Rachel Maddow to take a break from the news to work on, what else, a Ben Stiller movie
An adaptation of Maddow's Bag Man podcast is in the works from Stiller and Lorne Michaels
Aux News Rachel Maddow
Earlier today, MSNBC anchor and commentator Rachel Maddow announced that she would be taking a break from her show to prepare for work on a Ben Stiller movie based on her book and podcast series Bag Man. Maddow’s Bag Man follows the seemingly forgotten crimes of President Richard Nixon’s Vice President Spiro Agnew, who carried out bribery and extortion schemes from inside the White House. Agnew resigned in 1973. “This has been in the works for a while now, but now it looks like it’s going to happen,” Maddow said on tonight’s broadcast.
Variety announced that Stiller would be directing and co-writing the film with Adam Perlman and Mike Yarvitz last year. Maddow intitally signed on as an executive producer, but it seems like her role has expanded significantly if she’s leaving the show for several months. Lorne Michaels is also signed on to produce, so maybe this is a comedy?
Though Maddow is one of MSNBC’s biggest stars, she nearly walked away from it all earlier this year—until a contract negotiation allowed for more hiatuses like the one she’s about to take. Per Deadline, Maddow will still make time for coverage of major events, like President Joe Biden’s State Of The Union, but she will also be working on a new book and podcast, which means less TV time.
Maddow assured viewers that she’d be back to her normal timeslot in April. However, she warned them that another hiatus could be around the corner, presumably whenever Stiller writes a cameo for her in Zoolander 3.
Speaking of Stiller, his new TV series, Severence, premieres on Apple TV+ this month. Severance is a sci-fi satire about office workers who have a special lobotomy that allows them to put up a hard mental block in their work-life balance. More importantly, we’re hoping someone in the show carries on in the tradition of Stiller’s Escape At Dannemora star Benicio Del Toro and burps “Don’t tell anybody” at some point.
29 Comments
I tell my liberal Boomer parents that cable news is toxic garbage that’s rotting their brains, to which they respond with “but what about Rachel Maddow?” as if she’s the ace up their sleeve. And then I have to say that for the umpteenth time that yes, even the “good” cable news is still “info”-“tainment” specifically designed to freak them the fuck out over even the minutest bullshit. And then they give me a patronizing look and go back to watching their 4 hours of outrage porn every night while their emotional and mental well-being gradually withers away into nothing.
I relate to this so directly I could have written it myself.
Their outrage formula works. So much so, that I find Maddow’s snark and smirks when talking about serious matters, incredibly irritating.
The Keith Olbermann/Edward R. Murrow Lite schtick kind of had a moment during the Bush years, when we were hurtling toward a disastrous war and no one seemed to care. But by the Trump years it was starting to look patently absurd. Yep, they’re all insane, corrupt fascists—they’re quite deliberate and open about it, so the nightly “can you believe these people?!?” monologues don’t really accomplish much.
It didn’t help that every late night comedian thought it was also THEIR job to deliver the hard truth, typically at the expense of actually entertaining. I can’t count the number of “okay, now I know this is supposed to be a comedy show but after today we really need to stop for a moment and talk about blah blah blah” preambles I heard, which at least gave me warning to change the channel. It’s like their writers all wished they were congressional speechwriters.
parents are overrated.
Interesting fantasy. Hope it makes you feel better.
What about my frequent and quite real and annoying arguments with my parents seem fantastical? It’s not as if I ever said I won.
Be grateful your parents are at least watching the relatively “good” cable news. My parents have been regularly watching Fox News, particularly Tucker Carlson, over the past several years, and I’ve gotten the distinct impression at several points that my dad would be totally fine with an authoritarian takeover of the government by the GOP.
Oh, I’m grateful they’re not Trumpers, don’t get me wrong, but I’m still sad that their cable news obsession leaves them so depressed and constantly on edge.
It’s why I tend to stick to either local news or Newsy.
I haven’t seen her show in a while but I have always thought Rachel Maddow is at her best when she gives a 15-20 minute monologue about the most seemingly mundane historical event and turns the event’s backstory into the truncated plot of an Erik Larson book.Suffice to say, I’m kind of excited about this. Maddow in her political history geek bag is her ultimate form.
Cable news is designed to tell their viewers that they are noble and right about everything, and the reason America has problems is “those people” on the other side. It’s not news – it’s “this is how you should feel about the news.”
I like Maddow, but she stretches 15 minutes of “news” into an hourOne last week she spent 10 minutes of breathless build up to drop the bombshell in 30 seconds just before the first commercial break. again that could be any night on her show
Christ, that “Trump’s Tax Returns!” shit a few years back . . . that was the first and last time I watched Maddow’s show.
I don’t watch cable news at all, preferring print media, and to be fair, reading a newpaper and magazine in this day and age is pretty rage-inducing. If one isn’t outraged by what’s going on in this country right now, one isn’t paying attention. But yes, cable news shows, including likable Rachel’s, do tend to cover minutiae that isn’t important to anyone other than political junkies. If MSNBC’s style was to emulate FOX News’ (but with factual content), that was a mistake.
Yep. Felt that. Fucking gross, no?
She’s lib Glenn beck and she has just as much credibility as Alex Jones or Joe rogan.
That’s a crock. Criticizing her for her some of her outrage (in particular Russia, Russia, Russia!) is one thing, but she is really good and really knowledgeable in many respects, and one of the most respectable on the 24 hour news channels.
She fucking sucks donkey dicks.
Found the blue magas
Suuuuure. Just because you imagine it to be true, does not make it so.
You’re letting your biases cloud your view.I’m not a fan of Maddow’s sarcastic schtick, but she got some of the best researchers behind her that I’ve ever seen. They’re very good, and they’re rarely off-base. To tell the truth, I’m kinda hopeful that the show gets even better without her.
So no Brooklyn 99 spin-off where she reprises the role of Jake Peralta?
Neanderthal nepotism. What else is new.
*sing*
Well Ma-ma-ma-ma-Maddow! What would your mama say?
Are Rachel Maddow and Ben Stiller morphing into the same person?
Two reasons not to see it.
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