Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, June 22nd, 2020

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, June 22nd, 2020. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by pasta salad.

WHY IS SO HARD FOR DISCOVERY TO MENTION CLIMATE CHANGE?
I was catching up on the new season of Discovery's long-running Friday night series "Bering Sea Gold," and I was reminded of how strange it is that even though a number of Discovery shows are set in Alaska, none of them seem comfortable mentioning the subject of climate change. Which is an issue, because many of the shows in recent seasons have centered around the impact changes in the climate have had on cast members and their livelihoods. 

In fact, the primary storyline of this season's "Bering Sea Gold" is an early thaw and heavy run-off, which has changed the look of the seabed where much of the underground gold mining takes place. But even though that run-off is mentioned numerous times each episode, the topic of climate change has never come up once. It's as if the change in weather happened because of some magical happening that is completely impossible to explain.

It's not as if the participants of these shows don't understand what is causing the changes in their environment. I spoke with 'Deadliest Catch' Captain Keith Colburn three years ago and it was a subject he was already grappling with on a daily basis:

It's going to be just the same as we've seen on the East Coast. For instance, Rhode Island used to have a more than 100-million pound a season cod catch. And now it's down to maybe five million. Most of that population has moved north into Maine. What happened in Rhode Island was that as the water warmed, predator fish moved in and started to seek out the cod and other fish that were there. Lobster populations are moving north and at some point you're going to need a Canadian passport to catch lobster on the East Coast.

My concern in Alaska is that we're going to see predator fish moving in. It could be Cod, it could be something else. But my fear is that these fish will move into the warmer water, become more prolific and push out the populations we fish. We just don't know. Scientists really struggle with trying to predict what we're going to fish and when we're going to catch it. And that's the scariest thing right now. We just don't know what's going to happen. We just know it's going to change.

The thing is, the lifespan of a crab is only seven years or so. So it only takes a few years to completely disrupt the biomass as they reproduce.

So why isn't Discovery pushing this topic more aggressively? I honestly don't know and I haven't been able to get any comment on the record from anyone at the network. It's a strange choice, however, since outside of the United States, climate change is much less political and contentious. And since Discovery's programming is seen around the globe, it seems as is climate change would be a topic of worldwide interest. But that's just me...

COBRA KAI MOVING TO NETFLIX
The "Karate Kid" spin-off series "Cobra Kai" will be moving to Netflix. The first two seasons, which aired on YouTube in 2018 and 2019, will make their debut on Netflix later this year. Season Three will premiere at a later date. I'll have a full piece on this in a bit, once I get more details. But the move officially marks the end of YouTube Premium's scripted original ambitions.

ODDS AND SODS
The American Pyrotechnics Association says they need a fireworks bailout or else the one-off cancellation of July 4th celebrations will create permanent bankruptcies throughout the industry.

Netflix has poached a former executive from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to head it's Original Content efforts in Australia.

Most employees of the NY Times won’t be required back in physical offices until January, 2021. (Sounds like there may be some exceptions.) Here is the email to staff.

I mentioned last week that Pluto TV had added a few episodes of the CBS All-Access shows "Star Trek: Discovery" and "Picard" to its "Star Trek" marathon. On Friday, they ran episodes from the BET+ streaming service in an effort to drive viewers to that lower-profile streaming service. The one-day channel included episodes from "Diggstown," "American Gangster: Trap Queens," and "First Wives Club."

Just about everyone agrees that there is a built-up demand by viewers for new top-level sports programming. But if you need a hard-data example, consider this statistic: Yesterday's Everton vs Liverpool game was watched by 5.5 million viewers in the UK, setting the record for the most-watched game in Premier League history.

The previous record of 4.3 million viewers was set by a Manchester City and Manchester United game in the 2011-12 season.

Here is a rundown of the new shows premiering today....

1) B90 Strikes Back Series Premiere (TLC)
A self-shot series in which participants of the "Before The 90 Days" series watch previous episodes of offer comments. So really, it's a spin-off of a spin-off.

2) Diesel Brothers Season Premiere (Discovery)
When Todd LeDuc challenges the Diesel Brothers to a desert race and picks Muscle to be on his team, Heavy D and Diesel Dave need to work in overdrive to get their unfinished F100 in race-ready condition. Also this season, Heavy D and Diesel Dave travel to Monster Jam in Florida to unveil Diesel Dave’s ‘Monster Truck Bro Camino,’ and Mad Scientist Sam later builds a diesel-powered monowheel vehicle known as ‘The Kracken’ with two tentacle like wheels. With more stunts, builds, pranks and dad jokes than ever, Monday nights are guaranteed to be trucking huge.

3) Find Love Live Season Premiere (TLC)
During each episode of this live show, love-hungry singles can engage in flirtatious banter and even put potential suitors on the hot seat live, via video, all in the hopes of finding Mr. or Ms. Right. That also means anyone watching the show can get in on the action (or apply on findlovelive.com the week leading up) for their shot at love. America will also lean in and voice their opinion via Twitter while playing the role of matchmaker; viewers will be encouraged to cast their votes in real time on who they think should be selected for the virtual date using hashtags for their favorite match. Host Sukanya (or Suki) will serve as wing woman throughout the process before the singles make their decision. Once the choice is made, the couple will embark on their first virtual meet up, to be shared with viewers on findlovelive.com the following week. Love is loud, love is crazy and just maybe, love can be found with a little help from America, the internet and live TV!

4) Penn & Teller: Fool Us Season Premiere (The CW)
Aspiring magicians are invited to perform their best trick to try and fool the world-famous team of Penn & Teller, who will get to see the trick only once and have to immediately try to work it out. Anyone who succeeds wins the right to perform with Penn & Teller in their celebrated show at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The live studio audience and the TV audience watch along with Penn & Teller as they try to figure out the secrets. The magicians featured in the episode include Shawn Farquhar, Helen Coghlan, Ondřej Pšenička and Paul Gertner. 

5) Ten Weeks Series Premiere (Quibi)
What is this new Quibi new series all about? Search me, since info from Quibi is harder to acquire than treasure maps that point to actual treasure.

6) The Lost Boys Of Bucks County (Investigation Discovery)
Known for its sprawling farmland and quaint country charm, Bucks County, Pennsylvania has long been a haven of safety and security. But in 2017, the community is rocked when four young men vanish from their homes without a trace.  Word quickly spreads, and before long, the entire nation is following the story. Local police team up with the FBI, and after days of sifting through clues, they descend on a sprawling property in quiet Solebury. A massive search effort soon uncovers the truth, and points the finger at a brazen predator, whose heartless actions carved a path of destruction through the otherwise peaceful region.

For a rundown of all the new episodes of television premiering tonight,click here.

TOO MUCH TV REALLY IS A THING
This newsletter is called "Too Much TV" because....well, it's hard to keep track of all the new television premiering everyday. To help you prioritize your viewing, click here to see our list of more than 400 upcoming television premieres, movies and finales. You'll find listings from more than 70 networks, as well as streaming services and web shows.


I'll be back with another one tomorrow. If you have any feedback, send it along toRick@AllYourScreens.comand follow me on Twitter@aysrick.