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Could Megan Thee Stallion’s industry issue be over? For years, the “Savage” rapper has been tied up in a legal battle with her former label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, and company head Carl Crawford. In past court documents, the Grammy Award-winning musician has accused the entity of sabotaging her past releases and hiding money. Now that Megan has officially returned from her hiatus, she’s shared a significant update with fans.

Yesterday (October 12), during an Instagram Live session, Megan revealed that she’s not signed to a label and explained why she’ll stay independent. The broadcast, which longtime producer Lil JuMade It hosted, gave fans hope that things were looking up.

“Hotties! The real hotties, not the notties. Kinda them, too. This part of my album is very much so funded by Megan Thee Stallion because we’re trying to get off… Y’all know what’s the tea. But I have no label right now,” said the recording artist.

She continued, “And we’re doing everything funded straight out of Megan Thee Stallion’s pockets. So, the budget is coming from me. Motherf*cking Hot Girl Productions! The next sh*t y’all about to see is all straight from Megan Thee Stallion’s brain and Megan Thee Stallion’s wallet. We are in my pockets, hotties, so let’s do our big one.”

Megan discussed the decision to step out on her own and what the future holds. “I’m so excited to be doing something for the first time independently since it was just me and my momma. So excited. It’s really just me this go around until we sign to a new label. But I don’t want to sign to a new label right now because I just want to do it myself,” she remarked.

Watch the full clip below.

The critics are right, the new Frasier feels inorganic, inauthentic, charmless, and without heart or edge. But I can’t really blame anyone for trying to make this work. In a world where everything gets recycled, of course Frasier Crane, the most successfully repurposed character of all time, deserved a shot at pulling off an impossible TV comedy trifecta following Cheers and the original Frasier. But on a solo mission, this thing was snake-bit from the start, something that’s made crystal clear when you watch or think back to the original’s pilot from 1993 and it’s near perfection.

Honestly, when it became clear that David Hyde Pierce wouldn’t return, that might have been the moment to abandon hope. Frasier isn’t iconic because of Frasier Crane alone. Grammer’s neurotic radio shrink is like the original show’s 5th best character (he’s ahead of Bulldog and Eddie the Jack Russell Terrier). But the interplay between all of them was the secret sauce from the start.

The death of the great John Mahoney created a gap that could never be filled on this show, and without him playing Martin, without David Hyde Pierce’s Niles, without Jane Leaves’ Daphne, and Peri Gilpin’s Roz, the new Frasier became a blank page. And after watching its first two episodes, it still feels that way.

The new characters – Frasier’s previously semi-abandoned son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), his roommate Eve (Jess Salgueiro), Niles’ son David (Anders Keith), and Frasier’s freshly introduced old friend (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and new co-worker (Toks Olagundoye) – are front and center, of course, but the blame for them not standing out early and often isn’t really theirs. Talented though they may be, they’re all playing characters that feel stock when compared to the originals, who from the start, possessed a slow burn allure that made you want to see how these relationships would develop.

While legendary TV director and Frasier alum James Burrows filmed the pilot (and other episodes), nearly none of the show’s credited writers (including its creators) worked on the original. The two decades of space make that detail unsurprising, but the tone of this show just feels very divorced from the original, even when they’re trying to hit us over the head with non-subtle nods. To be honest, even Grammer feels off the mark, as though he’s doing an impression of this character he played for about two decades, about two decades ago. (A detail that should also provide him some kind of shield. It’s been a long time!)

Listen, I know it’s unfair to directly compare the pilots for the original Frasier and this. Especially since the circumstances of each show and the space from when the audience last experienced Frasier Crane differs so much, but it’s inevitable and it’s extra damning.

In 1993, Frasier began with a wall of exposition as our hero lays out how his life fell apart in Boston and how he had made a choice to start anew. It’s concise, but more importantly, it’s inspiring and sets a tone where we’re rooting for this guy even though he can be a pretentious prick. It’s also grinningly funny when it turns out Frasier has been talking to thin air. In this new thing, our re-introduction is just as quick but hollow.

Spoiler, I guess, but Frasier quit his job, the relationship with Charlotte that he pursued at the end of the original series finale went 20 years before ending with little explanation (to us), and now he’s in Boston after Martin’s funeral to see some friends (no, not friends from Cheers) and Freddy before going off to Paris. There’s no real emotion behind any of this. It’s all matter-of-fact or surface. Not inspirational. And while a heartstring gets plucked by the fact that he wants to reconnect with his son, original Frasier fans will probably remember that Frasier was a bad dad who moved across the country when Freddy was a boy, and that the kid only appeared in 8 episodes across 11 seasons. (And hey, why did we need a Freddy re-cast? Trevor Einhorn is still acting.)

I’m not sure what this new Frasier misses most (besides its cast, writers, and Trevor Einhorn): it’s heart or its edge? Niles and Frasier’s sibling rivalry was delicious, but also complex. Evident in their first meeting and throughout the series, there was ample affection, but also a bouquet of petty jealousies and grievances. Martin’s live-in caregiver Daphne sort of just freaked Frasier out at the start with her psychic tendencies and absence of filter. Even Eddie the dog existed as a little tension monster, sitting on Frasier’s furniture and invading his home life. At work, Frasier’s no-bullshit producer Roz took great joy in taking the piss out of him. (It’s noteworthy how frequently the original focused on knocking Frasier down and how many times people — particularly other academics and students — fawn over him in this new show, which isn’t without takedowns, they’re just fewer and further between.)

The engine of the show, however, was Martin and Frasier’s relationship. The complexity of their situation was instantly obvious with their frayed bond and years of estrangement and uneasiness between them. And I mean instantly, through antagonism and frustration that’s both pregnant and expressed.

There is a scene in the original pilot that really differentiates these two shows. Frasier is sitting alone in his immaculately curated apartment playing piano before the doorbell chimes and he misses a key. He rises to answer the door and greet his father, whom he has begrudgingly agreed to let live with him. From that missed key to the varying looks of reluctance, sadness, ultimate resignation, and the mask of fake enthusiasm Frasier throws on once he opens the door, this is a comedy master class. A message delivered: creatively, meaningfully, and wordlessly about their very uncomfortable relationship and uneasy living situation.

With this show, Frasier is the interloper, but the edge is softened with humor that’s more broad and less intimate and pointed. Characters seem to say things, not because it makes sense for their characters, but because it fits a standard of what a sitcom should deliver. Emotional moments are outsized and quickly resolved, allowing things to move to the next set-up/punchline/EMPHATIC LAUGH TRACK even though those resolutions seem too quick or unearned.

As an example: Frasier comes off as unhinged when, after a heart-to-heart with his son, he overreacts and buys the building he lives in, flipping the power dynamic of the original with Frasier now able to force people to live with and around him on his terms rather than be put upon. Basically, it’s a horror comedy. And the second episode is no better, retracing familiar themes and moments from the original, but again, sped up. Always sped up. Frasier therapizes himself and Freddy and Frasier find common ground in their new apartment in record time. I’m not sure what emotional speed run will come next, but this show is living like it doesn’t expect to be around long. Like Daphne Moon, it might be a little bit psychic.

As an aside, we actually were psychic ourselves 5 years ago when we ran a list of suggested reboot ideas: the Frasier and Freddy reconciliation, moving back to Boston, Lilith popping up (at some point this season), Paris… it’s just a damn shame they didn’t go with the all-denim idea or post-apocalyptic Frasier. Trevor Einhorn would have looked badass with an eye patch! Scrambled eggs all over their face, I suppose.

The critics are right, the new Frasier feels inorganic, inauthentic, charmless, and without heart or edge. But I can’t really blame anyone for trying to make this work. In a world where everything gets recycled, of course Frasier Crane, the most successfully repurposed character of all time, deserved a shot at pulling off an impossible TV comedy trifecta following Cheers and the original Frasier. But on a solo mission, this thing was snake-bit from the start, something that’s made crystal clear when you watch or think back to the original’s pilot from 1993 and it’s near perfection.

Honestly, when it became clear that David Hyde Pierce wouldn’t return, that might have been the moment to abandon hope. Frasier isn’t iconic because of Frasier Crane alone. Grammer’s neurotic radio shrink is like the original show’s 5th best character (he’s ahead of Bulldog and Eddie the Jack Russell Terrier). But the interplay between all of them was the secret sauce from the start.

The death of the great John Mahoney created a gap that could never be filled on this show, and without him playing Martin, without David Hyde Pierce’s Niles, without Jane Leaves’ Daphne, and Peri Gilpin’s Roz, the new Frasier became a blank page. And after watching its first two episodes, it still feels that way.

The new characters – Frasier’s previously semi-abandoned son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), his roommate Eve (Jess Salgueiro), Niles’ son David (Anders Keith), and Frasier’s freshly introduced old friend (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and new co-worker (Toks Olagundoye) – are front and center, of course, but the blame for them not standing out early and often isn’t really theirs. Talented though they may be, they’re all playing characters that feel stock when compared to the originals, who from the start, possessed a slow burn allure that made you want to see how these relationships would develop.

While legendary TV director and Frasier alum James Burrows filmed the pilot (and other episodes), nearly none of the show’s credited writers (including its creators) worked on the original. The two decades of space make that detail unsurprising, but the tone of this show just feels very divorced from the original, even when they’re trying to hit us over the head with non-subtle nods. To be honest, even Grammer feels off the mark, as though he’s doing an impression of this character he played for about two decades, about two decades ago. (A detail that should also provide him some kind of shield. It’s been a long time!)

Listen, I know it’s unfair to directly compare the pilots for the original Frasier and this. Especially since the circumstances of each show and the space from when the audience last experienced Frasier Crane differs so much, but it’s inevitable and it’s extra damning.

In 1993, Frasier began with a wall of exposition as our hero lays out how his life fell apart in Boston and how he had made a choice to start anew. It’s concise, but more importantly, it’s inspiring and sets a tone where we’re rooting for this guy even though he can be a pretentious prick. It’s also grinningly funny when it turns out Frasier has been talking to thin air. In this new thing, our re-introduction is just as quick but hollow.

Spoiler, I guess, but Frasier quit his job, the relationship with Charlotte that he pursued at the end of the original series finale went 20 years before ending with little explanation (to us), and now he’s in Boston after Martin’s funeral to see some friends (no, not friends from Cheers) and Freddy before going off to Paris. There’s no real emotion behind any of this. It’s all matter-of-fact or surface. Not inspirational. And while a heartstring gets plucked by the fact that he wants to reconnect with his son, original Frasier fans will probably remember that Frasier was a bad dad who moved across the country when Freddy was a boy, and that the kid only appeared in 8 episodes across 11 seasons. (And hey, why did we need a Freddy re-cast? Trevor Einhorn is still acting.)

I’m not sure what this new Frasier misses most (besides its cast, writers, and Trevor Einhorn): it’s heart or its edge? Niles and Frasier’s sibling rivalry was delicious, but also complex. Evident in their first meeting and throughout the series, there was ample affection, but also a bouquet of petty jealousies and grievances. Martin’s live-in caregiver Daphne sort of just freaked Frasier out at the start with her psychic tendencies and absence of filter. Even Eddie the dog existed as a little tension monster, sitting on Frasier’s furniture and invading his home life. At work, Frasier’s no-bullshit producer Roz took great joy in taking the piss out of him. (It’s noteworthy how frequently the original focused on knocking Frasier down and how many times people — particularly other academics and students — fawn over him in this new show, which isn’t without takedowns, they’re just fewer and further between.)

The engine of the show, however, was Martin and Frasier’s relationship. The complexity of their situation was instantly obvious with their frayed bond and years of estrangement and uneasiness between them. And I mean instantly, through antagonism and frustration that’s both pregnant and expressed.

There is a scene in the original pilot that really differentiates these two shows. Frasier is sitting alone in his immaculately curated apartment playing piano before the doorbell chimes and he misses a key. He rises to answer the door and greet his father, whom he has begrudgingly agreed to let live with him. From that missed key to the varying looks of reluctance, sadness, ultimate resignation, and the mask of fake enthusiasm Frasier throws on once he opens the door, this is a comedy master class. A message delivered: creatively, meaningfully, and wordlessly about their very uncomfortable relationship and uneasy living situation.

With this show, Frasier is the interloper, but the edge is softened with humor that’s more broad and less intimate and pointed. Characters seem to say things, not because it makes sense for their characters, but because it fits a standard of what a sitcom should deliver. Emotional moments are outsized and quickly resolved, allowing things to move to the next set-up/punchline/EMPHATIC LAUGH TRACK even though those resolutions seem too quick or unearned.

As an example: Frasier comes off as unhinged when, after a heart-to-heart with his son, he overreacts and buys the building he lives in, flipping the power dynamic of the original with Frasier now able to force people to live with and around him on his terms rather than be put upon. Basically, it’s a horror comedy. And the second episode is no better, retracing familiar themes and moments from the original, but again, sped up. Always sped up. Frasier therapizes himself and Freddy and Frasier find common ground in their new apartment in record time. I’m not sure what emotional speed run will come next, but this show is living like it doesn’t expect to be around long. Like Daphne Moon, it might be a little bit psychic.

As an aside, we actually were psychic ourselves 5 years ago when we ran a list of suggested reboot ideas: the Frasier and Freddy reconciliation, moving back to Boston, Lilith popping up (at some point this season), Paris… it’s just a damn shame they didn’t go with the all-denim idea or post-apocalyptic Frasier. Trevor Einhorn would have looked badass with an eye patch! Scrambled eggs all over their face, I suppose.

Mike Lindell has given god only knows how much money to Donald Trump. Now he’s acting like him, too, by lashing out at late-night hosts.

Earlier this week, The Late Show host Stephen Colbert mocked the broke Pillow Man for claiming that he’s “lost everything, every dime” and can’t pay his lawyers. He even dressed up as Lindell — a.k.a. he wore a mustache — and smothered one pillow to death with another pillow.

Lindell addressed the public humiliation on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast. “He’s such a scumbag,” he said, Newsweek reports. “Did I spell that right? S-C-U-M bag. I could’ve said it of lawyers, this guy is even worse.”

Lindell continued, “He attacked my employees directly, making fun of them. Gee, I want to protect my company, so I’m not going to continue with $2 million a month lawyer bills. I’m not going to let everything go down because of frivolous lawsuits and lawfare.” Colbert and his Late Night audience (which is code for “liberals”) “all laugh about my employees,” he added. “They have families, these guys have been with me for 20 years, we’re not going anywhere. And I know when I watch this, it just, it just sickened me.”

Lindell probably felt sick because he was watching the clip while eating dinner in a Hardee’s parking lot.

(Via Newsweek)

Does Megan Thee Stallion have something new on the way? Looks like it!

On Instagram yesterday (October 12), Megan shared a trio of posts that when seen in the grid on her profile page, read “Part One,” with the O in “One” represented by an ouroboros (a snake eating its own tail). All of the posts are actually galleries, and in them are photos and videos of more snake-like imagery, including Meg wearing some artificial fangs.

As for what this means, there are multiple theories floating around. Meg famously loves Halloween, so some speculate the posts have something to do with that, perhaps a reveal of what her costume is going to be. Others, though, think it could be the beginning of a new musical era.

Whatever the case, Megan is at least thinking about her next musical era. It appears it’ll be different than her last one, too, in at least one crucial way: Her label. Meg’s last album, 2022’s Traumazine, was released via 300 Entertainment and 1501 Certified. For her next endeavor, though, Meg apparently plans to go independent.

She said in a recent live broadcast, “I have no label right now. We’re doing everything funded straight out of Megan Thee Stallion pockets. So, the budget is coming from me. […] I’m so excited to be doing something for the first time independent since it was just me and my momma. So excited cause it’s really just me this go-round until we sign to a new label. But I don’t wanna sign to a new label right now because I just wanna do it myself.”

The third episode of The Golden Bachelor reminded us why our interest in this dating show universe has waned over the years. It’s not the catfights or the bro brawls — that’s the low-stakes drama that keeps things interesting. And it’s not the inescapable fact that most of these relationships aren’t built to last because life (and love) isn’t some televised fantasy filled with over-the-top romantic dates and tropical getaways where two people never have to confront the hard realities of their relationship … or the fact that one of them Facetime’s in public without headphones.

No, it’s that, most of the time, the guy these women are vying for is just plain boring.

That’s what Gary Turner is, at least at the moment. Nice? Sure, but boring. He’s the human equivalent of dial-up internet access and we’re all just waiting for him to boot up and show us something interesting. This week, he takes the ladies with performing in a talent show but never takes the stage himself. (Although, what talents he possesses other than not being able to drive on the freeway at night is anyone’s guess.) And it’s not Gary’s fault. The Bachelor has never asked any of its male cast to be extraordinary so a man with an emotional IQ greater than that of a peanut is miles above the low set bar already.

But dammit, we’d love to see something in Mr. Turner that justifies the somewhat problematic behavior on display from his potential love interests in this episode. Oh well. We gave peace a chance. Let the backstabbing begin.

Winner – Whoever Captioned The Talent Show Performances

In front of a backdrop constructed by what we can only assume was an elementary school theater troupe, the ladies must perform for their lives — and Gary’s amusement — in front of a celebrity judge and a crowd full of strangers. We don’t remember The Hunger Games ever being this dark. Most of the women have something entertaining up their sleeves. Sandra performs a stand-up set funnier than anything Chris Rock has done in years. April is the Beatnik chicken farmer giving an empowering spoken-word endorsement of Botox. Faith does her best Taylor Swift impression if the Eras tour was a retired woman with an adventure streak standing in front of an Indiana bumpkin, begging him to hop on her Harley and just live a little. Sandra shows Gary her karate skills — because nothing says romance like being able to bust through a plank of wood inches from a man’s genitals with just the force of your unsocked foot. And Ellen’s performance is a sex ed lesson she regularly gives to middle school students, which seems less like a talent and more like a punishment from the Universe for misdeeds in a past life.

The other women impress with poems, pushups, and party tricks but the real winner — besides Joan — is whoever was in charge of captioning their talents. Calling Nancy a “Whip Cream Catcher” is a hilarious interpretation of the word “catch.”

Loser – Motherhood

Motherhood is a truly confounding state of being. It’s both a gift and a curse, a role that many claim is the pinnacle of their existence, and also a job you never get to retire from that forces you to leave a reality dating show after scoring a rose and another one-on-one date with a man who had the potential to heal your broken heart. We understand why Joan had to bow out of the competition early, and it’s certainly not her daughter’s fault for having a difficult postpartum experience, but man, is this episode the best form of birth control we’ve seen in years.

Winner – Senior Citizen Saboteur Kathy

Does Kathy from Texas think she’s on a more glamorous version of Survivor? We’re truly asking because she’s forming alliances and sabotaging her fellow contestants like she’s on the chopping block of a tribal council, and Jeff Probst is about to unscroll her name on a piece of parchment. Her beef with Theresa is valid but her cutthroat tactics are eye-brow raising considering she hasn’t exchanged more than a dozen words with Gary since she arrived at the mansion. Theresa’s on her hit list because she got the first one-on-one … and because she wears t-shirts in child sizes. Over a cocktail party, she proclaims herself a bada** b*tch before crying in her confessional and then weaponizing those tears into guilting an early rose from Gary. That satisfied smirk she wore when walking back into the house to show off her hard-earned stem had us cackling out loud, as did her verbal sparring match with Theresa on the stairs. Girls watch out because Kathy came to play the game.

Loser – First One-On-One Date Boaster, Theresa

As devious as Kathy was this week, Theresa more than earned her ire. The woman has done nothing but brag about being chosen for the first one-on-one date, waxing poetic about her kitschy dinner death drive for three episodes now. As a viewer, we could interpret it as an insecurity. She hasn’t gotten alone time with Gary since that night so, perhaps, she’s feeling vulnerable and a bit unsure if the connection they had was real or just imagined. But to Kathy, it reads as mean girl tactics — an attempt by someone Gary obviously has a bond with to dissuade the women he has gotten to know yet from even trying. It’s territorial behavior but Theresa is definitely not an alpha type so when she’s confronted, first by April, then by Kathy, and finally by Gary, she breaks down in a blubbering mess.

Loser – Leslie’s Cookies

Leslie lets the competitive drive that helped her to bag Prince all those years ago hurt her chances with Gary this week. Her confidence in her on-stage moves convinced her she had scored a solo date before the rest of the women had their turn at the mic but a public lap dance only gets you so far … especially when you follow it up by force-feeding a man your stale cookies. What if he had a gluten allergy, Leslie?!

Winner – Sex Ed

Other than Nancy’s whip cream acrobatics, Ellen did the least during the talent show by simply reciting her memorized syllabus and encouraging grown men and women to get comfortable shouting the word, “vagina.” And yet, something about this fun-loving, free-spirited broad has got Gary hooked. He took all of two minutes after Joan’s abrupt departure to swoop Ellen off her feet with a custom dress fitting and a hot air balloon ride. From dark horse to front runner, Ellen made moves this week and we couldn’t be happier for her. (Or more terrified of what will happen when Kathy finds out she’s got a new rival.)

Loser – Good Hair

We know nothing, absolutely NOTHING about Edith, the retired realtor from California, except that she has likely lived most of her life under the envious glare of fine-haired women everywhere. Seriously, that coiffe is TRESemmé commercial quality and it deserves better than to be rejected in week three of a reality dating show competition. Get Edith’s hair an agent, stat!

For the past several weeks, Steven and Ian have planned to do a mailbag segment on the show. But they always end up yapping for too long, and the segment inevitably ends up getting bumped. This week, the guys finally rectified the situation by addressing some emails from their loyal listeners.

What do Indiecast listeners want to know about? Our first letter concerns the matter of seated shows vs. standing-room only shows, and which is preferable. You can probably guess what the 40something-year-old hosts of Indiecast think about this, though Steven makes a case for seated shows providing “guaranteed real estate” that you don’t have to defend if you leave temporarily to get a beer or go to the bathroom. From there, Steven and Ian finally address the email about The Weakerthans, and give their opinion on the beloved Canadian band. They also talk about their favorite indie-rock bassists of the last 25 years, and the legacy of the indie-folk band Beirut.

In Recommendation Corner, Ian talks about the Abe Vigoda offshoot Cupid & Psyche while Steven recommends the vibe-y Chicago rock act Squirrel Flower.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 159 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Donald Trump can add winning the Nobel Piece of Sh*t prize to his long list of accomplishments. It’ll look great next to his Michigan’s Man of the Year award that doesn’t exist.

On Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmy Kimmel tore into the former president for his comments this week on Israel. “Donald Trump is getting crazier by the day, he really is. Last night, he addressed the horrific terrorist attack on Israel by attacking Israel.” In his “doozy of a speech,” Trump claimed that “Hamas would never have gone into Israel if his election hadn’t been rigged, he called Israel’s defense minister a ‘jerk,’ he did some axe grinding about [Israel prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, and had some complimentary words about Israel’s enemies in Lebanon.” Kimmel added, “He’s really angling for that Nobel Piece of Sh*t Prize.”

Israel’s communications minister Shlomo Karhi condemned Trump’s comments, telling Channel 13 that “we don’t have to bother with him and the nonsense he spouts.” Unfortunately, Kimmel quipped, “we do have to bother with it.” Later, after playing a clip of Trump calling militant group Hezbollah “very smart,” the host joked, “Poor Eric. Trump never said he was smart.”

You can watch Kimmel’s monologue above.

Al Michaels has been one of the most esteemed commentators in all of sports for decades, with a storied career that dates back to the 1970s. Even still, that doesn’t mean the 78-year-old icon immune to slip-ups or awkward moments, like one he faced while talking about Taylor Swift’s presence at yesterday’s (October 12) Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs game.

Swift is of course rumored to be dating Chiefs star Travis Kelce, but neither she nor Kelce have outright confirmed that, so Michaels tried his best to tread lightly when discussing the pop star’s relationship status. At one point during the broadcast, though, he found himself seemingly unsure what to say.

While calling the game for Amazon Prime’s coverage, Swift was shown on screen and Michaels said, “And of course, looking on, is… his… well, at the moment… his good buddy and girlfriend… Taylor Swift.”

Before the game, Michaels told Sports Illustrated‘s Jimmy Traina (as The Score notes) about Amazon’s plan to cover Swift, saying, “What we’re gonna do tonight: everything in moderation. Our crew talked about it this morning. You can’t make a sideshow the show. The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game. There are people — I don’t know how many, it could be a sizable number, but it’s certainly not a majority — that if you trained the camera on her all night long, they’d be satisfied with that. This is not what we’re doing.”

Meanwhile, Michaels recently turned heads in the sports world by claiming he, in his 78-plus years on Earth, has never knowingly eaten a vegetable.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

The tides are turning in Chicago and the waves are getting bigger too in season two of Power Book IV: Force. With Vic Flynn by their side, Jenard back in the picture, and his crew reuniting with CBI, Tommy Egan and Diamond push full steam ahead in their takeover of the Chicago drug game. The duo makes two major moves in this week’s episode titled “Chicago Is Heating Up.” First, they convince Miguel to cut off the supply of drugs to the Serbs in retaliation for the Crimson Projects attack. Miguel agrees, leading to the second move: teaming up with the Division Street Devils. Though Tommy gets his car shot in the process, he’s able to convince the leader of the DSD to join the coalition that Tommy and Diamond have formed throughout Chicago. Yet, on their return from the meeting, Tommy discovers a cop has been tailing them, the same one he noticed earlier in the day. He then sees Vic and the cop having a conversation and forces Vic to kill the cop to prove that he’s not a snitch, which Vic does.

The police being on their tails is not the only thing that Tommy and Diamond have to worry about. Jenard and Shanti still have a plan in motion to take out Tommy and they’ve made progress on it. Shanti secures a deal with Claudia to help her move product in high places in Chicago, like exclusive strip clubs. Their 50/50 split means that she and Jenard have more money coming their way that they can just keep for themselves and not have to split with anyone. Jenard, on the other hand, makes the big discovery of finding out that Tommy and Mireya, Miguel’s little sister, are now dating and he has photo evidence to prove it. Though his initial instinct is to put Tommy on blast, Shanti suggests that they wait for a better moment to use the photo.

Speaking of relationships, things between Tommy and Mireya are going well for the most part. The only downside is the elephant in the room which is Miguel. The two almost get caught by Miguel when he makes a surprise visit to Tommy’s house, but luckily they are not discovered. Mireya is worried about Miguel finding out about her and Tommy as Miguel killed the last person who worked with him that dated Mireya. Again, Tommy reassures her that nothing will happen to him and that seems to calm her fears. On the flip side, Diamond finally shoots his shot with Gianna, Leon’s mother, and it’s nothing but net. Turns out the interest is mutual and it led to a very intimate night together between the two after Diamond delivered a great speech to his community of which Leon and Gianna were in attendance. Oh, then there’s Claudia who’s enjoying a blast from the past as her longtime friend returned to keep her company after Walter’s death, but feelings have grown greatly since her arrival.

Okay, that’s your recap for the week. Let’s see who made of top five Power Players of the week like based on the events that went down in the “Chicago Is Heating Up” episode.

5. Claudia

In “Chicago Is Heating Up,” Claudia is just getting back on her feet after being cut out from the Flynn family organization. She reconnects with an old friend, who turns out to be her new love interest, and sets out to re-establish herself in the drug world. Claudia ends up at an exclusive strip club where she learns that pills are being sold there. She’s able to work out a new deal to sell her own product there and she initially reaches out to Jenard to strike a deal in collaboration to move the product in the club. He turns it down, but in this episode, Shanti reaches out to Claudia to make a deal. The two eventually agree on a 50/50 split which effectively puts Claudia back in the game, and by the looks of the money she and Shanti made on their first night, it seems this will be a nice win for Claudia. It would’ve been a better look for Claudia if she put the deal together, but her profit makes up for it.

4. Jenard

Jenard is back in CBI and he’s a clean man as well. He’s struggling through withdrawal from his brief bout with heroin, but he seems focused on staying off the drugs and on making the most of his opportunity in CBI. This week’s episode makes it clear that he still has a goal of taking down Tommy, and now he has the ammo to do just that. While parked outside of Tommy’s place, Jenard sees Mireya arrive and go inside Tommy’s house, but not before giving Tommy a kiss which Jenard captured on camera. Tommy and Mireya’s relationship is not something they want Miguel, her older brother, to discover. Still, with the evidence in Jenard’s hand, he now has the leverage to get the upper hand and then some with Tommy. It all depends on how he plays it.

3. Shanti

Shanti has emerged as a bit of a mastermind in the second half of Power Book II: Force season two and that couldn’t be more apparent in “Chicago Is Heating Up.” While Jenard turned down Claudia’s deal to work with her, Shanti saw it as an opportunity to make money for herself and Jenard that wouldn’t be tied to CBI and more specifically, Tommy. Shanti worked her way to a 50/50 split and made sure that Claudia would keep quiet about the deal so that their partnership and her position in CBI could coexist. Lastly, when Jenard shows her the picture of Tommy and Mireya kissing, she suggests that he hold on tight to the image as it could become more useful to them in the future. For someone who was quiet at the beginning of the season, Shanti is not one to sleep on as she has the cards and the brains to make some really big moves to close the season.

2. Tommy

One-half of the lover boys in this season of Power Book IV: Force is keeping their relationship alive for as long as they can. Tommy and Mireya are going to steady as the opening scene of “Chicago Is Heating Up” proves. Still, the elephant in the room for both of them is the possibility of Miguel finding out, which nearly happened just a few seconds later as Miguel paid a surprise visit to Tommy and his apartment, coincidentally while Mireya was there. Though they escaped that situation unscathed, trouble is on the horizon for them as Jenard snapped a picture of Tommy and Mireya sharing a kiss. Whether he decides to show that picture to Miguel or use it as blackmail remains to be seen, but either way, it’s not good for Tommy.

The good for Tommy comes when he notices that the feds are tailing him and eventually the murder of one of the officers thanks to Vic who decided that his loyalty to Tommy was more important than his loyalty to Stacy. He was also able to convince Miguel to cut off the Serbs which makes it easier for him and Diamond to work towards their goal of taking over Chicago. With the cop and the Serbs out of the way, it’s one less person looking for Tommy which gives him one more second to breathe. It’ll also cause the feds to back down, but the heat is only going to turn up for Mr. Egan.

1. Diamond

Our other lover boy, Diamond, had a great week thanks to “Chicago Is Heating Up.” For a few weeks now, he’s been looking to capture the attention of Gianna, Leon’s mother. Finally, he was able to do so this week and it came after a speech he had to give to his community. His parole officer instructed Diamond to give a speech about his past and “reformed” present. Despite some hesitations, Diamonds agrees to give the speech with the knowledge that it will help his parole officer back off of him and reduce the random checks and drug testing. Diamond impresses the crowd with his speech, and amongst them is Gianna and Leon. He uses this opportunity to ask Gianna out on a date and she accepts, but their night together doesn’t go as planned. Rather than dinner, Gianna suggests that they stay inside, and instead, they end their night with a very intimate moment together. Diamond scored the lady he wanted the most, gave a great speech, and got his parole officer off his back. Perfect week if I have to say so myself.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.