Matt Buckler: Jimmy Kimmel show remembers when COVID struck

Mar. 5—This is an anniversary that many people feel like commemorating — the one year anniversary of COVID-19.

Jimmy Kimmel remembers. He is organizing a special show for Thursday, one year to the day when the wheels started to fall off America.

Kimmel had a guest host that night — Pete Buttigieg, who took over because Kimmel was taping "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

Buttigieg will return for the anniversary show. He'll be joined by Joel McHale and Adam Duritz.

While Buttigieg was filling in, the sports world started to crumble. A national televised NBA game was canceled because of the coronavirus, which turned out to be just a preview of coming distractions. The next day, everything started to get canceled.

The one-year anniversary is coming, but it will be an acknowledgement, not a celebration.

Clinton casting

Hillary Clinton will start looking a lot like actress Edie Falco, at least if you watch the upcoming FX miniseries about the 1998 Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.

Deadline TV reports that Edie Falco will play Hillary Clinton in "Impeachment: American Crime Story."

The series will be focusing more on Bill Clinton, who will be played by Clive Owen, and Lewinsky, who will be portrayed by Beanie Feldstein.

Falco, however, will attract a lot of attention. After all, she won dramatic Emmys for her work on "The Sopranos" and comedy Emmys for starring in "Nurse Jackie."

The "American Crime Story" series, which started with the O.J. Simpson trial, has been a ratings and critical success for FX.

That trend should continue. The Clinton scandal was a major news story when it took place 23 years ago. The miniseries about the scandal also should be a major event.

'Wonder' role

For the last few years, networks have specialized in putting on a fresh coat of paint to old series, giving them an updated look.

"The Wonder Years," which aired on ABC from 1988-93, is about to receive the reboot treatment.

This time, a Black middle-class family in Mongomery, Alabama, will be the focus of the series.

The casting already has started. Saycon Sengbloh, who has appeared in series such as ABC's "Scandal" and the CW's "In the Dark," will play Lillian Williams, the matriarch of the Williams family.

Fred Savage, who starred in the original "Wonder Years," will serve as one of the executive producers.

"The Wonder Years" was a hit because it was able to capture the charm and the nostalgia of the '60s.

The new series also will take place in the '60s. There's probably a reason for revisiting the '60s in the new version of "The Wonder Years" — there hasn't been another decade like it.

Ratings review

It was a slow night for broadcast network television, but there was an explanation — NBC's weekly Chicago trifecta was in repeats.

Instead of dominating the night as they usually do, the Chicago shows were in the middle of the ratings chart.

"Chicago Med" drew 3.4 million viewers, "Chicago Fire" collected 2.9 million, and 'Chicago PD" attracted 2.7 million, about half the audience those shows usually receive.

With the Chicago series involved in recycling, the most watched network show was "SEAL Team" on CBS, which pulled in 4 million viewers, about the same total as last week.

Two CW shows were at the bottom rung of the ladder. "Riverdale" pulled in 305,000 viewers and "Nancy Drew" drew 233,000 viewers. Both those shows already have been renewed for next season. Apparently the bar at the CW Network is much lower than anywhere else.

Bayless bonanza

There are some people in America who have no need for a stimulus check. Fox Sports commentator Skip Bayless is on that list.

The New York Post's Andrew Marchand is reporting that Bayless is about to sign a four-year contract extension that will pay him $8 million per year, an increase of $2 million per year from his last contract. That's not a bad paycheck for the host of a show that finished 140th in the cable ratings Wednesday, watched by 107,000 people.

Fox could probably pay Bayless a few million dollars less and still get 107,000 viewers.

The price went up, however, because there was a bidding war for Bayless' service. Marchand also is reporting that ESPN was after Bayless for a potential show on ESPN+ with Stephen A Smith.

Apparently there is a market for someone who specializes in creating unpopular opinions. Bayless might not be held in high regard by many viewers, but he is in a high tax bracket.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.