Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, February 7th, 2025

This weekend brings another Puppy Bowl

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, February 7th, 2025:

READER FEEDBACK
I've received a lot of comments and emails about yesterday's interview with a streaming development exec and many of the notes were not kind to the executive's point of view:

That interview was really something else, appreciate you holding them to the flame. Too many executives feel like diversity somehow interferes with storytelling as opposed to adding to it. They don't understand that diverse representation opens you up to all sorts of new stories -- unfortunately they're not the stories that all-white audiences are used to. The idea that a property with a transgender person has to be "better" than one not featuring one is such a superficial trivializing of differing experiences and viewpoints, and a creatively bankrupt misunderstanding of storytelling.

And then there is this one:

I've heard other writers sharing their horror stories, but luckily I haven't met someone like this recently. I don't understand how anyone can be that dense about the qualities that define a creatively great series.

Or this one:

OMG, I bet I know who this is.

TEAM TRUMP SPENT $9,137.20 ON A CALM APP SUBSCRIPTION
Following the faux controversy over how much money may or may not have been by USAID on subscriptions to Politico Pro, The Ankler's Dave Levinthal has a great piece on how the Trump campaign spent on various subscriptions:

On Nov. 20, the RNC spent $57 on a subscription to the beauty and fashion business trade publication The Business of Fashion.

Added to previous media subscription expenditures, Trump’s campaign and affiliated political committees spent more than $32,000 on news subscriptions during the 2024 election cycle, according to FEC records.

During the final, post-election weeks of 2024, Trump committees also purchased subscriptions to several streaming services, including YouTube TV, NBC’s Peacock and the Tucker Carlson Network.

Perhaps the most unexpected media purchase is the RNC’s $9,137.20 payment on Dec. 18 for a subscription to Calm.com, which pitches itself as the “#1 mental health app designed to help you manage stress, sleep better, and live a happier, healthier life.”

I am somewhat disheartened that with all of those expenditures, they couldn't fork over $40 for a Too Much TV annual subscription.

THIS WEEKEND BRINGS ANOTHER PUPPY BOWL
There was a day when no TV network would try and counter-program the Super Bowl. The audience was just too large and no network wanted to "waste" a new episode of a show airing it a time when few people would be watching.

But 21 years ago, the Puppy Bowl was launched and that puppy-filled faux sporting event continues to bring in an audience and has even sparked a couple of knock-off competitors.

This year, the Puppy Bowl kick-off show was directed by Jay Jackson and I had the opportunity to speak with him for a few minutes about the project. The full interview will be posted tomorrow on AllYourScreens.com, but here is an early excerpt:

I'm curious about how you approach your job. This is an annual program that has been happening for two decades. So it already has a tested framework. So from your perspective, when you agree to direct the show and sit down in that first planning meeting, what do you have to work with and what were you wanting to accomplish?

Well for me, Rick, it was my rookie season on Puppy Bowl. So this is the first time I had done it and Warner Brothers and Discovery tasked us with re-imagining what the kickoff show would be like. They wanted it to make it kind of more puppy centric and kind of get to know the backgrounds and these puppies a little bit better, profile them a little bit more.

So that was one of the things. We have 10 dogs, 10 pups that we end up profiling in the kickoff show. The other idea was just drawing on my experience in football.

We designed a kind of football combine for them to go through to show off their skills a little bit. I've been to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis quite a few times. So you'll see some similarities there in this show, but there's also some very canine-centric kinds of things that we put them through in the course of going through this puppy combine.

And at the end of it 10 pups actually get drafted to either Team Ruff or Team Fluff. So we did re-imagine the show. I think it'll be a great show to watch.

You get the chance to really understand these pups. And we also really get to see how cute they are.

The Puppy Bowl returns for the 21st year on Sunday, February 9th at 2:00PM ET/11:00AM PT and will be simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max and discovery+.

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ANOTHER GREAT NEWSLETTER

Reality Blurred obsessively and critically covers reality TV, unscripted entertainment, and true crime—focusing on how real-life entertainment is made and what it means, and sharing what’s worth your time.

Most Fridays, editor Andy Dehnart sends a newsletter with reviews and analysis; curated, recent reality TV news; and recommendations.

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ODDS AND SODS
* Tom Hanks has been collecting typewriters for over five decades, and to some notoriety has built up an impressive collection of over 300 specimens. The actor has picked 35 examples from his collection of more than 300 for a show at The Church in Sag Harbour, New York, which will run until March 10th.

* Oliver Darcy's Status is reporting that after NBC News boss Rebecca Blumenstein traveled to Washington to complain to Pentagon officials about the decision to boot The New York Times, NBC News, POLITICO, and NPR from their dedicated work spaces at the Pentagon, the decision was made to double-down and also remove The Washington Post, CNN, The Hill, and The War Zone. Those new outlets will be replaced by Newsmax, The Daily Caller, and Bari Weiss' anti-woke Free Press.

* The Hollywood Reporter says that for some unknown reason, ABC has decided not to do a new season of The Bachelorette this summer.

TWEET OF THE DAY



WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7TH:
Ancient Aliens Season Premiere (History)
Love After Lockup: Crime Story (We TV)
Mysteries From Above Series Premiere (History)
NCIS: Sydney Spring Premiere (CBS)
Newtopia Series Premiere (Prime Video)
Pokemon Horizons: The Series Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Ready To Love Season Premiere (OWN)
The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan (Netflix)
The Lion King At The Hollywood Bowl (Disney+)
2025 Critics Choice Awards (E!)
Wrong Side Of The Tracks Season Four Premiere (Netflix)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH, 2025:
Family Or Fiance Season Premiere (OWN)
Incredible Northern Vets Series Premiere (NatGeo)
Robin Roberts Presents I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story (Lifetime)
Sisterhood Inc. (Hallmark)
Super Bowl Soulful Celebration (Fox)

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH:
Great American Rescue Bowl (Great American Family)
Puppy Bowl XXI (Animal Planet)
Super Bowl LIX (Fox)
The Floor (Fox)

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH:
Breaking Dad: Britain's Unlikeliest Drug Dealer (Britbox)
Calipari: Razor's Edge (Vice)
Extracted Series Premiere (Fox)
Surviving Black Hawk Down (Netflix)
This Time Next Year (The Roku Channel)

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!