Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, May 28th, 2024

There's something to be said for being outside the Hollywood bubble.

ere's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, May 28th, 2024:

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THEATRICAL FILMS? MAYBE ASK SOME PEOPLE WHO PAY TO WATCH MOVIES
I don't live in Southern California, although I've lived there in the past and still stay connected to the industry. But I like living away from the show business bubble and being around "civilians" every day and it gives me a unique perspective that you won't get from most other industry journalists. Hearing directly from average consumers about what they find important is incredibly useful.

I've thought about this a lot over the past weekend, as the Hollywood Trades and the far-flung reaches of Hollywood social media have been embroiled in a frantic conversation about the current state of theatrical film business. There are fewer films that feel like blockbusters and it just overall seems like the theatrical movie business doesn't matter much to a lot of consumers.

The answer to nearly every question in Hollywood is a nuanced "it depends" and that certainly seems to be the case here. But that hasn't stopped journalists from cranking out an impressively large number of hot takes that put the blame on everything from streaming to expensive concession drinks. I have no way of knowing for sure, but I suspect hundreds of thousands of words have been written about the state of the theatrical movie business in the past week.

And unless I missed it somehow, the one thing no outlet has thought to do it is actually ask the people who are going (or not going) to their local movie theater. Rather than slapping together a piece based on what some other industry insider thinks, I'd like to see a reporter or two wander over to the local movie theater and ask people why they're there. What keeps them from going more often? Are concessions too expensive? What is the movie-going experience like through their eyes?

The Penske Media folks certainly have the financial assets to commission a focus group on the subject or do an outreach poll. Sure, it's not as easy as just aggregating together some Frankenstein-like assembly of quotes for yet another piece you've likely read a hundred times already. But it would be a useful exercise and something that would provide context as well as be an example of good journalism.

This isn't a television-related subject per se. But we see these same issues play themselves out with topics closer to home. A lack of perspective, an unwillingness to expend the extra energy or financial resources in order to provide context, rather than just being a stenographer for whomever you can get to talk to you.

PLEASE MAKE IT STOP
I know that reboots of familiar TV comedy titles are all the rage right now. And I realize that the Hollywood trades default to most clickable headline, even if it only has tangential connection to the rest of the story. But even with all of those caveats, the Hollywood Reporter piece headlined "Sofía Vergara on a 'Modern Family' Revival: "I Would Do It in a Second" is pretty annoying.

First of all, the comments come from a THR Awards Chatter podcast and listening to the podcast, her Modern Family comments are more of an aside that anything else. And that's reflected in this print version of the story, which spends the bulk of the time discussing her recent role in the Netflix series Griselda. 

This is literally the entire Modern Family-related exchange, and to be clear, we're talking about a show that no one has suggested will come back any time soon and has also been off the air for only four years:

On a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast hosted by its executive editor of awards, Scott Feinberg, the 51-year-old actress revealed her hopes for another run at Gloria Delgado-Pritchett.

“I mean, I would do it in a second,” Vergara said when asked about a Modern Family revival. “Of course, I would do it.”

The actress said that despite it only being four years since the show ended, she would participate in a revival “just for the experience of doing it again,” noting that she wasn’t sure if it would do “good or bad.”

I get it. We're all just trying to convince readers to read our stuff. But THR and the other Penske Media sites seem to be increasingly relying on this kind of inaccurate framing of stories in order to get some buzz. It's incredibly annoying as a reader and to be honest, I'm not sure that the momentary uptick in traffic is worth the longer-term damage to their reputation with readers.

ODDS AND SODS
* A little green puppet from an old Canadian children’s TV show is healing hearts for a new generation of viewers.

* Season two of The Ark will premiere Wednesday, July 17th on Syfy.

* Here is a round-up of interesting global TV stories from today.

* There is something weirdly captivating about watching someone spend hours talking about something they care about deeply, even if you have only a passing interest in the subject. So along those likes, here is a four-hour Jenny Nicholson YouTube video about the ill-fated Star Wars immersive hotel experience.

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

TUESDAY, MAY 28TH:
* America's Got Talent Season Premiere (NBC)
* Beat Shazam Season Seven Premiere (Fox)
* Fiennes: Return To The Wild Series Premiere (NatGeo)
* For Love & Life: No Ordinary Campaign (Prime Video)
* The Quiz With Balls Series Premiere (Fox)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH:
* American Detective With Lt. Joe Kenda Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* American Pickers Season Premiere (History)
* Bionic (Netflix)
* Botched Bariatrics Season One Finale (TLC)
* Camden Series Premiere (Hulu)
* City Island Sings! Series Premiere (PBS Kids)
* Colors Of Evil: Red (Netflix)
* Dancing For The Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult (Netflix)
* Forged In Fire Season Premiere (History)
* Hells Angels: Kingdom Come Series Premiere (Vice)
* Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country (Hulu)
* MasterChef Season Premiere (Fox)
* Moviepass, Moviecrash (HBO)
* The Fairly Odd Parents: A New Wish Series Premiere (Nickelodeon)
* Under The Bridge Season Finale (Apple TV+)

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY!