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      Zombie TV Has Come for Cable

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      Many of the most popular channels have largely ditched original dramas and comedies, morphing into vessels for endless reruns.In 2015, the USA cable network was a force in original programming. Dramas like “Suits,” “Mr. Robot” and “Royal Pains” either won awards or attracted big audiences.What a difference a few years make.Viewership is way down, and USA’s original programming department is gone. The channel has had just one original scripted show this year, and it is not exclusive to the network — it also airs on another channel. During one 46-hour stretch last week, USA showed repeats of NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” for all but two hours, when it showed reruns of CBS’s “NCIS” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”Instead of standing out among its peers, USA is emblematic of cable television’s transformation. Many of the most popular channels — TBS, Comedy Central, MTV — have quickly morphed into zombie versions of their former selves.Networks that were once rich with original scripted programming are now vessels for endless marathons of reruns, along with occasional reality shows and live sports. While the network call letters and logos are the same as before, that is effectively where the overlap stops.The transformation could accelerate even more, remaking the cable landscape. Advertisers have begun to pull money from cable at high rates, analysts say, and leaders at cable providers have started to question what their consumers are paying for. In a dispute with Disney this year, executives who oversee the Spectrum cable service said media companies were letting their cable “programming house burn to the ground.”“It’s kind of like when you drive by a store and you can see they’re not keeping it up, and it looks kind of sad,” said Linda Ong, a consultant who works with many entertainment companies and used to run marketing at the Oxygen cable network. “It feels like they don’t have the attention. And they don’t — they’re being stripped for parts.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      Late Night Slams Vivek Ramaswamy’s Conspiracy Theories

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      The candidate trumpeted several during the latest G.O.P. debate, “including the far-out idea that Vivek Ramaswamy could become president,” Seth Meyers joked.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.America’s Next Top Conspiracy TheoristDuring Wednesday night’s Republican debate, Vivek Ramaswamy rattled off several conspiracy theories — “including the far-out idea that Vivek Ramaswamy could become president,” Seth Meyers joked on Thursday.“I will say, if there’s one service anyone can perform at these stupid debates, it’s tearing Vivek Ramaswamy to shreds. I mean, allow me to borrow the parlance of my outer borough brethren when I say ‘This [expletive] guy!’” — SETH MEYERS“But the winner of the Dangerously Detached From Reality Award went to Vivek Ramaswamy, who rattled off a litany of ludicrous conspiracy theories in his ongoing effort to win over the divorced-timeshare-salesman-with-an-Adderall-addiction vote.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“This dude is up here spewing every conspiracy in the book: 9/11, stolen election, replacement theory. He is right about Jan. 6 being an inside job, though. I mean, the whole thing was orchestrated by the president — you can’t get more inside than that.” — CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, guest host of “The Daily Show”“I didn’t want them to cut him off — I want to know where Bigfoot lives!” — CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD“A couple months ago, I’d never even heard of Vivek Ramaswamy, and I’m hoping we can go back to that.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Second-Place Debate Edition)“Last night in Alabama, four candidates took the stage for another Republican presidential debate. Yep, the big winners from the night were Nikki Haley, Chris Christie and everyone who decided not to watch.” — JIMMY FALLON“Last night was the fourth Republican debate. At this point, it’s kind of like ‘Indiana Jones’ movies: Three was enough.” — JIMMY FALLON“Watching these people debate without Trump is like watching the Jets play each other.” — SETH MEYERS“Why should I act like any of these people are actually running against Donald Trump when they won’t even act like they’re running against Donald Trump? They spent the whole debate fighting with each other like pigeons fighting over a French fry in the parking lot of a restaurant that is owned by a much bigger pigeon.” — SETH MEYERSThe Bits Worth WatchingJimmy Kimmel pranked George Santos by sending fake Cameo requests and seeing if the former congressman would follow through with them.Also, Check This OutEmma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things.”Atsushi Nishijima/Searchlight PicturesYorgos Lanthimos’s new film, “Poor Things,” is a phantasmagoric take on the classic Frankenstein story starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe. More

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      Ellen Holly, Trailblazing Star in ‘One Life to Live,’ Dies at 92

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      Ms. Holly was the first Black performer to play a lead role on daytime television.Ellen Holly, whose star turn in the soap opera “One Life to Live” made her the first Black actor to play a lead role in daytime TV, died on Wednesday at a hospital in the Bronx. She was 92.Her publicist, Cheryl L. Duncan, confirmed her death in a statement. No cause was given.Ms. Holly was born in Manhattan on Jan. 16, 1931, and grew up in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens. Her parents were William Garnet Holly, a chemical engineer, and Grayce Holly, a writer. Relatives included several prominent figures in the civil rights movement.After graduating from Hunter College, she debuted on Broadway in 1956 in “Too Late the Phalarope,” then went on to perform in several other Broadway productions.In 1968, Ms. Holly wrote in The New York Times about the difficulty of finding roles as a Black woman with lighter skin. The column caught the attention of a television producer, Agnes Nixon, who gave Ms. Holly the groundbreaking role of Carla that would catapult her to fame after “One Life to Live” launched on ABC. She played the role from 1968 to 1980 and 1983-’85.The character for a time passed as white, before revealing that she was Black, amid a love triangle with two doctors: one white and the other Black. When her character appeared to be in an interracial relationship with a Black man, a station in Texas canceled the show, and Ms. Nixon, the producer, received hate mail, she said in an interview in 1997.“A white woman falling in love with a Black man,” Ms. Holly said in a 2018 interview, “people started looking at that soap opera because they were saying, ‘This is something new, we better see where this is going.’”She wrote about her experience in a New York Times column in 1969, writing that she found the storyline of a Black woman passing as white “fascinating.”“I felt that the unique format of a soap would enable people to examine their prejudices in a way no other format possibly could,” she wrote, because unlike a play or movie, viewers would follow the character for months.“The emotional investment they made in her as a human being would be infinitely greater,” she wrote, “and when the switch came, their involvement would be real rather than superficial. A lot of whites who think they aren’t prejudiced — are. It seemed like a marvelous opportunity to confront their own prejudices.”Ms. Holly wrote that while she called herself Black, she also had French, English and Shinnecock ancestry.Ms. Holly wrote an autobiography, “One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress,” which was published in 1996. Over the years, she wrote opinion columns for The New York Times about the arts, race and civil rights.After retiring from acting, she became a librarian in the 1990s, working at the White Plains Public Library for years.Ms. Holly, who never married or had children, is survived by several grand-nieces, cousins and other family members. More

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      What to Watch This Weekend: An Upbeat Documentary Series

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      A new three-part documentary follows a group of bright and charming high school students who are practically bursting with passion for science.“Science Fair: The Series,” a three-part documentary that airs in full on Sunday at 8 p.m., on National Geographic (and begins streaming Monday on Disney+ and Hulu), follows high school students from across the world who are vying for a spot at the International Science and Engineering Fair, which they consider their Olympics.Each student has been conducting specialized and advanced research for years: eliminating micro algae from the backyard lagoon, turning reeds into biofuel, prototyping sustainable electric car batteries.To a one, the students here are bright and charming, practically bursting with passion. And at a moment when vibes discourse would lead us to believe that every teen on earth has TikToked themselves into being a depressed robot who wants fast fashion and can’t do homework, it’s a treat — a relief, even — to encounter work that is so enthusiastic about young people.Our main teacher-anchor here is Dr. Serena McCalla, a teacher in Jericho, N.Y., whose team is such a powerhouse that families move from other countries to put their kids under her tutelage. (McCalla was also in the 2018 film “Science Fair,” which is the inspiration for this series.) She drills students not only on their scientific work but especially on their sales pitches and their answers to the judges’ questions. She’s tough and judicious, and the biggest lesson she seems to impart to one superstar is not how to win but how to lose.After the success of the 2003 documentary “Spellbound,” about competitors in the National Spelling Bee, there seemed to be a lot stories for a while about kids pursuing niche excellence. (I still think of you, teen magicians from the 2011 documentary “Make Believe,” who I guess are all adults now.) These days, we are never too far from a football or ballet documentary in which a stern talking-head reminds us that in real life, not everyone can win. All geeky enthusiasm and showmanship seems to have been conflated with musical theater since “Glee,” so it’s nice to see science research get its own moment of teenage glory.Format-wise, “Science Fair” is standard fare, but that’s fine — it’s so earnest and endearing, and it even has those satisfying “Where are they now?” updates at the end. If you need a bubbly pick-me-up kind of show, or if you have fond memories of whatever your “thing” was in high school, watch this. More

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      ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’: Hits, Misses and the Bizarre Ending

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      On Wednesday, the winner of the Netflix competition reality show based on the blood-drenched drama was crowned. But did the spinoff deliver? Spoilers below.It all came down to rock, paper, scissors on Wednesday night’s finale of “Squid Game: The Challenge.” After many rounds of trying to deduce her opponent’s next move, Mai Whelan (Player 287), an immigration adjudicator, grandmother and Navy veteran from Virginia who came to the United States as an 8-year-old refugee from Vietnam, triumphed over Phill Cain (Player 451), a scuba instructor from Hawaii — and 454 other players.Her prize: a staggering $4.56 million. “Anything is possible,” she said after her win. “Even when you feel down and afraid, you have to pick yourself up, be a strong person and focus.”“The Challenge,” a reality competition show, is based on Netflix’s dystopian, blood-drenched South Korean blockbuster drama “Squid Game,” in which contestants play schoolyard games for the chance to win an exorbitant cash prize. On the original series, however, the hundreds who lose die gruesome deaths. On “The Challenge,” filmed on a set in England, no one died, of course; they only pretended to.And like on the drama, they made alliances, broke alliances, back stabbed, shot daggers with their eyes, and wept and wept. They also played a few games from the original, including the glass bridge challenge (no, the players didn’t free fall), the marbles face-off and the dalgona candy game (which, in real life, involved copious saliva).On Wednesday, Netflix announced that the highly popular show was renewed for second season; Season 2 of the drama is also in the works. Also on Wednesday, a Netflix live fan experience, Squid Game: The Trials, opened on the “Price Is Right” soundstage in Los Angeles.As for the televised competition, it required some mental gymnastics, and was alternately disappointing and delicious. Here’s what the competition got right, and what may have left some viewers underwhelmed or unsettled.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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      The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in December

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      Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic, “Maestro,” and a “Chicken Run” sequel highlight this month’s slate.Every month, Netflix adds movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for some of December’s most promising new titles. (Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our Watching newsletter here.)‘May December’Now streamingBased loosely on the story of Mary Kay Letourneau — a woman who made tabloid headlines in the 1990s for having a sexual affair with a teenage boy, whom she later married — this arch melodrama stars Julianne Moore as the scandal-plagued Gracie Atherton-Yoo, who is about to be played in a movie by Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman), a popular TV actress. As Elizabeth spends time with Gracie to try and understand her life better, her questions disrupt the Atherton-Yoo family and push Gracie’s husband, Joe (Charles Melton), to reflect more deeply on what happened to him when he was a kid. Directed by the venerable indie filmmaker Todd Haynes (best-known for “Far from Heaven” and “Carol”), “May December” is at times discomfiting and at times darkly funny. It’s an artful, absorbing look at a performer using the excuse of researching a role as a way to explore the taboo.‘Leave the World Behind’Starts streaming: Dec. 8The “Mr. Robot” writer-director Sam Esmail adapts Rumaan Alam’s novel “Leave the World Behind,” about a Brooklyn family that rents a vacation home on Long Island, right before a massive cyberattack leads to power blackouts and internet outages across the country. Complicating the situation further, the house’s owner G.H. Scott (Mahershala Ali) shows up with his daughter, Ruth (Myha’la), asking to take refuge — a request that rankles his renter, the cynical misanthrope Amanda Sandford (Julia Roberts). Ethan Hawke also stars as Amanda’s genial husband, Clay, who tries to make peace and to protect the Sandfords’ kids as the natural world around them starts to go haywire. Esmail leans into the eerie beauty of a collapsing society while also probing the tense relationship between these privileged strangers — of similar social backgrounds, yet divided by race — as together they navigate the early days of a possible apocalypse.‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’Starts streaming: Dec. 15This sequel to Aardman Animation’s hit 2000 film “Chicken Run” features a mostly new cast, voicing the original’s beloved characters. Thandiwe Newton now plays Ginger, who in the first movie led a band of rebellious poultry on an escape mission, fleeing an egg farm for the safety of a remote island bird sanctuary. In “Dawn of the Nugget,” Ginger and her mate Rocky (now voiced by Zachary Levi), need to break into a factory, to save their daughter, Molly (Bella Ramsey), and to keep their former captor Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) from exacting revenge on all of chicken-kind with her fast-food innovations. The veteran animator Sam Fell (who previously co-directed Aardman’s “Flushed Away”) takes over as the film’s director, working from a script co-written by the original’s screenwriter, Karey Kirkpatrick.‘Maestro’Starts streaming: Dec. 20After the critical, commercial and Oscar success of Bradley Cooper’s 2018 directorial debut, “A Star Is Born,” the actor takes an even bigger swing with his second film: a biographical drama exploring the life, loves and career of the esteemed American composer Leonard Bernstein. Cooper plays Bernstein and Carey Mulligan plays Felicia Montealegre, who became the musician’s wife and conscience, remaining a valued companion even throughout his extramarital affairs. “Maestro” balances glimpses of Bernstein’s personal life with a celebration of his efforts to bring music education to the masses. Cooper and his crew also bring some visual splendor, making the film look as lush and richly detailed as the kinds of movies Bernstein would have seen in his 1950s heyday.‘Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire’Starts streaming: Dec. 22The “300” and “Justice League” director Zack Snyder launches his second Netflix franchise (following his “Army of the Dead” series) with this ambitious space opera, inspired by the science-fiction and martial arts movies and comic books that Snyder loved in his youth. “Rebel Moon” is set on Veldt, a relatively peaceful satellite within a vast and tyrannical interstellar empire. When the powers that be suddenly take an interest in Veldt, a former imperial soldier named Kora (Sofia Boutella) finds herself having to recruit an eclectic band of locals to fight against the authoritarian regime. The first movie has been divided into two parts, although with the time Snyder has reportedly put into mythology-building — and that the production team has put into set-building — expect more stories to be told in this universe.Also streaming now:“Sweet Home” Season 2“Blood Coast” Season 1“The Archies”“Hilda” Season 3“I Hate Christmas” Season 2“My Life with the Walter Boys” Season 1Coming soon:Dec. 12“Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team”Dec. 14“The Crown” Season 6, Part 2Dec. 15“Carol & The End of the World”“Face to Face with ETA: Conversations with a Terrorist”Dec. 22“Gyeongseong Creature” Season 1Dec. 25“Star Trek: Prodigy” Season 1Dec. 26“Thank You, I’m Sorry”Dec. 27“Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare”Dec. 28“Pokémon Concierge” Season 1Dec. 29“Money Heist: Berlin” Season 1 More

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      Who Is Meg Bellamy, Who Plays Kate Middleton in ‘The Crown’?

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      When Meg Bellamy got the call that would change her life — the one telling her that after months of auditions, it was she, among thousands of hopefuls, who would play Kate Middleton in the final season of “The Crown” — she was already standing in the shadow of Windsor Castle. But she wasn’t looking the part of a royal just yet.“I was crouched in costume among the bin lorries of a delivery car park at Legoland,” Ms. Bellamy, 21, said at a London hotel suite last month. “Until that point, my most regular acting gig had been playing a red plastic brick.”In 2022, and with no professional acting experience, she was working as a performer at the theme park when she spotted a casting call on Twitter for the role of Kate Middleton. Competition to play one of the most famous women in the world during her college years was fierce. Thousands of young actresses were posting videos about their auditions. But after a neighbor remarked on her resemblance to Britain’s future queen, Ms. Bellamy, crushed after several drama school rejections schools, decided to try out for the part. Three weeks after sending a tape, she got a call — the first in what would be a several monthslong casting process.“I never really believed I would get the role, not in the beginning anyway,” she said. “But then with every round, I started to feel like I had a real chance, and that it might actually be mine to keep. When it was, I was completely shellshocked.”Now, more than two years after that call, Ms. Bellamy’s trajectory from obscurity to the brink of stardom appears to be well underway. Last week, she appeared on the front of The Daily Telegraph, which used a still from the series that recreated the moment in 2002 when Ms. Middleton, on a charity fashion catwalk in a daringly sheer dress, was rumored to have first turned the head of Prince William.This week, ahead of the release of Part 2 of “The Crown” on Dec. 14, Ms. Bellamy was on the red carpet at the London premiere in a creamy Valentino column gown — 24 hours after attending the Fashion Awards, where she wore a blazer dress with a suit and tie by Huishan Zhang.And for months she has been courted by big fashion names like Gucci and Dior — she attended Dior shows in Paris in July and September — which have a habit of snapping up emerging talent with juicy contracts before they ascend to heights of celebrity. After all, if a fashion house can’t hire the Princess of Wales to sell lipstick and handbags, perhaps the unknown actress playing her to an audience of millions is the next best thing.Ms. Bellamy at a finale celebration of “The Crown” in London this month. “Until last month I’d never been to Hollywood,” she said. “Then I was not just there, but on a red carpet with people shouting my name.”Lia Toby/Getty ImagesMs. Bellamy at the annual Fashion Awards in London in December.Dominic Lipinski/Getty ImagesShe attended the Los Angeles premiere in November.Michael Tran/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesOver its six seasons, the casting of “The Crown” has largely been anchored by a constellation of established performers, though it has also boosted the sparkly careers of several new faces, including Emma Corrin, who played Princess Diana in Season 4. What was it about Ms. Bellamy that prompted executives to take a chance on her for this role?“We found that there was an openness to her, an intelligence and a sweetness to her, and a chemistry between her and Ed McVey, who plays Prince William,” said Robert Sterne, the casting director for “The Crown.” “You wanted to go on the journey with Meg. You wanted her to tell you the story.”Doing Kate JusticeMuch has already been made of the parallels between Ms. Bellamy and Ms. Middleton, beyond their delicate features and masses of glossy auburn hair. How both were raised by close families in the royal county of Berkshire. (Ms. Bellamy was actually born in Leeds, in Yorkshire, and has a light Northern twinge that still lingers on some of her vowels.) How both were extremely sporty at school, with a particular love of lacrosse. (Ms. Bellamy, who said she was academic, was also head girl, which is similar to a class president.)But unlike the Princess of Wales, who studied art history at the University of St. Andrews, Ms. Bellamy didn’t attend university. After a number of star turns in school musical productions, including Sandy in “Grease” and Scaramouche in “We Will Rock You,” she wanted only to act. She is acutely aware that people wait a lifetime for a break like hers, which came months after leaving high school.Before the six month shoot, Ms. Bellamy spent months preparing to play Ms. Middleton. She watched documentaries and read newspaper clips compiled by researchers. She also worked with movement and voice coaches to perfect her performance. She took home costumes — a nostalgic Noughties-inspired wardrobe of low-rise flared jeans, peplum tops, chunky belts and fringed suede knee-high boots — to wear as she practiced her lines.Ms. Bellamy as Kate Middleton and Ed McVey, who plays Prince William, in a scene from “The Crown.” Netflix/The Crown“I must have looked insane,” Ms. Bellamy said. “I would be dressed as her, reading a book about her and trying to sound like her while walking around the house.” She noted that while there is endless footage of Ms. Middleton after she formally joined the royal family in 2011, there is little — beyond a handful of paparazzi photographs — from her time at St. Andrews, where she first befriended and then fell in love with Prince William.“Her first press interview was when she became engaged at 29, so she was something of a blank canvas,” Ms. Bellamy said. “I spent a lot of time thinking about what she would have been like before she knew where life would take her and that William would become her husband. I hope that I’ve done Kate justice.”At the same time, she added, it was nice to remove the layer of complexities that come with being a royal and just play her as a girl who’s going to university and falling in love.When photographs of Ms. Bellamy and Mr. McVey filming at St. Andrews emerged this spring — and ever since then — there was intense online interest in her private life and next career steps. (So far, Ms. Bellamy has yet to announce her next role.) Lately she has been working with the stylist Felicity Kay to hone her public image and build a brand for herself.Has being thrust into the spotlight given her a vague notion of what it must be like to be a royal?“It’s something I’ve been thinking about, especially as we’ve done more press ahead of the release,” she said. “I really can’t imagine the level of pressure royals face day to day. I mean, until last month I’d never been to Hollywood. Then I was not just there, but on a red carpet with people shouting my name.”She added: “But I keep telling myself that this is something I’ve always dreamed about. You have to remember that, before all of this, I wore a school uniform and could only afford high-street brands like Primark.” More

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      Jimmy Kimmel Is Perfectly Prepared to Believe Trump Will Be a Dictator

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      Kimmel skewered the former president for telling Sean Hannity he would act like a dictator on his first day in office if elected again.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.A Swing and a MissIn a Fox News town hall with Donald Trump on Tuesday night, Sean Hannity asked the former president if he planned to abuse power if elected to a second term. Trump declined twice to give an outright denial, saying he wouldn’t be a dictator, “except for Day 1.”Jimmy Kimmel called Trump “Scammy Sosa” on Wednesday, saying that Trump “somehow managed to swing and miss at the softest of all balls.”“I’m tired of these fake questions, like, ‘Will you become a dictator?’ Of course, he’s going to become — he said he’s going to become a dictator. Basically, in November, we’re going to be voting on whether we will ever vote again.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Here we go again, OK? Once again, Trump is telling us exactly what he is going to do, and no one’s believing him. You Trump supporters are all in my mentions with your clown emojis saying, ‘You Democratic shill! You’re overreacting. Trump’s not a dictator!’ He is telling you, OK? And, no, it doesn’t make it any better that he says he will just be a dictator for one day.” — CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD“All kidding aside, how about Sean Hannity having to squeeze him to say he won’t be a dictator? I mean, how clear does Trump have to make it? Hannity was like, ‘Eh, want to take another stab at that one, bro?’ ‘Nope!’” — JIMMY KIMMEL“And by the way, I can’t believe I have to say this, but ‘Are you going to be a dictator?’ is not a normal question you should have to ask a presidential candidate. If you have to ask your babysitter, ‘Are you going to eat my kids?’, it doesn’t matter what their answer is. The fact that you needed to ask them means you should get another babysitter.” — CHARLAMAGNE THA GODThe Punchiest Punchlines (On Taylor Time Edition)“Time magazine today named their person of the year for 2023, and that person is Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift beat out Vladimir Putin, the president of China and King Charles. And, I don’t know, it makes sense — those guys are terrible singers.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“The editor in chief for Time said Taylor Swift is ‘the rare person who is both the writer and hero of her own story.’ And also, he said, ‘We really wanted to sell some magazines this year.’” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Taylor was like, ‘Of all the honors I’ve had today, this is definitely in the Top 50.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Time actually released multiple covers of Taylor, including this one where she’s posing with her cat. Most cats think they’re better than you, but that cat knows it’s better than you.” — JIMMY FALLON“Taylor Swift is Time’s person of the year, which is terrible news for Taylor Swift. Have you seen how the past few winners of this are doing? Last year, Zelensky won — how’s Ukraine doing now? Year before that, Elon Musk got the cover — how’s Twitter doing now? Year before that, Biden and Kamala got the cover — enough said! Forget Travis Kelce: if this pattern keeps up, next year, Taylor Swift is going to be dating the punter for the New York Jets.” — CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD“Anyway, congratulations to Taylor. Now, maybe people will finally start talking about her.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Bits Worth Watching“The Daily Show” entered the “RamaVerse” with the Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.What We’re Excited About on Thursday NightOlivia Rodrigo will sit down with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday before her return to “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.Also, Check This OutFrom left, Carroll O’Connor as Archie Bunker, Rob Reiner as Mike Stivic and Sally Struthers as Gloria Bunker Stivic in Norman Lear’s “All in the Family.” CBS, via Getty ImagesRob Reiner remembered his friend, the television pioneer Norman Lear, whom he called “a real champion of America.” More