Daniel Fienberg
@thefienprint.bsky.social
Chief Television Critic, The Hollywood Reporter. General social media dabbler.
Most of my content/writing/word-spewing can be found here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/e/the-fien-print/
Most of my content/writing/word-spewing can be found here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/e/the-fien-print/
My biweekly TV chat with @nickdigilio.bsky.social covers everything from "SNL" to "Heated Rivalry" to the Golden Globes:
Nick D - Dan Fienberg, TV Talk, and The Mysteries of Radiators
Nick and Dan Fienberg talk new shows, SNL, and Golden Globe nominations before Esma joins.
radiomisfits.com
December 9, 2025 at 4:56 PM
My biweekly TV chat with @nickdigilio.bsky.social covers everything from "SNL" to "Heated Rivalry" to the Golden Globes:
Can't we just skip past this to the movie starring Mark Wahlberg as Philip Rivers?
And then can't we also skip that movie?
And then can't we also skip that movie?
Garafolo: Philip Rivers to visit with the Colts Tuesday.
December 9, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Can't we just skip past this to the movie starring Mark Wahlberg as Philip Rivers?
And then can't we also skip that movie?
And then can't we also skip that movie?
Fine, I'll say ONE thing about the Golden Globe nominations despite not being able to name a single voter:
Helen Mirren is AWFUL in "Mo' Bland." One of the worst performances on television. It's so bad I've stripped her of her "Dame" title, which I don't have the power to do.
Helen Mirren is AWFUL in "Mo' Bland." One of the worst performances on television. It's so bad I've stripped her of her "Dame" title, which I don't have the power to do.
December 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Fine, I'll say ONE thing about the Golden Globe nominations despite not being able to name a single voter:
Helen Mirren is AWFUL in "Mo' Bland." One of the worst performances on television. It's so bad I've stripped her of her "Dame" title, which I don't have the power to do.
Helen Mirren is AWFUL in "Mo' Bland." One of the worst performances on television. It's so bad I've stripped her of her "Dame" title, which I don't have the power to do.
If you can't, without looking it up, name literally a single person who voted for the Golden Globes, you shouldn't need to or want to analyze any choices they make.
I cannot name literally a single person who voted for the Golden Globes and they work down the hall from me.
I cannot name literally a single person who voted for the Golden Globes and they work down the hall from me.
December 8, 2025 at 4:16 PM
If you can't, without looking it up, name literally a single person who voted for the Golden Globes, you shouldn't need to or want to analyze any choices they make.
I cannot name literally a single person who voted for the Golden Globes and they work down the hall from me.
I cannot name literally a single person who voted for the Golden Globes and they work down the hall from me.
“Those were penises!” - Legend Award winner Paul Anka’s LA Press Club speech out of context.
December 8, 2025 at 4:59 AM
“Those were penises!” - Legend Award winner Paul Anka’s LA Press Club speech out of context.
My "Survivor" exit interview with Jeff Kent. We talked about his Hall of Fame candidacy, which was a year away at the time:
Interview: Jeff Kent talks ‘Survivor: Philippines’ and the Hall of Fame
HitFix’s Daniel Fienberg interviews Survivor: Philippines contestant Jeff Kent about Jonathan Penner, failed Survivor strategy and The Baseball Hall of Fame.
uproxx.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:57 AM
My "Survivor" exit interview with Jeff Kent. We talked about his Hall of Fame candidacy, which was a year away at the time:
Congratulations to Jeff Kent on being the first member of the Baseball Hall of Fame with whom I've also conducted a "Survivor" exit interview.
[The ongoing disrespect for Fernando is shameful.]
[The ongoing disrespect for Fernando is shameful.]
Jeff Kent elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame by Contemporary Baseball Era Committee | Baseball Hall of Fame
baseballhall.org
December 8, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Congratulations to Jeff Kent on being the first member of the Baseball Hall of Fame with whom I've also conducted a "Survivor" exit interview.
[The ongoing disrespect for Fernando is shameful.]
[The ongoing disrespect for Fernando is shameful.]
Probably my two favorite performances of the year.
Best Lead Performance, Winners: Rose Byrne, IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU, and Ethan Hawke, BLUE MOON #LAFCA
December 7, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Probably my two favorite performances of the year.
I held off on watching it for a while, but... "Train Dreams" is really good. One quietly lovely moment after another and then ultimately wholly cumulative as well. Probably would have been better in a theater than on my TV, but better on my TV than on Ted Sarandos' son's iPhone.
December 7, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I held off on watching it for a while, but... "Train Dreams" is really good. One quietly lovely moment after another and then ultimately wholly cumulative as well. Probably would have been better in a theater than on my TV, but better on my TV than on Ted Sarandos' son's iPhone.
If I won the Westminster Kennel Show, I would absolutely run on camera, grab the microphone and bellow, "All glory to dog, without whom none of this is possible!"
December 7, 2025 at 4:29 AM
If I won the Westminster Kennel Show, I would absolutely run on camera, grab the microphone and bellow, "All glory to dog, without whom none of this is possible!"
Good for Indiana.
But also... on those last two plays... Knock. The. Ball. To. The. Ground.
But also... on those last two plays... Knock. The. Ball. To. The. Ground.
December 7, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Good for Indiana.
But also... on those last two plays... Knock. The. Ball. To. The. Ground.
But also... on those last two plays... Knock. The. Ball. To. The. Ground.
No. 1 versus No. 2 with a three-point game going into the fourth quarter. Even if you don't care who wins — "Go Indiana," but not with any particular passion — it doesn't get appreciably better than this if you care about college football.
December 7, 2025 at 3:41 AM
No. 1 versus No. 2 with a three-point game going into the fourth quarter. Even if you don't care who wins — "Go Indiana," but not with any particular passion — it doesn't get appreciably better than this if you care about college football.
Don't mind me. I'd briefly forgotten that Carol Burnett wasn't even NOMINATED for an Emmy for "Better Call Saul" and now I'm angry again.
December 7, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Don't mind me. I'd briefly forgotten that Carol Burnett wasn't even NOMINATED for an Emmy for "Better Call Saul" and now I'm angry again.
So in 11 legs of "The Amazing Race" this season, only three teams have finished first, and of the four potential teams in the finale, one team has won six of those legs and the other three have combined to win zero. That seems somehow less than ideal to me.
December 6, 2025 at 10:22 PM
So in 11 legs of "The Amazing Race" this season, only three teams have finished first, and of the four potential teams in the finale, one team has won six of those legs and the other three have combined to win zero. That seems somehow less than ideal to me.
That Sam's quote has so many jokes about a David Soul "Casablanca" TV series almost nobody has seen and NO jokes thus far about "Barb Wire" proves, once again, how badly we failed Pamela Anderson as a society.
Netflix, which rarely carries a single movie from before 1980, wants you to know how thrilled they are to acquire that classic piece of franchise IP, Casablanca
December 6, 2025 at 6:38 PM
That Sam's quote has so many jokes about a David Soul "Casablanca" TV series almost nobody has seen and NO jokes thus far about "Barb Wire" proves, once again, how badly we failed Pamela Anderson as a society.
Look, I know the joy of the "Mission: Impossible" movies is Ethan Hunt surviving things no human would survive. None of his death-defying scrapes ever offended me until the whole "Swimming endlessly with no suit at submarine depth at the Arctic Circle" thing. The line must be drawn HERE.
December 6, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Look, I know the joy of the "Mission: Impossible" movies is Ethan Hunt surviving things no human would survive. None of his death-defying scrapes ever offended me until the whole "Swimming endlessly with no suit at submarine depth at the Arctic Circle" thing. The line must be drawn HERE.
I don't know if I've ever hated the first hour of a movie as much as I hated the first hour of "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning."
Overall, what a baffling film.
Overall, what a baffling film.
December 6, 2025 at 7:48 AM
I don't know if I've ever hated the first hour of a movie as much as I hated the first hour of "Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning."
Overall, what a baffling film.
Overall, what a baffling film.
There were brief stretches in the middle of "The Secret Agent" when my mind wandered — it's Friday and I'm tired — but the movie is generally so vibrant and deliciously weird, as well as a not-subtle reminder of the unsettling sensation of living under a regime that can just make people disappear.
December 6, 2025 at 4:12 AM
There were brief stretches in the middle of "The Secret Agent" when my mind wandered — it's Friday and I'm tired — but the movie is generally so vibrant and deliciously weird, as well as a not-subtle reminder of the unsettling sensation of living under a regime that can just make people disappear.
Bizarrely, Elizabeth Warren's mailing list email opposing the Netflix/Warner Bros acquisition is all about monopolies and anti-trust regulation, listing 19 blockbuster shows (and a bunch of movie franchises) that would now be owned by the same company, NONE OF WHICH is "Ballers."
December 6, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Bizarrely, Elizabeth Warren's mailing list email opposing the Netflix/Warner Bros acquisition is all about monopolies and anti-trust regulation, listing 19 blockbuster shows (and a bunch of movie franchises) that would now be owned by the same company, NONE OF WHICH is "Ballers."
Reposted by Daniel Fienberg
Netflix's star-studded revisionist Western "The Abandons" is the first time I've ever watched a Kurt Sutter-created show and thought, "Man, this could really stand to be MORE Kurt Sutter-y."
My review:
My review:
‘The Abandons’ Review: Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey Lead Kurt Sutter’s Disappointingly Slight Netflix Western
Two matriarchs butt heads over the fate of their Washington Territory frontier town in this seven-part drama co-starring Nick Robinson and Aisling Franciosi.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Netflix's star-studded revisionist Western "The Abandons" is the first time I've ever watched a Kurt Sutter-created show and thought, "Man, this could really stand to be MORE Kurt Sutter-y."
My review:
My review:
One thing Frank Gehry did better than any architect in history is create works of art that will be distinctive as landmarks within the post-apocalyptic rubble. Like once the apes take over and the world is overgrown with vegetation, the few human survivors will still recognize and cling to his work.
December 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
One thing Frank Gehry did better than any architect in history is create works of art that will be distinctive as landmarks within the post-apocalyptic rubble. Like once the apes take over and the world is overgrown with vegetation, the few human survivors will still recognize and cling to his work.
RIP to architectural legend Frank Gehry, who was allegedly a distant, distant cousin, though no member of my family has ever successfully been able to explain HOW he was related to us, other than that he was Jewish and Canadian.
December 5, 2025 at 7:39 PM
RIP to architectural legend Frank Gehry, who was allegedly a distant, distant cousin, though no member of my family has ever successfully been able to explain HOW he was related to us, other than that he was Jewish and Canadian.
President Snooze McFuck had better watch out.
His core voting block won't cotton to the notion that soccer is the One True Football.
His core voting block won't cotton to the notion that soccer is the One True Football.
5 minutes after FIFA gives him a fake medal Trump wants to rename American football.
December 5, 2025 at 6:41 PM
President Snooze McFuck had better watch out.
His core voting block won't cotton to the notion that soccer is the One True Football.
His core voting block won't cotton to the notion that soccer is the One True Football.
He was made to run and destroy a second-rate sports league. History's great tragedy isn't that Donald Trump killed the USFL. It's that he killed it too quickly and was still able to find time to do other things.
A game show is *exactly* the milieu for The Schmuck. He should pull balls out of a bowl and get a golden trophy for it every day.
#WorldCupDraw
#WorldCupDraw
December 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM
He was made to run and destroy a second-rate sports league. History's great tragedy isn't that Donald Trump killed the USFL. It's that he killed it too quickly and was still able to find time to do other things.
Boomers mpocked Gen Xers for "participation trophies." Gen Xers forgot we got participation trophies and mocked Millennials for participation trophies. Millennials forgot they got participation trophies and mocked Gen Z for participation tropies.
So we all elected President Participation Trophy.
So we all elected President Participation Trophy.
December 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Boomers mpocked Gen Xers for "participation trophies." Gen Xers forgot we got participation trophies and mocked Millennials for participation trophies. Millennials forgot they got participation trophies and mocked Gen Z for participation tropies.
So we all elected President Participation Trophy.
So we all elected President Participation Trophy.