2016-08-16

Here is the latest Television  News from The Hollywood Reporter.

‘Triumph’s Summer Election Special 2016’: TV Review


Robert Smigel’s second Triumph special for Hulu is a funny hour, but not as great as the first.

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Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics: TV Review


Director Fernando Mereilles and his team delivered a sobering call to address global warming and deforestation cloaked in a stirring multicultural celebration of tolerance.

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Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics: TV Review

Director Fernando Mereilles and his team delivered a sobering call to address global warming and deforestation cloaked in a stirring multicultural celebration of tolerance.

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‘The Get Down’: TV Review

Your tolerance for Baz Luhrmann might be the decisive factor in whether you like the 90-minute pilot about the birth of hip-hop in New York City, but the Netflix series regains its footing once its creator’s fingerprints become less evident.

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‘I Am JFK Jr.’: TV Review

Spike TV’s documentary chronicles the tragically short life of the son of the slain 35th president.

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‘Last Chance U’: TV Review

Netflix’s new football docu-series is a little ‘Friday Night Lights,’ a little ‘Blind Side.’

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‘Survivor’s Remorse’ Season 3: TV Review

The fate of Uncle Julius hangs in the balance as Starz’s terrific basketball comedy returns on Sunday.

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‘Elena of Avalor’: TV Review

Disney debuts its first Latina princess in this new animated series.

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‘BoJack Horseman’ Season 3: TV Review

Netflix’s animated horse comedy keeps getting darker, sadder and funnier.

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‘Ballers’ Season 2: TV Review

HBO’s half-hour football dramedy continues to benefit from the considerable charms of star Dwayne Johnson.

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‘The A Word’: TV Review

This wonderful and beautifully acted little gem of a miniseries about autism, family and small towns airs on SundanceTV.

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‘Doc & Darryl’: TV Review

Michael Bonfiglio and Judd Apatow’s 30 for 30 documentary looks at Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden.

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‘Stranger Things’: TV Review

The Duffer Brothers pay homage to Stephen King and Steven Spielberg in their spooky new Netflix drama starring Winona Ryder.

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‘Looking: The Movie’: Outfest Review

Starring Jonathan Groff (Broadway’s ‘Hamilton’), the canceled HBO series about three gay men in San Francisco gets a special send-off in this 85-minute movie directed by co-creator Andrew Haigh.

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‘Mr. Robot’ Season 2: TV Review

Don’t bother guessing where the USA Network show starring Rami Malek and Christian Slater is heading in season 2 — just go along for the fascinating, disorienting ride.

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‘The Night of’: TV Review

This atmospheric HBO crime drama from Steven Zaillian and Richard Price boasts a strong opener and a deep ensemble cast.

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‘Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll’ Season 2: TV Review

The FX comedy builds on nuanced character growth and takes on ‘Hamilton’ while rock dramas fail around it.

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‘Dead of Summer’: TV Review

Freeform’s new period summer camp drama has a ‘Lost’ pedigree, but little sense of its own identity.

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‘Match Game’ and ‘$100,000 Pyramid’: TV Reviews

ABC’s game show reboots, hosted by Alec Baldwin and Michael Strahan, are off to an old-fashioned, appealing start.

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‘Thirteen’: TV Review

An intriguing and sensitive look at a familiar story of abduction and return, with strong writing and an excellent acting performance anchoring it.

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‘Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons’: TV Review

Ben Affleck’s emotional Deflategate passion will get the attention as producers hopefully make technical tweaks.

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‘American Gothic’: TV Review

Ludicrous new summer series on CBS proves its better to be outside enjoying the sun than inside watching this nonsense.

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‘Adventures in Babysitting’: TV Review

To mark Disney Channel’s 100th movie, the network has a new spin on its 1987 favorite.

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‘Center Stage: On Pointe’: TV Review

The third time’s not the charm in Lifetime’s perfunctory musical sequel.

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‘Roadies’: TV Review

Like ‘Vinyl’ before it, Cameron Crowe’s ‘Roadies’ is another music series that frustratingly gets most of the notes wrong.

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‘Greenleaf’: TV Review

Oprah Winfrey is the big name, but Keith David, Lynn Whitfield and an unfamiliar setting make this drama promising.

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‘Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?’ (2016): TV Review

The James Franco-produced Lifetime movie puts a vampire-lesbian twist on a trashy Tori Spelling favorite.

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‘Uncle Buck’: TV Review

If you go in with perilously low expectations, Mike Epps’ take on the John Hughes classic may exceed them slightly.

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‘Animal Kingdom’: TV Review

There’s potential in TNT’s new drama based on a 2010 Australian film about a crime family, but the show tries too hard to be gritty.

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‘BrainDead’: TV Review

The ‘Good Wife’ creators’ new CBS horror-comedy tries hard, but the laughs are rare.

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‘Guilt’: TV Review

Billy Zane is the standout in Freeform’s fictionalized take on Amanda Knox, which should be cause for concern.

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‘Orange Is the New Black’ Season 4: TV Review

The fourth season of the Netflix favorite impressively maintains the series’ creativity and forward momentum despite its sprawling cast of characters.

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‘Casual’ Season 2: TV Review

The Hulu show remains a don’t-miss gem, balancing humor and dysfunction impressively and effortlessly.

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‘UnREAL’ Season 2: TV Review

Shiri Appleby and Constance Zimmer return for another season of scathing, deep-cutting reality TV satire on Lifetime.

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‘Outcast’: TV Review

‘The Walking Dead’ creator Robert Kirkman brings familiar exorcisms and flimsy small town drama to Cinemax in his new series starring Patrick Fugit.

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‘Maya & Marty’: TV Review

Maya Rudolph, Martin Short and Lorne Michaels join forces for a bland, product placement-filled, primetime take on ‘SNL’ for summer.

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‘Chef’s Table’ Season 2: TV Review

This beautifully shot survey of international chefs is one of Netflix’s best shows.

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‘The Do-Over’: TV Review

Netflix releases its latest Adam Sandler comedy. A nation mourns.

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‘Showing Roots’: TV Review

Lifetime’s godawful race-relations dramedy will make you bristle.

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‘Castle’ Book Series Lives On (Read an Excerpt and See The Cover Now)

Two new Nikki Heat novels by Richard Castle are scheduled, starting with ‘High Heat’ in October.

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‘Preacher’: TV Review

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Sam Catlin’s promising adaptation of the classic comic stars Joseph Gilgun and Ruth Negga.

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Critic’s Notebook: Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump Kiss and Make Up in Her Primetime Special

Kelly’s mano-a-mano encounter with the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was the main event in her show, which also featured interviews with Laverne Cox, Robert Shapiro and Michael Douglas.

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‘Bright Lights: Starring Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher’: Cannes Review

A tender tribute to two iconic women whose Hollywood history spans from ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ through ‘Star Wars’ and whose intimate connection is no less singular.

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‘Chelsea’: TV Review

Chelsea Handler’s new Netflix talk show tries to be different, but is mostly the same.

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‘Lady Dynamite’: TV Review

Alt-comedy favorite Maria Bamford turns a genre upside down in her new Netflix series.

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‘Marseille’: TV Review

This original French crime drama from Netflix (starring Gerard Depardieu) feels very American in a pretty bad way.

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‘All the Way’: TV Review

HBO’s LBJ telefilm, directed by Jay Roach, boasts a great Bryan Cranston performance but is hampered by an unfocused second half.

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‘Flowers’: TV Review

Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt star in a twisted British comedy from NBCUniversal’s new subscription streaming comedy channel, Seeso.

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‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Premiere: TV Review

Even without George R.R. Martin’s books, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss deliver a strong table-setting premiere to season 6 of the HBO hit.

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‘Veep’ Season 5: TV Review

If there’s a better comedy on television, tell that to ‘Veep’ as the gold standard and HBO favorite enters season 5 on fire.

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‘Containment’: TV Review

The CW’s new outbreak drama is harrowing, but also tests one’s tolerance of the Conspicuous Non-Coincidental Cough trope.

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‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ Season 2: TV Review

The goofily wonderful Netflix series about the “Indiana mole woman” who becomes a New York City resident remains as ridiculous and fun as ever.

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Critic’s Notebook: Clinton and Sanders Go For the Jugular at Brawl-Like Brooklyn Debate

Just days before the crucial New York primary, the Democratic candidates tried to outdo each other on brash, take-no-prisoners New Yorkishness.

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‘Orphan Black’ Season 4: TV Review

It’s back to basics for the cult show as the fourth season kicks off in lean, fresh and easier-to-follow fashion.

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‘The Last Panthers’: TV Review

This complicated but intriguing international crime series to air on SundanceTV features strong writing, an excellent cast and vivid directing.

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‘Game of Silence’: TV Review

NBC’s new revenge drama offers secrets and lies, but very little compelling mystery.

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‘Jackie Robinson’: TV Review

Jackie Robinson is the legend in Ken Burns’ two-night PBS documentary, but Rachel Robinson is the star.

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‘Outlander’ Season 2: TV Review

Season two of the Starz series changes scenery but maintains its epic, engaging sweep.

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‘The Detour’: TV Review

Jason Jones and Natalie Zea go on a rocky road trip in TBS’ uneven, but funny new comedy.

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‘Catastrophe’ Season 2: TV Review

The second season proves that the Sharon Horgan/Rob Delaney comedy is no fluke — it’s hilarious, spot-on and real.

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‘Dice’: TV Review

Andrew Dice Clay’s Showtime comeback is uneven, but an Adrien Brody episode shines.

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Critic’s Notebook: ‘The Walking Dead’ Finale Passes up the Opportunity to Be Better

The 90-minute season finale featured maybe 12 good minutes. And it won’t matter a bit to the show’s fans.

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‘Confirmation’: TV Review

Kerry Washington and Wendell Pierce are solid in HBO’s middlebrow Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas movie.

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‘The Story of God With Morgan Freeman’: TV Review

The actor examines life’s big questions in this six-episode Nat Geo series.

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‘Dead 7’: TV Review

Boy-band members come together in Syfy’s latest made-for-TV movie.

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‘The Girlfriend Experience’: TV Review

Riley Keough stars as a law student who takes a job as a high-end escort in Starz’s new series based on the 2009 Steven Soderbergh film.

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‘Wynonna Earp’: TV Review

Wyatt Earp’s great, great granddaughter fights demons in a ‘Buffy’-esque Syfy drama.

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‘Rush Hour’: TV Review

CBS’ series, a take on the titular Chris Tucker/Jackie Chan franchise, is better than ‘Rush Hour 3.’

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‘Lopez’: TV Review

This new TV Land comedy from George Lopez finds him changing direction in promising ways.

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‘The Ranch’: TV Review

Ashton Kutcher, Sam Elliott and Debra Winger shine when Netflix’s multicam sitcom about a Colorado ranching family gets serious.

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‘The Larry Sanders Show’ First Episode: THR’s 1992 Review

‘The Larry Sanders Show’ is an artistic success of stunning brilliance which no one in the business should miss.

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Critic’s Notebook: Trump Hits Clinton on “Stamina,” Sanders Criticizes Israel in CNN ‘Final Five’ Special

Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper interviewed the five remaining presidential candidates on Israel, Cuba, violence at Trump rallies and more.

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‘Heartbeat’: TV Review

Melissa George plays a heart surgeon in a love triangle in NBC’s clunky new medical dramedy.

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‘The Path’: TV Review

This excellent, intriguing new Hulu series starring Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan looks at faith through the eyes of a cult.

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‘Happy Valley’ Season 2: TV Review

Even viewers who couldn’t get into the first season of Netflix’s bleak British drama may want to give its second season a look.

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‘Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders’: TV Review

This ‘Criminal Minds’ spinoff shamelessly mines fears of international locations and foreign cultures.

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‘Daredevil’ Season 2: TV Review

The Netflix series misses Wilson Fisk in its sophomore season, but with Elektra and The Punisher, it still packs a punch.

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‘The Americans’ Season 4: TV Review

Season four of FX’s superb spy-marital drama — one of the very best shows on TV — amps up the tension and starts plotting an endgame.

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‘Crowded’: TV Review

This new NBC comedy starring Patrick Warburton is a throwback to worse, less funny days of TV.

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‘Fantastic Lies’: TV Review

The Duke lacrosse scandal makes for compelling material in a lengthy “30 for 30” ESPN documentary.

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‘Vice Principals’: SXSW Review

Danny McBride and Walton Goggins play rival administrators who team up to destroy their school’s new principal in HBO’s upcoming series, which premiered at SXSW.

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‘And Then There Were None’: TV Review

A classic Agatha Christie novel gets a delectably sinister and perfectly cast adaptation courtesy of Lifetime and BBC.

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Critic’s Notebook: Trump, Cruz and Rubio Practice Anger Management at GOP Debate

At Thursday night’s Miami face-off on CNN, the only size that Trump boasted about was that of his crowds.

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‘El Chapo & Sean Penn: Bungle in the Jungle’: TV Review

Reelz Channel’s hastily made documentary is little more than shoddily reported trash.

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Critic’s Notebook: Clinton and Sanders Clash in Nastiest Democratic Debate Yet

The Democratic candidates jostled — sometimes bruisingly — to get to the left of each other on the immigration issue in this debate geared toward Hispanic viewers.

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‘Little Big Shots’: TV Review

Kids showcase their talent, and their cuteness, in NBC’s (mostly) family-friendly show.

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‘Flaked’: TV Review

Don’t expect a live-action ‘BoJack Horseman’ from Will Arnett’s meandering Netflix semi-comedy.

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’60 Days In’: TV Review

Seven people voluntarily enter a prison with the hopes of sparking reform in A&E’s new reality series.

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‘Underground’: TV Review

WGN America’s new drama puts a prison-break-thriller spin on a story about the Underground Railroad.

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Critic’s Notebook: Clinton and Sanders Clash on Issues (Not Private Parts) in Tense Debate

Clinton and Sanders were so substantive that if aliens were watching from outer space they would conclude that Republicans and Democrats were actually two different species of earthlings.

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‘Damien’: TV Review

Anti-Christ Damien Thorn is all grown up and ready to watch people die around him on A&E’s series, a sequel to ‘The Omen.’

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Critic’s Notebook: Trying to Stop the Trump Train at GOP Debate

Once again, the Republican presidental candidates managed to top themselves — or lower themselves, depending on how you look at it — in their latest skirmish.

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‘The Internet Ruined My Life’: TV Review

SyFy’s new reality series about the destructive possibilities of social media is both cautionary tale and tabloid trainwreck.

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‘Slasher’: TV Review

Chiller’s first original series about a masked killer terrorizing a small town is more hack than slash.

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‘House of Cards’ Season 4: TV Review

At least things happen in the fourth season of Netflix’s Emmy favorite starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and series newcomer Neve Campbell.

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THR Critics Debate: Can Viceland’s Shows Stand Out In a Crowded Cable Field?

THR TV critics Tim Goodman and Daniel Fienberg hash out which Viceland shows are worth your time — and what Viceland is all about.

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‘The Real O’Neals’: TV Review

ABC’s latest single-cam family comedy has a rough start, but shows potential.

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‘I Am Cait’ Season 2: TV Review

Caitlyn Jenner goes on a cross-country road trip with her girlfriends, revealing that she’s still a Republican and no longer plans on dating women, in the E! reality show’s second season.

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The 88th Annual Academy Awards: TV Review

Chris Rock led a telecast that had important things to say, but still felt endless.

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Critic’s Notebook: Rubio, Cruz Pummel Trump in GOP Debate Brawl

Rubio and Cruz battered, but didn’t beat, the Donald in their desperate attempt to take down the frontrunner. And Carson was there. I think.

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The post ‘Triumph’s Summer Election Special 2016’: TV Review appeared first on TheTrendler.

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