Thursday Cable Ratings 1/30/20: Freeform Lineup Uniformly Soars, Fox News and CNN Dominate Impeachment Coverage

Below are the top 25 programs on cable. Items of note include Everything's Gonna Be Okay on Freeform, the return of Impractical Jokers on TruTV, and Senate Impeachment coverage on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.
(Note: Click the names of the shows written in purple or blue to be taken to their pages in the TV Ratings Guide Cable Database.)
Show
Network
18-49 Viewers
Viewers (mil.)
Dr. Pimple PopperTLC0.512.77
My Feel Are Killing MeTLC0.432.35
30 for 30EPSN0.430.94
The First 48A&E0.371.18
The Ingraham AngleFox News0.364.11
60 Days InA&E0.350.92
Floribama ShoreMTV0.350.66
NBA: Warriors v. CelticsTNT0.340.90
HannityFox News0.344.32
Tucker Carlson TonightFox News0.323.92
Impractical JokersTruTV0.310.57
NBA: Jazz v. NuggetsTNT0.30.80
Anderson Cooper 360CNN0.291.52
Alaska PDA&E0.290.95
Fox News At NightFox News0.282.63
CNN Impeachment CoverageCNN0.281.75
Project RunwayBravo0.261.24
Christina on the CoastHGTV0.251.37
The StoryFox News0.253.01
CNN Impeachment CoverageCNN0.251.63
The FiveFox News0.253.31
CNN Impeachment CoverageCNN0.251.61
Swamp PeopleHistory0.251.43
Cuomo Prime TimeCNN0.241.45
Homestead RescueDiscovery0.241.22




Highlights Below the Chart:


Grown-ishFreeform0.230.46
Anderson Cooper 360CNN0.221.21
Impeachment AnalysisMSNBC0.212.27
The 11th HourMSNBC0.181.75
Senate ImpeachmentMSNBC0.181.93
Erin Burnett OutFrontCNN0.161.25
Everything's Gonna Be OkayFreeform0.130.26
Senate ImpeachmentMSNBC0.121.42
The Bold TypeFreeform0.110.23
Morning JoeMSNBC0.091.12

Finally Back Home Season 1 Episode 4: Job Trouble


BOB
Brian, can I see you for a minute?

BRIAN
You’re looking at me right now.

BOB
I meant in my office.

BRIAN
Yeah okay. Where is that again?

BOB
Follow me.

BRIAN
So what brings me to your office?

BOB
Your performance.

BRIAN
What about it?

BOB
It’s terrible.

BRIAN
How could that be? I sold a mattress a couple weeks ago!

BOB
I saw the whole thing. You had no role in him buying a mattress. You’re lucky to have gotten that commission.

BRIAN
I can’t control if someone buys a mattress or not.

BOB
That’s your job!

BRIAN
Oh. Any tips for me?

BOB
You’re fired.

BRIAN
You can’t fire me!

BOB
I can and I just did.

BRIAN
What?? Who is going to take my place?

BOB
I have the right person for the job.

BOB and BRIAN and walks out the door, meeting FRAN and MR. FROG.

BOB
Fran, I have news for you. I had to fire Brian because of poor performance, and guess who’s taking his job?

FRAN
Oh that’s terrible! For him at least, I won’t let you down as a salesperson!

BOB
Who said you were going to become a salesperson? You’re the sign holder now! Mr. Frog, follow me, you have yourself a new job.

FRAN
I’m so sorry Brian! How are we gonna make ends meet now?

BRIAN
Don’t worry about it, I have an idea.

CUT to JOSH and ANDREW, at home.

JOSH
Nice to have a day off.

ANDREW
Hearing Doris yell Doctor Whiskers is only funny so many times.

JOSH
Any updates on the kid?

ANDREW
Not yet. Last time I talked we’re supposed to have him soon. Fran’s probably still upset that it’s not a girl.

JOSH and ANDREW hear a heavy knock on the door. JOSH opens it and finds BRIAN standing outside.

JOSH
Dad, you could’ve just used your keys to unlock the door you know.

ANDREW
Why are you home from work so early?

BRIAN
I got fired.

ANDREW
For future reference are you just going to be wherever we go? I thought that was against our agreement.

BRIAN
It was. Luckily, I think this makeup artist thing is going to work out for me full-time. I talked to Dog Woofers about it and he said it sounded good.

JOSH
Yeah I’m quitting. And it’s Doctor Whiskers, if it matters.

ANDREW
You can’t quit, we need the money!

FRAN opens the door.

FRAN
Yeah I got fired too.

BRIAN
What did you do?

FRAN
Yelled at a potential customer. What was I supposed to do, let her get away with skipping work?

JOSH
How do you know she was skipping work?

FRAN
She kept talking to herself, saying “Doris, get away from that doctors’ office for good already”. So I already know of one job opening!

ANDREW
Is this happening?

Thursday TV Ratings 1/30/20: The Good Place Rises for Series Finale, Evil Finale Also Upticks, Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy Slide (UPDATED)


Finals Update: 'The Good Place' Retrospective Special (0.5, -0.1) adjusted down.
Time
Show
18-49 Rating/Share
Viewers (mil)
Channel
8 PMYoung Sheldon1.0/58.64CBS

Station 191.0/66.12ABC

Last Man Standing0.7/43.94Fox

Superstore0.7/42.78NBC

Supernatural0.3/21.07The CW
8:30 PMThe Good Place (Series Finale)0.7/42.32NBC

The Unicorn0.6/45.76CBS

Outmatched0.6/32.34Fox
9 PMGrey's Anatomy1.1/55.56ABC

Mom0.7/46.08CBS

Deputy0.6/33.34Fox

Legacies0.3/20.86The CW
9:30 PMCarol's Second Act0.6/34.60CBS

The Good Place Special0.5/31.93NBC
10 PMA Million Little Things0.6/33.81ABC

Law & Order: SVU0.6/43.63NBC

Evil (F)0.5/33.19CBS
Key:
(F) = finale

Off Topic -- Week 20 (2019-20 Season)

Welcome to a new week of Off Topic. Let's discuss away.

ICYMI: A new episode of Jessica's Show is now available on Anchor and other podcasting platforms. Here is the latest one here.

The Good Place Series Finale Review


WARNING: This review contains multiple spoilers for the series finale of The Good Place. If you haven't watched it yet and intend to, do not continue any further.

NBC's The Good Place came into the world four years ago, seemingly as a show about a woman who ended up in heaven when she didn't belong there. After a season full of twists and turns, the show threw one hell of a twist at its viewers in the first season finale, and the show was never the same since. Though at the time I wasn't a fan of that twist, I now see it as one of the all-time great TV twists. One that most shows wouldn't have been able to pull off so well. If done unsuccessfully, the show could have been absolutely ruined. Instead, though, it made this show into so much more than it otherwise would've been.

It's hard to say goodbye, but let's get to discussing the finale now. The episode immediately preceding it saw the show's beloved quartet of "cockroaches" finally making it to The Good Place, along with everyone's favorite good demon/fire squid and Not a Girl. The finale takes place many Jeremy Bearimys later and sees Jason become the first member of the group to decide to walk through the door they had established in the prior episode, ending his existence. It's all extremely bittersweet, but in the end, it's for the best. Tahani is the next to decide to go through, though she ultimately decides against it and becomes an architect. After Eleanor ultimately decides it's for the best, Chidi decides to go through the door and becomes the first to go through, since Jason was waiting to see Janet one last time before going through. Eleanor then helps Mindy St. Claire get out of the Medium Place and decides to finally walk through the door herself. Before that happens, she has to help Michael, talking to the judge and getting her to agree to let him become a human. Thanks to their contributions to the universe, the judge allows this and Eleanor's final mission is complete. Michael heads to earth as a human and begins to get acquainted as Eleanor walks through the door and ends her existence.

Going into this finale, there were a few ways that I definitely did not want to see the show end. At the top of that list was having the characters all walk through the door and ceasing to exist. Even as the episode made it clear that that was indeed how the show would end, I was against it and ready to be very upset with the way the show ended. Instead, though, the show was able to use the small amount of time it had left to make me feel that that was the only way it could truly end. It's extremely unusual for me to truly love a show's series finale. It's even more unusual for a show to actually challenge my previous perception of how the show should end and make me accept and even be extremely glad that the show wasn't ending it that way. Though it's sad to see the characters go through the door, that's just life. That a show known for throwing twists at the viewers week after week would end in a way that most of its viewers could've seen coming a mile away is so, so fitting. While life itself throws curveballs at you all the time, we all know how it will end. The Good Place was, at its core, a show about life and the human condition. This ending helped it continue to be that.

The Good Place was never a show that was going to have a very long run. It set out to tell a very specific story and that story reached its natural end. It could have gone on a bit longer, but it would've just been delaying the inevitable and making everything less enjoyable than it should be (just as Eleanor had done in trying to convince Chidi not to walk through the door). This was the time to bow out, and I'm grateful that they took the high road. I'll dearly miss the show and especially its cast of zany and wonderful characters (and the actors that portray them). I tried my best not to, but I cried from the moment that Jason said his farewell to everyone until the moment the episode came to a close. Even writing this review I'm still occasionally welling up with tears at the thought of this great show being over. Ultimately though, that just shows what a deeply special show this has been. I'll miss it, but I'm glad it went out with a bang. This was the best episode of television I've seen in 2020, and the best series finale I've seen since Veep.

I could wax poetic about how fantastic this show is and how wonderful the finale was, but I'm going to wrap things up here. This finale was truly perfection, and everything a finale should be. It provided closure to every major character the show has had, and even some very minor ones. It was so apparently crafted with love and care. It remained true to what the show was always about and served as the perfect sendoff for one of the best comedies on broadcast television.

Thank you to the cast and crew of The Good Place for sharing this show with us for four seasons. There were bumps along the road, but in the end, it stuck the landing in a forking extraordinary way. In the words of the great poet Michael Realman, take it sleazy.

Score: 10/10
Grade: A+

What did you think of the finale of The Good Place? Let me know in the comments below!

NBC Renew/Cancel Week 9: Law & Order: SVU’s Olivia Benson Will Be on the Case Another Year

On this week's NBC renew/cancel, the focus turns to the network's longest-running drama. Keep reading to see what's in store this week for Law & Order: SVU and the rest of NBC's lineup.

Certain Cancellation:
Bluff City Law (0.6)
Perfect Harmony (0.4)

Likely Cancellation: 
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For the Bone Collector (0.5)

Leans Cancellation:
The Blacklist (0.5)

Leans Renewal: 
N/A

Likely Renewal:
Manifest (0.7)

Certain Renewal:
Chicago Fire (1.2)
Chicago PD (1.1)
Chicago Med (1.2)
Law & Order: SVU (0.7)
Saturday Night Live (1.3)
Superstore (0.7)

Already Renewed:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
New Amsterdam
This Is Us

Already Canceled/Final Season:
Blindspot
The Good Place
Sunnyside
Will & Grace

Coming Soon:
Council of Dads
Good Girls
Indebted
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

Law & Order: SVU: It's been a rough season for NBC's Thursday lineup, but SVU has always been one of the very few bright spots. As shows like Sunnyside and Perfect Harmony completely bomb in front of it and the other veteran shows decline, SVU has continued to routinely grow from its lead-ins and is consistently leading the 10 PM pack. If it was a show earlier in its run achieving this, it would've been a certain renewal for far longer. However, as I previously stated, SVU is the longest-running drama on NBC (and all of primetime television). Eventually, no matter how impressively it's performing, it has to end eventually. At this point, I think it's pretty unlikely that this will be the season. I find it hard to believe that NBC will unceremoniously cancel it in May given how much it means to them and how close of a relationship they have with creator Dick Wolf. This is the type of show that goes out with a big, previously-announced final season. They still have time to announce it as ending before May, but I still feel confident enough that it'll be back to upgrade it to a CERTAIN RENEWAL.

Superstore: Despite some weaker data points since it's returned from hiatus this month, SUperstore remains NBC's #1 comedy by a comfortable margin. It's also had the smallest year-to-year decline of any part of the Thursday lineup. While it may not be a huge hit by broadcast standards, it's a big performer for an NBC comedy. Its recent weak 0.7s don't deter me from keeping it as a CERTAIN RENEWAL.

What do you think of my predictions? What are your predictions? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to vote in the poll of the week!

Bake Your Heart Out Season 1 Episode 8 - The Super Bowl

 Bake Your Heart Out Season 1, Episode 8
The Super Bowl

Leslie is in Paul’s office for their meeting.
Paul: I have a new proposition for you.
Leslie: That’s never a good sign.
Paul: No, it’s a good thing.
Leslie: I still don’t believe you.
Paul: Seriously. I want your show to be this year’s Super Bowl lead-out. We’ve thought long and hard about this and figured that it’s best to go all out by putting the #1 show on TV behind the Super Bowl.
Leslie: Bake Your Heart Out?
Paul: Unless there’s a different show of yours that’s now the #1 show on TV, yes.
Leslie: You want to put a calm, relaxing show about baking on after the Super Bowl?
Paul: Yes.
Leslie: That feels misguided at best. Why don’t you just put something new there. Don’t you guys have a spinoff of Clue coming out?
Paul: Networks try time and time again to launch a new show after the Super Bowl and it never works out right. We’re putting our biggest hit there to capitalize on that big lead-in.
Leslie: I don’t know if I want you to.
Paul: Why are you so opposed to giving your show the best lead-in that it’s ever going to get. 100 million people watch the Super Bowl!
Leslie: Sure. But how many of those people watch Bake Your Heart Out?
Paul: Bake Your Heart Out averaged 22 million viewers last season, so I’d say 22 million Super Bowl viewers watch it.
Leslie: You really think the same people that are rabid NFL fans also happen to watch my show?
Paul: Considering that the wide majority of Super Bowl viewers aren’t even regular NFL fans, I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about.
Leslie: I just think that this could backfire on us. If the 22 million that watch Bake Your Heart Out don’t tune in at 10:30 or 11 o’clock or whenever the hell it eventually starts, a half-hour removed from the game, then they might not tune in on Wednesday when it starts airing regular episodes again. Then if these first-time viewers are all a bunch of sports fans that are only tuning in to see the Browns and the Jaguars or whoever’s in the game compete, they might hate it because it’s so radically different and then we have a bunch of people out there that hate our show just because they saw it one time and weren’t in the mood for relaxing baking.
Paul: Leslie, you know that I’ve grown quite fond of you.
Leslie: You have?
Paul: Yes, I consider you a strong acquaintance of mine.
Leslie: Oh.
Paul: You’re being ridiculous. I’ve never had anyone turn down a huge NFL lead-in. Mostly because I don’t give anyone that kind of power over me. I really had to convince the other executives to give this slot to your show over Freddy & William or one of the new shows. Don’t let me down.
Leslie: I’ll think about it. I’m not promising anything. I’m still not fond of the idea.
Leslie asks Sam, Diane, Frances and Garry to meet her at Sam’s to discuss Paul’s proposal.
Sam: Y’know, I still don’t understand why my house is always used for us to meet or have a party or do anything.
Frances: I had Christmas last year!
Leslie: You immediately moved that to my house. Now that I moved and won’t tell you guys where I live, one of you will have to step up to the plate.
Frances: Or you could tell us where you live!
Leslie: No thanks. Anyways, I wanted you guys to meet with me today because Paul asked for us to be the Super Bowl lead-out program this year.
Garry: That’s incredible!
Leslie: Is it?
Garry: Yes! Do you know how many people watch the Super Bowl!
Leslie: I’ve been told 100 million.
Sam: Explain to us how it wouldn’t be incredible for us to have something watched by 100 million people airing directly before our show.
Leslie: I already said all of this to Paul, but I see now that I have to convince you guys that I’m right so here goes nothing. I think that airing behind the Super Bowl could really damage the show. If regular viewers of Bake Your Heart Out aren’t watching it after the Super Bowl because it’s airing so late, and that’s our premiere episode, then they might end up just not watching the show when it moves to the regular time slot. I don’t think the majority of Super Bowl viewers would care about our show and our ratings out of the Super Bowl probably wouldn’t be as strong as other shows airing behind the game. Plus, these guys that love football would probably just hate on the show and give us a bad reputation.
Sam: That is ridiculous. We’ll be fine. We should take advantage of any favors the network is willing to give us.
Leslie: I’m afraid that the network will try and have us dumb the show down for the huge audience. You know, make it easier to follow and throw in some gimmicks to make it a bit more explosive and interesting.
Frances: Leslie, we’re a show about baking. We’re not Westworld. I don’t think it’s very hard to follow. Just let Paul do this.
Leslie: I’m feeling very pressured right now and I don’t like it.
Sam: You’re feeling pressured because you’re saying insane things and we’re pushing back on it.
Leslie: Oh come on. Diane, you’re with me, right?
Diane: Umm…
Leslie: Diane! Give me this. Give me one person!
Diane: I think you all raised some interesting points.
Sam: No she didn’t!
Diane: I just want to know who would get that post-Super Bowl slot if we didn’t. I don’t want to leave the network without a plan.
Leslie: We won’t! Paul said they’d just air Freddy & William there.
Diane: Oh, no. We’re taking that slot.
Leslie: I think you need to let go of your hate for Freddy & William.
Diane: Fred Jordan made fun of my husband’s death and made fun of me because of it. Remember? So no, I can’t let it go.
Leslie: No, I don’t remember. You never told me that.
Sam: It was me that you told, Diane.
Diane: Oh. Anyway, their show is a flop that’s going to really embarrass the network. Don’t let them win. Take the post-Super Bowl slot. It can’t go wrong.
Leslie: You guys really all think I’m being silly?
Frances: Yes!
Leslie: Even you, Garry?
Garry: I already made that perfectly clear.
Leslie: And after all I did for you when you thought you were pre-diabetic.
Garry: That doesn’t mean I owe you eternal blind loyalty.
Leslie: That was two weeks ago!
Sam: Can you guys please shut up? We obviously want the slot. Leslie, you’ve been outvoted. Go tell Paul we want it.
Leslie: Fine. But I’m not going to like it!
Sam: Nobody asked. Nobody cares.
Leslie: I’m going to tell him now. Last chance for everyone to change their minds!
Diane: Nobody’s gonna do that. Don’t worry your adorable little head about it.
Leslie walks out to the porch to call Paul while everyone else remains inside.
Garry: Why is Leslie so against airing behind the Super Bowl?
Diane: I think she's very self-conscious. I still don’t think she’s wrapped her head around the fact that she’s responsible for creating the #1 show on television. She probably doesn’t think the show is worthy of such a prestigious slot.
Sam: What makes you think that?
Diane: She’s said as much to me. She told me she never understood how it’s such a big hit and that she still doesn’t understand how the network does everything we ask them to do. She’s scared that airing behind the Super Bowl and disappointing in the ratings will lead to her suspicions of not being worthy coming true.
Frances: Now I feel bad.
Sam: I still don’t.
Frances: Of course you don’t.
Sam: She should get past her fears and not freak out about being given such a great opportunity.
Diane: She’s our friend, we need to be considerate of her feelings. Show her some love and compassion.
Sam: Relax, Marianne Williamson. I have plenty of love and compassion for her. I just don’t want her belief that our show isn’t worthy enough to cause her to make a mistake. She’s telling Paul that she’ll let him air the show after the Super Bowl, we don’t need to worry about it any further. Now, we’re all together. I know that Diane likes to drink a diabetes martini -
Diane: It’s a margarita.
Sam: Whatever. Who wants some drinks?
Leslie: I’ll take one! I need it!
Diane falls out of her chair.
Sam: What is wrong with you?
Leslie: Are you okay?
Diane: You scared me! I might be slightly intoxicated already.
Leslie: Oh, Diane.
Diane: I’m fine. I just poured a glass of wine while you guys were bickering. 
Frances: That we didn’t notice that is slightly confirming but I have a more pressing question. Leslie, what went on with Paul? You sound upset.
Leslie: Oh, nothing.
Garry: You can tell us.
Sam: Yes, you can, and you should. Because you’re worrying me. I’m starting to think you turned down the Super Bowl slot or something.
Leslie: I didn’t.
Sam: Didn’t you?
Leslie: I really didn’t.
Frances: Then what’s wrong?
Leslie: I have to go to Paul’s office tomorrow.
Diane: That’s not so bad, you do it every week anyway.
Leslie: In that meeting, I will be discussing a few notes from the network executives. Notes to make Bake Your Heart Out’s premiere appeal to football fans.
Sam: That’s not so bad. It’s not like the entire season will be football-themed, just the premiere.
Leslie: They want the two quarterbacks that will be in the Super Bowl to serve as guest judges on that episode.
Frances: Not more unqualified judges!
Leslie: Yes, I know.
Sam: Aren’t the league championship games only like two weeks before the Super Bowl?
Leslie: Funny you should ask. Yes, indeed they are!
Sam: So…
Leslie: We’d be filming our premiere episode about a week before it’s supposed to air, and then we’ll be filming our second episode a few days before it airs.
Frances: That’s impossible! We film a month before shows air!
Leslie: I said that to Paul. He said anything is possible if we set our minds to it.
Garry: Any other requests?
Leslie: No more yet. I’ll hear his other demands tomorrow. Should be fun.
Sam: Okay, I think we’re all in need of that booze now, so what does everyone want?
The next day, in Paul’s office…
Leslie: You’re getting what you want with me allowing Bake Your Heart Out to air after the Super Bowl. What else do you want from me? Last night on the phone you said you had some suggestions.
Paul: Okay, I’m going to run through some thoughts the other executives and I had for the Super Bowl episode and you can let me know what you think. First, we already talked about the quarterbacks being the guest judges.
Leslie: That simply is not going to work. We can’t film on such a tight schedule.
Paul: Don’t kid yourself. You can make it work, I know you can.
Leslie: Filming alone takes us two days. Then there’s editing, narration, reshoots, and the other little touches to make it all come together. We can’t get that done in a week, not when we have episode two airing three days after the premiere. This isn’t happening.
Paul: Okay, fine. can we at least have some former NFL player on the show?
Leslie: Yes, that’s fine. As long as we can film the episode at the beginning of January.
Paul: You can. Joe Montana is a buddy of mine and he has been dying to meet you guys. His whole family watches it and they all love it.
Leslie: That… seems hard to believe.
Paul: Okay, this is a pretty standard request that is non-negotiable.
Leslie: That word scares me.
Paul: We need for the cast of the show to go to the Super Bowl so we can put the cameras on them a few times throughout to help promote the show.
Leslie: So you want to send Sam, Diane, Garry and Frances of all people to a sporting event. I’m pretty sure Diane thinks the Super Bowl is for hockey and Frances thinks it’s the name of a figure skating rink.
Paul: They don’t have to serve as play-by-play analysts. They just have to be there and watch.
Leslie: They’re going to give me hell over it because they give me hell over everything, but I’ll tell them.
Paul: I’d also like to see you guys do a football theme for the premiere episode.
Leslie: Done. We can have the contestants build cakes in the shape of footballs and little eclairs shaped like footballs. This is actually a very reasonable request.
Paul: Okay…
Leslie: What? What are you about to say?
Paul: We’d like for the premiere episode to end in a cliffhanger.
Leslie: No!
Paul: I know you’re opposed to doing this, but I really think it can help us hold on to the extra viewers and get them to tune in to episode two.
Leslie: No way! We aren’t The Bachelor. You’re supposed to be able to tune in to Bake Your Heart Out and see an entire week of drama-free competition in one hour. No cliffhangers, no drama, no nonsense.
Paul: It would just really help us out if you could do a cliffhanger this one time.
Leslie: Not happening. Ever I can’t compromise my creative vision over a one-time airing after the Super Bowl that I didn’t even want to happen. 
Paul: Fine, no cliffhanger.
Leslie: Thank you.
Paul: One final request and then this meeting will be over.
Leslie: What is it?
Paul: You’re going to have to get the cast to film some Super Bowl-themed promos. I know how much they hate them.
Leslie: Fine. They aren’t divas on such a crazy level that they wouldn’t do that.
Paul: The one promo will be with cast members from the entire Wednesday lineup.
Leslie: By any chance is Freddy and William moving in midseason?
Paul: No, it is not.
Leslie: A condition of the Super Bowl slot is that I have to convince Diane to film a promo with Freddy & William?
Paul: Yes.
Leslie starts to groan.
Paul: Are you okay?
Leslie: No. This is going to be hell.
Paul: You know what they say. Baking is hell.
Leslie: Nobody says that, but it’s true. I have to go have a very serious talk with my lunatics so I should get going.
Paul: Take care.
Leslie: Same to you.
Leslie calls Diane, Sam, Frances and Garry and has them meet her at Sam’s house once again.
Sam: Seriously, why do we always meet here?
Leslie: It’s a very nice house.
Frances: So is mine!
Garry: Mine used to be but we’re baby-proofing and painting and doing so many repairs that it’s a total mess. Plus, Carly has been so grumpy lately now that her pregnancy is moving into the later stages. It’s not pretty.
Sam: Yeah, sounds like a real pain to bring life into the world. Thank god I’m a lesbian and couldn’t have children because then I would’ve had to cover up my outlets.
Garry: Sorry for sharing my struggles.
Leslie: So, the reason why I wanted to meet today is because I just had my meeting with Paul and wanted to discuss his suggestions.
Diane: Oh yes, how did it go?
Leslie: We aren’t going to film the episode a week before the air date. I got him to budge on that. We’ll return to filming at the beginning of January as always.
Frances: So no guest judge? Thank god.
Leslie: Oh, we will have a guest judge. Joe Montana. Apparently a big fan somehow.
Frances: You know, I’ve come to accept that I’m just going to be left out of these decisions.
Leslie: I had to give him something.
Frances: Sure, sure. Whatever. I was told when I decided to end Frances In the Kitchen in order to take their job that I’d be included in the creative process but I guess that was a lie. 
Leslie: It’s one more episode. You already did it with Charlotte Keen.
Frances: She was a professional though. I don’t know who this Joe Montana is but he doesn’t sound like a baking expert.
Leslie: I’m done with this. Diane, you’re going to have to film a promo with Freddy & William.
Diane: That is…
Leslie: Oh no.
Diane: Fine. It’s fine. It’ll be over quick. As long as we still get the Super Bowl slot and you finally feel we’re worthy of it, then I’ll take one for the team.
Leslie: Wait, what? I finally feel I’m worthy? What’s that about?
Diane: You’re self-conscious and never thought the show was worthy of being #1. So you never thought it deserved the Super Bowl slot.
Leslie: I never said that!
Diane: Yes you did!
Leslie: No, I didn’t!
Diane: Wait, you’re right. That was in a dream. And now I’m mad about having to work with Freddy and William. Tell Paul no deal!
Leslie: Diane, take one for the team.
Diane: Fine… but me and Frances are going to send each other some texts about you that you definitely don’t want to see.

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