Fox

Barry Diller, from mail boy to mogul

A headshot of a man in his 80s

At the storied 92nd Street Y venue in New York, Barry Diller, now a sprightly 83, arrived on stage to a rapturous reception. Marking the publication of his memoir, the event featured a home crowd full of Manhattan media folk, some still active and some just enjoying proximity to the starry guest of honour.

Behind me sat a male model who had flown in from LA. Discovering that the elderly woman next to him worked “in entertainment”, he asked loudly: “I have somebody on the west coast, but do you know any good agents in New York?” It was that kind of night.

Black comedy at the court of the Sun King: A review of Michael Wolff's The Fall

So here’s a promise: this is going to be the only review of Michael Wolff’s book on Fox News and the Murdoch succession that doesn’t bang on about Succession, the TV series.

It now seems obvious that art (the TV series) began by imitating life (Rupert Murdoch and the battle to inherit his crown) and life has now returned the favour. But this is well-trodden terrain.

TV picks of the week: 6 to 12 May

Sex on Trial

Monday: Channel 4, 10.00pm

Sex on Trial examines high-profile student sexual assault cases in the US and explores the impact they have had on the people making the accusations and the accused.

The first episode investigates the claims made by Nikki Yovino, who accused two fellow students of assaulting her at a university party.

 

Hit black comedy Baskets heads to the UK

Galifianakis stars in the show which follows wannabe professional clown Chip Baskets, as he fails to make his dreams come true.

Chip’s dreams of becoming a professional clown at a Parisian clown school are crushed after he fails he fails to graduate, forcing him to return home to Bakerfield, California and become the clown-in-residence at the local rodeo.

Nor can Chip find solace in the company of his wife, who, she tells him, only married him for a green card, and doesn’t have a chance at making it as a clown – or cloon, if you’re Parisian.