tv-land

Will appealing to Whataburger partisans get out the vote? What about a new Willie Nelson song? These are but some of the questions that will be answered by the Texas Senate race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. 

That’s because some of the Lone Star State’s favorite sons, like country-music legend Nelson and filmmaker Richard Linklater, have come out strong for O’Rourke and are putting their artistic talent where their mouths are. Will it make a difference, though? Leah Askarinam from Inside Elections and McClatchy’s Alex Roarty, who grew up in Houston, discuss the race, whether famous Texans will help O’Rourke and what sort of downstream effect the race has on competitive House races we might see on the latest Political Theater Podcast. 

In overworked America, with national holidays too few and far between, citizens look forward to each one. Memorial Day, especially, is a time of unity — a day to honor those who have served and sacrificed, without regard to political party or philosophy.

This year, though, that always delicate truce seemed particularly fraught.

As a matter of preference, television sitcoms rank somewhere behind handyman shows and zombie apocalypse series when it comes to my viewing habits. But like 25 million other Americans last week, I watched the societal/political phenomenon that is “Roseanne.”

For me, watching this working-class family struggle to make ends meet was eerily familiar.

President Donald Trump has gone dark.

On the first work day after porn actress Stormy Daniels alleged a consenual sexual encounter with then-married businessman and reality television star Trump in 2006 then a payoff to remain silent in the waning days of the 2016 presidential election, Trump stayed out of view of reporters Monday — and out of range of their myriad Stormy questions — on an uncharacteristically quiet day at his White House.

Maryanne G. Culpepper, executive director of the Environmental Film Festival in the nation’s capital, has a long-standing heads-up for filmmakers who arrive at screenings to talk about their movies. 

“People are going to challenge you with questions. Be sure that you really know your stuff, and don’t try to bluff your way through an answer, because they’ll call you on it,” she says. 

HBO’s “The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee” premieres on the network Dec. 4. Some VIPs in D.C. got a sneak peak Wednesday.

Bradlee guided the paper as it peeled away the layers of the Watergate scandal, which toppled the presidency of Richard Nixon. Reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward told the story in their book “All the President’s Men,” later adapted for the film of the same name. 

The Supreme Court term starting next week promises to be among the most consequential in years, but it’s guaranteed to be as invisible as ever to the American citizenry.

The campaign to get cameras in the courtroom has almost totally foundered. Instead, some open-government advocates have started campaigning to simply hear oral arguments in real time  — so far, also with no success.

So you can plan ahead for this weekend, here is what’s going on in D.C. on the Fourth of July along with some logistical information.

Read HOH’s full Independence Day package, which includes a list of different things to do in the D.C. area, what members do for the holiday and what senators usually do.

Former FBI director James Comey is heading to Capitol Hill this morning and D.C. is preparing in many different ways.

The Capitol will be hectic leading up to the 10 a.m. hearing. For those outside of the Capitol complex, or able to leave work for a couple of hours, there are a handful of bars in D.C. opening early, pouring cleverly titled drinks, and taking advantage of some great TV.

Former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony Thursday about what he and President Donald Trump’s conversation about the investigation into Russia’s connections with Trump’s campaign is expected to make for some compelling television.

And some D.C. establishments are firing up their big screens to be the place to watch.