Hollywood continues to lampoon President Trump through scripted network TV.
Prior to the election, producers attempted to take down Donald Trump through more than 20 different entertainment TV shows. It didn’t work. In fact, Hollywood’s arrogance and progressive bent antagonized a whole sector of the American public, contributing in part to Trump’s victory.
Less than three months into the new administration, anti-Trump programming continues to be a powerful tool in the liberal arsenal. Now, Hollywood is using it to discredit the new administration.
“Nearly every night of the week now comes with a comedy, drama or episode of Saturday Night Live that is taking on Trump,” wrote Hollywood Reporter senior editor Jackie Strause. And she’s right.
NBC’s Saturday Night Live maintains its biased fixation with the Trump administration. During the election season, and now at the outset of the Trump administration, SNL has purposefully utilized comedy to influence political opinion. Americans (and the networks) are watching — SNL just hit a six year ratings high, Variety’s TV Editor Cynthia Littleton reported on February 12.
From Feb. 13, 2016 to Feb. 12, 2017, the networks mentioned the NBC comedy show an astounding 44 times. Roughly 2/3 of those mentions focused on Alec Baldwin’s Trump character (and later in the year, Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer and Kate McKinnon’s Jeff Sessions).
But the trend in scripted TV shows is even more alarming. From political dramas like ABC’s Scandal, ABC’s Designated Survivor and CBS’s Madam Secretary to crime shows like NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and ABC’s Quantico, all the networks are involved in the effort.
And as Strause noted, network shows are scripted relatively close to their release dates, enabling writers to tie content to current events.
For example, Quantico showrunner Joshua Safran recently admitted his plan to “substitute Trump for terrorism” by handling topics like a Muslim registry and fake news.
Meanwhile, Madam Secretary protagonist Elizabeth McCord was groped by a foreign leader, who had a history of inappropriate interactions with women. And the sixth season of Homeland centers around CIA directors’ distrust of a new president-elect.
Clearly, Hollywood creatives are not subtle with their political views.
