Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, April 18th, 2024

Renowned jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman talks about George Floyd & his new PBS special.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, April 18th, 2024:

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT NETFLIX
Netflix released its Q1 earnings today and I'm not going to recap everything at this point. I'm sure that if you're interested, you've already seen it covered elsewhere.

I did want to talk a bit about Netflix's is going to stop reporting subscriber numbers and average revenue per member beginning in Q1 2025. "We’re focused on revenue and operating margin [not subscribers] as our primary financial metrics — and engagement (i.e. time spent) as our best proxy for customer satisfaction," co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters wrote in the April 18th shareholder letter.

To be kind, that's a load of crap. Yes, the growth (or decline) in raw subscriber numbers isn't a super useful financial metric. But having those figures, along with ARPU and revenue and operating margin provides the best sense of the strength of the company and the effectiveness of its strategy.

And yes, there are a lot of complications involved. The ad-tier makes the ARPU number more complicated and with Netflix offering a wide range of subscription price points depending on the territory and platform, it can be challenging for reporters and analysts to provide the most accurate context for the numbers.

But the answer is not to just stop reporting the numbers. And I am certainly not going to use Netflix's too-cute-by-half decision to rebrand the industry standard metric of average revenue per user (ARPU) to the streamer's new designation of average revenue per member.

A NICE WAY TO MARK THE END OF A LONG WEEK
In this week's edition of the PBS series Next At The Kennedy Center, renowned jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman, the Joshua Redman Group & Gabrielle Cavassa play selections from his recent album where are we.

I spoke to Redman today while he is touring in support of the album and we discussed the PBS special, his first-ever collaboration with vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa and the emotions that inspired his tune After Minneapolis (Face Toward Mo[u]rning), which he wrote days after the death of George Floyd. 

Here is an excerpt of that interview, which I'll post in full tomorrow on AllYourScreens:

Q: You writing that song, writing those lyrics. That was a reflection of that moment in your life. Where you were emotionally at that time and how you felt about the death of George Floyd. If you hadn't written the song back then and wrote it now - given what you've experienced and where you are now emotionally, would you write the same song? Or has the passage of time changed how you feel about that event?

Joshua Redman: Ooh, that's a tough one. I want to punt on it (laughs).

Q: You're allowed to...

Joshua Redman:No, no.Well, first of all, while my subconscious is trying to formulate some sort of answer to that..I do want to stress something. Obviously, Minneapolis is in the title. It happened there and we all know that. But I don't consider it a song about Minneapolis. I consider it a song about our country. It just happened to happen there.

But it has happened over and over again. It's about the history everywhere in this country. I do want to stress that. It's not something that I think is something specific to Minneapolis. It's something that happens in the world. It's not about that place, it's about our world. It's about failed promises. It's about reckoning with current and historic injustices. 

It's obviously dealing with a horrific event. But there is a spirit of hope in the lyrics and the music. I felt that. Because when I wrote the song, which was five days after it happened, the protests were already starting. We were already feeling the company come together in shock and horror. In a certain sort of unity and hopefulness. That feeling is in the song as well, in the last verse of the song. 

And the question is, "Would I write it the same now?" I would like to say "yes." (pauses) Yes, I would.

I think there have been some reactions against some of the mood of protest and also the spirit of unity and hope and a desire for addressing injustices. I think our country has gone through waves of other sorts of attitudes since then. One could say it's sort of a backlash against a certain consciousness that arose from that moment. 

But fundamentally, the song is about a kind of disconnect and incongruence between the American ideal and the dream. And then the reality for many Americans throughout its history. The reality of how our country was built and how it has functioned. 

That is what the song is about. But I feel that it's also about the possibility of a true realization of the American Dream, the American Project, and the American ideal. And maybe I'm naive. But I believe in it. I believe in the words that our country was founded on. And I believe they are possible even in this time. Even at a time when things feel particularly fragmented and divisive. I hope it's just a phase.

Next At The Kennedy Center: Joshua Redman, where are wepremieres Friday, April 19th, 2024, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET on your local PBS station.

ODDS AND SODS
* It's not at all a surprise, but CBS has renewed Elsbeth for a second season.

* TLC is premiering a new series on Wednesday, May 15th. Botched Bariatrics is described as highlighting "patients whose lives have been turned upside down after suffering complications from their bariatric surgery. These patients are in dire need of help, ranging from a woman who can only eat pureed food to a man living with explosive bowels.'

* Netflix announced Thursday that it has renewed The Witcher for a fifth season that will film back to back with season four.

* Jeremy Clarkson's Amazon Prime reality series Clarkson's Farm will drop Season 3 in two parts: The first four episodes on May 3rd and the last four on May 10th.

* Nikki Glaser's second HBO special, Nikki Glaser: Someday You'll Die premieres on Saturday, May 11th.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

THURSDAY, APRIL 18TH:
* Bros Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Conan O'Brien Must Go Series Premiere (Max) - [first look video]
* Dinner With The Parents Series Premiere (Freevee)
* Going Home With Tyler Cameron Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Locked In My House (LMN)
* Orlando Bloom: To The Edge (Peacock)
* Sins Of The Parents: The Crumbley Trials (Hulu)
* Superbuns Series Premiere (Peacock)
* Theresa Caputo: Beyond The Readings Series Premiere (Lifetime)
* The Upshaws (Netflix)
* True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here (Sundance)
* Welcome To Wrexham Season Three Premiere (Hulu)

FRIDAY, APRIL 19TH:
* Big Mood Series Premiere (Tubi)
* HGTV Smart Home 2024 (HGTV)
* Jane Season Two Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Late Night With The Devil (Shudder) - [first look video]
* Love During Lockup Season Premiere (WE tv)
* Manhunt Season One Finale (Apple TV+)
* The Barnes Bunch Series Premiere (WE tv) - [first look video]
* The Never Ever Mets Series Premiere (OWN) - [first look video]
* The Spiderwick Chronicles Series Premiere (The Roku Channel)
* Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon Part Two The Scargiver (Netflix)

SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!