Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

Disney+ licenses some pretty random unscripted content

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, January 18th, 2023.

A Q&A WITH 'TRAFFICKED' STAR MARIANA VON ZELLER
Season three of the NatGeo series Trafficked With Mariana von Zeller premieres tonight and I had a chance to sit down with her last week and discuss the show and its impact on her personal life. It was a really enlightening interview and here's a snippet:

Q: It feels like a lot of this is driven by ego. They talk to you because of ego. I suspect a lot of times when they are committing crimes they are thinking while they're doing it, "I'm getting away with this. I'm a badass." It's funny what motivates humans to do things that might not be in their best interests.

Mariana van Zeller: You know, when I'm asked why people agree to talk to us, I always say there are three main reasons. One is wanting to boast about what they do. These are some of the best of what they do in the world. And sometimes not even their families know they do what they do. So we give them an opportunity - even behind a mask with a changed voice - to sort of really boast and show off how good they are at their trade.

Then there's a real level of impunity in a lot of the places of the world we travel, for example, in Sinaloa, and Mexico. These are people who have been operating almost openly for decades, and there is no sort of downside to operating in their trade. So they also don't see a downside in talking to well-known, recognized brand like National Geographic.

And then I think, third, the most important reason is this very human characteristic that we all have of wanting to be understood. And we give them that opportunity. I always tell everybody, I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to understand why you do what you do. And I think that level of empathy goes a long, long way. Because we give them the chance to tell us why they do it. And a lot of times, these are not people who were born wanting to be criminals. A lot of times, they're not even bad people. I think it's an easier portrayal of the world if we see "them versus us." Right? And I think unfortunately that more and more, we are falling into that framing. But I think the moment we realize that the way the world has a lot more colors than just black and white, the sooner we'll start understanding it better.

ODDS AND SODS
* SEAL Team will return to Paramount+ for a 7th season.

* Meryl Streep is joining season three of Hulu's Only Murders In The Building.

* Season two of Apple TV+'s The Afterparty will premiere on Friday, April 28th.

* Here is a first video look at the upcoming Apple TV+ series Dear Edward.

NETFLIX RELEASES A BUNCH OF 2023 MOVIE PREMIERE DATES
The streamer everyone apparently loves to hate released a rundown of upcoming original movie premiere dates earlier today and although a few of them were known already, this list - coming on top of yesterday's release of upcoming Korean originals - is just a reminder that while some of its rivals are convinced you can substantially cut back on content spend and still retain subscriber growth, Netflix continues to dream big.

Say what you will about the quality of Netflix originals or whether they are spending too much, this is an impressive lineup. Especially if you are an action movie fan. Action films starring Gal Gadot (Heart Of Stone), Chris Hemsworth (Extraction 2), Jennifer Lopez (The Mother), Kevin Hart/Gugu Mbatha-Raw/Vincent D’Onofrio/Sam Worthington (Lift), Millie Bobby Brown/Angela Bassett/Robin Wright (Damsel) and the Zack Snyder-directed Rebel Moon.

There are rom-coms starring Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston, Rachel Lee Cook (A Tourist's Guide To Love), Ellie Kemper (Happiness For Beginners), Gabrielle Union/DB Woodside/Gina Torres (The Perfect Find), Haley Lu Richardson/Ben Hardy (Love At First Sight), Gina Rodriguez/Damon Wayans Jr. (Players), and Nicole Kidman/Zac Efron/Joey King/Kathy Bates (A Family Affair)

It's just a massive list, covering every genre from family-oriented drama to several types of animated films.

I am sometimes accused of being too easy on Netflix, although I can tell you from personal experience that some of the executives and PR folks there wouldn't agree with that assessment. But this is just a massive wave of movies and I don't think it's a coincidence that it includes a lot of genres that you don't see many other streamers/studios attempting. When was the last time you saw a female-led action film that wasn't tied to a superhero franchise? Or a string of nice lightweight rom-coms, highlighting a wide range of demos?

Now it's not as if Netflix is the only streamer set to push out a lot of new original content in 2023. Apple TV+ had panels for 12 new original TV shows at today's TCA gathering. And while Paramount+ doesn't have a large number of upcoming originals, there are some compelling ones. Even if they still rely a bit too much on familiar IP to try and break through the marketing clutter.

But for all of the promise of shows such as Poker Face, the lineup of upcoming originals at Peacock is still spotty. And if you strip out the HBO originals from HBO Max, their original lineup for the next few months is...erratic and heavy on non-fiction.

This is going to be an interesting shakeout year for the streaming business. I think we're going get at least a bit of an answer to the question of "how much new original content does a streaming service need to retain subscribers and remain competitive?"

AND SPEAKING OF CONTENT CHOICES
Given that Disney owns NatGeo, you would presume that the streamer Disney+ would have all the non-scripted content they could use. Especially given the service's somewhat curated approach to content.

Which is why it's perplexing to discover that Disney+ is adding some random seasons of unscripted programming from A&E Networks. I'd love to hear the rationale for the decision. None of the stuff is especially new and some of the additions are just...odd. Ice Road Truckers, but only season eleven? Just season four of History's Forged in Fire?  It's even stranger when you consider that some of these shows (such as Celebrity House Hunting) are currently streaming on AVOD's such as Pluto TV and Tubi. So Disney+ adding these episodes doesn't feel like much of a win for what is supposed to be a premium streamer.

Here are the shows, all of which will be added to Disney+ on Wednesday, February 8th:

- Arranged (S1)
- Celebrity House Hunting (S1)
- Dance Moms (S1, S2, S7)
- Dance Moms: Miami (S1)
- Forged in Fire: Knife or Death (S1, S2)
- Forged in Fire (S4)
- Ghost Hunters (S1, S2)
- History’s Greatest Mysteries (S1, S2)
- Ice Road Truckers (S11)
- Man vs. Child Chef Showdown (S2)
- The Proof Is Out There (S1, S2)
- Rescue Cam (S1)
- Storage Wars: Barry’s Best Buys (S1)
- Storage Wars: Miami (S1)
- Storage Wars: New York (S1, S2)
- Storage Wars (S14)

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW FOR WEDNESDAY:

Are You The One? Series Premiere (Paramount+)
Dirty Old Cars Series Premiere (History)
Grown-ish (Freeform)
King Shakir Recycle (Disney+)
Real Life Nightmare (Discovery+)
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen -Chaos in Urbanrama (Crunchyroll)
The Cupcake Guys Series Premiere (Roku Channel)
Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller Season Three Premiere (NatGeo)

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

SEE YOU THURSDAY!

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