Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, September 21st, 2020

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, September 21st, 2020. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by canned ice tea and granola bars.

QUIBI IS EXPLORING 'STRATEGIC OPTIONS'
While the story hadn't posted at the time I write this, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that according to sources at the company, Quibi is exploring "strategic options, including a possible sale." Aside from this being the least surprising news of the week, I have a lot of questions. What happened to Quibi's effort to make their programming accessible on televisions, including via an app on Roku & Amazon Fire? And what exactly would any potential suitor be purchasing if they were interested? Quibi hasn't announced its subscriber numbers, but it's rumored to be in the low-medium six figures? The content that was created for the service would obviously be the biggest asset the company has, but it's not even clear to me how much of it is owned by Quibi and how much is controlled by the various celebrities and their production companies.

It's easy to dunk on Quibi and I certainly have been vocal about the fact that their press relations efforts are as bad as I've ever seen from a well-funded media organization. But I'm not rooting for Quibi to fail. I  just have difficulty seeing the value proposition of the service right now.

I'll also note that given the small number of people willing to pay for Quibi, I can't help but wonder what would have happened if they had taken that billiion plus the company raised and had decided to launch a Quibi streaming ad-supported streaming service that was available everywhere. They've created enough content to be a viable AVOD. But as the company has learned, mobile-only subscription TV services are extremely challenging to get right.

PEACOCK LAUNCHES ON ROKU
As of this morning, Roku customers now have access to Peacock and for right now I'll pass on parsing out the various business implications of the deal. But can I just say that as a consumer, I'm still not convinced on the value of Peacock? Yes, I know all of the business reasons why it's important. But as a viewer, I find that I haven't really been using it all that much. I don't fault Peacock for not having a more lively slate of "original" programs. The pandemic did have an impact on that, although given that COVID-19 shut down production only a few months before the Peacock launch, I can't help thinking that the service should have had a bit more in the can so close to the planned launch date.

But for all of the corporate synergy, Peacock still doesn't feel like something I would pay for every month. It has a surprising lack in depth of content for both older TV shows and movies. Which given Universal's deep catalog, should have been a home run. I have plenty of disagreements about how HBO Max has been executed, but that service has strongly leaned into its existing assets. Although you can make a similar argument with HBO Max's lack of deep catalog titles.

I bought a year's worth of premium Peacock access at the pre-launch price, which translates out to about $2.50 a month. But at this juncture, at renewal time I would likely opt for the free ad-supported service, even if it means giving up access to the Peacock Originals.

FORTNITE TO PREMIERE EXCLUSIVE BTS MUSIC VIDEO
The popular K-Pop band BTS announced on Monday that it will be premiering an exclusive choreography-only version of the music video for its single "Dynamite" on the gaming platform Fortnite. The single debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 100 and set the record for the most YouTube views in one 24-hour period - 101.1 million. The Fortnite event will take place on September 25th at 8:00 p.m. ET inside the Party Royale mode. After the premiere, Fortnite will host a virtual BTS afterparty that will include karaoke.

Here is a rundown of the new television programs premiering today:

1) A Love Song For Latasha (Netflix)
Latasha Harlins was 15 when she was wrongfully killed by Soon Ja Du, 13 days after the brutal beating of Rodney King. Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter but received no jail time. The death of Latasha was a leading catalyst for the 1992 LA Riots. 

2) Bang Series Premiere (Acorn)
Detective Sergeant Gina Jenkins (Catrin Stewart, Stella) discovers a mutilated body on the beach, setting off a search for a serial killer who is targeting a group of men connected to a historic rape allegation. With Gina consumed by the investigation, her troubled brother, Sam (Jacob Ifan, Cuffs), returns home from prison and struggles to start a new life.

3) Big Hero 6 Season Premiere (Disney XD)
Hiro and a short-handed Big Hero 6 team attempt to stop Noodle Burger Boy and his new family.

4) Ellen Season Eighteen Premiere (Syndicated)
Ellen daytime talker is back and she's promised to explain how all of those terrible things happened on her show without her knowing anything about it.

5) Filthy Rich Series Premiere (Fox)
Meet the Monreauxes, a mega-rich Southern family famed for creating a wildly successful Christian television network. On the cusp of launching a digital retail arm of the company, the family’s patriarch, Eugene (Gerald McRaney), dies in a plane crash (or so we think), leaving Margaret (Kim Cattrall), a now-"Oprah" to the religious and Southern communities, to take charge of the family business. Not surprisingly, Eugene’s apparent death greatly impacts the Monreaux children: Eric (Corey Cott), the couple’s ambitious son, married to the prim and snooty Becky (Olivia Macklin), who assumes he will now run the show; and daughter Rose (Aubrey Dollar), a budding fashion designer, who constantly struggles to evade the vast shadow cast by her mother.

6) L.A.'s Finest Series Premiere (Fox)
When a young woman’s murder is livestreamed on social media, Syd and McKenna must find the killer before he strikes again. Meanwhile, McKenna’s past collides with Syd’s search for Gabriel Knox 

7) Manhunt: Deadly Games Broadcast Premiere (CBS)
The most complex FBI manhunt on U.S. soil begins following the deadly terrorist attack at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

TOO MUCH TV REALLY IS A THING
This newsletter is called "Too Much TV" because....well, it's hard to keep track of all the new television premiering everyday. To help you prioritize your viewing, click here to see our list of more than 400 upcoming television premieres, movies and finales. You'll find listings from more than 70 networks, as well as streaming services and web shows.

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.