Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
TV Junkie: New 'Mortified Sessions'; Hoping That We Get More 'After Lately'
Alanis Morissette is featured in tonight's "The Mortified Sessions" on Sundance at 8pm.
()
I keep meaning to tell you about this great show on Sundance called "The Mortified Sessions." I've been watching it as it reruns during other days of the week but new episodes premiere on Monday nights at 8pm. The show has various performers and high-profile individuals relate some kind of horribly embarrassing moment or moments they experienced as a kid. Tonight's subjects are Alanis Morissette and TOM Shoes Founder Blake Mycoskie but previous episodes have included Eric Stonestreet of "Modern Family," and Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" to name a couple.
---
Hopefully after an exhausting and brain-numbing afternoon yesterday you tuned into E! to catch "After Lately" at 11pm for another great episode. The season finale is next Sunday, January 29th, and that's a shame because I feel like we're just getting rolling with the show. The show had a hiatus over the holidays and another last week because of Golden Globes coverage which has broken up the show quite a bit over the last 2 months. I'd like to appeal to E! to commission multiple seasons of the show with at least 12 episodes per season. It's obvious that people love the show as my twitter feed comes alive with compliments about it every Sunday night. Last night was no exception as Reese Witherspoon returned to the offices of "Chelsea Lately" to interfere with production and cause tensions with the staff and senior writer Brad Wollack got super-POd about parking, just like what happens in any office any week of the year. Somehow Chelsea Handler has persuaded these celebrity guests to let down their guard and appear human on this show and as a result you get to see how flexible and talented both the guests and the in-house crew at "Chelsea Lately" are and it seems that each of the staff get to rotate in and have several moments to shine each season - is this some kind of egalitarian dictatorship?Word has it that the production of "Chelsea Lately" is moving to the sound stage where Conan O'Brien's short-lived tenure on "The Tonight Show" was produced. Hopefully this larger space will provide room for the various sets required for "After Lately" as well as the flagship show and we can get meatier seasons produced. Note for "Chelsea Lately" fans: Ross Matthews is hosting all this week as he told me at the Golden Globes.
---
Podcasts of Note: I had the great fortune of being at the recording of a couple of my favorite podcasts in the last week or so. First off is this Long Shot Podcast live performance edition recorded at the Hollywood Improv Lab on January 14th, where all the regular members (Amber Kenny, Sean Conroy, Jamie Flam, and Eddie Pepitone) did standup sets along with the brilliant Morgan Murphy. On January 16th I was at the recording of comedian Greg Fitzsimmons' Sirius XM radio show as well as this edition of FitzDog Radio with Merrill Markoe, author and longtime former producer of "Late Night With David Letterman." Both are excellent episodes and range from the hilarious to the informative. Check them out.
---
The TV Junkie: "Adventure Time," "The Mortified Sessions," "The Layover," "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern," "Conan," "Jimmy Kimmel Live"
7:30pm Adventure Time Cartoon Network - A new half-hour of this awesome series! If you don't like it, lump off!
8:00pm The Mortified Sessions Sundance - Singer Alanis Morissette & TOM Shoes Founder Blake Mycoskie
9:00pm The Layover Travel - Los Angeles Tony stays in Los Angeles for 48 hours to find his favorite restaurant.
Support for LAist comes from
9:00pm Fear Factor NBC - Leeches & Shaved Heads & Tear Gas, Oh My! -- Part 1 Contestants connected to a helicopter via bungee cord are ripped off a cliff's edge
10:00pm Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern Travel - Twin Cities Old fashioned is combined with modern innovation to create some interesting comfort foods in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
10:00pm Castle ABC - An Embarrassment of Bitches The investigation into the death of a famous dog trainer leads to a reality-TV star.
10:00pm American Masters PBS SoCal/KOCE - Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune The life of activist and singer-songwriter Phil Ochs.
11:00pm Chelsea Lately E! - TV host Alexa Chung; comic April Richardson; comic John Caparulo; comic TJ Miller.
11:00pm ConanTBS - Actor Casey Anderson; Morena Baccarin; Wilco performs.
12:05am Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC - Actor Kiefer Sutherland; adventurer Bear Grylls; Young the Giant performs.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Diving has changed, mountain biking has been added. Here's where to watch the Olympics in person in 2028. -
'A Great Day in the Stoke' is a free, daylong event in Orange County billed as 'the largest gathering of Black surfers in history.' The fourth annual festival is set for Saturday in Huntington Beach. -
Kimmel returned less than a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made about the assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk. -
Southern California might see some light rain tonight into Wednesday morning. After that, cooler weather is on the way, but expect the humidity to remain. -
A gate tax at Disney? It's a possibility. -
UCLA and University of California leaders are fighting Trump’s demands for a $1.2 billion settlement over a litany of accusations, including that the campus permits antisemitism.
Best of LAist