Why isn't Hollywood boycotting abortion bans?

And Lea Michele steps in

What to know

• Why isn’t Hollywood boycotting states over abortion access?… This is a very good question with a supremely disheartening answer. While there were calls for an entertainment industry boycott of Georgia in 2019 over an abortion law, major Hollywood players are not taking similar action this time. Why not? According to THR’s insiders, the answer is plausibility. The insiders seem skeptical that Hollywood could cease business in every state that has or will ban abortion. You never know until you try, people! 🤔

• Lea Michele replacing Beanie Feldstein in Broadway’s Funny Girl next month… Feldstein is leaving the production early after a bevy of middling reviews and negative rumors. Michele, who has been accused of on-set misconduct in the past, is a somewhat controversial pick — but also a logical one, as her Glee performance of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” has always tied her to this role. It appears getting “cancelled” online doesn’t always have real-world effects for the “cancelled.” We shall see if Michele has more star power than Beanie Feldstein or if this whole thing is headed for a messy, early closing. 🎭

• TBS shelves completed season 2 of Chad the day it was supposed to air… If you hadn’t heard, Warner Bros. Discovery has killed all scripted shows on the TNets (TBS, TNT, TruTV). While it appeared season 2 of Nasim Pedrad’s Chad would go to air today, it instead has become a casualty of this strategy shift. WBD says it will shop the series around. Why not just put it on HBO Max? Some media companies like Paramount and NBC Universal seem aligned behind the their streamers, Warner not so much. 📺

• NFL Sunday Ticket is moving to a streamer, deal coming this fall… Yeah, it makes no sense that Sunday Ticket would still be on DirecTV in 2022. The satellite TV provider only has 14 million subscribers. Whichever streamer ponies up the cash to carry this all-access pass will certainly reap the rewards. It won’t be cheap, so my money is on Apple or Amazon having the funds to do it. 🏈

• Taika Waititi eyeing 2023 production for Star Wars movie… Hopefully he gets to take a vacation before that. In other Taika news, he said he’d return for a Thor 5, if Chris Hemsworth was on board. After Love and Thunder cut loose and took in $143M this weekend — I’d say it’s a possibility. ✨

• Obi-Wan fan edits show into 2.5-hour movie… Interesting thought experiment! I’m surprised more fans don’t do edits like this — especially considering some of the recent Marvel shows could have probably been movies. Good job, Kai Peterson. ✂️

• Sam Taylor-Johnson directed Amy Winehouse biopic… That sound you hear is every actress under 30 who can sing calling their agent. 🎙

• Netflix to off “spacial audio” experience… But will this improve the audibility of dialogue? 🔊

• 24-hour Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune channels are coming to Pluto TV in August… Free TV alert! 🆓

• Miles Teller says he’s having conversations with Tom Cruise about a Top Gun 3… They feel the need, for Top Gun threed. ✈️

• Only Murders renewed for a 3rd season… How many murders can happen in one building before everyone moves out? 🔪

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What’s new

• Better Call Saul s6.2 - July 11 | AMC drama series | 🍅 100%

• The Bob’s Burgers Movie - July 12 | HBO Max & Hulu animated comedy | 🍅 87%

• Where the Crawdads Sing - July 15 | Drama in theaters | 🍅

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What to watch

We don’t often get new shows that require immediate attention. Shows like these, though rare, captivate the zeitgeist so quickly and ferociously that you must put aside whatever you planned to watch and watch this instead. Squid Game was one. Ted Lasso was one. FX’s The Bear is one.

Now available on Hulu in full, this 8-episode half-hour drama-comedy tells the story of Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an accomplished high-end chef who returns to Chicago to run his late brother’s sandwich shop. It’s a bit odd that after playing a self-destructive Chicagoan for 11 years on Shameless, White would return to the Windy City for a similar role — but when you fire up the pilot of The Bear you understand why. It’s got a cinematic intensity all its own. With authentic kitchen language, tight, shaky close ups, and raw human stakes, Creator Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo have built an intimate, immersive, and distinct culinary world. The most devastating shot of the season might just be a donut falling to the floor, for real.

Thanks to pacing as tight as the restaurant’s budget, The Bear is a masterclass in economy. Like a perfectly composed dish, there is great depth of flavor using a minimum of ingredients. You’ll burn through the episodes and be stunned at how hard the show’s pathos hit you by episode seven. And speaking of episode seven, it is a 10-minute feat of performance and filmmaking. Let’s not spoil anything else about it, but pay attention.

While White is excellent as the emotionally stunted yet visionary Carmy, Storer and Calo have also built a hell of an ensemble that includes star-making performances from Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, and Lionel Boyce. The greater cast nails the exact alchemy of a found family in the kitchen and brilliant cameos throughout, better left as a surprise, provide the garnish on top of this delicious meal.

Move everything down your list and get a reservation with The Bear. It’s a bona-fide word-of-mouth phenomenon and your next TV obsession.

For all past ‘what to watch’ recommendations, see the full list here!