Too Much TV: Remembering Rob Reiner And A Look Back At 2025

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, December 15th, 2025:

REMEMBERING ROB REINER
Like many people, I am absolutely gutted by the news of the murder of Rob Reiner & his wife Michele Singer.

I only spoke with Reiner once at any length, back when I was an eager young reporter who had the opportunity to speak with him during the promotion for The Sure Thing. We were supposed to speak by phone for 15 minutes.

We talked about the movie for a bit & how I felt it subverted the typical 80s teen film in some very interesting ways. As we were wrapping up, I told him my editor would kill me if I didn't at least ask about All In The Family. I mentioned that my sense was the core of Michael Stivic's relationship with Archie wasn't so much about his anger over Archie's comments as much as it was his frustration that this man - whom he knew could be kind - could so often be callous and borderline cruel. That the dissonance of hearing Archie express such contempt for people unlike himself while still being capable of being such a good man drove him a bit nuts.

He asked if we could go off the record & ended up talking for another 30 minutes before he decided to give me an on-the-record response. He said that unlike Michael Stivic, he tried to focus on the possibilities of the world & not the injustices. The hardest lesson he had to learn, he said, was changing society is a series of baby steps. People's hearts aren't changed in a day. But that doesn't mean it's not worth trying. 

He said that Michael Stivic still hadn't learned that lesson, that he felt being "right" was enough. And Reiner said that he had come to realize doing the right thing mattered more than being on the right side of an argument.

Early reporting is suggesting the Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer were found in their home stabbed to death. And People Magazine is reporting their son is considered a primary suspect. Although the LAPD is saying they currently have no official subject. So I have a feeling this story will evolve over the next few days.

Reiner's career was as storied as anyone in the history of Hollywood. As a director, his first string of films is as varied and powerful as any director could aspire to: Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, the underrated North, followed by The American President and Mississippi Burning.

But it's his public service that will likely get as much attention in the upcoming days and I am not going to spend the time recounting all of his accomplishments here. I'll just note that when it came to doing the right thing - the thing that made a difference and improved people's lives - Reiner was a true superstar.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS BLAH, BLAH, BLAH
This is the time of the year in which many of your favorite newsletters will be posting a look back at 2025. In part because it's the natural time of the year for reflection. But honestly, it's also because this is traditionally a slow time of the year for news and that editorial monster needs to be fed somehow.

I have really wrestled with how to approach this topic because 2025 truly was framed by some incredible highs and some ongoing, challenging lows. And then hearing the news of the murder of Rob Reiner and his wife on top of the shootings at Bondi Beach and Brown University has left me emotionally bereft and untethered in a way that is disconcerting.

But maybe feeling this way is the logical end point for a year that has been difficult for so many of us.

In theory, I should be extremely proud of my professional accomplishments in 2025. I won some journalism awards, broke a number of stories that received national attention and more than once found myself writing about stories weeks before many of the big entertainment news outlets got around to it. The readership of the newsletter has continued to grow and while it didn't seem like a blessing at the time, being laid off more than a decade ago gave me the opportunity to establish my independent journalism ahead of the massive industry layoffs of the past several years.

At the same time, it was a brutally difficult year for me. Longtime readers of the newsletter probably know I have been battling some health issues, although I have purposely not been specific about what was going on. It has been hard physically but in some ways even more difficult emotionally. 

There were what seemed like an endless string of tests, biopsies and diagnoses, as doctors tried to determine just what was going on. I learned a lot about medicine, including the fact that there are some medications nicknamed "black" prescriptions. Because the potential side effects are as bad or worse than the ailment they are attempting to treat.

While I expected the treatments to be challenging - and expensive - what I hadn't factored in is the emotional toll it would take on me. By nature I am generally a fairly even-keeled person, someone who takes to heart the old Midwestern adage that the best place for your emotions is buried deep where no one can find them.

However, what I found was that being sick, often struggling to do the work that gives my professional life purpose, left me frustrated and overwhelmed with melancholy. There were days when I would miss a newsletter or do some work that didn't stand up to my own often harsh standards. And when that happened, I would find myself fighting the fear that maybe I wouldn't be able to keep doing this. And honestly, living a life in which I couldn't do what I feel born to do was emotionally like teetering on the edge of a lonely windswept cliff, looking nervously out into the darkness while trying to keep my balance.

There were so many days when I was wrestling with my fears, beating myself up for missing a deadline or not having the energy to do a project I wanted to begin. And almost always, one of you would reach out in a way that provided needed comfort, even when you didn't realize it. An unexpected note complimenting me on some hard-won victory. Or someone opting for a paid subscription, along with a note telling me how much they appreciated what I was doing. Or a quick email asking how I was doing after I had missed sending out a newsletter.

2025 was a very long year.

Things are getting better. And rather than focusing on my professional achievements this year, I wanted to highlight the personal wins. I'm proud of what I do and I honestly believe that I have a unique point of view that is useful to have in the marketplace of ideas.

But what this year really showed me was that for all of the turmoil in the world, for all the chaos in our lives, we share a humanity and kindness that can lift each other up and remind us of the beauties of the world. And I suppose that brings up back around to Rob Reiner. And his belief that being kind - especially when you’re weren’t expected to be - is a blessing that pays it forward to the world in unexpected and joyful ways.

So my deepest thanks to everyone who reads this newsletter, who have reached out to me or just shared some kind thoughts. And I appreciate all of the people in the industry who have helped me put this newsletter together. All of the tips, feedback and insight have proved invaluable.

Thank you to all of my friends - IRL and online - who have helped keep me sane.

But most of all, 2025 was a reminder that I am the luckiest man I know. It has been hard for my wife Stephanie and son Sam. But they have been my rock. And honestly, they have had to put with a lot more than they counted on this year. But they never complained or made me feel as if had somehow let them down. I know now how much of a gift that can be.

I am not sure what 2026 will bring. I plan to get back to a more normal posting schedule and to putting together some more content for paid subscribers. But mostly, I want to just do the work that you expect to see from me. And that I expect to see from myself.

And more than anything, I want to remember to be a bit more like Rob Reiner.

ODDS AND SODS:
* A CNN Special Event: Roy Wood Jr.‘s Very Very Very Merry Holiday Special was pulled from CNN's schedule Sunday night due to ongoing live coverage of the shooting in Bondi Beach.

TWEET OF THE DAY



WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, DECEMBER 15TH:
* Hope Of The Season: Christmas With The Tabernacle Choir (PBS)
* The Creature Cases (Netflix)
* The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special (Acorn TV)
* The Rise Series Premiere (Peacock)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16TH, 2025:
Culinary Class Wars Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman Season Six Premiere (Netflix)
The Boulet Brothers' Dragula Holiday Of Horrors (AMC+/Shudder)
The Secrets We Bury (Investigation Discovery)

SEE YOU EARLY TUESDAY MORNING!