Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, May 17th, 2021
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, May 17th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by iced coffee and baked potato chips.
YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD THERE WAS SOME MEDIA NEWS TODAY
I picked a bad day to come back to work after taking a few days off: the proposed WarnerMedia/Discovery merger, upfronts from NBCU and Fox...and then there is all of the regular news. In an effort to do triage, I am not wasting your time doing a lot of recapping or commentary that you'll read elsewhere. Today's newsletter will try and provide as many links and context as possible, focusing on some of the lesser-covered pieces of the news. It's a bit sparser than the norm, but this is an exceptionally crazy day.
THAT PROPOSED WARNERMEDIA/DISCOVERY MERGER
Here is some of the stuff you might have missed:
* IGN's Julia Alexander uncovered some details about the merger that I haven't seen covered elsewhere: DC Comics is included in the deal. So is Rooster Tooth, which means that King Shark and Shark Week are part of the same company. And while it's not clear why, apparently WB Games is being broken up, with some assets staying with AT&T and some moving with WarnerMedia.
* WarnerMedia head Jason Kilar is said to have hired a team to help him negotiate his exit from the company. According to the NY Times, Kilar was unaware of the proposed merger until a few days.
* Discovery still plans on having its upfront presentation tomorrow morning, which should make for an interesting and probably awkward time for one and all.
* I've seen a lot of hype around the proposed merger today. But an eventual 400 million subscribers to a WarnerMedia/Discovery streaming service? No, not even if you factor in the subscribers from the eventual colony to Mars.
NBC UPFRONTS ROUND-UP
And here is some of the programming news that came out of this morning's NBCU Upfronts:
* The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon has been renewed for five more years.
* Bravo is bringing back its fan event BravoCon this October in NYC.
* E! is launching a new music competition series entitled Clash Of The Cover Bands, with judges Meghan Trainor, Queen lead singer Adam Lambert and songwriter Ester Dean.
* The focus of this year's upfronts was on the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, with the network pretending that problems ranging from a possible boycott to pushback from Japanese citizens doesn't exist.
ODDS AND SODS
* Deadline is reporting that the Disney Channel has renewed The Owl House for a third season ahead of its season two premiere.
* Paramount+ has announced that season five of The Good Fight will premiere on June 24th.
* Michelle Vicary, executive vice president of programming at Crown Media Family Networks, is stepping down in June.
* Fox has ordered a new series that will premiere in the upcoming 2021-2022 season entitled
ICYMI:
Here are links to some pieces I posted on AllYourScreens:
* In Retrospect, Having This WarnerMedia Sponsored Email Go Out Today Wasn't Great Timing
* What Primetime Broadcast TV Shows Are New/Renewed/Canceled For Fall 2021?
* Five Reasons Why The WarnerMedia/Discovery Merger Is Probably Going To Cost You Money
CLASSIFIEDS:
Experience The OZY FEST
OZY Fest, the one-of-a-kind festival described as "TED meets Coachella," is back for a virtual celebration of great entertainment and the biggest conversations, streaming live May 15-16. Hang out with Dr Fauci, Condoleezza Rice, Sevyn Streeter, Malcolm Gladwell, Tig Notaro + more. Register now.
Want to advertise in this newsletter? Email me at rick@allyourscreens.com
TODAY'S PREMIERES (there is only one today)
1) 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted (MTV)
Nikki Glaser hosts the inaugural edition of this spinoff from the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
I'll be back with another one tomorrow. If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.