There are scores of TV shows out there, with dozens of new episodes each week, not to mention everything you can find on Hulu Plus, Netflix streaming, and HBO Go. How’s a viewer to keep up? To help you sort through all that television has to offer, Flavorwire is compiling the five best moments on TV each week. This time, it’s all about late night and political humor as broadcast settles into a midseason lull and primary season heats up.
Coldplay Beyoncé Takes the Field
In between some truly surreal ads and a small pinch of football, Coldplay kindly sacrificed their own halftime show to two much more highly regarded live performers: 2014 headliner Bruno Mars and, of course, 2013 headliner Beyoncé, who essentially used the most coveted concert gig in America as a promo spot for her freshly debuted single “Formation.” Beyoncé always delivers a great show; this particular show came with Black Panther iconography and on-field pyrotechnics. 2016 is off to a solid start.
A Question Mark of an Exclamation Point
After months of hype, Samantha Bee still managed to ace the premiere of her weekly satire show Full Frontal. True to her time at The Daily Show, however, the best part was likely the field segment, in which Bee introduced (but did not star in) a Herzog-style documentary about the sad state of the Jeb! — or is it Jeb? — campaign. It’s stylish, it’s smart, it’s sharp as hell, and it’s a welcome new addition to an election season that’s been surprisingly short on hard-hitting political humor.
Bernie Sandwich
Yes, Stephen Colbert did riff on Chris Hayes’ instantly iconic Freudian slip, but the most interesting part of The Late Show‘s New Hampshire postgame was the host’s sit-down with the winner himself. Colbert is proving an incredibly adept interviewer of politicians (particularly progressive ones — his ready admission that he’s rich, famous, and generally privileged feels new and refreshing), and Sanders proved no exception. They touch on Trumpmania, the New Hampshire victory, and most importantly, references Bernie doesn’t understand.
The Art of the Trump Impersonation
It’s unclear if Funny Or Die’s made-for-Internet spoof film of Donald Trump necessarily counts as “television,” but these days television means basically anything you want it to, so why not? The 50-minute masterpiece stars Johnny Depp as the Donald himself, some gloriously retro ’80s VHS cinematography, and a cavalcade of guests, starting with Patton Oswalt as Merv Griffin. SNL ought to give Depp a call when they’re tired of trotting out Darrell Hammond for the umpteenth time.
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore Get More: The Nightly Show Full Episodes,The Nightly Show on Facebook,The Nightly Show Video Archive
White Boys and Dogs
11-year-old Marley Dias’ catchy slogan for her book drive — that she’s tired about books starring white dudes in the making and their canine companions — has taken the blogosphere by storm, but Larry Wilmore took the extra step of inviting her to come on his show (and presenting her with the 100 emoji on a plaque). She is, unsurprisingly, eloquent and gracious about representation in publishing. She’s also a big fan of Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming.