TCM’s hosts should be staying in place
Q: Will the current Turner Classic Movies hosts be continuing on the channel? – James Flanagan, Terre Haute, Ind.
A: As of the time this column was written, that is the plan. In fact, TCM’s Ben Mankiewicz assured fans in a tweet that “we’re not going anywhere” (in reference to himself and the other four regular hosts) while public pushback against personnel changes at the classic movie channel was at its peak recently.
The concern voiced by TCM devotees – and by prominent filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson – inspired the reinstatement of one of the pivotal staff members who had been scheduled to leave, programming chief Charles “Charlie” Tabesh. Some changes were evident in the immediate wake of the initial cuts, such as the sudden absence of the hosted “outros” that followed many of the movies by TCM, but those are slated to be reinstated over the coming weeks.
Q: How could ESPN let Suzy Kolber go? – Andrea Smith, via e-mail
A: The former “Monday Night Countdown” host was among about 20 personalities dismissed by the sports network several weeks ago, for what a press statement specified were financial reasons and not the affected parties’ on-air performances. Kolber had been with ESPN for 27 years, was widely regarded as a trailblazer among female sportscasters, and noted in a tweet that it was “heartbreaking” for her to leave the network.
Fans of hers immediately started speculating on social media that she could turn up at another sports operation, and while nothing definite had happened in that regard as of this writing, we would note that it certainly isn’t out of the question given her visibility and experience. As Kolber said herself in that tweet, “Longevity for a woman in this business is something I am especially proud of.”
Q: Will “Single Drunk Female” be coming back? – Kim Wade, via e-mail
A: It won’t. Freeform has canceled the show after two seasons, and its episodes have been taken off Hulu (though they remain available for purchase from other streaming services). Sofia Black-D’Elia starred in the show as a recovering alcoholic who had to move back in with her mother (Ally Sheedy) after her drinking led to a huge professional setback for her. Freeform now is run by a different regime than the one that ordered the series.