Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, January 5th, 2026:
WHY IS HOLLYWOOD STILL USING X?
On Sunday night, I wrote a piece which asked a simple question. Given the X's AI Grok now allows users to create soft porn images of nearly anyone - including celebrities - why are Hollywood's studios, networks and managers still doing business on a platform that promotes the sexual harassment of its female talent?:
Despite everything that has happened on X over the past few years, most of Hollywood still uses the platform regularly. They do it part because there is still a substantial audience on X and the platform regularly uses its algorithm to try and protect high-profile accounts from the worst of what X has to offer.
But leaving X has also become a political decision - like it or not. Elon Musk and his Scooby Gang have managed to convince many of its MAGA users that leaving the platform is the equivalent of saying "I hate Trump and MAGA." And in an era where no Hollywood corporation wants to poke the unpredictable Bear on Crack that is the Trump Administration, most companies have decided to just suck it up, hold their noses and keep posting.
But if there is a point in which corporate responsibility should overcome industry cowardice, it is the recent decision by Elon Musk to allow X's janky AI platform Grok to begin creating images of nearly anything on request. And collect and use any image posted on the platform as the starting point for porn or murder fantasies.
A related issue is why so many independent journalists insist on remaining on X, while complaining that Bluesky is an unpleasant experience because it is "too leftist." I am cynical enough to suspect that if users were putting Nate Silver, Chris Cillizza or Matt Yglesias in a thong, they might have a slightly different perspective on the issue.
It is worth noting that if you begin looking at the accounts of many female reporters on X, while their profiles are still active, there often hasn't been a new post in months and sometimes years. Women in the media understand this issue a lot more than their male counterparts. Which doesn't reflect well on the men who fancy themselves being more enlightened than the average person.
THE TV SHOWS THAT STICK WITH YOU
Nearly everyone has some television show that resonates deeply into their souls. Some series that provides an emotional connection that means more than the show itself. Thinking about it reminds you of those times you watched it with a parent, or enjoyed it every week with a sibling. These are the shows that are reminders that television has the ability to connect with viewers in a very personal way.
For me, that special show is the long-running PBS series Antiques Roadshow. The format was originally created by the BBC, but Boston's WGBH has been producing a version of it here in the States for decades. Over the years, the show had several hosts, but they are long gone and honestly, they weren't much missed. What makes the show worth watching are the items people bring to be appraised, the stories they tell and the personalities of the individual appraisers.
I have a 20-year-old who among other things struggles with ADHD, so while he enjoys watching TV or a movie with me, sitting through anything for more than 30 minutes or so can be a struggle for him. But for years, our nightly routine has been sitting down to watch old episodes of Antiques Roadshow together. He'll watch them until he can't keep his eyes open and when we miss a night, he complains about the loss of time with me watching his favorite series.
Part of the attraction for him - and for me - is just the history behind the items being appraised. We are both history geeks, but every episode brings a number of items we have never seen before. And they are often accompanied by stories that provide unexpected insight into the everyday lives of people living a hundred or more years ago.
Over the years, we've turned the valuations of the items into a bit of a game, attempting to outguess each other as we try and predict how much an item might be worth. This is the show that decades from now, when I am long gone, he will remember as a program that allowed us to spend time with each other and connect in a way that can sometimes feel impossible when you have a still young son or daughter.
Season thirty premieres nationally on PBS tonight, and it is the same joyful mix of the unexpected and the amusing. My son and I will laugh every time someone predictably responds to a hefty valuation with a stunned "wow." We'll chuckle when we see someone who has carried a massive 1880s sofa across multiple parking lots only to discover it is only worth $200.
There are some genuine surprises in tonight's episode, which takes place at Utah's Red Butte Garden & Arboretum. Items include everything from vaguely creepy paper mache animals to a first edition of "The Hobbit," and the valuations are often unpredictable.
But what hasn't changed is the simple joy that comes from watching a show that provides some time away from the stresses of the world. I appreciate many of the high-profile scripted TV shows I've watched and written about in recent years. However, I suspect I'll consider the time I've spent watching the Antiques Roadshow with my son to be some of my most important time in front of the television.
ODDS AND SODS:
* Netflix has announced a documentary, One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5, which will premiere on Monday, January 12th. Here is a first look at the trailer.
* On Saturday, I wrote a review of Tony Dokoupil's debut on the CBS Evening News.
* Is It Cake? Valentines premieres Wednesday, February 4th on Netflix.
TWEET OF THE DAY
READER FEEDBACK
My piece from about ten days ago which took a look at Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix special continues to spark a lot of conversation and a few hundred emails. Including one from someone apparently close to Chappelle who referred to me as "jealous, ignorant, white trash." So that was special.
Here is a sampling of what I've received in recent days. As always, I appreciate the feedback, whether it is positive, negative or just bored:
“Stand-up comedy is a young man’s game.” You might want to modify this to be more inclusive. As a funny older person I can handle a big of shade but there are legions of amazing female comics who might take you to task."
--Wise Sage
Editor's note: This is a great point and to be honest, I was so focused on Chappelle I really wasn't thinking about female comics in this context. I should know better.
"The biggest "plus" I took away from this special was how deftly he weaved the falcon in to the entire act. Not necessarily the punchlines (the trans joke itself was cheap and unnecessary), but just the ability to use it as a throughline. That's easier said than done."
--Kevin A.
Editor's note: That was part of my issue with the special. Chappelle is a supremely gifted stand-up. He didn't need to lie his way through the special to get laughs. Oftentimes, he lied about things that weren't even part of the core bit. It was just incredibly frustrating.
"Worth noting in the context of this post is during the Jack Johnson bit he quotes him as having said ‘I risked everything for my pleasure’ - there is no historical record of JJ ever saying that - in fact the exact line is likely from a modern poet."
--Jackson C.
"Funny guy that is way too online and smart enough to know it but not brave enough to admit it."
--TC
"Dave Chappelle has never been funny but has funny moments. He's no way in the league of Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney, Lawanda Page, Marsha Warfield (in her prime), George Carlin, or Lenny Bruce. He's not even 1977 Lily Tomlin funny and that's with having a decade of Paul Mooney right there in the writers room with him. All he's doing now is trolling, because he's bitter that he can't get his show rights back and the audience forgot about him for that mockery of Key and Peele once his show went off the rails and he's still pissed his tranny comic friend committed suicide by being trolled on Twitter for people talking shit about their association. He's as funny as Kevin Hart trying to explain his vasectomy on the table."
--Tia J
"I think I have the facts correct… Unlike Saudi Arabia, Israel didn’t lure a journalist into a one of its consulates, murder the person and then force-feed the body through a wood chipper so the remains would never be found."
--Bob J.
"I’ve been one of Dave’s biggest fans for more than twenty years. When I saw clips from this special, my immediate reaction was “He’s lost the gift”. To your point, comedy needs a base of truth to make me laugh and the jokes in the trailer were simply untruthful. So, for the first time in more than two decades, I say “meh” to a new Chappelle creation. I may never watch it and I don’t really care. Makes me wonder how many other long time fans think that he’s fallen off."
--Nolan B.
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW
MONDAY, JANUARY 5TH, 2026:
* Antiques Roadshow Season Thirty Premiere (PBS)
* Baking Championship: Next Gen Series Premiere (Food Network)
* Brilliant Minds Spring Premiere (NBC)
* Golden Kamuy (Crunchyroll)
* My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (Crunchyroll)
* My Life Is Murder Season Five Premiere (Acorn TV)
* Name That Tune Season Five Finale (Fox)
* Spring Fever Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* St. Denis Medical Spring Premiere (NBC)
* The Wall Season Six Premiere (NBC)
* Wash It All Away Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* You Can't Be In A Rom-Com With Your Childhood Friends! Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6TH, 2026:
* American Experience: Bombshell (PBS)
* Best Medicine Series Premiere (Fox)
* Doc Season Premiere (Fox)
* Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Season Twelve Premiere (PBS)
* High Potential Spring Premiere (ABC)
* Isekai Office Worker: The Other World's Books Depend On The Bean Counter Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Moonshiners Season Fifteen Premiere (Discovery)
* Pokemon Horizons Season Premiere (Netflix)
* 1000-lb Sisters Season Premiere (TLC)
* The Cult Behind The Killer: The Andrea Yates Story (Investigation Discovery)
* The Demon King's Daughter Is Too Kind!! Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* There Was A Cute Girl In The Hero's Party, So I Tried Confessing To Her Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* The Rookie Season Eight Premiere (ABC)
* Tune In To The Midnight Heart Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Wildcard Kitchen Season Premiere (Food Network)
* Will Trent Spring Premiere (ABC)
SEE YOU TUESDAY MORNING!