which nabbed a 6.0 rating.

Saturday Night Live‘s ratings have dipped each weeks since its Oct. 1 premiere hosted by Margot Robbie. It’s season 42 opener scored a 5.8 household rating and a 2.7 in the key demo. Last week, the show drew a 5.2 household rating and a 2.4 in the key demo. Still, the sketch series is performing better than last fall’s average as this week’s show was up almost 20 percent compared to SNL‘s Oct. 2015 average.

Last night’s telecast featured a debate-spoofing sketch that saw new castmember Alex Moffat portray Anderson Cooper and Cecily Strong as Martha Raddatz in addition to Baldwin’s Trump. Afterwards, the Republican presidential nominee himself weighed in on the performance on Twitter:

TV Ratings Saturday Night Live

September 30, 2016 2:09pm PT by Bryn Elise Sandberg

Augusta Quirk/ IFC

Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen in IFC’s ‘Portlandia’

The speciality bookshop that inspired the one in the IFC series has put up a sign that says, “F— Portlandia.’

A Portland bookstore is saying “F— Portlandia.”

The specialty bookshop In Other Words that has served as the inspiration (and actual filming location) for the fictional one in the IFC comedy has posted a sign on its door that reads, “F— Portlandia.” In a blog post, the bookstore staff reveals it has decided to cut ties with the sketch series starring Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, citing the “trans-antagonistic attitude” and “queer antagonism” they claim the show perpetuates as reasons why.

The establishment’s website offers a deeper explanation of why the In Other Words “community,” as they put it, has agreed to discontinue their relationship with the comedy. “‘LOL Fred Armisen in a wig and a dress’ is a deeply shitty joke whose sole punchline throws trans femmes under the bus by holding up their gender presentation for mockery and ridicule,” reads the letter posted online. “In a world where trans femmes – particularly Black trans women – are being brutalized and murdered on a regular basis for simply daring to exist, dude in a dress jokes are lazy, reactionary, and actively harmful. They’re also just straight up not funny.”

The staff also contends that the show’s production mistreated the In Other Words employees, left the bookstore a mess and forced their neighboring shops to close down and lose business for a day without any warning. Additionally, they point out that being featured in the series doesn’t actually make them any money as the small flat fee they’re paid for each episode isn’t enough to outweigh the profits lost by having to close down for filming.

The bookstore’s blog post also call out the series, set to return for its seventh season in 2017, for “transmisogyny,” “gentrification,” “devaluation of feminist discourse” and “racism.” Of the latter, they claim the series doesn’t portray any black people and only has a few of people of color represented. “Portland is white but it’s not that damn white,” the post quips.

Not only do they blame billboards featuring Armisen and Brownstein for “fueling mass displacement” in Portland and turning the city into “something twee and whimsical for the incoming technocrat hordes,” they also claim that the production crew once asked In Other Words to remove a Black Lives Matter sign they had in the window. The staff, of course, refused.

When asked about the issue, IFC had no comment.

Portlandia