Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, March 24th, 2023

Cutting content spend may not mean what you think it does.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, March 24th, 2023.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM THE SUBSTACK CHAT FEATURE
I rolled out a couple of test posts on the Substack chat feature this week and the response was pretty positive. So beginning this weekend, I'll be posting a bit more frequently and we'll see how things go. It works a bit like an old-school message board and while anyone can answer a post, right now I'm limiting the number of people who can begin a thread to myself and paid subscribers. That might change in the future, but right now I am trying to add some paid subscriber-only features in hopes of encouraging a few more people to upgrade to the paid subscription choice.

This daily newsletter is free and will remain that way. And some of you have already opted for the paid option and I appreciate the support, especially in the increasingly dicey atmosphere of the world of TV and streaming. But I also realize I need to offer more extras for paid subscribers, without becoming overwhelmed or losing focus.

Along those lines, I'm rolling out another extra, based on feedback I received in the chats. Many of you find the "what's new today" section at the end of the daily newsletter helpful, but it can be difficult to get to newsletter in time to make an informed choice for that night's viewing.

I'm launching a new weekly newsletter, entitled "This Week On TV & Streaming." It will go out early on Sundays and will provide a day-by-day rundown of every premiere, finale, special and made-for-TV movie for the upcoming week. The listings will run Sunday through the following Saturday and in the short-term, anyone can subscribe for free right here. I am going to put it behind a paywall after three months and hopefully by then I will have proved it's worthwhile.

As I mentioned above, I am extremely grateful for your support.

'ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT' TO STAY ON NETFLIX
Journalists are as competitive as any other profession and I'm certainly guilty of that personality trait. I hate to be beaten on a story that is in my wheelhouse, so I am both impressed and aggravated that Vulture's Joe Adalian was the first today to break the news that Netflix has finalized a deal that will keep the entire series run of Arrested Development on the streaming service:

What’s more, according to a source familiar with the matter, the new arrangement calls for Hulu to give up rights to streaming the first three seasons of Arrested later this year, allowing Netflix to become the exclusive streaming home for all things Bluth. Disney will, however, have the ability to sell linear TV rights to the show — including the Netflix seasons — either to an outside company or one of its own cable networks. Working all of this out clearly wasn’t a simple process, but the first real sign a deal might be in the offing came last week when the March 15 departure date for Arrested came and went and the show wasn’t pulled from the service. (Shout out to the ever-vigilant folks at What’s On Netflix for making note of this at the time.)

It's not clear to me if this deal is limited to the U.S. or if it is some sort of a complex global deal. I checked with Joe, who says he's asked Netflix for a clarification.

ABC ANNOUNCES SUMMER PREMIERE DATES
ABC released its summer schedule Friday afternoon and as was the case in the past couple of summers, it's heavy on game shows and unscripted television. Which has the added benefit of also providing the network with plenty of new episodes of programming it can air in the case of a writer's strike.

MONDAY, MAY 8TH:
8:00-9:00 p.m. Jeopardy! Masters (series premiere)

TUESDAY, MAY 9TH:
9:00-10:00 p.m. Judge Steve Harvey (season premiere)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 24TH:
8:00-9:00 p.m. Jeopardy! Masters (season finale)
9:00-10:00 p.m. The Prank Panel (special preview)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14TH:
8:00-9:00 p.m. Judge Steve Harvey (new night/time)
9:00-10:00 p.m. The Wonder Years (season premiere)

MONDAY, JUNE 26TH:
8:00-9:00 p.m. Claim to Fame (season premiere)
9:00-11:00 p.m. The Bachelorette (season premiere)

THURSDAY, JUNE 29TH:
8:00-9:00 p.m. Press Your Luck (season premiere)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Generation Gap (season premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. The Chase (season premiere)

SUNDAY, JULY 9TH:
8:00-9:00 p.m. The Prank Panel (regular time-slot debut)
9:00-10:00 p.m. Celebrity Family Feud (season premiere)
10:00-11:00 p.m. The $100,000 Pyramid

THERE IS CUTTING CONTENT SPEND AND THEN THERE IS CUTTING CONTENT SPEND
A lot of people hear that a streamer is cutting back on their level of original content spend and immediately believe that means the streamer is cutting that percentage of original content production in order to save the money. And while that is often the case, it's more likely that the savings can be found in less disruptive ways.

For instance, at a keynote at Series Mania in Lille, Amazon Prime Video’s head of international operations James Farrell explained the streamer was being mindful of spending, but that didn't necessarily mean it will produce fewer shows:

He explained the streamer are looking to make more sustainable changes regarding production and budget.

“If you can make a great movie that is shot in 20 locations instead of 30, or reduce the episodes on the scripted show from eight to six to save some money, let’s do that. Let’s be responsible and thoughtful of the good corporate stewards.”

The exec also shared Amazon’s strategy for international programming going forward, with the streamer aiming to develop international shows with a budget of $1 million per episode.

“The local teams are also very willing to work on rights sharing, especially on scripted TV. Scripted TV is more expensive than the other programming, it’s more critical for brands so as I’ve been thinking about it and talking to more people about it.”

Farrell pushed for international co-productions to help manage those higher budgets where shows can be broadcasted across multiple platforms describing it as “a smart business for everybody involved.”

ODDS AND SODS
* The new season of Ghost Hunters premieres Tuesday, August 6th on the Travel Channel and Discovery+.

* Happy to be Home with the Benkos premieres Sunday, April 9th on Magnolia.

WHAT'S NEW FOR FRIDAY:

American Masters: In The Making (PBS)
Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga (Netflix)
Dear Edward Season One Finale (Apple TV+)
I Am Georgina (Netflix)
Love Is Blind Season Premiere (Netflix)
My Kind Of Country Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
Reggie (Prime Video)
Saturdays (Disney+)
Secrets Of Sulphur Springs Season Three Premiere (Disney)
Truth Be Told Season Three Finale (Apple TV+)
Twisted Sister (Lifetime)
Up Here (Hulu)
You're Not Alone (Tubi)


Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU MONDAY!

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.