Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, March 11th, 2024

Your thoughts on mindless television.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, March 8th, 2024.

THIS IS THE WAY:
I know it's not a popular opinion in TV critic circles, but I really like some of the moves The CW has been making over the past year. Faced with new owners and a diminished original content budget, the network has focused in on what the USA Network used to bill as "Blue Sky" procedurals. Lots of breezy detective dramas and while it's too early to know if the shows are going to be a success, I think it's a genre that audiences continue to enjoy and one that is underserved on broadcast television.

One way The CW is making the budgets work is by shooting overseas and doing co-productions with other platforms and networks in order to share costs.

Today, the network announced the series one-hour procedural dramedy Good Cop/Bad Cop is coming to the network early next year and it's a co-production with The Roku Channel and Australia's streaming service Stan. The show will run on all three platforms and apparently is already being shopped to outlets in other territories.

The official logline describes the show as being "centered around Lou (Leighton Meester) and Henry (Luke Cook), an odd couple sister and brother detective team in a small Pacific Northwest police force. They must contend with colorful residents, a serious lack of resources, and their very complicated dynamic with each other and with their police chief, Big Hank (Clancy Brown)—who happens to be their father."

While there are no guarantees on quality the show is from writer John Quaintance and executive producer Jeff Wachtel. Quaintance has a long history with broadcast TV comedies, including a long stint as EP on Will & Grace.

I think these procedurals are a great idea and at least on paper, this show seems to fit well with other new CW shows such as Wild Cards and Shakespeare & Sister.

YOUR THOUGHTS ON MINDLESS TELEVISION
In Friday's newsletter, I asked for your favorite mindless TV choices. Those shows that you watch when you need to cleanse your mental palate and escape for a little bit.

I received a couple of hundred emails and I apologize that I only have the space to share a few. But it reminded me that I need to start writing some pieces highlighting some of these lean-back-and-relax shows. Now here are some of your comments:

"Mindless TV is some of my favorite TV to watch. I'm usually drawn to comfort watches of sitcoms like Frasier and The Nanny. Recently, though, I watched Match Me Abroad and was pleasantly surprised. It's similar to reality shows like 90 Day Fiancé in that it has a cast of Americans looking for love abroad, but MMA feels less...icky and exploitative. I also thought the way the episodes and storylines were constructed was more intriguing than your average reality show. After a long day, I looked forward to throwing on an episode or two of MMA, rejoicing in the fact that I could turn off my brain for a little while. Season 1 is available to stream on Max and other platforms." 

"You mentioned in an older newsletter you watched a British show on Pluto called DIY SOS: The Big Build and you're right. It is a kinder, gentler take on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The presentation is less American, if that makes sense. They're not building some unneeded McMansion. They're helping to improve the rowhouse of a family who has suffered some loss or immense personal challenge. I just absolutely love the show and I think I've managed to tear up at least once or twice every time I watch an episode."

"My husband and I refer to those shows as “junk TV.” We’ve gone through a number of these shows - Battlebots, Real Housewives of NJ, Jersey Shore were some of our past favorites (yes, we’re from NJ). We also watched Bering Sea Gold though like you, we eventually grew tired of it. Our current guilty pleasures are Traitors and Love is Blind. We also just started watching episodes of Naked & Afraid which is very entertaining, mainly because neither of us would ever do that in a million years. These shows are perfect for a Friday or Saturday night when we need to unwind after the kids are in bed and we don’t feel like thinking."

"I know it's the most predictable choice ever, but we've been watching endless episodes of the shows in the House Hunters universe. There is always something annoying going on to keep us entertained. But we have absolutely no emotional attachment to anyone and sometimes we'll watch four or five episodes in a row without realizing it."

"I'm in my early 30s, so I don't have a lot of knowledge of the classic 80s comedies. I've been blasting my way through Eight Is Enough and Chico & The Man, which is both hilarious and a bit cringy."

TWEET OF THE DAY

THERE'S MORE HERE THAN JUST A NEWSLETTER
While I don't talk about it a lot, I also run AllYourScreens.com, a web site which even in these search engine-challenged times, still manages to garner a couple of million unique visitors a month.

There isn't a lot of cross-over in readership between the web site and newsletter, which is usually fine with me. But I am trying to find some ways of cross-promoting more. Especially since this is an exceptionally difficult time to make money with any sort of news web site.

How tough is it? Well, today, the staff of Deadspin was told the site had been sold off and the new owner is apparently some shell company based in the Maltas. So they are all out of work.

And while the political news site Talking Points Memo is staying afloat thanks to a healthy subscriber base, their programmatic ad revenue is plunging. To the tune of about a $1.6 million drop in eight years. They shared this slide, which is a bit horrifying:

This is a challenge everyone who is trying to make a living with a news site is dealing with right now. I haven't quite figured out the best moves for my situation right now. The paid subscriptions for this newsletter helps, although I don't like to push that too often. I think you'll see me experiment a bit with merchandise and some other ideas over the coming months. 

But no one has it figured out yet. While I don't know for sure, I suspect most of the Penske Media trades would be in big trouble without the revenue coming in from events.

ODDS AND SODS
* If you'd like to read a piece about comfort TV that relies on a lot of quotes from a UK-based empowerment coach, then the AV Club has you covered.

* In Salon, writer Seth Simons argues that Saturday Night Live is a bad thing for comedians.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

MONDAY, MARCH 11TH:
* Bad Romance Season One Finale (ABC)
* Carpe DM With Juanpa Series Premiere (The Roku Channel)
* CoComelon Season Ten Premiere (Netflix)
* Lakefront Empire Series Premiere (HGTV)
* The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys Series Premiere (Peacock)
* Young Royals Season Premiere (Netflix)

TUESDAY, MARCH 12TH:
* Boat Story Series Premiere (Freevee)
* Fixer To Fabulous: Italiano Series Premiere (HGTV)
* Never Seen Again (Paramount+)
* Password Season Two (NBC)
* 7 Little Johnsons Season Fourteen Premiere (TLC)
* Steve Trevino: Simple Man (Netflix)
* The Lionheart (HBO)
* Turning Point: The Bomb And The Cold War (Netflix)
* Wildcard Kitchen Series Premiere (Food)

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!