Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, April 29th, 2024

No, we don't have a problem with "Mid-TV"

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, April 29th, 2024:

NO, WE DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH 'MID TV'
TV critics love to write pieces about industry trends. In part, because it offers up a break from the typical reviews and interviews that generally come with the job. But it's also the opportunity to frame some industry issue in a way that is hopefully clever enough to resonate with readers and our fellow journalists.

But I can tell you from personal experience that one of the dangers of the think piece-writing profession is that sometimes your carefully crafted idea is a solution in search of a problem. More than once I have looked back six months later at a piece that I thought perfectly captured the moment. And realized that the moment I captured was "Man, this is a bunch of nicely-written hooey."

The latest piece by New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik seems to fall into the "hooey" category, which shows that even the best TV critic (and he is certainly one of the best) can write something that sounds perfectly reasonable at first glance. Until you try and fit it in the universe of other things we know about the world of television and streaming TV.

For those of you keeping track of these things, the conventional wisdom over the past couple of weeks is that the streaming TV business is broken because of a glut of shows trying to be prestige television. Short seasons, meandering storylines that are barely even touched until episode six. Why can't the streamers just make more middle-of-the-road shows that viewers want to watch, like traditional broadcast network procedurals.

But in The Comfortable Problem Of Mid TV, Poniewozik argues that counter-intuitively, the industry's main problem is that it is cranking out entertaining, mainstream shows that don't push the boundaries of the craft of television:

Keri Russell, a ruthless and complicated Russian spy in “The Americans,” is now in “The Diplomat,” a forgettably fun dramedy. Natasha Lyonne, of the provocative “Orange Is the New Black” and the psychotropic “Russian Doll,” now plays a retro-revamped Columbo figure in “Poker Face.” Idris Elba, once the macroeconomics-student gangster Stringer Bell in “The Wire,” more recently starred in “Hijack,” a by-the-numbers airplane thriller.

I’ve watched all of these shows. They’re not bad. They’re simply … mid. Which is what makes them, frustratingly, as emblematic of the current moment in TV as their stars’ previous shows were of the ambitions of the past.

What we have now is a profusion of well-cast, sleekly produced competence. We have tasteful remakes of familiar titles. We have the evidence of healthy budgets spent on impressive locations. We have good-enough new shows that resemble great old ones.

We have entered the golden age of Mid TV.

This is an incredibly infuriating point of view and it is remarkably widespread in the TV critic class. Sure, well-made television that people enjoy watching is fine if that's what you like. But why can't more shows be like Atlanta, or The Wire?

Well, the short answer is that most people's psyche couldn't stand a steady diet of The Wire, The Sopranos and Reservation Dogs. Any more than most people wouldn't want to spend every day rereading Shakespeare. There is nothing wrong with variety in one's media diet. And it's the epitome of arrogance to imply that someone who enjoyed the delightful Poker Face is simply settling for a lesser program.

And one last thing. While most people acknowledge that making great television is extremely difficult, it's not any easier producing a solidly-written, well-acted show that isn't swinging for the fences with every scene. 

As I said, an infuriating piece. It might as well be titled "Why Is TV Making So Many Solid TV Shows That People Like Watching?" Which would be a ludicrous piece of framing.

COMING THIS WEEK
Here are some new titles that should be on your radar this week:

* The Veil (Tuesday, FX)
Elizabeth Moss plays an agent tasked with retrieving a suspected ISIS leader (Yumna Marwan) from a Turkish refugee camp and deliver her to authorities in Paris. Yes, there are many complications and some of them you might find a bit surprising. I enjoyed this one a lot and I'll have a review posting tomorrow along with an extended interview with executive producer and writer Steven Knight.

* Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar (Wednesday, Netflix)
Set in pre-independent India against the backdrop of the freedom movement, the series focuses on the battle for succession of Heeramandi, where courtesans reign as queens. Reviews are embargoed until the premiere, so I'll have more to say then.

* A Man In Full (Thursday, Netflix)
A new David E. Kelley series based on a novel by Tom Wolfe. Comments and reviews are embargoed until the premiere, so here is the logline: "When Atlanta real estate mogul Charlie Croker faces sudden bankruptcy, political and business interests collide as Charlie defends his empire from those attempting to capitalize on his fall from grace."

* Hacks (Thursday, Max)
I'll have more to say in my review on Thursday, but while season three of the show is a bit inconsistent, it's more than entertaining enough to keep you interested if you watched the first two seasons. FWIW, here is the official logline for the upcoming season: "A year after parting, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is riding high off the success of her standup special while Ava (Hannah Einbinder) pursues new opportunities back in Los Angeles."

* Taste: The Flavor Of Life Series Premiere (Thursday, Curiosity Stream)
If you would like to learn more about the foods that make life possible - all wrapped in an entertaining package - this is a nice fun palate cleanser. Episode one focuses on Sodium and Nitrogen, episode two on sugar and bitter foods.

* Welcome To Wrexham Season Three Premiere (Friday, FX)
What can I say? This is one of the shows that is what it is. If you liked up before, you'll like it again. Honestly, if I hadn't received the screeners ahead of time, I probably would have waited and watched the entire season once it dropped. 

OKAY, MAYBE I AM A BIT CRANKY TODAY
Jerry Seinfeld's just-published interview in the New Yorker is making news because he argued that the "Extreme Left" and "P.C. Culture" have ruined TV comedy. I shared some thoughts on those comments in a piece I posted earlier today on AllYourScreens:

Seinfeld noted that comedy fans are “now going to see stand-up comics because we are not policed by anyone. The audience polices us. We know when we’re off track. We know instantly and we adjust to it instantly. But when you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups—’Here’s our thought about this joke.’ Well, that’s the end of your comedy.”

What is this "we" you are talking about, Jerry? No one ever had to police Jerry Seinfeld's act because his act was famously non-controversial. His observational comedic styling was so familiar and safe that it became a comedy trope that other edgier comics mocked in the same way local bar bands in the early aughts used to make fun of Nickelback.

I can almost guarantee that no audience member ever complained "You're comparing white and wheat bread? Woah, slow down, you Fascist."

Read the entire piece here.

ODDS AND SODS
* Shot: NBCUniversal is hiking the Peacock Premium with ads price by $2 to $7.99/month and Peacock Premium Plus price by $2 to $13.99/month, the second price hike in two years.

* And the chaser: Comcast (NBC) to offer massive rights fee in bid to steal NBA from WBD (TNT), per Wall Street Journal. Comcast and Disney deals would themselves add up to $5B/year, per report.

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, APRIL 22ND:
* Ahead Of The Curve (Netflix)
* American Experience: Tragedy At Love Canal (PBS)
* CoComelon Lane (Netflix)
* Fern Brady: Autistic Bikini Queen (Netflix)
* Hip-Hop And The White House (Hulu)
* Intervention Season Premiere (A&E)
* 90 Day Fiance: Love In Paradise Season Premiere (TLC)
* Quarter Ton Teen Series Premiere (A&E)
* Restoration Road With Clint Harp Season Premiere (Magnolia)
* The Proof Is Out There: Military Mysteries Series Premiere (History)
* Tiger (Disney+)
* Tigers On The Rise (Disney+)
* Ugliest House In America Season Premiere (HGTV)

TUESDAY, APRIL 30TH:
* Catfish: The TV Show Season Premiere (MTV)
* Fiasco Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Hostage Rescue Series Premiere (The CW)
* My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman (Netflix)
* Police 24/7 Series Premiere (The CW)
* Restoring Galveston Season Premiere (Magnolia)
* The Veil Series Premiere (FX) - [first look]

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!