This Week In Television: James Franco News, Jon Stewart’s Departure, Leslie Knope, and More

Well, friends, since we didn’t win that 500 million this week, we’ll have to settle for another weekly TV wrap up. Here are some of the highlights from this week.

Spoilers, as usual.

 

Jon Stewart to Leave The Daily Show

We’re sure you’ve heard this news by now. After two-decades, Jon Stewart is retiring fromThe Daily Show later this year, leaving Comedy Central to make some changes.

James Franco to Star in Hulu Original Series

What happens when you combine James Franco, J.J. Abrams, and Stephen King? Our guess: something amazing. James Franco is set to star in a Hulu Original series, “11/22/63,” from J.J. Abrams and Stephen King. The series is based on King’s 2011 novel, and centers around an English teacher who travels back in time and tries to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Gotham: Will We See The Joker?

Gotham teased the appearance of the villain we’ve all been most eager to see: The Joker. No one has come out and said officially that we’ll be seeing Batman’s cookiest bad guy yet, but this trailer makes it pretty obvious:

Better Call Saul Has a Record-Breaking Premiere

The highly anticipated prequel to Breaking Bad had record-breaking ratings in the key demographic on the first night of the premiere, and continued to hold strong for the second episode. Does that mean you should watch? We think so! In fact, we’ve even got a review of the premiere to tell you why.

Two Girls Get Ditched on The Bachelor

On this week’s episode of The Bachelor, Chris continued to be a terrible ‘boyfriend’ by kissing some of the girls in front of others of the girls. He did, however, win over the hearts of his viewers by breaking up with Kelsey and Ashley in the middle of the badlands – Survivor Man style. Like, he actually got in a helicopter and left them there. The girls all also had to write songs and sing them for Chris. It was very, very uncomfortable. Next week is a two-parter that looks like it will include the ‘hometown’ visits.

Castle: A Favorite Villain Returns

Or does he? It seems like 3XK might be back, but it’s tough to know for sure. This week’s episode, “Resurrection,” left us with a lot of questions and a heck of a cliffhanger. #SaveBeckett

The 100: Clarke Crosses a Line

Things are getting more and more intense on The 100, and this week, Clarke made a decision with disastrous consequences. We’ve known that going to the ground has changed her character, and that being a leader has changed her even more, but we’re seeing a side of her that’s not entirely expected. Read more details with our review of “Rubicon.”

Parks and Recreation: Leslie Knope Makes an Epic Speech on Gender Politics

This week’s Parks and Recreation was an epic take-down of the ‘men’s movement.’ Leslie is now the ‘campaign wife’ and isn’t acting how the community wants her to (not wifely enough). Her speech is pretty much perfect, as is Ben’s response. Seriously, go watch it. It’s epic. And we’ve got that speech below. You can also check out some of the best quotes from “Pie Mary” and “Ms. April Ludgate-Dwyer Goes to Washington” here.

Cookie Makes a Statement on Empire

Cookie is still the queen of Empire. The best part of this week’s episode, “Out Damned Spot” is when Cookie mistakes Lucious’ dinner invite as a date invite and wears only lingerie under her fur. When she shows up and realizes it’s actually a dinner to announce (to the entire family) that Lucious and Anika are getting married, Cookie doesn’t let it get her down. Instead, she tells Anika about last week’s rose and flashes her ‘outfit’ with a ‘this is what a real ass looks like.’ We love Cookie. In other news, Lucious pays someone off to confess to his murder, reviving Courtney Love’s career is Cookie’s new project, and it looks like Jamal might have a surprise child.

Grey’s Anatomy Brings on The Tears

Appropriately titled, “All I Could Do Was Cry,” Grey’s Anatomy gave us one of its most emotional episodes in a very long time with April and Jackson.

 

Additional contributions by Lindsay MacDonald.