Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, February 16th, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, February 16th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by Diet Rite and cinnamon-flavored gummi bears.

IF A NEW SHOW PREMIERES AND NO ONE CARES, DID IT REALLY PREMIERE
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a big piece in one of my newsletters about the challenges of promoting new broadcast television programming and I focused on NBC's new sci-fi drama Debris:

So what would I do if NBC asked? I would be relentlessly promoting the series on Peacock. Highlighting the show on the opening splash screen. First with Peacock-only trailers and then in the week before the linear premiere, with a ten-minute sneak preview. I'd make sure that to remind subscribers to add it to their watchlist. I'd find members of the show who are gamers (and believe me, there are some) and organize a Twitch stream for where they can play games and riff about the show. Reach out to niche web sites that have audiences that are a great with the show's premise and offer them exclusive interviews, video and photos. Set up interviews with influential media newsletters discussing the promotional efforts for the show. Create fake clips for TikTok that feature cast members "discovering" the debris and interacting with it. A bunch of this stuff will fail and some of it might be mocked on social media. But that's fine. The goal is to cut through the promotional clutter and get people to tune in. If not live, then before the next episode premieres. Debris is a show that has episodes you have to watch in order. And history suggests that if an audience gets too far behind, they won't stick around. Create ads that ask people to sign up for a once-a-week Debris texts. Which they'll get the morning the new episode premieres, along with a link to a clip from the episode. All of these ideas are marginal on the face of it. But in a world where a .07 share is considered a ratings win, it doesn't take much to substantially move the ratings needle.

I bring this back up because NBC has two new comedies premiering tonight: Kenan and Young Rock. And aside from the tired premises involved, I'm struck by how relentlessly predictable the promotional efforts have been for the shows. Both were recently highlighted during NBC's virtual TCA presentation and reviews surfaced today in a number of traditional old-school media outlets. But at a time when there is so much excitement in the industry and so many efforts are being made to cut through the clutter, I remain amazed at how static the promotional efforts are at some of the broadcast nets.

A SHORT FILM FESTIVAL IS COMING TO FORTNITE
The Battle Royale-style game Fortnite is launching what it describes as its first short film festival. "Fortnite Presents Short Nite" comes to the Big Screen in Fortnite's Party Royale on February 20 at 2 PM ET:

The animated shorts featured in Short Nite come from around the world. (Among them are shorts that were previously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film!)

The total runtime of the Short Nite series is about 30 minutes, and the series will repeat non-stop for 24 hours. Players will also have the option to watch Short Nite in standard Battle Royale via Picture-in-Picture, available at the start of Short Nite and every two hours afterwards.

For the shorts that contain dialogue, you’ll be able to watch them with subtitles in your preferred language.

DISNEY ANNOUNCES SLATE OF TEN EUROPEAN ORIGINALS
As it moves towards rolling out its Star platform globally, Disney+ has unveiled its first slate of European originals - ten programs coming from producers in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.

Four French commissions have been announced - two new Star Originals and two Disney+ Originals. Parallels is a Disney+ Original fantasy series following four teenagers, whose lives are turned upside down when a mysterious event propels them into parallel dimensions. The Disney+ Original Weekend Family is a comedy that chronicles the life of a new stepfamily that meets up every weekend. When the father gets into a relationship with a new partner, the weekends take on a whole new turn. The two Star originals are Oussekine, a four-part miniseries which examines the terrible true events of December 5, 1986, that led to the death of a young student, Malik Oussekine. And Soprano: Sing or Die is a documentary series which will offer exclusive access to one of France’s most popular recording artists as he and his crew get ready for a massive stadium tour in Summer 2022.

Three Star Originals for Disney+ are coming from Italy: The Good Mothers offers a mafia seen entirely from the women’s perspectives, the popular Italian show-within-a-show comedy Boris is returning for a new season. And The Ignorant Angels  is a romantic comedy based on Italian box-office hit Le Fate Ignoranti.

Coming from the Netherlands is the sports documentary Feyenoord Rotterdam, which chronicles the behind-the-scenes story of the popular soccer team.

And Star Originals for Disney+ are coming from Germany: the dark comedy Sultan City follows the respectable matriarch of a German-Turkish family who accidentally becomes the head of a criminal underworld and discovers she and her daughters have a talent for the business. And the true-life drama Sam: A Saxon tells the real-life story of Samuel Meffire, East-Germany’s first black police officer.

I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS DEPRESSING OR JUST GRIM
Vice has a piece on a Canadian woman who dresses up like various Disney princesses and makes videos aimed at kids that try to convince them not to wear masks:

Freedom Princess is a new anti-mask project featuring professional princess cosplayer Mary-Jean Harris creating videos of herself dressed up as Disney characters who espouse anti-mask rhetoric. The anti-mask community, as well as other conspiracy movements, have long been crying “save the children!” in their outreach efforts, but typically it’s an emotionally manipulative way of recruiting adults. Direct attempts to convert children to these conspiracies have been far rarer.

TODAY'S PREMIERES

1) Animals On The Loose: A Man Vs. Wild Movie (Netflix) - [review]Bear Grylls returns with Animals on the Loose: A You vs. Wild Movie, an exciting 90 minute interactive movie for the whole family. The protective fence surrounding a wildlife sanctuary has mysteriously suffered a breach, and now animals are on the loose. Bear is called in to help rescue a mischievous baboon, track down a hungry lion, and fix the fence before any more animals get out.  Three urgent missions await you with only so much time and Bear needs your help. With the possibility of completing a secret mission, each decision impacts this interactive adventure.

2) Beach Cabana Royale (Discovery+)
Snooki hosts as designers compete to transform broken-down beach cabanas.

3) Each And Every Day (MTV)
The film features nine young people that span across race, ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds across the country, sharing their personal stories in an intimate and engaging conversation that goes deep into the fastest-growing suicide epidemic among teens and young adults today. Audiences not only hear their stories of depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns, but also see the uplifting message of hope, recovery and the importance of treatment and honest conversation.

4) Kenan Series Premiere (NBC)
This single-camera comedy follows a widowed dad, Kenan (Kenan Thompson), who’s juggling a high-profile job as the host of an Atlanta morning show and raising his two girls. As Kenan tries to move on, his father-in-law (Don Johnson), brother (Chris Redd) and co-workers all have strong opinions on the best way to live his life. 

5) Nostradamus: End Of Days (Discovery+)
This all-new eight-episode series reveals exactly how the world will end, and who will be behind it, as predicted by history’s greatest prophet, Nostradamus. Combining the infamous seer’s ancient words with paintings from a mysterious lost book bearing his name, the series decodes new prophecies and causes to the world’s demise.

6) Queen Sugar Season Five Premiere (OWN)
The contemporary drama returns as the Bordelons find themselves continuing their fight to save their family farm and preserve their father’s legacy as they navigate their own personal journeys.

6) Tatort: Borowski Season Five Premiere (MHz Choice)
Detective Klaus Borowski is a quixotic, social disaster who manages to offend everyone while solving crimes in the port city of Kiel. His infuriating mix of callousness and sensitivity serves him well on the job, but gets him in trouble with everyone in his private life. His assistant, his ex-wife, his daughter and his shrink all want to throttle him most of the time, unless he’s having one of his rare good moments – in which case, he’s delightful.

7) Temptation Island Season Premiere (USA)
The singles join four new couples who are packing up their emotional baggage and heading to Maui, Hawaii for the ultimate test of their relationship. Will these couples commit to a lifetime together or will they ultimately give into temptation to one of the singles looking to find everlasting love?

8) The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song (PBS)
In this intimate four-hour series from executive producer, host, and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., we trace how this came to be in the 400 year-old story of the Black church in America, all the way down to its bedrock role as the site of African American survival and endurance, grace and resilience, thriving and testifying, freedom and independence, solidarity and speaking truth to power.

9) Tyler Perry's Madea's Farewell Play (BET+)
In Tyler Perry’s final stage run as Madea, he pulls together some of his audience’s favorite characters for a family gathering. Madea, Mr. Brown, Cora, and Aunt Bam are all under one roof for over two hours of pure joy. Madea is in rare form, as she tries to support her great-grandchildren, and daughter Cora. While at her granddaughter’s home, Madea uses her combination of tough love and old southern wisdom to help the family navigate their new normal. All seems fine until Mr. Brown takes a trip that leaves audiences in stitches.

10) Tyler Perry's The Oval Season Two Premiere (BET+)
The one-hour drama returns with its second jaw-breaking season and lifts the veil of what can happen when the leader of the free world, his wife and family are crazed maniacs. The series also highlights the personal side and everyday lives of the staff who run the inner workings of the nation’s most iconic residence.

11) Where Murder Lies Series Premiere (Discovery+)
Everyone is hiding something. It may be a harmless secret, or it might be something far more serious: a terrible betrayal of trust or a shocking indiscretion. Some of these come out over time, while others stay hidden forever. But sometimes, an event is so horrific, so cataclysmic, that everyone’s truths are laid bare. Where Murder Lies gradually exposes murder investigations one truth after another, revealing the sinister underbelly beneath seemingly placid communities.

12) Young Rock Series Premiere (NBC)
From growing up in a strong and resilient family, to being surrounded by the wild characters of his professional wrestling family, to playing football at the University of Miami, the show will explore the crazy rollercoaster that has shaped Dwayne Johnson into the man he is today and the larger-than-life characters he’s met along the way.

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.