Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, October 3rd, 2025:
NETFLIX RELEASES FIRST EPISODE OF SERIES 'FAMOUS LAST WORDS' FEATURING JANE GOODALL
The Netflix documentary series Famous Last Words, according to the streamer, "showcases reflective interviews with some of the world’s most influential cultural figures, who agreed to sit down and discuss their legacy, and give their final words, with the understanding that it would only be shared with the world after they passed."
Following the death of Jane Goodall, Netflix has released the first installment of the series, featuring an interview with Goodall recorded earlier this year. As is the case with all of the interviews in the series,
"The episode will offer viewers a rare opportunity to experience Goodall's deeply personal reflections on her life's work as someone who connected humanity to Mother Nature like never before. Goodall also shared never before heard stories about her life. The conversation is extremely honest and revealing and, knowing this would only air after she was gone, Goodall spoke movingly about her own death.
As with every episode of this unique show, at the end of the interview, Jane was given the opportunity to look into the camera and speak directly to a grieving world. Unedited. One last message to humanity. Her famous last words."
There is no word on which other celebrities might have been interviewed as part of this series. But I suspect producer/host Brad Falchuk couldn't asked for a better example of the series to run as the initial episode. The nearly hour-long interview is fascinating and interwoven with the inevitable sadness that comes from knowing that Jane Goodall has just recently died. I won't say that it feels as if she is speaking from the grave. But watching her speak is a reminder that she was a force of nature to the very last weeks of her life.
I also won't give away her "famous last words," although I will mention that after she says them, she pauses and then downs a shot of whiskey.
Falchuk also does a very nice job interviewing Goodall. He's inquisitive, but doesn't pry. He allows her the space to tell her story the way she wants. But he also draws some great stories out of her along the way.
I have always wanted to do this with TV writers. Hollywood is such a relationship-based business and there are so many stories I hear that writers won't share publicly. Either because they don't want to burn bridges or just don't want to ruin a friendship. But those untold stories are the ones that help provide an accurate look at the industry and its sad that so many of those stories die with the people who know them best.
On a different note, I am strange enough to wish that in one of these Netflix episodes, some celebrity uses their last words to disclose some insanely off-brand secret from their lives. "I want to discuss the seven people I have killed and buried in my backyard."
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
This is one of those corrections that might be considered nit-picking, but it is important.
I wrote yesterday about Jane Fonda's rollout of the relaunched "Committee For The First Amendment." In my reporting, I described the organization as having been founded by a group of Hollywood celebrities, including her Jane Fonda's father, Henry Fonda. And that's the way one of the press releases from the organization framed it. The Variety reporting yesterday went a bit further, claiming the organization was founded by Henry Fonda.
As it turns out, neither of those characterizations are correct.
Thomas Doherty, Brandeis professor and expert on HUAC, reports that "The Committee for the First Amendment was founded by William Wyler, John Huston, and Philip Dunne. Henry Fonda was a signatory to the printed protests in the trade press. He did not accompany the group to DC to protest HUAC in Oct 1947."
LOUIS C.K. TO APPEAR TONIGHT ON 'REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER'
Louis CK will appear on this Friday’s Real Time With Bill Maher for his first TV interview since he admitted to sexual misconduct in November 2017. Proving once again that being "canceled" in Hollywood doesn't mean what you think it does. And if you don't remember what Louis CK did to get himself into trouble, here is part of a piece I wrote a few years back on the issue:
After years of rumors inside the industry, a 2017 New York Times article detailed the accounts of five women who claimed the comedian had asked them to watch him masturbate or forced them to do so. After the article was published, other women came forward with variations of the same story, many of them confirmed by other people.
Louis C.K. had been asked about his behavior for years in interviews and generally managed to shrug off the stories. But after the NY Times expose was published, the comic released a statement admitting to the allegations, although he essentially argued he didn't realize asking women who are less powerful than him if he could masturbate in front of them might cause some problems:
"At the time, I said to myself that what I did was okay because I never showed a woman my dick without asking first, which is also true," C.K. wrote. "But what I learned later in life, too late, is that when you have power over another person, asking them to look at your dick isn't a question. It's a predicament for them. The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly."
But it wasn't just that Louis C.K. was influential in his own right. He was represented by manager Dave Becky, who at the time also represented well-known comedians such as Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, and Amy Poehler. Complaining about Louis C.K.'s behavior could mean burning a lot of important career bridges in an industry that has long been seen as unfriendly to women.
In the days after this statement was released, Louis C.K. did suffer some severe career setbacks. The FX Network cut its ties with the comedian and his production company. Netflix canceled plans for an upcoming comedy special, and HBO removed his older comedy specials from its service.
And while he stayed away from comedy clubs for a year or two, Louis C.K. began making "unannounced" sets at clubs to work out material. That led to a 2020 comedy special, "Sincerely Louis C.K.," which he sold on his website.
Now most rational people who had admitted to yanking off repeatedly around co-workers might approach the subject with a bit of insight into their behavior. Perhaps figure out a way to use their admittedly impressive comedic skills to make fun of themselves in a way that didn't come off as if they were petulant dick-obsessed brats.
But in the special, Louis C.K. attempted to come across as the Richard Pryor of pulling one off, explaining why he enjoyed having an audience for his self-pleasuring:
"I like jerking off, I don't like being alone, that's all I can tell you. I get lonely, it's just sad. I like company. I like to share. I'm good at it, too. If you're good at juggling, you wouldn't do it alone in the dark. You'd gather folks and amaze them," he says.
Now I won't get into the likelihood that any man who claims to be good at masturbation is actually any good at it - and how does that criteria work anyway? But he continues to be oblivious to the consequences of his behavior as he complained that it's hard for men to know when women are "faking" pleasure or honestly giving consent.
In one bit, he compared slaves singing in the cotton fields to women pretending to be sexually aroused:
"It's kind of like a Negro spiritual. It's sort of similar. So to assume that she likes it is like if they heard slaves singing in the field and you're like, 'Hey, they're having a good time out there."
If recent reviews of his shows are accurate, Louis C.K. doesn't appear to have developed any personal growth or insight following all of these events. Other than something along the lines of "Man, it's so hard to know when a woman is okay with you rubbing one off while they watch."
I'm not arguing anyone should boycott Louie C.K.'s shows. I'm just saying that I have no interest in rewarding someone who has admitted to behaving so badly while still refusing to acknowledge that he was guilty of anything more than some unfortunate misunderstandings.
Some of his fans are going to say, "Well, how long should he suffer? Why should he lose his career forever?"
My answer is pretty simple. If you're fired from McDonald's for repeatedly masturbating in the drive-through window, you're not going to be able to wait a couple of years and hope to get invited to McDonald's University. Especially if you're explanation of your behavior is, "hey, if they didn't want to see it, they wouldn't have driven up to the window."
I suppose if there's an upside to this appearance, is that at least for tonight, Bill Maher will be the second most annoying person on Real Time.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TOMORROW AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3RD:
* Belle Collective Season Premiere (OWN)
* Faceoff: Inside the NHL (Prime Video)
* Genie, Make A Wish Series Premiere (Netflix)
* May I Ask You For One Final Thing? Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Monster: The Ed Gein Story (Netflix)
* Old Dog, New Tricks Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Rhythm + Flow France: After The Beat (Netflix)
* Shabake Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Steve (Netflix)
* The Lost Bus (Apple TV+)
* The Balloonist (Disney+)
* The New Force Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Sisters Grimm Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* V/H/S/Halloween (Shudder)
* While They Were Sleeping (LMN)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4TH:
* Austin City Limits Season Premiere (PBS)
* Home Turf (Hallmark)
* Inexpressive Kashiwada And Expressive Oota Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Let This Grieving Soul Retire (Crunchyroll)
* My Friend's Little Sister Has It In For Me! Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Ranma 1/2 (Netflix)
* Saturday Night Live Season Premiere (NBC)
* SI-VIS: The Sound Of Heroes Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Spy x Family (Crunchyroll)
* Surviving My Father: The Rachel Jeffs Story (Lifetime)
* Tales Of Wedding Rings (Crunchyroll)
* The Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case For The Yarn Maker (Great American Family)
* The Banished Court Magician Aims To Become The Strongest Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* To Your Eternity (Crunchyroll)
* Tojima Wants to Be A Kamen Rider Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Touring After The Apocalypse Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5TH:
* A Grammy Salute To Cyndi Lauper: Live From The Hollywood Bowl (CBS)
* Alma-chan Wants To Be A Family! Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Brian & Maggie (PBS)
* Dad Is A Hero, Mom Is A Spirit, I'm A Reincarnator Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Heartstrings Attached (UP tv)
* House Of David (Prime VIdeo)
* Maigret Series Premiere (PBS)
* Mechanical Marie Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* New Orleans: Soul Of A City (CNN)
* Smiling Friends (Adult Swim)
* Ted Bundy: Mind Of A Monster (Investigation Discovery)
* The Gold Series Premiere (PBS)
* The Little Girl Who Lived (Lifetime)
* The Real Housewives Of Potomac Season Premiere (Bravo)
* Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread Series Premiere (CNN)
SEE YOU EARLY MONDAY MORNING!