Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022

Netflix has nearly 400 new shows coming to its service this year.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, February 22nd, 2022. 

REPORT: NETFLIX TO RELEASE NEARLY 400 ORIGINAL SHOWS IN 2022
A new report from Ampere Analysis estimates that Netflix is set to release 398 shows on the platform throughout the year, breaking its previous record of 395 shows released in 2021.

The list of new shows only includes programs either scheduled to premiere or those due to complete production and likely to premiere this year.

According to Ampere, Netflix had released 55 TV shows by the second week of February,  with another 56 programs that have completed production and are ready to be released. The London-based research firm also estimates Netflix has finished production on another 88 shows with 102 shows that are still currently at the script or shooting stages, which Ampere says should be ready in time to be released in 2022.

The chart above is my first response to people who argue that Netflix should move to a weekly episode release schedule. Think new shows struggle to find an audience now? Imagine a world in which 15 or 20 Netflix shows are dropping new episodes each week.

As I've often said, there's no perfect answer for the "binge vs. weekly" argument. The best release decision depends on the show, what else is in the marketplace at the time and whether the series has the kind of cultural gravitas that would sustain interest over a two-month weekly release period.

MICHAEL CHIKLIS TO STAR IN PREMIERE EPISODE OF FOX’S NEW CRIME ANTHOLOGY DRAMA ACCUSED
Michael Chiklis (The Shield) is set to star in the premiere episode of Fox's straight-to-series crime anthology drama Accused. Chiklis will play Dr. Scott Corbett, a successful brain surgeon with a seemingly perfect family. He faces the limits of unconditional love when he discovers his teenage son may be planning a violent attack at school.

The series is executive-produced by Howard Gordon (24, Homeland), Alex Gansa (24, Homeland) and David Shore (The Good Doctor, House). Emmy Award winner Michael Cuesta (Homeland) will direct the program’s premiere episode.

Here is the official logline from Fox: "Based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology, Accused opens in a courtroom on the accused, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, Accused holds a mirror up to the current times with evocative and emotional stories. In Accused, viewers discover how an ordinary person gets caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back."

THIS IS A QUESTION I WOULD HAVE ASKED CASEY BLOYS
Head of programming for HBO and HBO Max Casey Bloys did a round of short one-on-one interviews with a select number of journalists last week and although I didn't make the cut for that, Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw brought up a topic that I certainly would have pursued with Bloys, since it's a bit of a pet peeve with me:

HBO Max is expanding abroad. How are you thinking about programming outside the U.S.?

We historically have not done a good job of surfacing international shows. A lot of people don’t realize HBO has been making shows in Europe, Latin America and Europe for close to 20 years.

We’ve got an audience domestically that’s a lot more open to watching foreign language programming, whether dubbed or subtitled. We’re trying to do a better job of surfacing that.

Is it just a matter of making people aware it exists, or making more of it?

It’s publicity and marketing and the product. Its all of those things. You can’t just have a tab for foreign shows, which is what we had on HBO linear.

Longtime readers will know that I have my own issues with the promotional efforts at HBO and HBO Max. But this is a problem that plagues all of the major streamers. It's one thing to create global programming. It's entirely a different challenge to figure out how to promote that content across the world.

To be fair to Bloys, Netflix has its own set of problems with this issue, although their promotional challenges are only increased by the flood of original content that streaming service is cranking out.

Specific to HBO Max, that service is regularly adding content from its regional production arms. But the majority of the time, the TV shows and movies are basically just dropped onto the service. No internal promotion, no screeners available for critics. Many times there isn't even additional info available on the show aside from a paragraph or two provided by the original regional partner. 

HBO and HBO Max have also shown a reluctance to spend the money to provide English-language dubbing for original productions that were created in a non-English language. It's not a cheap process, but it feels like dubbing is a must-have for any major streamer hoping to expand its audience and their viewing choices.

THE REAL CHALLENGES OF BURNOUT
Burnout is a real issue for journalists working in the so-called "creative economy." Yes, you can crave out a career for yourself as an independent journalist and there is something to be said for being in control of your own destiny. 

But there are serious downsides, primarily the never-ending need to create new content for the pipeline. Growth only happens with a steady flow of new writing and most journalists who do this also know that even taking a day or two off impacts your bottom line. The constant pressure can wear down even the strongest person and it has finally overwhelmed Emily Atkin. Her newsletter "Heated" is one of Substack’s success stories. But she has just announced she is taking a hiatus and admits that her brain is fried:

When I started HEATED in the summer of 2019, I was an incredibly resilient person. I had routines, activities, and communities outside of work that kept me energetic and strong, no matter what. Two years into this pandemic, I have lost a great deal of those things, and embarrassingly have not found a way to rebuild them. As a result, my mental health has deteriorated. My brain feels in a constant state of fog and overwhelm.

I certainly relate to this struggle and I think it's more common than you might expect. Working for yourself is wonderful, but it brings with it so many other stressors. The wear and tear on your mental health is real and I think the only way to survive long-term is so figure out ways to ease the pressure to perform when you can.

I’m currently writing five 1,200-1,500-word newsletters a week as well as another 35-40,000 words a week worth of reviews, news and other features. It’s a daunting task and there days when the thought of sleeping for a week sounds very tempting.

TWEET OF THE DAY

ODDS AND SODS
* Lifetime has announced that the Angie Harmon movie Buried In Barstow will premiere on Saturday, June 4th. The first installment of the movie series features Harmon as a single mother and former hit woman, Hazel King, now a diner owner whose very dark past keeps coming back to haunt her, despite her desire for a quiet life.

* Netflix has cancelled the sci-fi series Another Life after two seasons.

* Gabrielle Union is launching a content series with LinkedIn that will focus on uplifting Black and other underrepresented entrepreneurs through the exploration of topics like gender equity and mental health in the workplace.

WHAT'S NEW FOR TUESDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:

Algiers Confidential Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
Cat Burglar (Netflix)
Double Life Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
Doubling Down With The Derricos Season Premiere (TLC)
Fanny Lou Hamer's America: An America Reframed Special (PBS)
Finding Your Roots Season Eight Finale (PBS)
No Retreat: Business Bootcamp Series Premiere (CNBC)
Race: Bubba Wallace (Netflix)
The Secret History Of The Civil War (History)
Subjects Of Desire (Starz)
Super Pupz Series Premiere (Netflix)
To Tell The Truth Season Premiere (ABC)
Wild N' Out Season Premiere (VH1)

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

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY! 

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