Too Much TV: Trump Administration Targets PBS Funding

More proof that bending the knee only postpones the pain any media company likely faces from the Trump Administration.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, April 14th, 2025:

PRODUCTION NOTES
I had several more people cancel their paid subscriptions today because they felt like I was talking more about politics than television at times and because they were Trump supporters, and they felt personally attacked.

I get it. When someone you voted for is being criticized, it can seem personal. But I don't mean it that way at all. And I am trying to continue devoting as much space as possible to actual TV shows - I have a new interview and several more reviews coming in tomorrow's newsletter. But important things are happening in the American TV industry right now and I would be writing about it the same way if this were a Harris Administration. Wrong is wrong. And if it costs me some income, that's a price I'll pay to continue to write about the things that matter.

MORE BAD NEWS FOR PBS, NPR
Back in February, I wrote about the PBS decision to shut down its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) office, which resulted in the network's diversity officers leaving the company.

To be clear, I really like PBS. There are a lot of thoughtful and smart people working there and I watch a lot of their programming.

And I get it. Making this decision likely seems like a relatively painless way to help ensure the federal government will continue to provide funding to PBS in the future.

But as I have written about other media companies in similar situations, going along to get along almost never ends well. Winning one battle doesn't satisfy a bully. It only encourages them to ask for something else, because you've already proved you'll fold.

It pained me to write about the decision, because I heard from some people at PBS who were disappointed I had written about the decision in the way that I did. I happen to love PBS programming. I'm a member of my local station and if I need to, I'm more than willing to up my commitment to help out.

But what disappointed me about the decision was that I was convinced PBS would make these moves and likely lose their funding in the end anyway.

So I wasn't surprised to read on Monday that Bloomberg is reporting the Trump administration will ask lawmakers to cut more than $9 billion in funding for the Public Broadcasting Service, National Public Radio and foreign aid in the current fiscal year, using a law that allows Congress to withdraw funding that has already been approved by legislators.

Most of that $9 billion figure would come from foreign aid. But the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), receives about $535 million annually from the federal government. The CPB helps to fund NPR and PBS both directly and through individual local public media stations, many of which pay NPR and PBS in the form of membership or programming fees.

Because of the complex funding structures for PBS and NPR, it can be challenging to point to specific programs or initiatives that would most likely be at risk if the funding is removed. But it's likely some of the cuts would hit rural PBS stations the hardest, because they have the smallest donor bases to draw from for additional funding.

DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS
Oliver Darcy's Status is reporting that one day before Donald Trump went to Truth Social to rant about CBS and 60 Minutes, the company's potential new owner was seen hanging out with a number of Trump Administration people at a UFC event on Saturday night:

Ellison, I'm told, was a guest at the fight of TKO boss Ari Emanuel and spent the night socializing with members of Trump’s inner circle. Dressed in a black T-shirt and navy blazer, the boyish-looking Ellison was spotted alongside Elon Musk, Ted Cruz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Kash Patel, and others within Trump’s unconventional and extremist orbit.

There is no indication of what, if anything, was discussed between Trump and Ellison. A spokesperson for Ellison declined to comment on the matter. But the optics of the moment were unmistakable. The prospective new owner of CBS News—an outlet Trump has repeatedly smeared with dishonest attacks—was smiling and having a great time alongside the very man calling for it to be punished. Given that Ellison’s Skydance deal requires federal approval, notably a license transfer signed off by Carr himself, the encounter alone has a deeper significance as the merger hangs in limbo.

As Darcy notes, while there's no official explanation of why Ellison was there, it's likely there was one overriding reason:

Which is perhaps why Ellison was in Miami for the fight. Maybe he hoped to get a few words in with Trump, flatter him, and build some rapport with the erratic president—something an unsettling number of media and tech executives now view as a prerequisite for doing business in America. The fact that so many feel compelled to kiss the ring just to move deals forward underscores a grim reality: democratic norms are rapidly eroding in the U.S. and being replaced by a system that is more akin to corrupt nation states, where doing basic business hinges on personal allegiance to the top political leader.

SOME RANDOM VIEWING SUGGESTIONS
* If you are an anime fan, it's worth checking out the new Netflix series Moonrise, which follows a war that breaks out between the Earth and its colonies on the moon. The animation is really impressive and the fighting scenes are fluid and fun to watch. But the story struggles to match the look of the series. There are a number of seemingly random flashbacks and forwards and it can be challenging to follow what is going on. But it might be worth watching just for the visuals.

* If you want to see how Gordon Ramsay's public persona has evolved over the years, it's worth checking out his first series, Boiling Point. Produced in 1999, the five-part series followed Ramsay's attempt his first restaurant. It's fascinating to see him early in his career and while the restaurant would go on to eventually be awarded three Michelin stars, the series shows just how precarious the business was in its early days. The entire series is available on the Taste app, as well as its YouTube channel.

* HBO is premiering two documentaries by Alex Gibney this week and if you are a political junkie, I would recommend watching both of them. Ohio Confidential (which premieres Tuesday) and Wealth Of The Wicked (which premieres Wednesday) examine the side effects of the Supreme Court's Citizen United decision that essentially allows billionaires to dump unlimited amounts of money into elections. And I don't have to tell you what impact that decision has had. But Gibney does a great job of framing the issue in a very accessible way.

ODDS AND SODS
* Duck Dynasty: The Revival will premiere Wednesday, May 28th on A&E.

* Apple TV+ has taken global rights to Come See Me In The Good Light, the documentary that won Sundance’s 2025 Festival Favorite award. It will premiere on the streaming service this fall.

* Season 4B of Couples Therapy will premiere Friday, May 23rd on Showtime.

* Prime Video has picked up the U.S. rights to the Sony-produced series The Narrow Road To Deep North and it is set to premiere this Friday, April 18th. It will also premiere on Prime Video that day in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the series, Jacob Elordi stars as "Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans, a celebrated World War II hero who is haunted by his experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and memories of an affair with Amy Mulvaney (Odessa Young) that sustained him through the darkest of times."

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, APRIL 14TH:
Bingo Blitz Series Premiere (Game Show Network)
Florida Heat Season Premiere (A&E)
Holy Marvels With Dennis Quaid Season Premiere (History)
Rock The Block Season Premiere (HGTV)
Tic Tac Dough Series Premiere (Game Show Network)

TUESDAY, APRIL 15TH, 2025:
Behind The Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Netflix)
Caught In The Act: Unfaithful Season Premiere (MTV)
100 Day Dream Home Season Premiere (HGTV)
1000-lb Sisters Season Premiere (TLC)
The Carters: Hurts To Love You (Paramount+)
The Dark Money Game (HBO)
The Glass Dome (Netflix)
The Valley Season Premiere (Bravo)
We Got Time Today Season Finale (Tubi)

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!