Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, November 14th, 2023
Today's SAG-AFTRA contract ratification drama
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, November 14th, 2023.
TODAY'S SAG-AFTRA CONTRACT RATIFICATION DRAMA
I have been writing for several days that there is some subset of SAG-AFTRA members who are expressing reservations about some of the language in the proposed basic agreement between the union and AMPTP.
Variety's Gene Maddaus spoke with Shaan Sharma and Anne-Marie Johnson, who were among at least eight dissenters on the 80-member national board. That board approved the deal, with what is described as a "weighted 86% of the vote in favor of the agreement. And I think it's fair to say that both Sharma and Johnson have serious concerns over some portions of the AI section of the deal:
"There should be no AI. Only human beings should be used in what we create for public consumption," Johnson said. "Without staving off AI, everything we achieved is for naught. It’s a waste of time."
Sharma, who also served as an alternate member of the negotiating committee, said he was concerned about "significant loopholes" in the AI language that left "existential threats to some of our categories of work."
And as I mentioned last night, for whatever reason, the union executives are still declining to release the full text of the deal document. Which makes it even more difficult for wavering members to get answers to the questions about the deal.
"I think most people can make an informed decision about how they should vote based on the summary that has been released," one negotiating committee member told me today. "But I still that if people want to read the entire thing, we should let them."
But is that going to happen?
WHY HASN'T HULU LIVE TV FIXED ITS DVR PROBLEMS?
I have been a Hulu Live TV subscriber for a few years, and after trying a few alternatives, it remains my favorite. Other than not carrying PBS (only YouTube TV does that) and oddly enough, the various Hallmark Networks, the channel lineup is solid, I save a bit of money by adding the Disney bundle and after getting used to its slightly weird UX, I am an overall happy camper.
Except...
Last year, Hulu Live TV added a free unlimited DVR option for all subscribers. And aside from saving $10 a month, it's really helpful to have the ability to record as much as you want and to be able to save it for up to nine months. The downside is that the DVR is quirky in ways that can be extremely annoying. And for whatever reason, Hulu's tech people have not been able to solve the problems.
There are two very common complaints from subscribers. The first seems to have been occurring for at least two years, based on the complaints I've seen on Hulu's customer support pages. What happens is that the DVR will begin recording random episodes of a show you recorded at some point in the past. As an example, at some point during the final season of CBS's comedy Mom, I had the DVR record some episodes. Even when I wanted it to record the show, I limited it to only new episodes. And despite having asked the DVR to stop recording the show, it will randomly record a bunch of reruns of the series that are now airing on CMT. This was especially annoying back when I only had a limited amount of DVR space. But even with an unlimited DVR, it is frustrating to have random reruns of maybe 6-9 shows popping up on my DVR. I've went back and forth with Hulu support and their stock answer seems to be "our engineers are working on the problem."
The second problem is one I am seeing more complaints about in recent months. The DVR will just stop recording episodes of a show. The DVR is supposed to be recording them and if you look at the upcoming listings on Hulu's live guide, it shows the episode should record. But when it comes time, the episodes don't show up in the DVR. Once again, customer support doesn't have much in the way of suggestions. And for what it's worth, the problem seems to only happen to me for a week or two at a time with a limited subset of the shows I am recording.
I won't pretend that I have the engineering expertise to understand what might be happening. But as a longtime customer, it is frustrating enough that I have considered moving to another vMVPD.
But I am also aware that the long-awaited combined Hulu/Disney+ app is on the way. And I am hopeful this problem (along with some other Hulu UI issues) will be corrected in the new app. Although TBH, if I haven't dropped Hulu Live TV by now, I probably won't do so in the future just because they refuse to correct some technical issues.
TWEET OF THE DAY
ODDS AND SODS
* CBS has announced that the upcoming seventh season of Young Sheldon will be its last. The series finale will air Thursday, May 16th.
* Season three of Singles Inferno premieres Tuesday, December 12th on Netflix.
* The animated series Praise Petey has been canceled by Freeform after one season.
* The series The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd premieres Friday, December 1st on The History Channel
WHAT'S NEW TODAY AND TOMORROW:
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2023:
* A Murder At The End Of The World (Hulu)
* Chopped: Julia Child's Kitchen (Food)
* Criminal Code Series Premiere (Netflix)
* How To Become A Mob Boss (Netflix)
* JFK: What The Doctors Saw (Paramount+)
* How We Get Free (HBO)
* Inspector Rex Season Eight Premiere (MHz Choice)
* Jay-Z And Gayle King: Brooklyn's Own (CBS)
* JFK: What The Doctors Saw (Paramount+)
* Life Below Zero Season Premiere (NatGeo)
* Love Has Won (HBO)
* NCIS Sydney Series Premiere (CBS)
* Polish Murder Secrets Series Premiere (Viaplay)
* Real Time Crime Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* Suburræterna Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters (History)
* The Netflix Cup: Swing To Survive (Netflix)
* Trevor Wallace: Pterodactyl (Prime Video)
* Welcome To Wrexham Season Two Finale (Hulu)
* Whose Line Is It Anyway? Season Twelve Premiere (The CW)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH:
* Brawn GP: The Impossible Formula One Story (Hulu)
* Cribs Season Twenty Premiere (MTV)
* David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (HBO)
* Expedition Unknown Season Premiere (Discovery)
* Feedback Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Interrogation Cam Series Premiere (A&E)
* Irvine Welsh's Crime (Britbox)
* Matt Rife: Natural Selection (Netflix)
* Murder In The Heartland Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* Mystery At Blind Frog Ranch Season Three Premiere (Discovery)
* Selling Sunset Reunion Special (Netflix)
* Whitney Cummings: Mouthy (OFTV)
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.