Today it’s more of a friendly lampooning of the sitting president, known among attendees — which include news commentators, comics and celebs — as “nerd prom.” The Daily Show’s “Muslim Correspondent” Hasan Minhaj will host Saturday’s event, so it’s no surprise that Donald Trump and friends checked “No” on the RSVP.
Trump will be the first president to skip the WHCA dinner since 1981, when Ronald Reagan missed out while recovering from a gunshot wound (legit excuse) — and even he called in from Camp David to joke about the assassination attempt! It’s unlikely Trump will call in from the “BIG” rally he’s hosting in Pennsylvania Saturday to celebrate his 100th day in Mar-a-Lago office. Then again, he has already been the center of a roast before — on Comedy Central in 2011.
Most just watch the highlights after the WHCA dinner (humans are genetically predisposed to falling asleep while watching C-SPAN), but you can get in the political mockery mood with two new offerings this week.
Along with some media outlets, late-night host Samantha Bee pulled out of the event meant to honor the media, since the Trump administration doesn’t appear to respect journalism. So she’s throwing her own party “to toast the free press,” she says in a promo, “while we still have one.” Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (10 p.m. Saturday, TBS) will certainly fill any Trump-roasting void, with attendees that include actor and former White House staffer Kal Penn, feminist activist Gloria Steinem, comedian Keegan-Michael Key and many others. And while Sean Spicer won’t be present at either event, Matt Walsh — who plays Selina Meyer’s former press secretary in Veep — will be! Fair trade.
Elsewhere this week, comic Anthony Atamanuik looks to give Alec Baldwin a run for his money as he portrays the prez as a talk-show host in The President Show (Series Premiere, 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Comedy Central). The show takes the format of the usual late-night talk show, with monologues, field interviews, special guests — all from the Oval Office.
Atamanuik has been perfecting his Trump impression since the 2016 presidential campaign. He doesn’t quite look or sound exactly like the Donald, but he’s managed to nail his mannerisms and deliver a more restrained Trump impersonation. I know, it sounds like an oxymoron. But then, so does the whole notion of a President Trump.
Picks of the Week
The Handmaid’s Tale (Series Premiere, Wednesday, Hulu) – Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel, this highly anticipated drama takes place in a near-future Christian-fundamentalist totalitarian U.S. The story centers on Offred (Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss), one of the few young, fertile women who serve as “handmaids” — sex servants and surrogates to elite families who increasingly cannot bear children.
Beerland (Series Premiere, 10 p.m. Thursday, VICELAND) – Los Angeles’ Golden Road Brewing founder Meg Gill travels across the country visiting breweries and meeting home brewers from New York to Hawaii.
Dear White People (Series Premiere, Friday, Netflix) – If the “alt-right” is protesting it, it’s got to be good! Like Justin Simien’s 2014 film by the same name, this new Netflix satire explores race relations and identity on a fictional Ivy League college campus.
American Gods (Series Premiere, 9 p.m. Sunday, Starz) – Bryan Fuller returns, following his underrated Hannibal, with a modern mythological epic that follows a newly released ex-con who unknowingly agrees to serve as bodyguard to a powerful old god.
CONTACT JAC KERN: @jackern
