Transparent Creator Apologizes for Transphobic Joke Mocking Bruce Jenner

TV Tattle

Transparent creator apologizes for transphobic joke mocking Bruce Jenner
Earlier this week, Jill Solloway posted a “Transdashian” spoof of her Amazon series to her Facebook page. “I couldn’t not,” she wrote, adding: “Someone sent it to me. Tell me it’s wrong and I’ll take it down.” When she realized her mistake, Solloway apologized: “It wasn’t until after I’d posted it on my Facebook page inviting debate that I saw it the way everyone else did: as a cruel mockery of the journey Bruce Jenner may or may not be undertaking. “

Bruce Jenner’s new E! show will document his transformation to a woman, People confirms
Previous reports have tiptoed around Jenner’s “journey” of a docuseries, which was revealed earlier this week. But People magazine confirms that Jenner is indeed “transitioning to a woman.” A source says the docuseries “will air when he is ready to be open about his transition. But he’s acting more and more confident and seems very happy.”

Now it’s clear that Game of Thrones will end before the books
George R.R. Martin needed to release the 2nd to last book, The Winds of Winter, this year to keep up with the series. But with the series set to end in 2017, it’s very unlikely the books will be completed before Game of Thrones ends. PLUS: Game of Thrones proves too big for IMAX, watch a high quality version of the new trailer, and check out 18 new photos from Season 5.

HBO orders a Lewis & Clark miniseries from Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton
Starring Casey Affleck as Meriwether Lewis and Matthias Schoenaertshe as William Clark, six-hour miniseries will be based on Band of Brothers author Stephen Ambrose’s book on the legendary explorers. Hanks produced Ambrose’s Band of Brothers as a 2001 HBO miniseries.

Super Bowl alternatives: From Fish Bowl to Kitten Bowl to Zombie Bowl
There will be a lot to watch this weekend for non-football fans, besides the Puppy Bowl.

Parenthood became a show nostalgic for a present that’s rapidly becoming past
The NBC series increasingly became out of touch with the real world, especially after it stopped caring about the economic circumstances of its characters. PLUS: How Parenthood thrived in spoilery live-tweeting world, and watch 4 scenes cut from the finale.

Busy Philipps will play Danny McBride’s ex-wife on Vice Principals
The Cougar Town star is joining the HBO comedy as McBride’s character’s ex-wife and mother to his child, who has remarried.

How Katy Perry compares to her recent Super Bowl halftime predecessors
The NY Times says Perry “doesn’t have the musical heft or toughness of her immediate predecessors on the Super Bowl stage — she’s far fluffier than Madonna or Beyoncé, both steely and practiced — and is known more for shooting fireworks from her chest than the safe, throwback authenticity flaunted by Bruno Mars, whose performance last year drew a record 115.3 million viewers.” PLUS: Perry’s “Cool Girl” image makes her perfect for the Super Bowl.

As Rosie and Whoopi feud, The View’s viewership declines
The ABC daytime talk show hasn’t benefited by last fall’s drastic makeover, and ABC will have to make a decision on whether to keep around Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell and their big salaries.

The Bachelor failed to deliver on its promise of showing tent sex
Once again, the ABC promos lied.

Shark Tank fan analyzed 432 pitches to find out how the Sharks spent their money
“I think the main takeaway is the fact that the bigger the team is, the higher your chances are to get an investment,” says Jishai Evers, who spent three days going through six seasons to come to his results.

Recalling 3rd Rock from the Sun’s post-Super Bowl episode
Featuring guest-stars Angie Everhart and Cindy Crawford as “Venusians,” the 1998 episode supposedly “killed the ‘90s.”

Inside SNL‘s set-building factory
Located in a Brooklyn Navy Yard about seven miles from Rockefeller Center, the “set-building factory” contains remnants of past sets. “On paper, most of the sets look impossible,” says designer Leo Yoshimura, who’s been with Saturday Night Live since the beginning. “But I don’t remember any instance when we said we couldn’t do it. We always do it.” PLUS: Darrell Hammond calls his announcer gig “a blast. Talk about a cushy job.”

Steven Spielberg’s daughter to star in a Snapchat web series
Sasha Spielberg will also serve as a writer on Literally Can’t Even about a group of female friends.

Letterman and John Oliver show the clash between late-night’s old and new guard
As Chris Wade notes of Oliver’s Late Show visit: “Seeing Oliver and Letterman’s distinct styles bump up against each other offered a revealing window into the old vs. new guard of late night. The currency John Oliver trades in is substance—the packaged delivery of information and argument, while Letterman dwells lovingly in daily ephemera.

Novelist David Duchovny had no idea X-Files co-star Gillian Anderson wrote a book
“I didn’t read Gillian’s book,” says Duchovny in an interview about his new Holy Cow book. “We just had breakfast a few days ago, and she didn’t even mention that she had one.”

Scandal finally had a self-contained episode that non-fans could watch
If you’re going to watch one episode of the Shonda Rhimes series, “Run” is the one to check out. PLUS: Did Scandal dumb down Olivia Pope?, where to get Olivia’s lock-lifting bra, examining Olivia’s prison hair, and Kerry Washington has fears of being killed off.

How Elementary told avoided the usual rape storyline
“Instead of falling into easy clichés of inimical women and fragile victims, ‘Elementary’ proceeded to create not only an authentic representation of female friendship, but also a deeply empathetic, empowered story of rape survival,” says Ariane Lange of the recently concluded Kitty Winter storyline. “The crime is named. The woman does not “overcome,” but rather takes charge of her recovery. She is surrounded by a network of support. Her story is never disbelieved. And, ultimately, Kitty shreds her rapist’s cloak of respectability.”

Seth Meyers: My NBC contract forbids me from beating up Jimmy Fallon
The Late Night host, who’s helming Saturday’s NFL Honors awards on NBC Saturday night, admits he’d probably lose in a fight with Fallon.

SVU is making a GamerGate episode
The “Law & Order” franchise will tackle sexism in video game culture with Feb. 11’s “Intimidation Game” episode.

Preview Adam Pally’s exit from The Mindy Project
“I am officially quitting Schulman & Associates,” Peter Prentice announces in next week’s episode.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine mulls hooking up Jake & Amy
“We’re trying to build towards something between the two of them maybe happening,” says exec producer Dan Goor. “When two people who are attracted together are working together, things happen, so yes, something could happen.”

Farrah Abraham returning to MTV for Teen Mom OG
Other Teen Mom stars are said to be unhappy that Farrah is getting her own “original girls” spinoff.

Annalise Keating’s How to Get Away with Murder necklaces, ranked
Where does Annalise store her “on-point necklace collection”?

Girls and Looking are taking the week off for the Super Bowl
Both shows are facing stiff competition this season, including the Academy Awards in three weeks.

Waitress fired for allegedly discriminating against W. Kamau Bell
The former FXX talk show host had written a viral blog post about experiencing racism this week on his birthday.

An Americanized Black Mirror is a terrible idea
The Netflix import is a uniquely British show, and should stay that way. PLUS: Black Mirror owes its American stature to social media.

Why Portlandia went to full episodes
Fred Armisen says the full episodes at the end of every season were the episodes everybody looked forward to. “We kept looking forward to making those episodes, so we were like, ‘Why don’t we just do all of them like that?’” he says.

Rob Lowe gets Beautiful & Twisted on Lifetime this weekend
Lowe joins Paz Vega in Saturday’s ripped-from-the-headlines movie, playing a murdered rich man who tells his story from beyond the grave.