Rant #1,907: Talk Talk

Back at my perch ...

I am happy to be back here. A day without a Rant is like a day without sunshine.

Today, I am going to look at how CBS is going about promoting its 2017-2018 TV schedule, and it is something that we should all be aware of--not the schedule, per se, but how they are promoting this schedule.

To me at least, it is a great turnoff.

This is the time of year when the networks promote their respective upcoming TV schedules. In with the new, out with the old, and since the current season is ending, it is time to talk about new shows for the fall.

CBS does this too, and that is all fine and good. But they are covering their new schedule as if it were a news story, which it is not, and that is not good.

It is promoting this new schedule on its local and network news shows, which really is kind of self-serving brown-nosing, and to do it on the CBS This Morning, which promotes itself as the only one of the network's morning shows that is actually all news, makes the whole thing even more ridiculous.

As I was home a bit later yesterday because of what I had to do in the morning, I caught a bit of the promotion on this newscast, and they had in attendance Chuck Lorre, the producer of the network's "Mom" show, along with actress Allison Janney, one of the show's stars.

"Mom" is one of those shows that is for the time, a show that exists because network television is just so bad. It is about how a group of female recovering alcoholics copes with everyday life, and while it is popular, I have watched several episodes--my wife likes the show--and every episode tends to deal with two subjects--alcohol/drug abuse and sex--you know, the typical themes of today's TV sitcoms.

However, what do I know, the show is quite popular, and the two guests came on the show to promote the new schedule.

If that was the purpose, that was all fine and good, but then, as is the norm with Hollywood today, politics crept into the conversation, I guess since they had the network platform to do so.

The duo were asked about the Emmy Awards, since the nominations come up soon, and both Lorre and Janney noted that this year, they were not going to expend the time and the energy--and the money--to push the show for an Emmy nomination.

All fine and good, but that is when things went political for no reason.

"We aren't going to openly campaign for an Emmy Award this year, and we decided to use the money that we would have used to promote our show in another way," Lorre said (paraphrased by me).

He continued, "We decided that the money that we would have used to promote our show for the Emmys would instead be donated to Planned Parenthood, which is a much better cause."

Janney is a statuesque woman, and throughout the interview, you could see that she was wearing a T-shirt, but you could not quite see what it said, since she had a jacket partially covering the words on the shirt.

Once, this announcement was made, she proudly opened her jacket to show that she had the message "Support Planned Parenthood" across the shirt. It was as if she were just waiting for this moment.

And no, neither Lorre or Janney spoke about the amount of taxes the show would save by making such a large "charitable" donation.

The two female anchors of the show--Nora O'Donnell and Gayle King--kind of took this lightly, but the male anchor of the show--Charlie Rose--seemingly knew that they had been had, that this was more a political pronouncement than a sneak preview of the network's new schedule.

Maybe they all had been had, maybe they all knew what this was going to lead up to, but whatever the case, why does Hollywood feel that everything they do needs to turn into a political discourse, seemingly because the American public is, in their eyes, too stupid to make their own choices?

Look, Hollywood has always been seeped in supporting causes, but it has run rampant today. You can't turn on a talk show, an entertainment show, an awards show or a news show without being harassed by a political bent.

Isn't entertainment supposed to be relaxing? Why must everything Hollywood does be punctuated by politics?

And by the way, this is not a Rant against Planned Parenthood. I personally support a woman's right to have an abortion ... this is a Rant against Hollywood's continued elitism, using the incredible podium that they have been granted to make political statements that have no place in the topic at hand.

Enough is enough already.

Have we all forgotten how to have fun and relax?

I will do just that this weekend, hopefully, without any more political nonsense to ruin my Saturday and Sunday.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a good weekend.