Political and virus-fighting “Tribe” run-down; Gadot and Bialik return ... and more

Stars of David

By Nate Bloom, Stars of David Contributing Columnist

Editor’s Note: Persons in bold are deemed by Nate Bloom to be Jewish for the purpose of this column. Persons identified as Jewish have at least one Jewish parent and were not raised in a faith other than Judaism — and do not identify with a faith other than Judaism as an adult. Converts to Judaism, of course, are also identified as Jewish.

It’s likely that you know a few of the following persons are Jewish. But I am quite certain that most will be “new to you.” For brevity’s sake, I am omitting all or most of their biography, which you can easily find online. As I write this (Dec. 6), the following “tribe members” have been announced as nominees for cabinet-level positions in the Biden administration: Ron Klain, 59, Chief-of-Staff; Antony Blinken, 58, Secretary of State; Alejandro Mayorkas, 61, Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary (he is the Cuba-born son of a Sephardi father and an Ashkenazi mother); Avril Haines, 41, Director of National Intelligence (her late mother was Jewish and she identifies as Jewish); and Janet Yellen, 74, Secretary of the Treasury.

As I write this, the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna are on the cusp of FDA approval for distribution to the public. They will almost certainly be the first COVID-19 vaccines given in the United States. The CEO of Pfizer is Dr. Albert Bourla, 59, a Sephardi Jew, who was born, raised and trained (as a veterinarian) in Greece. Pfizer’s chief scientist is a Swedish Jew, Dr. Mikael Dolsten, 62. He was born, raised and trained in Sweden. Both Bourla and Dolsten first did outstanding work in their home countries. This led to job offers by international drug companies. Both eventually accepted posts in the United States and have made America their home.

Over at Moderna, Dr. Tal Zaks, 54, has been Moderna’s chief medical officer since 2015. He is the “point man” on their vaccine development. Zaks was born, raised and trained in Israel.

Of course, the big film release of the last few weeks is the Warner Bros. movie “Wonder Woman, 1984” starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 35, in the title role. The surprise was that it was released (Dec. 25) on HBO Max at the same time it was released to theaters and it will remain streaming on “Max” for a month. AT&T owns Warner Bros. and HBO, and it decided that getting more cable subscribers was more important now than anemic theater revenues. Another 17 more Warner Bros.’ new movies will be released during 2021 in the same way.

Last September, the documentary, “Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President,” got a brief theater run. It begins streaming on CNN Jan. 3. Carter, now 96, likes rock and roll, which he made clear even before he became president in 1977. He became friends with many popular musicians, including Bob Dylan, 79. Dylan rarely gives interviews, but he movingly talks in this film about how he and Carter hit it off during their very first meeting in 1974, and have remained good friends (who happen to be Nobel Prize winners).

“Call Me Kat,” a new comedy series, premieres on Fox on Jan. 3, at 8:30 p.m. The second episode will air at its regular time (Jan. 7, 9 p.m.). Mayim Bialik, 44 (“Big Bang Theory”) stars as an unmarried and unsuccessful 39-year-old woman, who sinks her life savings into a cat café (much to her mother’s chagrin). Complications ensue when her old crush, Max (played by African-American actor Cheyenne Jackson), takes a job in a piano bar near the café.

Jim Parsons, who played Bialik’s husband on “Big Bang,” is an executive producer of “Call Me Kat.” He is gay in real life, as is Cheyenne Jackson. When asked how they “faked” being romantically interested in Bialik, Parsons gave a great answer: “Everybody loves Mayim. She is easy to love.” Jackson seconded this answer.

A TV premiere is rare during the pandemic, and so is a second season. Well, the 2nd season of the pretty good musical comedy series, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” begins on Jan. 5 (NBC, 8 p.m.). Jane Levy, 30 (whose father is Jewish) plays Zoey, and Skylar Astin, 37, co-stars as Max, Zoey’s co-worker (who has feelings for her).

Another returnee is “The Good Doctor,” which aired five new episodes on ABC in November and will air about as many in January and February (first one: Jan. 11 at 10 p.m.) In the third November episode, there was a brief statement that this episode and future ones posited that the pandemic was over — and we were introduced to a new hospital resident, Dr. Asher Wolke, a rabbi’s son who grew up in a Hasidic community. However, he has lost his faith and he’s gay. Noah Galvin, 26, who is gay in real life, plays Wolke. His mother is Jewish and he identifies as a Jew.