Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, August 24th, 2021

Is Nicole Wallace the future of MSNBC's primetime schedule?

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, August 24th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by pasta and cream soda.

Today's newsletter is a bit shorter than normal. Lots of TCA-related work as well as some interviews for an upcoming piece makes for a busy day.

MSNBC AND RACHEL MADDOW, DAY TWO
There was a lot of feedback over the piece I wrote in yesterday's newsletter about Rachel Maddow, MSNBC and the network's perplexing failure to develop some possible replacements for her in-house. One notable bit of pushback came from an MSNBC executive who asked not to be identified, but who strongly disagreed with my assessment that the network had failed to develop a suitable replacement for Maddow. "We have a strong group of experienced anchors and several very talented people capable of trying to fill her (Maddow's) big shoes." To be clear, I didn't say that MSNBC didn't have anchors/hosts capable of filling the hour. My argument was that MSNBC had spent a lot of time building up it roster of anchors versed in cranking out a traditional cable news show that is heavy on contributors and other talking heads.

Which brings me to this bit of feedback:

I agree with Bill that this is the most likely scenario for MSNBC. Executives at the network like her and she has developed a nice on-camera rhythm on her late afternoon show. But her presentation and guest choices are still very much grounded in the conventional wisdom of the cable news world. Which is not at all the sensibility of the average Rachel Maddow viewer. And from what I can tell, that seems to be fine with MSNBC executives. I've spoken on background with several people there in the last week that argue while Maddow is a unique talent, viewers are responding to her likeability, not the format of her show. A stance which seems misguided at best.

I also had a few readers email me with questions along the lines of "Okay, smart guy. What's YOUR bright idea?" Which, to be honest, I hear frequently enough that I should get t-shirts made up with the phrase on it.

Given that there aren't any likely candidates in the pipeline that can be brought up to speed in six or eight months, I'd move Chris Hayes into Maddow's spot whenever she decides to leave and shift Nicole Wallace into Hayes' current slot.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Hayes is the closest to Maddow in terms of his sensibility and show format and Maddow's audience is already familiar with him. Ratings are going to dip a bit initially - they would no matter who gets her timeslot. But he has the best chance to keep the losses down to a minimum and build his own momentum with her audience. I agree with Bill Carter and the MSNBC executives that Nicole Wallace has the chops to potentially build a successful primetime show. Shifting her into the 8:00 slot and encouraging her to be more experimental and less reliant on conventional network analysts could give her the opportunity to build a distinctive show.

SHOWTIME AT THE TCAS
Showtime did its first of two days worth of presentations in front of the TV critics of the TCA today and here are some of the highlights:

* The 10-episode survival drama Yellowjackets premieres on Sunday, November 14th.  

* Dexter: New Blood premieres on Sunday, November 7th. Michael C. Hall returns as serial killer Dexter Morgan in this 10-episode "limited series."

* The Bryan Cranston drama Your Honor has been renewed for a second season, which will premiere in 2022.

* Showtime has picked up late-night series Desus & Mero for a fourth season and renewed the half-hour comedy Flatbush Demeanors for second season.

A TAKEDOWN OF SONY PICTURES TELEVISION OVER ITS HANDLING OF THE 'JEOPARDY' TRANSITION
Vulture's Joe Adalian has written a pretty savage recounting of the many ways in which Sony Pictures Television botched the decision of who should host its long-running game show Jeopardy! following the death of Alex Trebek:

Sony, of course, has tried to dismiss the idea that Richards picked himself, noting that he didn’t have the final call and that other execs took over the formal selection process once Richards emerged as a serious candidate. The studio told the Times that the decision was ultimately made by Vinciquerra, and a person familiar with the situation confirmed to Vulture that he was involved from the start and had the last word — after consultation with other Sony execs, including some with considerable knowledge of the game-show experience. But at least one Hollywood TV vet I spoke with remains dubious. “I am sure [Vinciquerra] was not all that involved in this until the shit hit the fan, and now they need to clean up the mess,” this insider told me.

But let’s assume Vinciquerra was hands-on in the search for Trebek’s successor. In a way, that’s even more damning. While an exec at his level would surely have a voice in such a consequential call, there is no way someone with as many other responsibilities and priorities as Vinciquerra (who is very much not known as a creative exec) is best-equipped to make what is, in the end, a casting decision. It would be like Jeff Bezos having final say on who should star in Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings series: not unimaginable, but not good.

ODDS AND SODS
* Here's a first look at the upcoming Irish drama series Kin, which premieres September 9th on AMC+

* Netflix UK has ordered three new unscripted shows, including Snowflake Mountain, Dated & Related and Dance Monsters.

* Although it hasn't been confirmed, I've been told that the Battle Royale game Fortnite is adding a Shang-Chi skin on September 2nd.

* Saved By The Bell hits Netflix (in The US) on September 15th. That includes all the episodes from the original series plus The College Years and both TV movies: Hawaiian Style and Wedding in Las Vegas.

* Season two of Love On The Spectrum will premiere Tuesday, September 21st on Netflix. 

* The three-part true crime special Doctor's Orders premieres Friday, September 3rd on Discovery+. The special tells the story of a member of the Pagan motorcycle group who testified against a brother in order to escape prosecution over some drug charges. 

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.