Dyson replaces Franken on the ‘Bill Maher show’

Pacino to star as Joe in HBO biopic

NEW YORK, June 7, (Agencies): HBO says academic Michael Eric Dyson will be filling this week’s guest slot after Sen Al Franken bowed out of “Real Time with Bill Maher” in the wake of Maher’s use of a racial slur last week.

Maher was roundly criticized for using the N-word in a joking reference to himself as a house slave. Although he later apologized, Franken called his remark “inappropriate and offensive.”

Dyson, an African-American author and Georgetown University sociology professor, tweeted a measured defense of Maher. While declaring that the N-word “should be reserved for black use,” he called Maher “a champion of many figures for black justice.”

Musician-actor Ice Cube, journalist David Gregory, former Florida Rep David Jolly and activist Symone Sanders will also appear.

“Real Time” airs live Friday at 10 pm EDT.

In today’s roundup, Authentic Entertainment works with Zoe Saldana’s Cinestar Productions to adapt an Israeli series, and NBC and The American Black Film Festival name its 2017 Star Project Winner.

Authentic Entertainment is working with Zoe, Mariel, and Cisely Saldana’s Cinestar Productions to develop an American adaptation of the unscripted Israeli television series “Mothers.” The show follows six prominent mothers, each with a different lifestyle and approach to motherhood, in a transformative social experiment. “Mothers” has recently been extended to German and Italian networks. Authentic and Cinestar are taking the “Mothers” out to US buyers starting this week.

NBC and The American Black Film Festival named Duain Richmond as the winner of the 2017 Star Project. The ninth annual monologue competition and search for talent in culturally diverse backgrounds gives winners opportunities to break into television and film. Richmond, who was chosen from among more than 600 actors, has been awarded meetings with NBCUniversal casting and program executives, a scholarship to Tasha Smith’s Acting Workshop, among other prizes. He will be presented with the award at the ABFF Filmmaker Award Presentation on June 18. Past recipients include Emayatzy Corinealdi, Kelcy Griffin, and Sheaun McKinney, who have all gone on to work on notable television shows.

Turner announced Tyler Moody and Alex Gonzales have joined Turner Content Distribution, the domestic distribution and marketing arm of Turner. Moody has been named general manager and vice-president of the newly created Turner Podcast Network, and Gonzales as senior vice-president of brand distribution. They will both be based in Atlanta and will report to Jennifer Mirgorod, executive vice president of brand distribution.

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises appointed Francisco Ponce to the role of vicepresident of on-air talent management. In this position, he will oversee on-air talent relations and facilitate the promotion of Telemundo and Universo on-air talent across all NBCUniversal platforms. Ponce will be based in Miami, reporting to Claudia Foghini, executive vicepresident of talent and production management services at Telemundo Networks and Studios. Previously, Ponce was president and CEO of talent management and public relations company In2ition Entertainment, specializing in Latin and cross-over talent.

Al Pacino will star as late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in an upcoming HBO biopic directed by Barry Levinson.

HBO says the film will focus on Paterno dealing with the fallout from the child sex abuse scandal involving his former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The all-time winningest coach in major college football history was fired days after Sandusky’s November 2011 arrest and died two months later at the age of 85.

A report commissioned by the university and conducted by a team led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh concluded that Paterno and three administrators hushed up the allegations against Sandusky.

The three administrators were sentenced to jail terms Friday. One of them, former university president Graham Spanier, plans to appeal his conviction.

On this week’s episode of the sitcom “The Carmichael Show,” Grandma Francis has invited her son and two grandsons over to the house to break some news.

“I’ve been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s,” she announces.

“Well, mom,” the son says. “We’ve known about this for six months!”

The studio audience laughs heartily, but not for long.

Grandma reveals she wants to take her own life. “I’m confused all the time,” she explains. “And I’m scared of what’s coming, of losing who I am.”

Occasional serious episodes have been around almost since the first sitcom series. But NBC’s “The Carmichael Show” (Wednesday 9 pm EDT), which returned for its third season May 31, tackles serious issues every time.

Some critics have compared “Carmichael” to producer Norman Lear’s 1970s classic “All in the Family,” the first sitcom to routinely tackle serious subjects such as sexism, racism, sexuality.

The 30-year-old Carmichael said he and the Lear, 94, frequently text.

“He and I connect because we don’t mind making people a little angry,” Carmichael said. “The only thing we really care about is that you care and you really think.”

Lear said he loves “The Carmichael Show” and acknowledged his influence on the show’s star and co-creator. “We all walk in on the shoulders of people who preceded us,” Lear noted.

Carmichael recently appeared on Lear’s podcast, “All of the Above,” and discussed the upcoming episode “Cynthia’s Birthday,” in which the N-word will be spoken on broadcast television about a half-dozen times — as part of a story line about whether the word should stay taboo.

To simply call “Carmichael” “The New ‘All in the Family’” doesn’t quite cut it for one of Variety’s television critics, Sonia Saraiya.

“What’s fresh about ‘Carmichael’ is that it takes the (Lear) format and then puts it on a contemporary landscape,” she said, noting the country’s wide political divide. “’The Carmichael Show’ is kind of predicated on the fact that if everybody sits and talks about it, you can come to a place of understanding.”

The characters in “Carmichael” are inspired by those from the star’s own family. “I think a lot of the language, some of the ways that we talk, are really authentic to my upbringing,” he said. “So, my obligation is to truth over everything. And as they reflect the black experience, yeah, it’s a black show. And as it reflects a family experience, it’s that, as well. But it’s truth above everything to me.”

Which brings us back to Grandma, contemplating taking her own life. Funny? Really? Carmichael says you’ll just have to trust him.