Couch Madness: ‘Bombshell’

In honor of the NCAA tournament season, Give Me My Remote is bringing back our TV-centric bracket, pitting similarly titled episodes against each other: Couch Madness! (Credit for the excellent name goes to fellow reporter Chris Hayner.)

The seeding is simple: rather than quality of the hour, we’re going by air date (with the oldest episode getting the #1 slot and the newest getting #8). With Peak TV, this will not include every single show that has used this title; rather, we picked a selection from what was available.

The first round will run from Monday, March 11 through Friday, March 15. Round two will kick off on Monday, March 18, with the final face-off starting on Monday, March 25.

Last up? “Bombshell.” Keep reading for the bracket, episode descriptions (from IMDB), and the poll. (For the other episodes competing, check out all the brackets here!) Read more

Neal Baer on Diving into CRISPR for ‘Perspectives in Biology & Medicine’ and What Would Have Happened in DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Season 4

After bringing CRISPR—clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, a tool which allows DNA to be edited—into the pop culture conversation with DESIGNATED SURVIVOR season 3, Neal Baer (who is also a doctor) dove deeper into the issue as the guest editor for a special issue of Perspectives in Biology & Medicine, a scholarly journal published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Baer is also lending his producing power to the Sundance documentary WELCOME TO CHECHNYA (which will air on HBO later this year), as the film tackles the continued attacks against the LGBTQ+ population in Russia and the activists who are working to combat the threats.

“Human rights issues are at the forefront of our lives now, and I’ve been really fortunate to be involved in these projects,” Baer says.

Here, he dives into why the CRISPR technology is so dangerous and how storytelling might be able to combat it, why he wanted to be a part of WELCOME TO CHECHNYA’s producing team, and what would have happened in DESIGNATED SURVIVOR’s fourth season. Read more

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Boss on Season 3’s Big Tragedy

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the third season of DESIGNATED SURVIVOR.]

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DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: Julie White Had a ‘Freaking Blast’ Portraying ‘Pistol’ Lorraine Zimmer

Julie White is having a very, very big week.

In addition to actress returning to television with Netflix’s DESIGNATED SURVIVOR, White is also nominated for a Tony—her third—for “Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus.” (White previously won Best Actress in a Play for 2007’s “The Little Dog Laughed”; she also got a Best Featured Actress in a Play nod for 2015’s “Airline Highway.”)

“It’s not my first time at the rodeo; I am kind of familiar with it,” she says with a laugh. “There’s a lot of logistics involved. You want to publicize your show as much as possible, which means going to dinner events and cocktail parties and interviews…it’s kind of fun and glamorous out of your every work day life. But you do have to go do the show every night!”

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DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: Neal Baer on Staging an ER Reunion, Kirkman’s Re-Election Campaign

When DESIGNATED SURVIVOR returns for its third season on Friday, June 7, there will be a number of obvious changes: a new home (Netflix, after its ABC cancellation), new faces (including Anthony Edwards and Julie White), and longer episodes that dive deeper into current social issues as President Kirkman (Kiefer Sutherland) runs for re-election.

Off-camera, there was also a transition, as Neal Baer (ER, LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, UNDER THE DOME) stepped in to run the series.

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DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: Netflix Revives the Kiefer Sutherland-Led Drama

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR has been revived by Netflix. A ten-episode third season will debut in 2019.

The Kiefer Sutherland-led drama’s new season will follow President Kirkman as he campaigns for re-election. (The series started off in the wake of an attack that wiped out all of the United States politicians outside of the designated survivor—Thomas Kirkland—who then had to adjust to his sudden promotion to the presidency.)

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ABC Cancels QUANTICO and DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

ABC has canceled QUANTICO and DESIGNATED SURVIVOR.

Both shows will continue airing their seasons (QUANTICO’s third; DESIGNATED SURVIVOR’s second), but won’t return for the 2018-2019 season.

Kiefer Sutherland led DESIGNATED SURVIVOR. Priyanka Chopra starred in QUANTICO.

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