Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Saturday, August 14th, 2021

This is not a weekend edition. But it's not NOT a weekend edition.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Saturday, August 14th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by the guilt of missing the Friday edition of the newsletter.

THIS ISN'T *TECHNICALLY* A WEEKEND EDITION
I apologize for not getting out a Friday newsletter. I was about 75% done with it, then I ended up buried in other work-related stuff and didn't get it out in time. So rather than tossing the entire thing, I stripped out a couple of items that are now less timely - like coverage of the FX announcements at the TCA - and added a couple of other things for this special "weekend edition."

A 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' SCANDAL LIKELY TO GO AWAY
Money and power can make a myriad of problems disappear if you work in the entertainment industry. By the time that someone's sexual and/or emotional harassment problem becomes public, it has likely been the subject of quietly settled lawsuits and binding NDAs. Bad situations can drag on for years and even decades because the balance of power in Hollywood is shifted so far in the direction of the powerful. And let's be honest, if the allegations involved a well-loved celebrity, it's even more difficult to force the issue into the public's view. Let's also not forget that the more loved the person being accused, the more likely someone or some entity will work hard to make sure the issue is settled privately.

There are few shows in television that deserve being described as "institutions," but Saturday Night Live certainly qualifies. For better or worse, Lorne Michaels and NBC have turned the series into not just a cash cow but a star maker. Generations of comics have been turned into high paid media figures thanks to their exposure on the show. So it's not surprising that while stories of troubling behavior behind the scenes of SNL has been part of the industry rumor mill for decades, you seldom hear anyone with a connection to the show bad mouth their experience on SNL or with producer Lorne Michaels. 

On Thursday an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit alleging that comedian Horatio Sanz groomed and sexually abused her 20 years ago when he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live. At the time, she was 15 to 17 and he was in his early 30s. I think it's fair to say that Sanz isn't exactly a household name and if you read the news coverage in the trades, the focus is almost entirely on her allegations towards, which are pretty terrible:

These conversations allegedly continued, and the plaintiff was invited to several more parties in late 2001 and into 2002. At a party in May 2002 — when she was 17 — she alleges that Sanz kissed her, groped her buttocks and breasts, and tried to digitally penetrate her against her will.

The plaintiff alleges that she ran into Sanz in the summer of 2019, when he admitted to masturbating while engaging in the IM chats with her. In the subsequent text messages, from November 2019, Sanz allegedly said he “felt terrible” about hooking up with her.

The only time someone other than Sanz is mentioned in the Variety piece is when it's noted that she came to Sanz's attention because at the time, she was running a Jimmy Fallon fan web site. But if you read the actual complaint, she has a lot more to say about Fallon and other people associated with the show. At the very least, the allegations claim that other people associated with the show - including Fallon & Michaels - knew that she and her friends were underage, yet continued to allow her into after show parties:

49. On November 17, 2001, Defendant SANZ put Plaintiff on his guest list for the SNL after party for that night, as he would continue to do. Plaintiff sat with Jimmy Fallon and others in a VIP area, ordered and consumed a Budweiser beer in the presence of NBC/SNL employees. Plaintiff sat with Jimmy Fallon and they shared calamari.

50. At the party, Plaintiff told Jimmy Fallon she was in high school to which he commented: “So you have a few years before you graduate” and asked Plaintiff what she intended to study in college. They also discussed Plaintiff’s upcoming SAT. The people seated at the table became very quiet when Plaintiff disclosed she was a junior in high school.

51. At the party, Fallon also introduced Plaintiff to show producer Lorne Michaels and they discussed Plaintiff’s Jimmy Fallon website.

52. Plaintiff was never asked by anyone for identification before being served alcohol and, despite Plaintiff being underage, she was continually permitted by NBC employees to consume alcohol and attend the parties regularly, including on at least four (4) occasions in winter and spring of 2002.

And there are these allegations:

55. Defendant SANZ was not the only SNL cast member and NBC employee who openly preyed upon women and young girls.

56. For example, on September 30, 2001, another NBC employee and SNL cast member openly sexually harassed Plaintiff’s friend (17) at an SNL cast party.

57. For example, Plaintiff was warned to stay away from another SNL cast member/NBC employee because he sexually assaulted and/or sexually harassed multiple friends of Plaintiff.

58. Defendant SANZ told one of Plaintiff’s friends to stop telling people about her assault by a fellow cast member.

59. Defendants NBC knew or should have known about the sexually harassing and predatory conduct of its employees towards women and girls yet continued to facilitate their and others’ conduct leading to Plaintiff’s and others’ harm.

60. On or about May 11-12, 2002, Defendant SANZ provided alcohol to Plaintiff (17) and gave her a ride in a limousine paid for by Defendant NBC and operated by an employee and/or agent of NBC.

61. On this evening and morning, Plaintiff attended two SNL parties, one of which took place at an SNL cast member's loft, where Defendant SANZ openly put his arm around Plaintiff while they talked with other guests and NBC employees/SNL cast members.

The complaint is full of allegations that claim other SNL cast and crew were aware of her age and of the situation and neglected to take action against Sanz or to intervene:

65. Attendees at the party who were NBC employees observed Defendant SANZ groping and assaulting Plaintiff and one commented: “Are you f***ing serious?”

66. Plaintiff's friend recalled: “I remember Horatio once trying with you. Now that I'm thinking this through. And you were upset and said thank god you were wearing panty hose because it stopped the action.” By this statement, Plaintiff meant that while he had digitally penetrated her, the sexual assault did not escalate further because Defendant SANZ could not successfully remove Plaintiff’s panty hose.

67. The following week, Defendant SANZ asked a friend of Plaintiff’s not to tell anyone about him and Plaintiff. 

68. On or about May 19, 2002, Plaintiff (17) attended a SNL finale party at NBC and was admitted entry onto the premises by NBC employees Fallon and Defendant SANZ. Plaintiff openly consumed alcohol at this party while under aged, including while talking to SNL executive producer Michael Shoemaker.

69. At the SNL party, an NBC page, who previously kissed Plaintiff when she was 16, grabbed Plaintiff sexually and without Plaintiff’s consent.

70. After engaging in the nonconsensual sexual conduct with Plaintiff, described above, Defendant SANZ continued to contact Plaintiff, when she was less than 18, via AOL Instant Messenger to engage in sexually inappropriate conversation during which, she later found out (in 2019), he masturbated and solicited sexual images from Plaintiff, in violation of New York and Pennsylvania law, as outlined above.

71. During this time period, SANZ continued to put Plaintiff on his guest list for SNL after parties where she continued to be served alcohol and engaged in drug use.

NBC and representatives for Fallon have declined to comment other than to deny the allegations that specifically concerned them. There's no way to judge the validity of the claims based on just a a court filing. But if there is any truth to the allegations, I would expect NBC, Fallon and/or Michaels to negotiate a settlement. Because this is probably not the kind of case they want going into an open courtroom.

HERE'S ONE VOTE AGAINST A BINGE RELEASE MODEL
Eric Kripke, showrunner for The Boys, credits the show's Best Drama Emmy nod to the fact they decided to release new episodes of Season 2 each week:

I know some of the fans were unhappy, but it was completely producer driven. Season 1 got an amazing response. But, honestly, I think it’s dissatisfying to put that much effort and care into every detail and then have this two-week orgy of attention and love for the show. And then it’s just completely disposable. We just wanted to be a part of the conversation longer. We wanted to give the audience an opportunity to obsess over whatever happened in that particular episode’s madness. A lot of fans were really upset, and I get it. But I have to say, as the experiment, it was an incredibly successful one. We broke through in a way that other shows that are very good, but have a binge strategy, are not breaking through. We got into the conversation long enough that people started telling their friends and more articles were written. I have no doubt in my mind that we would not be nominated for best drama had we been in the binge model, rather than weekly.

SOMETIMES TELEVISION IS A GOOD JUDGE OF CHARACTER
I don't make the mistake of confusing the on-camera personality I see on a reality series with the real-life person. Even in the best of circumstances, television can only show a sliver of a person's true character. And with the tendency of reality TV producers to lean into conflict, I am skeptical of just about everything I see. Still, sometimes the character you on the screen seems to match up to reality and that appears to be the case with Bar Rescue host Jon Taffer. In each episode of the series, Taffer visits a bar in severe financial trouble and uses his expertise to try and "rescue" it. And while he certainly has expertise about the bar business, he accomplishes his goal with a combination of random bursts of anger, tough love and barely-disguised scorn. I quit watching the series after awhile, because it exhausting watching his displays. So I can't imagine what it's like to spend a week with the guy as he tries to fix your business.

On Thursday, Taffer made an appearance of Laura Ingraham's Fox News TV show, where the host asked him about whether he believed that unemployment payments were encouraging people not to work. And Taffer's response was predictable, but not very tactful: 

Ingraham: "What if we just cut off the unemployment? Hunger is a pretty powerful thing. I don't mean physical hunger, because some people really are in need. But I am talking about people who can work, but refuse to work." 

Taffer: "They only feed a military dog at night, because a hungry dog is an obedient dog. Well, we are not causing people to be hungry to work, we are providing all of the meals for them to sit at home."

Now this is not the first time Taffer has made these types of comments. But this exchange went viral on Friday. To the point where Taffer felt the need to release a statement and explain his comments:

Regarding an interview I did yesterday, I want to sincerely apologize for using a terrible analogy in reference to the unemployment situation. That was not my intention and I greatly regret it.

My comment was an unfortunate attempt to express a desire for our lives to return to normal. I recognize this has been a challenging year for everyone, and I am eager for the hospitality industry to come back stronger than ever.

ODDS & SODS
* Changing Rooms’ Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen says he is glad Carol Smillie is not returning to the show. The iconic BBC series is getting a reboot, with Llewelyn-Bowen being the only original cast member to return. The reboot premieres in the UK this Wednesday.

* Labor unions want the FTC to block Amazon's acquisition of MGM. The letter was penned by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), a democratic union federation that represents more than 4 million workers in its four affiliated member unions.

* Kaley Cuoco has offered to buy horse that was punched at Olympics as she slams disgraced German coach.

* Netflix has negotiated an agreement with the city of Verona to get special access to sites around the city for a Romeo & Juliet-inspired production entitled Love In The Villa. Production is set to begin in November.

SEE YOU MONDAY
There will be a couple of reviews of Netflix shows posting on AllYourScreens.com first thing Monday, once the embargoes lift: the Netflix reality series Motel Makeover and the Nordic series Post Mortem: No One Dies In Skarnes.

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.