Summer Under the Stars 2026: Some Thoughts

Diane Keaton died on October 11, 2025. Now, almost a year after her death, Keaton will finally be a Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars player.

The logical question, at least to me, is "What took them so long?". TCM could have slotted Keaton as one of the living performers during their annual August programming. It is not as if they could not. When Goldie Hawn was featured, one of the films shown was The First Wives Club, which also starred Keaton. If one looks at the Summer Under the Stars schedule, the only premiere that Keaton will have is 1995's Father of the Bride Part II. Therefore, she could have been featured for many years prior to this year. TCM usually features a few living performers as part of the Summer Under the Stars lineup. 

They, for whatever reason, opted not to have Diane Keaton be one of those living performers. Instead, this year they opted to feature the filmography of George Hamilton as the only currently living stars. No doubt this decision was motivated by his date, August 12, being his 87th birthday. The same applies, somewhat, to Robert Redford; he would have been 90 on his day, August 18th. 

George Hamilton. A man who, if now recalled at all, is recalled for his grandiose suntan. I do remember he was mentioned in the documentary The Kingmaker. That documentary about Imelda Marcos briefly shows her palling around with Hamilton. There have also been allegations, never confirmed, that Marcos used Hamilton as a "front" to launder stolen Philippines government money. Whether he was a "dupe" or willingly participated in any schemes only he knows. 

I do not think that George Hamilton has ever been accused of being a great actor. However, he is both one of the five debuting performers as well as the only living performer featured this year on Summer Under the Stars. 

What does surprise me more than this year's slate is how parsimonious Turner Classic Movies has been with its schedule announcements. On July 21, TCM announced its full monthly slate. In past years, the full schedule had been announced and posted a full month in advance. There was publicity about who was going to be featured. There were videos about who was going to appear. It was a nice production.

Now, TCM had been parceling out the information bit by bit. We have had a drip, drip, drip method of announcing who will be featured. I have never seen it like this before. I find it very peculiar and perplexing. Knowing who was going to be featured allowed a chance to watch a particular performer's film early enough to have a coinciding review. Now, it feels like a mad rush to squeeze in a review to match that performer's day.

I understand that there are screening rights issues that might prevent certain films or performers from being shown. However, one would think that the slate would be "locked in" long before mid-July. Let us say that the network had the slate all set and ready to go. Why then, did they opt to do a metaphorical striptease when it came to announcing the performers and their films this year?

I cannot recall another year where TCM took this approach. I do know that schedules can change; in 2020, they substituted previously scheduled performers John Wayne and Bette Davis for Natalie Wood and Olivia de Havilland respectively. I understood replacing de Havilland for Davis as de Havilland had died less than a month prior. I do not know why Wayne was replaced. My guess is that, given the chaotic year of 2020, his politics were toxic. Yet, I digress.

I do not know why Turner Classic Movies this year opted to not announce their full August schedule a month in advance as they have other years. I do not understand why Turner Classic Movies has adopted this method this year. I figure that there has to be a logic to it. I welcome knowing what it is. Still, I do not see a method in their madness. 

As stated, George Hamilton is the only living performer being featured this year for Summer Under the Stars. He and Keaton are five of this year's debut performers. The others are Marie Windsor, Bonita Granville and Brock Peters. Peters and Hattie McDaniel are the African American performers. No silent or foreign language performers will be shown this year. It is quite curious. 

The choices are not terrible. Not even George Hamilton. I just find the entire process rather piecemeal, which is out of the ordinary for this network. I have sadly lost enthusiasm for Turner Classic Movies and its Summer Under the Stars 2026 presentation. It does not seem fun anymore.