Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, November 4th, 2024

The Winter TCA Tour has been canceled

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, November 4th, 2024:

PRODUCTION NOTES
Tomorrow is election day and while I am a top tier political junkie, I am not going to be cranking out any election night hot takes. But I will be covering how television and streaming cover the results. 

The first exit polls should be released somewhere around 4:30-5:00 pm ET and the first states will begin reporting vote totals at 6:00 pm. But the first big moment will likely be at 7:00 pm, when some of the battleground states begin reporting vote totals. That includes Georgia, which has a new law that mandates that all of the absentee and drop-off box votes have to be counted and reported within an hour of the polls closing. That will likely give us a sense if it will be a short night or a multi-day slog to determine a winner.

I'll have a live blog launching on AllYourScreens.com around 5:45 ET and will be watching the election coverage on the broadcast networks, cable news nets and streaming-only services. There will be some new players, including NewsNation and the Brian Williams-helmed Amazon election coverage. I can't watch a dozen channels simultaneously, but I'll have multiple screens and will be recording a lot of channels so I don't miss anything worthwhile. I'll link to the page in tomorrow's newsletter, which will likely go out a bit earlier than normal.

THE WINTER TCA TOUR HAS BEEN CANCELED
Given the current turmoil in Hollywood, it's not a big surprise, but it's still a big deal that the Television Critics Association board has decided not to hold its traditional January Winter press tour. Here's the note that went out to TCA members this afternoon:

We are writing with the disappointing news that the Winter TCA tour is canceled.

As you know, Hollywood is in a deep contraction. While several streamers, networks, and studios committed, it was not enough for a full press tour. We wanted to be respectful of our members’ need to plan so, as a board, we decided on an early November deadline to make this decision. 

I want to stress something that members who attended last February and July already know – those were great tours. Executives I have talked with have been exceptionally positive about the last two press tours. More importantly, each stressed wanting to participate in the Summer 2025 tour, and we are already working toward that.

As I said, it's not surprising. Especially when you consider that the ranks of television publicists has taken a severe beating in 2024. 

While it wouldn't solve the core financial constraints facing the industry, I would like to see the TCA cover more international productions and perhaps even devote some time to Spanish-language original streaming programming. That is becoming an increasingly important part of the industry, which is why I'm doing a Global TV Awards event in December.

NETFLIX IS REMOVING MOST OF ITS INTERACTIVE TITLES
The thing about technology is that sometimes you can develop some really cool feature, but ultimately can't figure out a way to make it commercially or creatively viable. That has certainly been the case with Netflix's interactive programming.

The streamer has announced that it is removing nearly all of its interactive programming on December 1st, with a company spokesperson providing the statement "The technology served its purpose, but is now limiting as we focus on technological efforts in other areas."

The technology essentially allowed Netflix to create "Choose Your Own Adventure" programs (although they legally weren't allowed to describe them that way). The interactive technology was used on a bunch of one-off specials featuring familiar IP - everything from Minecraft and Captain Underpants to Black Mirror and Man Vs. Wild.

The interactive features tended to work pretty well, although sometimes you could find yourself stuck in some weird story cul-de-sac. But the core problem seemed to be that writing an engaging choose your adventure story that didn't take thirty hours to complete is a lot harder than you might think. And since Netflix used mostly familiar IP, programmers weren't able to write the adventures viewers might enjoy, such as figuring out a way to kill Bear Grylls.

I'd love to hear what the programmers are taking away from this experience, however. The company now has more experience in the interactive story world than any other streamer. Which should give Netflix an advantage, if it can decide what to do with it.

THE CASE FOR COMFORTABLE TV
We live in stressful times, so it makes sense that audiences might be drawn to familiar genres and stories that satisfy without making the viewer uncomfortable. I certainly find myself be drawn to that time of programming.

Along those lines, let me suggest three shows that manage to feel both familiar and fresh. They are the definition of comfort TV and I'd recommend watching any of them instead of spending your time obsessing about election returns on social media.

Murder In A Small Town (Tuesdays, Fox)
This is not the same show as Fox's underappreciated reality series Murder In Small Town X, which aired a few years back. This scripted series is based on the nine-book Karl Alberg series by novelist L.R. Wright, and stars Rossif Sutherland as Karl Alberg, who moves to a quiet, coastal town in hopes of finding police work that isn't quite so devastating to his soul. Unluckily for him, the town is filled with murders in that way you usually only see in sleepy British detective shows. On the upside, he meets local librarian Cassandra Lee (Kristin Kreuk), who quickly becomes both his sounding board and his love interest.

There's nothing startling about this show, but like those familiar British "unlikely detective in small town" dramas, it includes some clever twists and a lot of tugging at various heart strings. I don't get the sense that audiences have found the show, but that's their loss. 

Inspector Ellis (Acorn TV)
Speaking of British detective shows, this new series premieres tonight and it brings a slightly new twist to the familiar detective genre tropes. Sharon D. Clarke plays Inspector Ellis (no relation), who travels each week from London to some small British community to help/investigate/arrest the over-worked small town police. In tonight's premiere, she tasked with figuring out who killed a former politician's son, while also determining the whereabouts of his girlfriend. She's partnered up with Detective Sergeant Harper (Andrew Gower) and they remain a team through the remainder of the season.

These success of these shows depends a lot on the acting and Clarke's Olivier-winning experience on the London stages provides a gravitas and subtle depth to her character that elevates the show above a lot of its contemporary dramas. Each episode runs 90 minutes, but for what it's worth, I blasted through three of them in one setting. So I don't think that will be a problem for most viewers.

High Potential (Tuesdays, ABC)
The "unconventional civilian who has a knack for solving crimes" premise has been the jumping off point for shows since the earliest years of television. But despite the familiarity, when it's done well, it still makes for a predictably entertaining show. Kaitlin Olson stars as a single mom who finds herself partnered with (let's say it all together) a "serious, by-the-book detective." You've seen it before, but the writing is so on point and the ensemble is so tight that you won't care. The show has been a solid hit for ABC so far and it could prove to be the broadcast network breakout of the season.

ODDS AND SODS
* Warner Bros. Discovery is shuttering some of its TV Everywhere apps and consolidating others.

* Although it's hard to imagine there is much new left to say about the case, Netflix announced today that true crime producer Joe Berlinger is helming Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey?, which premieres November 25th.

* Netflix has renewed the fan-favorite drama Outer Banks for a fifth and final season, ahead of its Season 4 Part 2 premiere on November 7th. 

* Mike Verdu, the new Netflix: VP, GenAI for Games posted a note to LinkedIn explaining his new role, which he describes as "transformational."

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH:
* Holiday Baking Championship Season Premiere (Food)
* Inspector Ellis Series Premiere (Acorn TV)
* 2024 SNL Election Special (NBC)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH:
* Election Night Live with Brian Williams (Prime Video)
* Game Changers Series Premiere (Discovery)
* Love Village (Netflix)
* Reindeer Mafia Series Premiere (MHz Choice)

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!