Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, May 26th, 2022
Surprisingly, there was actual non-Star Wars news as well today.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, May 26th, 2022.
THE GREAT REBUNDLING ERA
I don't love "the great rebundling" phrase that is becoming conventional wisdom in the industry. In part, because I don't think it means what most people who use it think it means. Still, that is how Parrot Analytics described their newest report and I'm going with their take on it in this case.
There are a lot of great charts and data points in the report, which you should read in full. But I think this was the paragraph that jumped out at me:
Bundling often helps create a proper four quadrant service package through complimentary programming faster than trying to build it out on one singular platform. The vast majority of viewers tuning into documentary and reality programming on Discovery+, the two genres that make up close to 95% of its entire on-platform demand share, are within the Above 40 and Millennial age groups. Dramas and Comedies, which make up close to 50% of HBO Max’s on-platform demand share, are made up of “Zenials,” or the age group between 22 and 28. Reality programming on HBO Max also skews younger than Discovery+.
And then there is this chart:
There's a lot of great stuff in this report and it provides some real clarity on the demo splits for services such as HBO Max and Discovery+
STAR WARS CELEBRATION DAY
Star Wars Celebration Day has been taking place annually since 1999 and it has become the place for major announcements, immersive exhibits, an interactive show floor, screenings, exclusive merchandise, celebrity guests, panels, and other surprises.
As you might imagine, there was a lot of Disney+-related news and given the non-stop coverage in the trades today, you've likely already seen a lot of the announcements. But if you haven't, the highlights are that the premiere of the new season of The Mandalorian is being pushed back until February of next year. The premiere of Ashoka is also happening in 2023. But the series Andor will be premiering on August 31st.
Disney also announced that Jude Law will be starring in an a new live-action Star Wars series from Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts. It's called Skeleton Crew and will be coming out in 2023.
And Willow, the new series based on the movie, will be premiering November 30th on Disney+.
MOST ANTICIPATED STREAMING TV SHOWS FOR JUNE
Whip Media has passed along its list of most anticipated streaming shows being released in June, according to users of its TV Time app:
I think it's interesting to contrast that list with ones from other countries, such as Italy.
HOW COMPANIES HANDLE AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN
Brian Morrissey's newsletter "The Rebooting" always has useful things to say about the media business and his latest edition talks about the moves that companies make when faced with an economic downturn. I thought this excerpt made a good point about priorities and puts into perspective why Netflix has been making some of the recent cuts in its U.S. branded content staff, such as Tudum:
Branded content. The most vulnerable area of brand advertising for publishers resides in their content studios that create branded content. These outfits carry high fixed costs that can become an albatross in a downturn. Years ago, during the boom in content studios, a publishing executive lamented that a critical flaw is that publishers don’t have the muscle memory and culture of dialing up and down their staffing. If an ad agency loses an account, it is expected to shed people as a result. Publishing operates differently. On the client side, brand content deals are typically hard to tie directly to sales, so they’re ripe for the chopping block.
NETFLIX FOCUSES ON STAND-UP COMEDY
Vulture's Jesse David Fox has a really informative and nuanced interview with Robbie Praw, Netflix's VP of stand-up and comedy formats. Fox writes about stand-up on a regular basis, so he has a good sense of what is important about the streamer's focus on stand-up comedy. Although in this excerpt, Praw nicely sidesteps the framing of this question:
Something I’ve heard from comedians and managers is that stand-up proved to be really popular after people finished binging something serious. Bert Kreischer has talked about how Netflix told him that most people just watched the first 30 minutes, so he put his closer 30 minutes into his special. Can you confirm that?
People do watch our specials — often all the way through. But you could go to any club around the country right now and see a big headliner do 90 minutes or you could see somebody do seven minutes, and those are two very valid versions of the art form. Sometimes you like a shorter version of something. Sometimes, rather than a comedian constructing an evening for you, a comedian’s take on a specific thing may be a vital, important piece of comedy. We’re striving to do both.
ODDS AND SODS
* HBO has announced that Jodie Foster will be starring in season four of True Detective and will also be an executive producer.
* While he is best known to audiences for his movie roles, Ray Liotta starred and co-starred in a number of television shows. Including one which is a remake of the movie Casablanca, in which David Soul played the role that originally starred Humphrey Bogart.
* Today's 70's song you should know (sponsored by Spotify) is "Slip Away" by Ian Lloyd. Originally written by Ric Ocasek for The Cars album "Candy-O," I am shocked this track never became a hit.
* The fabled Creem Magazine archives are now online and free (for now). 20 years of the magazine, which was hugely influential in the 70s. Creem is pretty much what inspired me to become a journalist. Now if someone could just do the same with TV Guide.
HUSTLERS ARE GOING TO HUSTLE
I'm not a business expert, but a private celebration of the top real estate brokers in NYC seems a bit off-topic for a West Coast-based entertainment industry publication. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the money THR can grab from brokers eager to be part of this. And no, the fact that the list included a few brokers who have been on television does not make it a "TV industry event."
WHAT'S NEW FOR WEDNESDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:
Accused: Guilty Or Innocent? Season Premiere (A&E)
Alone Season Premiere (History)
Bull Series Finale (CBS)
Crimes Gone Viral Season Premiere(Investigation Discovery)
Fight Or Flight (Discovery+)
Kings Of Pain (History)
Look at Me: XXXTENTACION (Hulu)
My Little Pony: Make Your Mark (Netflix)
Pokemon Master Journeys: The Series Part Three Premiere (Netflix)
Road To The Bee (Bounce/Ion)
That Damn Michael Che Season Premiere (HBO Max)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show Series Finale (Syndicated)
Tig N' Seek (HBO Max)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU THURSDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.