Category: Viral

Snoop Dogg has one of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop, so it’s only natural that fans react when he branches out from music. His sports commentary is already quickly becoming the stuff of legends, as his quick wit and way with words translate to some hilariously memorable quotes delivered in his signature smooth drawl. Lending his talents to Saturday night’s exhibition bout between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., Snoop’s play-by-play was less “pompous analyst” and more “YouTube comment minus the obnoxious trolling.”

During the bout, Snoop’s sharp observations included cracks like “This shit like two of my uncles fighting at the barbecue” and advice to the fighters. “Get up in there, then, Roy!” he counseled, to the delighted amusement of fans on social media. He even broke out into a hymn when undercard fighter Jake Paul knocked his opponent Nate Robinson to the mat. “Lord, take my hand,” he crooned. “Lead me on. Let me stand.”

Sports fans took note, praising Snoop’s commentary and recommending him for future events. That’s a sharp turn from a few years ago when UFC fighters demanded Snoop be removed for cracking jokes on them during broadcasts and more in line with the reactions from EA adding Snoop’s commentary to NHL 20.

Fear the Walking Dead has had a monumental creative resurgence in 2020, as the struggling show finally found its stride in its sixth season. There’s a lot of reasons for that success, not least of which is Lennie James, whose character has been reborn and has finally become the true lead of the zombie spinoff series.

Lennie James, of course, is the only character in The Walking Dead universe that remains from the pilot episode (although, James disappeared from the series for the better part of four seasons). He is a veteran actor who has been in the business since the early 1990s, although until The Walking Dead, he was best known in America for his role in the cult favorite, Jericho, a recurring role in Showtime’s Hung, and as a co-lead along with Mark Strong in a grim detective show, Low Winter Sun, that never took off on AMC.

James, however, has been a constant presence on British television for three decades, and despite his work on Fear over the last several years, he’s also managed to write, create, and star in a Briitish series called Save Me. The first six-episode season of the series premiered in the UK in early 2018 to stellar reviews, which led to a second season renewal that premiered in April of this year.

Because of the pandemic, and a shortage of new content in all these new streaming networks, Peacock — the Universal/NBC streamer — licensed the rights to the series and began re-airing it last month. I’m a huge fan of The Walking Dead universe, but not exactly the type that will follow stars of the series to all of their other projects, except in the rarest of cases. Lennie James is just such a case, because — like Danai Guria, Michael Cudlitz, and Jon Bernthal — he’s always stood out in The Walking Dead universe as someone who could truly excel outside of the series.

Save Me puts his talents as both an actor and a writer on full display. In it, James plays Nelly, a likable barfly whose life hasn’t amounted to much. He doesn’t have a home of his own, but he does have two girlfriends, and it’s a testament to how charming Nelly is that (when they find out he’s teen two-timing them) neither can bring herself to hate him, exactly (in fact, one of those girlfriends begrudgingly continues her relationship with him).

In the meantime, Nelly also has an ex-wife, Claire (Suranne Jones), with whom he had a child, Jody (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), 16 years prior. Jody decides one day to track down her father so that she can meet him, but en route, Jody is abducted. The chief story centers on the mystery surrounding Jody’s disappearance. Nelly is initially the prime suspect, though it soon becomes apparent that he was not involved. Despite having no relationship with his daughter, however, Nelly finally finds purpose in endeavoring to save her. His investigation runs parallel to the police investigation, and it entails digging into the lives of some of his shady mates at his local pub, because it is apparent early on that whoever abducted Jody knew a lot about Nelly, because he or she used their knowledge of Nelly to lure out Jody.

It’s an intense series, but not altogether bleak, like so many other British mystery shows. Much of that is due to the acting talents of James, who the audience continues to root for, in spite of the fact that he’s a deadbeat cad. The series also features a lot of great British character actors, some of whom are familiar to American audiences, like Kerry Godliman, Stephen Graham, and Lesley Manville.

Save Me, which is two seasons (12 episodes in all) long, is a compelling mystery, but it’s also an entertaining and high-stakes character-driven redemption arc for James’ character. It’s better even than Fear the Walking Dead, and while that might not have meant much in its first five seasons, that’s surprisingly high praise, given how improved the AMC series has been this year.

‘Save Me’ currently streams on Peacock, alongside two lesser British imports, Departure and Capture.

Since ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire premiered in 1999, 14 people have become a millionaire, but only one “celebrity.” (The John Carpenter who was the show’s earliest million dollar-winner is not that John Carpenter.) Chef David Chang became the first celebrity contestant to have ever won the top $1 million prize during Sunday’s episode after correctly answering the following question: “Although he and his wife never touched a light switch for fear of being shocked, who was the first president to have electricity in the White House?” The Momofuku founder was stumped, but luckily his phone-a-friend, journalist Mina Kimes, correctly told him that it was Benjamin Harrison.

“I was so full of adrenaline, I just decided to go for it,” Chang told USA Today about getting to the final question in the episode, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (it’s still weird not seeing the late Regis Philbin hosting Millionaire). “In that moment, I was like, ‘Worst-case scenario it’s $32,000, and then I’m a laughingstock because half a million dollars for charity is huge.’ And I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to lose that $468,000,’ and I remember thinking, ‘That would be terrible. But I like to gamble, and I started to play it out in my head.” Chang was playing for the Southern Smoke Foundation, which raises funds for those in the food and beverage community. He continued, “We are in such a bad shape that half a million dollars isn’t enough – and neither is a million dollars – but I wanted to put emphasis on it and raise awareness of the problem, so it was worth the chance.”

You can watch Chang, Kimes, and, uh, Harrison’s moment of triumph above.

Ask any hypebeast which exact pair of shoes they visualize when they hear the word “sneakers” and there’s a very good chance it’ll be hightop Air Jordan 1s (probably in the famed OG Chicago colorway). Debuting on the court in ’84 and released to the general public 35 years ago on April 1, 1985, the Jordan 1s single-handedly created sneaker culture. That’s no exaggeration. Must-cop colorways, store exclusives, a robust aftermarket with jaw-dropping prices… it all started here, with this sneaker silhouette.

The Air Jordan 1 also set up the foundation that the Air Jordan line would build itself upon for decades to come. Even if it isn’t your personal favorite Jordan, there’s no doubt the familiar shoe is in your top five.

While the Jordan line would go on to be dominated by the innovative and still futuristic-looking designs of Tinker Hatfield, it was Nike’s first creative director, Peter Moore, who was the chief architect of this debut pair. Today, in celebration of the shoe that started it all, we’ve assembled a chronological look at the greatest Air Jordan 1 colorways in the sneaker’s 35-year history.

Let’s jump in!

Air Jordan 1 Royal Blue, 1985

The very first colorway released to the public, the Air Jordan 1 Royal Blue was Michael Jordan’s personal favorite. Despite not being his team colors, Jordan wore this blue and black colorway in an early ad campaign shot by famed sports photographer Chuck Kuhn.

The image of Jordan wearing Royal Blues in a matching sweatsuit on a remote Oregon airstrip at sunset is as iconic a visual as the very sneaker it’s advertising.

Air Jordan 1 Black Toe, 1985

One of the debut AJ-1 colorways, the Black Toe remains one of the sneaker’s most iconic and beloved designs. Though hardly worn by Jordan himself on the court, it was the Black Toe that MJ was rocking during the photoshoot that would inspire the now iconic Jumpman logo. For that reason alone, it’ll always be one of the greatest Jordan colorways ever.

The Black Toe has since been re-released in 2013 and again in 2016, which means we’re due for a refresh any day now.

Air Jordan 1 BRED/Banned, 1985

The BRED or Banned colorway of the Air Jordan 1 is the only sneaker that could be classified as “badass.” This Chicago Bulls-inspired colorway was famously banned for violating NBA league dress regulations, resulting in a $5,000 fine per game every time Jordan rocked a pair.

He did it anyway and Nike gladly foot the bill (or… so the story goes).

Air Jordan 1 UNC/Carolina Blue, 1985

Not quite as rare as some of the other first-year colorways, the UNC remains one of the prettiest pairs of Air Jordan 1s. Made in tribute to the college colors of Jordan’s alma mater, The University of North Carolina, the UNC pulls together shades of Carolina Blue and white across an all leather upper.

The look of a cloud is a perfect fit for someone nicknamed “His Airness.”

Air Jordan 1 Shadow, 1985

It’s easy to forget given the insane popularity of the BRED and Royal Blue colorways that the AJ-1’s debut year also produced a fifth classic colorway, the moody black and grey Shadow. While it doesn’t get the same amount of ink spilled over it as those other classics, it’s still, 35 years later, the cleanest the Air Jordan has ever looked.

Air Jordan 1 High Chicago, 1986

To correct the controversy surrounding the BRED, Nike released this league-approved red, white, and black colorway which quickly became emblematic of the AJ-1 itself. If sneakerheads picture the Air Jordan 1 when they heard the word “sneakers,” then this is the colorway they see it in.

The Chicago, or Varsity Red (as it’s now known), has been re-released several times, and it’s the colorway Virgil Abloh based his updated take on the AJ-1 on from his now-classic “The Ten” collection.

Air Jordan 1 Retro Japan Pack, 2001

Nike Japan has a track record of producing some of the brand’s greatest colorways, and that trend started with this four sneaker release. The full Japan pack consisted of Metallic Silver/Neutral Grey, White/Midnight Navy, Black Metallic Silver, and White Metallic silver colorways, with some pairs featuring reflective 3M detailing.

Each sneaker from the collection released in a limited edition suitcase, which was a puzzling move, but hey, who wouldn’t want to keep one of these pairs in a hard-shell under lock and key?

Air Jordan 1 Patent Leather, 2003/2013/2020

It’s rare that a mid-rise Jordan 1 colorway ever edges into legendary status, but this patent leather iteration of the AJ-1 is impossible to ignore. We mean literally, how can you not see this sneaker when it reflects any light source directly into your eyes?

These feel a little dated by 2020’s standards, but this black and gold colorway remains popular to this day, with a recent re-release in high-top form. The newest iteration is a huge improvement over the original, but we have to shout out the design that started the patent leather look, so we’re showcasing the mid-rise.

Air Jordan 1 XQ, 2007/2013

Sometimes sneaker brands will do things that seem to go against reason. Surely, Nike loves to make money, why then has there only been one refresh of the China-exclusive XQ colorway? This pair remains one of the most unique in the AJ-1s history, thanks to its star-speckled embossed leather paneling, and unique line detailing.

The sneaker serves as a reminder that Nike is at its best when the brand is playing loose with their design template.

Levi’s x Nike Air Jordan 1 23/501 Denim Retro, 2008

As part of their first brand collaboration, Levi’s and Nike offered up new takes on their two most iconic products, the Air Jordan 1 and Levi’s 501 jean. Sure, nobody remembers what that pair of pants looked like, but the image of the corresponding sneaker will be burned into every Air Jordan 1 fan’s memory for as long as people keep making lists of the best Air Jordan 1s.

Sporting a denim and leather upper, the 23/501s featured red paneling and a denim iteration of Nike’s famous elephant print.

Air Jordan 1 HARE, 2009

Sneakerheads rarely go crazy for cartoon sneaker tie-ins but the HARE Jordan 1 — inspired by the Air Jordan 7 colorway of the same name — has managed to carve out a space amongst even the most fashion-obsessed of hypebeasts. That’s probably because this neutral grey on pristine white colorway with red accents manages to look so dope.

On paper swapping out the iconic Jumpman logo for Bugs Bunny sounds like a stupid idea but in practice? Fresh as hell. The HARE colorway has been used on several Air Jordans to date, and it always looks fresh.

Air Jordan 1 High Strap A Tribe Called Quest, 2009

We debated not even including this pair on this list as only 25 pairs were initially released, but this A Tribe Called Quest-celebrating design — which uses Tribe’s “Midnight Marauders” as inspiration — is just too unique to ignore.

First, there is that black on red on green colorway that is so representative of Tribe, and then there is that strap, a definite anomaly in the Jordan 1 lineage and one we’d like to see a lot more of going forward.

Fragment Design x Air Jordan 1, 2014

Famed streetwear designer Hiroshi Fujiwara had a simple recipe for this Fragment Design Jordan 1: take two of the shoe’s greatest colorways, the Black Toe and Royal, and mash them together, giving us the Fragment Design Air Jordan 1.

It could be argued that Fujiwara’s design even improves upon those original colorways. In fact, we’ll say that right here, right now.

Just Don X Air Jordan 1 High Strap BHM, 2013

Released in celebration of Black History Month to benefit the Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America charity, this black and orange pair designed by legendary Chicago streetwear designed Don C features a high top strap and a premium snakeskin inspired leather upper.

It doesn’t look too much like an AJ-1, but it definitely looks fresh.

Air Jordan 1 High Legends of Summer Pack, 2014

Here is the thing about the Legends of Summer — I happen to think they’re some of the ugliest Jordan 1s ever. Why are they are on this list then? Because all three pairs, the red, the black, and the red and white sell for, easily, above $5K on the aftermarket.

While I don’t think an expensive shoe necessarily makes for a great shoe, to deny the popularity of this pack — which dropped to a limited few in commemoration of Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z’s Legends of Summer tour — would be to ignore a part of Jordan 1 sneaker history.

Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard, 2015

2015’s starfish orange on black and sail colorway, known simply as the “Shattered Backboard” is a modern classic. The Shattered Backboard gets its name and colors from an exhibition game in Italy during Jordan’s rookie year. Wearing an orange, black, and white uniform, Jordan dunked so hard he shattered the backboard, creating history in the process.

30 years later, it would lead to one of the AJ-1’s greatest colorways.

Air Jordan 1 Letterman

Released 30 years after his first appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, this pair of AJ-1s combined Light Crimson and Midnight Navy to create a colorway inspired by the jumpsuit Jordan wore on his first-ever late night tv appearance.

It’s a weird moment to commemorate, but hey, we’re not complaining. We’ll take 10 pairs.

Air Jordan 1 Igloo, 2017

If the aforementioned Jordan 1 UNC is the sneaker’s prettiest colorway, the Igloo is a close second. Released as an Art Basel exclusive, this mint, black, and white colorway sought to capture the look and feel of Miami’s South Beach waterfront.

Did it succeed? Who cares, it made for a dope-as-hell sneaker.

Off-White x Air Jordan 1 The Ten, 2017

With this ranking, this will now be the third time we’ve written about this Chicago inspired colorway from Virgil Abloh’s “The Ten” collection. What more can we say about this shoe that we haven’t already? If we had to choose a single sneaker to be representative of Abloh’s entire 10 shoe debut Nike collection, it would be this one.

This design could go on the cover of an entire book about Abloh’s contribution to footwear, and nobody would bat an eye, even Abloh himself.

Union x Air Jordan 1 Black Toe/Storm Blue, 2018

Los Angeles-based retailer Union has made a handful of Air Jordans and each one of them is a certifiable classic. For their first collaboration, Union took on the AJ-1 and dropped two iterations consisting of the colors of four classic colorways, stitched together with deconstruction inspired zig-zag stitching and sitting atop pre-yellowed soles.

SoleFly x Jordan 1 High Art Basel, 2018

Another Art Basel Miami exclusive — this time in collaboration with SoleFly — this high top Jordan 1 dropped in a leather and shiny patent leather version, both featuring a University of Miami inspired color combo of orange, white and green.

Air Jordan 1 High Origin Story Spider-Man, 2018

It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that we’re saying this but, Miles Morales is the coolest Spider-Man ever. Peter Parker never rocked a pair of Nikes, and this Chicago-inspired colorway worn by Morales in animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse remains the coolest pair of sneakers a superhero has ever rocked.

A Spider-inspired smash of blue and reflective details set this apart from this familiar AJ-1 color palette.

Air Jordan 1 Pine Green Retro High, 2018

An expansion of Jordan Brand’s Black Toe line, the Pine Green features a black on sail colorway with a Pine Green toe box. It’s a simple-but-striking colorway that acts as a reminder that the Air Jordan 1s debut colorways still play a major part in influencing future designs.

Travis Scott Jordan 1 High Cactus Jack, 2019

Travis Scott has produced a lot of solid designs out of his Cactus Jack label but has yet to surpass the perfection that is the Cactus Jack Jordan 1. Featuring a backward swoosh with coffee-colored suede paneling over a white sail upper, the Cactus Jack, alongside the Union LA and “The Ten” AJ-1, will go down as the colorway that kept this iconic silhouette relevant to a new generation of sneakerheads.

Off-White Jordan 1 High White, 2020

We don’t know if Virgil Abloh will ever design an Air Jordan 1 that reaches the same popularity as his Chicago inspired colorway from “The Ten,” but this all-white iteration is pretty damn close.

Released in March of this year, this iteration of the AJ-1 sold out nearly instantly and still reaches prices as high as $2K on the aftermarket. The design is simple, consisting of deconstructed white leather paneling, mesh, and blue and orange threading that adds a striking yet minimal splash of color. Truly Abloh and the AJ-1 at their best.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Taylor Swift offer up new sessions for her Folklore tunes, a new Miley album, and Bad Bunny surprise fans. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

Miley Cyrus — Plastic Hearts

Miley Cyrus has spent her new album’s promotional cycle telling anybody who would listen that she likes rock music and that it had a big influence on her new album. Indeed, that is clear on the album itself: “Midnight Sky” borrows from a Stevie Nicks (who features on a remix of the song) classic, and Joan Jett and Billy Idol make appearances, as does Dua Lipa.

Bad Bunny — El Último Tour Del Mundo

Bad Bunny was already in the conversation about the year’s best albums with YHLQMDLG, but instead of resting on that laurel, he went ahead and pumped out another record. It doesn’t sound quite like his previous music, because, since he recorded it during the pandemic, it was made during unfamiliar circumstances, which he seemingly decided to embrace aesthetically.

Lil Wayne — No Ceilings 3

Wayne’s No Ceilings mixtapes are legendary among his fans, and he continued the series last week with a new installment. The fresh collection nostalgically dropped on DatPiff and it’s headlined by a new Drake collab, “BB King Freestyle.”

Phoebe Bridgers — “If We Make It Through December”

Bridgers puts out a new holiday song around the end of every year, a tradition that she carried into 2020. This time, she opted to bust out a haunting cover of Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December,” on which she is joined by frequent collaborator Ethan Gruska on piano.

Juicy J — The Hustle Continues

Juicy J has been hustling with his solo career for the past decade-plus, and on his latest album, that process continues. For the effort, he is joined by an all-star roster of guests that includes Logic, 2 Chainz, Megan Thee Stallion, and Ty Dolla Sign, among others.

Taylor Swift — Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions

Less than a week ago, Taylor Swift revealed that she and Folklore collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff hunkered down and recorded a live concert film. That premiered on Disney+ last week, but what she didn’t reveal in advance is that she would also share the audio as a live album, which hit streaming services as the film debuted.

Lil Yachty — Lil Boat 3.5

Less and less time passes between standard edition albums and their deluxe counterparts these days, but Lil Yachty has a more traditional-style expanded effort on his hands. Lil Boat 3.5 adds a solid EP’s worth of new material that adds collaborations with Oliver Tree, Vince Staples, Playboi Carti, and Lil Baby.

King Princess — “Pain”

King Princess established herself as a pop superstar in the making last year with Cheap Queen, and recent activity suggest her debut album’s follow-up may soon be on the way. Last week, she dropped her second single of 2020, “Pain,” which she called “probably my favorite song I’ve ever written.”

Saint Jhn — “Smack DVD” Feat. Kanye West

Saint Jhn got a feature from Kanye West on his latest, “Smack DVD,” but ‘Ye didn’t have as much input on the track’s video. In the visual, Jhn playfully addresses the fact that he didn’t run the clip by Kanye, who may not have loved the stripper-filled video given his newfound piety.

Rina Sawayama — “Lucid”

People living through 2020 could use some encouragement, and that’s what Sawayama aimed to provide on “Lucid.” She said of the track, “2020’s been a tough year so I wanted to finish it off with a dance bop to take us into a more hopeful 2021.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s not uncommon to see popular songs that are under three minutes in length. The original version of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (without Billy Ray Cyrus) for example, is actually under two minutes long. London-based label PLZ Make It Ruins has taken brevity to the next level with its new compilation, though, which features a slew of loops that are all just 1.8 seconds long.

PLZ Make It Ruins Presents Locked Grooves is set to be released on December 4, and proceeds will be split between the ACLU and Liberty UK. Artists represented on the tracklist include Arca, Blood Orange, Clairo, Dominic Fike, Four Tet, Haim, Kenny Beats, Mura Masa, Octo Octa, Porches, and Skrillex.

Listen to 100 Gecs’ contribution, “One Bar To Rule Them All,” above and find the PLZ Make It Ruins Presents Locked Grooves tracklist below.

SIDE A
1. 100 Gecs — “One Bar To Rule Them All”
2. Arca — “UwU”
3. ARTHUR — “rest_less”
4. Blood Orange — “MORRIS”
5. Buddy Ross — “Future”
6. Channel Tres — “Locked In”
7. Clairo — “Jasper”
8. Daniel Aged — “3 pictures”
9. Dijon — “PEACKOCK!”
10. Dominic Fike — “Cheesy Wine”
11. Duval Timothy — “Penny Sweet”
12. Eris Drew — “The Beat That Never Dies”
13. Floating Points — “Recourting”
14. Four Tet — “If You Spin Your Love Around”
15. Haim — “I Know Alone”
16. John Glacier — “Shiny Sounds”
17. Kelsey Lu — “Only”
18. Kelvin Krash — “Guardian Angel”
19. Kenny Beats — “dontoverthinkshit”
20. King Krule — “Moonnn”

SIDE B
1. Lauren Auder — “Thorn”
2. Loraine James — “Sooth”
3. Matthew Tavares — “I Know Myself”
4. Mica Levi — “”
5. Mk.Gee — “LL6 +50c”
6. Mura Masa — “Reassurance Loop”
7. object blue — “print sprint”
8. Octo Octa — “My Heart”
9. Oli XL — “Puppet”
10. OTTO — “Mr. Bilberry Badger’s Ringtone”
11. Overmono — “5 More Years Loop”
12. Porches — “:*)”
13. Raveena — “Heartbeat Blip””
14. Romil Hemnani — “rope”
15. Shygirl — “Shy Tag”
16. Skrillex — “Italian Sushi”
17. tn_490 — “Plus four runner”
18. Vegyn — “Circle”
19. Yawning Portal — “Lovely Poison in a Jade Wine Cup”
20. Zsela — “Liza”

Despite her husband losing the 2020 presidential election, Melania Trump has been hard at work on this year’s White House Christmas display. We also know that the first lady hated every minute of it, thanks to the infamous “Melania Tapes” that revealed her true feelings about her yuletide duties. Released in the fall, the recordings were made by Melania’s former best friend and senior advisor Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. The tapes showed a first lady who disliked not only managing the Christmas decorations, but also being asked about children in cages. It was not great. Via CNN:

“I’m working … my a** off on the Christmas stuff, that you know, who gives a f*ck about the Christmas stuff and decorations? But I need to do it, right?”

She continued, “OK, and then I do it and I say that I’m working on Christmas and planning for the Christmas and they said, ‘Oh, what about the children that they were separated?’ Give me a f*cking break. Where they were saying anything when Obama did that?

Now, here’s a reveal of the 2020 White House Christmas display.

It appears to be a step up from years past, particularly the dreaded 2018 blood tree display that looked like it came straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale. (Perhaps a subtle foreshadowing of Amy Coney Barret’s Supreme Court nomination?) However, the internet isn’t about to let the first lady live down her “Bah Humbug” remarks, and the comments have been going to town on this year’s Christmas video.

(Via Melania Trump on Twitter)

The Fargo Frozen Five is Uproxx’s weekly collection of thoughts, observations, and goofball screencaps from each new episode of the FX limited series’ fourth season. We do not guarantee that there will be five items every week. There could be four, or six, or a dozen. Who knows? This show doesn’t follow the rules. We shouldn’t have to either.

Episode 11 — “Storia Americana” (or “Josto And Loy And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”)

5a. I think we all knew Josto Fadda was not making it out of this season alive. There was just no conceivable combination of events that could have let him survive. There were two primary reasons for this: One, major characters who are involved in crime rarely survive a season of Fargo; two, he was a mouthy little self-important weasel who was obsessed with acquiring/maintaining power and he talked down to anyone he perceived as beneath him (so… everyone), and those types of characters rarely survive any show, with Pete Campbell from Mad Men being the most notable exception. Still, I did not have “double-crossed by his consigliere and framed for killing his father and brother and dumped in a dirt pit with a hole in his head next to the serial killer who actually did murder his father and later gave him a tugjob in the car while humming ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’” I think the real problem here isn’t so much a lack of imagination on my part as it is a lack of imagination on the show’s part. This is a show that, as recently as two episodes ago, sucked up a killer in a black-and-white tornado and launched him into the heavens. In the next episode, my sweet hefty prince Gaetano tripped and blew off 45 percent of his head with his own gun. Compared to those, Josto’s demise felt… normal. Straightforward. Perfectly explainable. Which is fine — ideal, even — for another show that traffics in straightforward, sensible answers. For Fargo, a show that does not do that, the normalcy of it felt weird and a little unfulfilling. In any event, rest in peace you little creep.

5b. Big shoutout to Doctor Harvard, the pretentious hospital administrator who survived Oraetta’s strychnine macaroons and fingered her for her litany of crimes, for tossing together the phrase “the wolf in sheep’s clothing had me bamboozled” as one of his last acts as a living person, just before he got bonked unconscious and filled with bullets by Josto.

5c. Shoutout to Josto, too, I guess, for the dramatic flair he displayed in killing off the doctor and his fiancée’s politician father. Is “flicking a cigarette into a pool of gasoline and then walking away from the explosion it eventually causes” a bit of a trope? Yes, sure, it happens a lot. But it happens a lot because it looks cool as hell. Fine by me. Do it in every show. Let Ted Lasso blow up some stuff. See what I care.

4. Loy Cannon didn’t make it out alive either, which surprised me for reasons I should have disregarded. Why did it surprise me that Zelmare Roulette knifed him on his porch as retribution for his hit on Swanee? I absolutely should have seen that coming, even after the show brought Satchel back home alive (more on this in a minute), and even after Ebal screwed him out of half his business in a move that winked at both how immigrants who assimilate as white have taken from those who can’t as long as America has existed and how huge corporations pushed out small businesses on every Main Street in America. It was a tough season for Loy. He thought his son died, his best friend did die, his plan to invent the credit industry got yoinked by Diner’s Club, and then he got hoodwinked by the guy he helped put in power at the top of the rival organization in town. Maybe that’s why I thought he would survive, because the show had been taking things from him all season. But again, I should have pushed that thought away. Fargo isn’t big on moral victories. And Loy was a loansharking criminal who preyed on the weak. This was bound to happen. It still made me a little sad. I don’t know.

4b. It was nice that Zelmare got the final word regarding Swanee but I can’t help but feel like the show wasted what was generally a very fun character. She and Swanee were a hoot, especially Swanee, and I wonder if the show bit off so much at the start that it couldn’t service all of its characters even as it thinned the herd via murder. There might have been just too much going on. It’s a shame for a bunch of reasons but one of the bigger reasons is that Zelmare and Swanee could have been a whole show.

4c. Do we got oranges scattered about the scene of a dead mob boss as a younger relative looks on in sadness and confusion like we up and transported into The Godfather? Baby, you know we do.

3. If we’re running down characters of note who ended the season somewhat less than alive, then I suppose we should also say goodnight to Oraetta Mayflower, the Minnesota-nice nurse who loved baking and vigorous sexual escapades almost as much as she loved murdering people. She really did love murdering people. She loved it so much. She even loved watching people get murdered by someone else, which we discovered in her last moments when she asked if Joe Bulo could shoot Josto first so she could watch and then smiled like a freak as Josto’s brain juice got soaked up by the dirt. Probably best for the hospital patients of the Midwest that she’s gone, but she was kind of fun (I mean, as far as mentally disturbed Angels of Death go), so… No, let’s not talk ourselves into looking at a murderess who collected tokens of her victims and stole drugs from the hospital with rose-colored glasses. It’s definitely a good thing she’s in that hole.

2a. While I think I would have appreciated young Satchel Cannon roaming the streets alone with his doggy friend and pulling guns on various yokels that cross him like a little independent renegade, I cannot argue with the look of overwhelming happiness and relief on Mama Cannon’s face upon seeing her thought-dead baby alive and sauntering down the stairs. That was nice. I very much want to see Mama Cannon happy because Mama Cannon rules. I only have two bones to pick, really. The first is that Satchel left the front door open when he came home, and that one is only because I’ve been on the receiving end of enough “Were you born in a barn?”s to know he was raised better than that. He’s a good boy. He’s not wasting that electricity. I’m sure of it. The second thing is… let’s start a new section.

2b. Yes, Satchel Cannon is Mike Milligan. The mid-credits scene confirmed the thing many of us suspected as soon as we did the “the guy who is raising him is named Milligan and the timelines work out and they brought in Joe Bulo so we know the universes are connected” math. I don’t know if the show intended it to be a big reveal that people sniffed out early or if the show was winking that was on purpose all season and waiting to pay it off. Either way, there it was, with a Bokeem Woodbine cameo and everything. As I mentioned above, I kind of wish he had never come home first, if only because he already had all the origin story he needed and I like the idea of him being a globetrotting self-made man. I had that all worked out in my head. Now I have to figure out how and why he left home — and his Mama — again and left their name behind in the process. It’s a tough spot to be in. I like being right but I don’t like thinking a lot. Let’s just focus on the first part.

1.The season ended as it began, with Ethelrida explaining the history of America in her report, complete with a bit about winners and losers and who gets to tell the stories from the past versus who gets their stories told. She was one of the most interesting characters on the show this season — she took down a serial killer and outwitted Loy Cannon’s organization and she knows French, which is less important than the first two but still impressive — and the show might have been better off giving her more to do. If we assume this whole season was told by Ethelrida in her history report (which would be weird, especially considering all the murder and autoerotic asphyxiation), I think I’d give her a B or a B-. There was an interesting story with some fun twists and notable figures, but it all kind of lagged in places and the payoff left something on the table. Ethelrida won’t be happy about getting a B, if I know her like I think I do at this point. But the truth is, a B or a B- season of Fargo is still a better ride than an A or A- effort out of a lesser show. We’re grading on a curve here. It’s not fair but, as we saw repeatedly from this season, life rarely is.

It’s Fox News anchor against Fox Business anchor, which is something that no one would have expected to see a year ago (since Shep Smith left town, that is), but President Trump’s fake “election fraud” claims are tearing the cable news set apart. Things were bound to get interesting after Fox and Friends crapped all over Trump’s conspiracy about evil software changing people’s votes, even as Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson are keeping their tin-foil hat-dream alive. And now, Eric Shawn isn’t here for colleague Maria Bartiromo’s lie-filled Trump interview from this past weekend.

This would be the same interview in which Trump complained to Bartiromo about “massive dumps” that cost him the election. That’s bizarre enough, but Bartiromo didn’t challenge any of Trump’s claims, despite judge after judge shutting down the Trump campaign’s “voter fraud” lawsuits and the New York Times securing statements from state officials, who all say there’s no evidence of voter fraud. Trump, however, insisted to Bartiromo that there’s “so much evidence” to support his allegations, and mean judges “won’t allow us” to run with it.

Bartiromo did no fact-checking on Trump’s baseless claims. In response, CNN’s Brian Stelter stated, on air, of the interview, “This was not hardball. It wasn’t even softball. It was t-ball.” Stelter also tweeted this clip of Eric Shawn’s on-air refutation of the debacle.

Here’s what Eric Shawn said:

“He doubled down on his claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, even though local and national election officials, as well as federal and state courts in multiple states, and in some cases the Trump campaign’s own lawyers, have said there is no evidence to prove that. Experts say such claims are unsupported falsehoods that are not backed up by any facts.”

Things are not looking good for Maria Bartiromo here, right? She was cool with Trump declining to provide the evidence that he insists exists, despite experts and state officials insisting that this evidence does not exist. It’ll be interesting to see how Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson handle this one, given that Bartiromo (as Vox’s Aaron Rupar puts it) is “basically a North Korean news anchor now.”

The Gallagher family will soon take a final lap on Showtime’s Shameless for an eleventh season to match the duration of the show’s U.K. counterpart, which (of course) entered finale territory in a different manner. For one thing, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic, one that pushed back Showtime’s summer release plans. Following rewrites, the show got back on course for a December 7 return date with plans to not-ignore what’s happening with a Chicago South Side spin. One can obviously expect the show to tackle Covid-19 in a different context than, say, the gruelingly appropriate Grey’s Anatomy treatment that’s ongoing. Whether the Shameless version will treat the virus with gallows humor or as a strictly-practical component of the story, who knows?

What is more certain, though, is that many open threads remain from the most recent season, which capped off the show’s Emmy Rossum-less voyage. Mickey and Ian are now married (will it last?), Lip has fallen off the wagon after another blowout with Tami, and Frank’s still an irredeemable mess. According to this season’s synopsis, Carl will become a cop (no kidding) while Lip juggles increased patriarch duties. Series creator John Wells also revealed that Debbie must register as a sex offender, which feels like post-dated comeuppance after she lost her virginity (and became pregnant) by raping Derek back in Season 5. So, those things will definitely happen, but what else should happen? I made a wish list for the last Shameless rodeo.

5. At least drop some hints about a future spinoff:

Not too long ago, the show torched its best chance at setting up a spinoff for Liam, who would have been ideal to revisit in a few years or even a decade. The framing was optimal, given that Liam found a role model (Mavar) outside of the family and a real chance at escaping Gallagher-dom. Unfortunately, Liam — after showing a ton of character development and exasperated awareness of his purpose as a tool for Frank’s grifting — instead chose to tell Mavar to go to hell. It made no sense after the writers propped up Liam’s situation, so that he might actually break away from the Gallagher cycle, but yeah, I gave up on a Liam-and-Mavar buddy-comedy series. Now, I can only hold out hope that Veronica and Kevin could fuel their own little spinoff-startup down the street. They are endlessly entertaining and a lot less stressful to witness than the Lip-and-Tami train. Oh, and Frank definitely would not be invited to the party, and that’s a promising detail that can’t be overlooked for a fresh take to launch a franchise.

4. Put a fork in Frank, for real this time:

Enough, already. Yes, Frank is an anthropomorphized cockroach, but even roaches can be exterminated. After he’s caused misery (and even, in some cases, death) to so many people in his path, the time has finally come for Frank to die. How should it happen? That’s a tough one. It shouldn’t be a coronavirus-caused death. That’d be too fraught with mixed emotions, and it would paint Frank in a sympathetic light. That can’t happen. He’s trash, so he needs to go out as a direct consequence of his own actions. Or fall into the river. I’d be alright with that, too. Don’t let anyone be sad about it, and don’t make it bleakly funny either. Frank ceased to be comic relief seasons ago, and after he faked his own demise and somehow survived destroying his own liver, the show should just do it and move right on to the next scene. He deserves no more and no less.

3. Let’s see both Mandy Milkovich-es: Why not?

Alright, I’m being absurd here, but I think that a fine bottle episode could be had by bringing back Mandy, and by that, I mean both Mandys. So, we’d see the version sweetly played by Jane Levy and the gritty devolution portrayed by Emma Greenwell. That tonal transformation was abrupt (even though it made sense without explanation), and Mandy never saw a proper resolution to her story. Instead, we saw her return for one Season 6 episode, when she called upon Ian to help her dispose of a dead body. That latter Mandy incarnation saw only tragedy and left her abusive family home to become an escort. I’d like to see the show actually put the two Mandys together (one perky and the other world-weary), and they could exact vengeance upon those who wronged them. It’d be nuts. Come to think of it, I’d watch Being Mandy Milkovich as a spinoff, too.

2. Allow Lip to feel enduring (and maybe even everlasting) happiness:

I got silly, and now it’s time to get serious. The death of Lip’s sobriety (the last time we saw him) was one of the greatest tragedies ever highlighted on this show. Years of hard work slipped down the drain, and now, he must claw his way back while juggling unsustainably increasing family responsibilities and dealing with Tami’s garbage treatment of him. Things are never as real for anyone else on Shameless than they’ve been for Lip, but it’s time to cut this guy a break. At least, let him achieve some form of peace. More AA meetings. More doing well at work. More of concentrating upon his own kid, rather than raising his siblings. Maybe less of Tami would help, and Lip surely deserves some freaking self-care time. I don’t care what it is: working on bikes, getting a mani-pedi, whatever he needs to unwind. Let him live some semblance of a normal life.

1. Bring back Fiona for the finale, and let Steve/Jimmy come, too:

I might get roasted for this one because Justin Chatwin’s character was very clearly a con artist, but he was still somehow less of a d*ck to Fiona (when he wasn’t disappearing, that is) than any other dirty, rotten scoundrel she dated. I mean, he didn’t exactly want to get kidnapped and stuffed on a boat and forced into “slave labor at a Brazilian cocoa processing plant,” right? Yeah, that was probably semi-embellishment from Steve, but he let Fiona know upfront that he was trouble. Whereas her other boyfriends hid drug addictions, publicly humiliated her, and gaslit her into oblivion. So if Emmy Rossum plans on making a quickie appearance as the show bows — and let’s face it, this has to happen — allow her to her do it after secretly reconciling with her first love on the show. It’d be a grand surprise to see this happen after Shameless finally removed Chatwin’s naked butt from the opening credits last year. Let the butt come back, too! And maybe Steve will have the medical degree that he wanted, so he can refuse to let Frank once again grift his way into organ-donation-land. See, now we’re having fun and solving problems because, guess what? Frank must die.

Showtime’s ‘Shameless’ will return on December 7.