Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, August 13th, 2024

If you love the feeling of deja vu, the Food Network has some new Halloween-themed programming to announce

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, August 13th, 2024:

PARAMOUNT GLOBAL TO SHUT DOWN PARAMOUNT TELEVISION STUDIOS
The layoffs began today at Paramount Global, which is looking to shed about 15% of its global workforce. The company also announced it was shutting down Paramount Television Studios, a move which is confusing even if you're employed in the television business.

This division is not the Paramount TV you likely think of when you hear the name. That division, which produced a number of successful TV shows in the 70s, 80s and 90s, disappeared into CBS in 2005 after the ill-fated CBS/Viacom split. Paramount Television Studios was launched 11 years ago, in order to give Paramount a TV production arm.

As for why this is happening, one reason certainly seems to be financial. Paramount Global has already promised to slash several billion in expenses ahead of the acquisition by Skydance and rolling Paramount TV into CBS Studios is an easy way to justify cutting a number of jobs and overlapping overhead. That theory certainly seems to make sense when you look at the names of some of the people who have been laid off.

And if you're wondering why Paramount Television Studios was rolled into CBS Studios and not the other way around, I have a theory which I can't confirm. But it does match what I have been hearing from sources at Paramount Global. The conventional wisdom there is Paramount Global is using this large round of layoffs to reconfigure the company more clearly into TV and movie studios sides. 

Why? Well, if someone was wanting to sell off the distressed parts of Paramount Global, rolling the networks, affiliate group and CBS Studios together into one package would create a more well-rounded division that might interest hedge funds eager to strip mine the revenues from the legacy TV business for as long as it lasts.

I don't know if that's the case, but it's an idea that makes strategic sense.

TWEET OF THE DAY

IF YOU LOVE THE FEELING OF DEJA VU, THE FOOD NETWORK HAS SOME NEW HALLOWEEN-THEMED PROGRAMMING TO ANNOUNCE
Halloween is coming and if you are a regular viewer of the Food Network, you know that means a lot of Halloween-themed baking competitions. 

The network announced its new Halloween lineup today and it's a mix of familiar and very familiar programming running under the banner of "Halloween In September." And while I am Tyler Henry, I predict that “Thanksgiving in October” might be on the way.

Halloween Baking Championship returns on Monday, September 16th for a tenth season. And Lord help us all, the network promises the show is taking on "steampunk vibes." Now, I am skeptical it will be very steampunk with John Henson as the host and Stephanie Boswell, Carla Hall and Zac Young as the judges.

Halloween Wars returns for fourteenth season on Sunday, September 22nd. Hosted by Jonathan Bennett, the network promises that "captained by former champions, each team must capture the essence of iconic and classic Halloween monsters with mouth-watering treats made to impress returning judges Shinmin Li and Aarti Sequeira."

The relative newcomer Outrageous Pumpkins returns for its fifth season on Sunday, September 29th. Apparently the "stakes have never been higher."

And along with Halloween-themed episodes of shows such as The Kitchen, there will also be the one-off special Kids Baking Championship: Scary Good, which premieres on Monday, October 7th. According to the network, Hosts Duff Goldman and Kardea Brown challenge the bakers to make pull-apart Halloween cupcakes with one of the hottest peppers on the planet before a shocking twist puts the baking tools and equipment on the line." Whatever that means.

ODDS AND SODS
* I have no idea whether or not Tyler Henry is a true clairvoyant. But I am reasonably sure that I am not a big enough fan of celebrities that I would want to watch him reading the reasonably famous. And yet, that appears to be the premise of his new Netflix series Live From the Other Side. The series premieres on September 17th and the 45-minute episodes will premiere every Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.

According to the streamer, the series will follow Henry "as he gives celebrity guests hope, healing and long sought-after answers through emotional readings that showcase his gifts as a medium, clairvoyant and medical intuitive."

* Season fifteen of The Real Housewives of New York City will premiere Tuesday, October 1st on Bravo.

* Season eight of Selling Sunset will premiere Friday, September 6th on Netflix.

* Peacock has picked up a second season of Love Island Games. Sadly, none of the games are "Twister."

* A24's Civil War will premiere on Max Friday, September 13th and I Saw The TV Glow will premiere Friday, September 20th. Both films will premiere the following day on HBO. And giving the streaming platform the premiere is an interesting choice for WBD.

* A new season of Sister Wives premieres Sunday, September 15th on TLC.

* Peacock's new series Hysteria! premieres Friday, October 18th with all eight episodes. The series is inspired by the scare in the 1970s and 1980s that suggested many popular songs contained Satan-friendly backwards masking. For what it's worth, I was fired from my first radio job for putting together a bit that suggested The Captain & Tennille hit "Muskrat Love" contained a hidden Satanic message that would secretly encourage listeners to unexpectedly make muskrat sounds in public. Oddly, small town Southern Indiana was not ready for my type of sophisticated humor.

One interesting programming twist about the show is that it will be simulcast on USA Network and Syfy that day, with USA airing episodes each Friday.

* Netflix has picked up a second season of Supacell.

* Apple TV+ today announced an all-new 10-episode season of the motorcycle adventure series Long Way Up starring and executive produced by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. This time the motorcycle tour will feature a big loop from McGregor's house in Scotland to Boorman's house in England, via 10,000 miles of Scandinavia, and Eastern and Central Europe. Which ironically the same route you would take if you decided to fly Delta Airlines.

* Out There: Crimes Of The Paranormal is premiering Tuesday, September 24th on Hulu.

* PBS announced today that the series The Great American Recipe has been renewed for a fourth season, with host Ramos and judges Derry, Hollingsworth and Lam set to return. Production will begin in the fall of 2024. 

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13TH:
* A Boston (R)evolution (PBS)
* Assisted Living Season Premiere (BET)
* Crime Is Her Game Season Finale (MHz Choice)
* House Of Payne Season Premiere (BET)
* Matt Rife: Lucid - A Crowd Work Special (Netflix)
* 100 Day Hotel Challenge Series Premiere (HGTV)
* Tatorte: Bremen Series Premiere (MHz Choice)

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14TH:
* American Murder: Laci Peterson (Netflix) - [first look video]
* Bad Monkey Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Bargain Mansions Season Premiere (Magnolia)
* Daughters (Netflix)
* Expedition Bigfoot Season Five Premiere (Discovery)
* Expedition X Season Premiere (Discovery)
* Good Bones (HGTV)
* Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience (ESPN)
* Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season Two Premiere (Disney Jr.)
* The Challenge 40: Battle Of The Eras Season Premiere (MTV)
* The Tyrant Series Premiere (Hulu)
* Worst Ex Ever Series Premiere (Netflix) - [first look video]

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY!