Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, February 2nd, 2024
Scott Bakula and Maria Bello - Never Forget
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, February 2nd, 2024.
SOME PROGRAMMING NOTES
This will be an uncharacteristically short newsletter. I'm headed off Sunday to Pasadena for the twice-a-year (in theory) Television Critics Association tour. I'll be there for the entire ten days and for those of you in the industry, if you're going to be there, please reach out so we can meet face-to-face.
During the TCAs, the timing of the newsletter is going to be a bit unpredictable. Between the regular schedule of panels, set visits and other events, it can be a long day. And I'm also nabbing a number of one-on-one interviews along the way. But I'll update you on the latest news each day, share some interviews excerpts and provide some behind-the-scenes coverage of the event.
I am also going to experiment with producing some short daily-ish videos that I'll likely record at the end of the day. They'll be casual, stream-of-thought takes on the day and hopefully some fun stories. I don't want to add even more to your newsletter burden here, so I'll be posting them on my YouTube channel and I'll make sure to link to them in the newsletter.
And speaking of YouTube....
SCOTT BAKULA AND MARIA BELLO - NEVER FORGET
I'm not going to link to the piece, but a post in one of the trades today mentioned that the new Prime Video series Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the first TV remake of the 2005 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie film. And while that's true, it's not the first television series with that name.
In 1996, Scott Bakula and Maria Bello starred in the short-lived CBS breezy spy drama Mr. & Mrs. Smith and while it's not quite the same plot as the newer film and series, it's also not all that different, according to the original CBS logline:
A spy known only as Mr. Smith (Bakula) works for a private security organization known as "The Factory". Using covert operatives and the latest technology they gather information on technology, science, and economics in an effort to protect corporate America from espionage. They are also hired out as private security or to help with covert operations like the recovery of stolen Stinger missiles. In the pilot, a rival named Mrs. Smith (Bello) becomes entangled on a case with Mr. Smith. After losing her job when her mission fails, The Factory hires her and assigns them to work together. Though they often bicker, and know nothing about each other's personal lives, including real names, they make a good team.
On paper, Bakula and Bello should have nailed the series. And it's not bad, but the two weirdly don't have much on-screen chemistry. Although they are both talented enough actors to give it a solid try.
Of course, the series isn't available for streaming, but someone has posted the entire series on YouTube, including the four episodes that didn't originally air in the U.S.
And this is one of aggravating problems with the streaming video business right now. If you are a legitimate SVOD or AVOD and want to stream a show like the old Mr. & Mrs. Smith, you have to jump through all sorts of licensing hoops, including clearing music rights. On the other hand, someone can just post the episodes on YouTube without any restrictions. YouTube can then sell ads against the episodes, and the worst case scenario is the the studio or perhaps a composer files a copyright claim. And in that case, YouTube then splits the ad money with the copyright claimant.
Even better from YouTube's perspective, all of this is done automatically behind-the-scenes. So the overhead is minimal and the opportunities to request a review are limited.
I could build a pretty great streaming TV service using just the videos that are available semi-legally on YouTube.
I FEEL AS IF THERE IS MORE TO THIS STORY
The Wrap's Sharon Waxman never passes up a chance to take a shot at one of the Penske Media mags when given the opportunity. So it's no surprise that she was all over the news that Variety just fired reporter Jeff Sneider for "unprofessional" behavior. It's a nice exclusive, but reading over her account of his exit, I have so many questions:
But another individual with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap that Sneider was let go after he tweeted that "my blood will be on Hollywood's hands" after he lost a scoop to Hollywood Reporter editor-at-large Kim Masters. She reported that Christopher Nolan was in talks to direct "Interstellar" for Paramount and Warner Bros., the individual told TheWrap.
"Gonna go drive my car into a tree," he tweeted. "My blood will be on Hollywood's hands. Make sure a cool celebrity gives my eulogy. Farewell cruel world."
Editors at Variety asked Sneider to write a letter of apology to a publicist who had promised to update Sneider if the deal developed, the individual told TheWrap. The publicist did not confirm the news for Sneider.
In the meantime, Masters broke the story.
I find this timeline so confusing. Why would Sneider have to apologize to the publicist? I'm assuming the apology involves some other action of Sneider’s that Waxman didn't uncover. And for that matter, the tweet itself might not be the smartest move. But it doesn't strike me as a firing offense. I suspect there's more to this story and if any of you have any details, please reach out to me by responding to this newsletter or securely on Signal at 612-207-2108.
I understand Sneider's frustration, but this kind of thing unfortunately happens all the time. A publicist directs an exclusive to what they consider to be a more high-profile outlet or reporter, and then takes the heat. Because at the end of the day, you both need each other.
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS:
This is the kind of boneheaded mistake you make when you are tired and rushing to get done. The article referenced above is an old one and for some reason I didn’t realize that when it popped up in my news feed.
My apologies to everyone. I obviously need a nap.
My first experience with this was maybe 20 years ago when I first started writing about television. I discovered that a mistake had been made with one of the answers in the final competition of the previous season’s Survivor. That mistake ended up sending the wrong person to the final three and the problem wasn't discovered until production of the season had ended. CBS has secretly paid about $500,000 to one of the contestants as a fix and the story had never been reported publicly.
I wanted to get a comment from CBS and called the head of the network's PR department and laid out my story in a voicemail. What a rookie mistake. I decided I'd wait until the next day to post the story in case I received a response from the network. And the network responded by leaking the story to the NY Post, along with some comments from the contestant. Once their story posted, the network communications person called me and pretended he had no idea how that story ended up in a friendly outlet less than 12 hours after I called him.
I'm not sure what happened in this case. But one thing I've learned over the last two decades is that getting cheated out of an exclusive just comes with the beat.
ODDS AND SODS
* Beginning tomorrow, the Hallmark Channel is airing four weekly movies "honoring" Jane Austen:
A love of Jane Austen’s stories helps two people to overcome their pride and admit to their belief in love in “Paging Mr. Darcy,” premiering February 3 and starring Mallory Jansen (“Francesca Quinn, PI”) and Will Kemp (“Christmas Waltz”). A woman finds guidance from Jane Austen, quite literally, in “Love & Jane,” premiering February 10 and starring Alison Sweeney (“Hannah Swenson Mysteries”) and Benjamin Ayres (“Field Day”). A librarian who thinks that no man can live up to Mr. Darcy gets an unexpected chance to find out if that’s true in “An American in Austen,” premiering February 17 and starring Eliza Bennett (“Dynasty”), Nicholas Bishop (“A Paris Proposal”) and Nell Barlow (“Doctor Thorne”). Lastly, on February 24, Hallmark Mahogany presents a sumptuously beautiful adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility,” starring Deborah Ayorinde (“Them”), Bethany Antonia (“House of the Dragon”), Dan Jeannotte (“Good Witch”) and Akil Largie (“The Sandman”).
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND, 2024:
* Bosco (Peacock)
* Dario Argento: Panico (Shudder)
* Gilded Newport Mysteries: Murder At The Breakers(Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
* Kokomo City (Showtime)
* Let’s Talk About CHU Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Love & WWE: Bianca & Montez Series Premiere (Hulu)
* Marvel's Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur (Disney)
* Mr. & Mrs. SmithSeries Premiere (Prime Video) - [first look video]
* Orion And The Dark (Netflix)
* Self (Disney+)
* Serving The Hamptons Season Premiere (Max)
* The Tiger's Apprentice(Paramount+)
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD, 2024:
* A Mother's Intuition(Lifetime)
* Jeff Dunham: I'm With Cupid(Comedy Central)
* Paging Mr. Darcy(Hallmark)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH, 2024:
* Arctic Ascent With Alex Hannold Series Premiere (NatGeo)
* A Woman Seduced(Lifetime)
* Baked With A Kiss(UP tv)
* Curb Your Enthusiasm Season Twelve Premiere (HBO)
* 66th Annual Grammy Awards(CBS)
* The Harlem Hellfighters(History)
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2024:
* Below Deck Season Premiere (Bravo)
* Country House Hunters Canada Series Premiere (fyi)
* Dee & Friends In Oz Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Solar Opposites Valentine's Day Special(Hulu)
* Tiny House Nation Season Premiere (fyi)
SEE YOU MONDAY!
Curious why you say the YouTube posting is "semi-legal"? It's 100% a copyright violation that the studio could contest and it would be taken down, not just de-monetized. It might be whack-a-mole if other accounts then try to post it, but it's not a fair use case. My guess is that rights holders for old series like this just aren't paying attention to YouTube, so if bots don't catch them upon upload, they just sit there like this - and 3.6k views in 9 years for the pilot is pretty much nothing.