Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, April 13th, 2023

What it's like to be Jeremy Renner's best friend.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, April 13th, 2023.

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE JEREMY RENNER'S BEST FRIEND
Yesterday was so crazy that I didn't get a chance to mention the new Disney+ series Rennervations. It stars - go figure - Jeremy Renner and the four-episode first season follows Renner, his best friend Rory and a team of builders as they fix up four buses or massive trucks that can be provided to four worthy local non-profits ranging from Chicago to India.

It turns out Renner is a bit of a gearhead and owns this massive collection of old busses and vehicles. He was already planning on doing this renovations, but obviously building a show around the idea made it a lot more high-profile.

Going into the episodes, my big question was Rory Millikan, who is billed in the show's press info as Jeremy Renner's "best friend." The description gave me some old-school Kato Kaelin vibes, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Millikan is personable almost to the point of being bombastic and you can tell that he and Renner have a genuine friendship. He serves as a great audience proxy and to be honest, his gregarious personality helps offset Renner's more serious demeanor. 

I interviewed Millikan ahead of the premiere and it was one of the most fun interviews I had in recent memory:

Q: You have an interesting perspective. Because stars will often describe someone as their "best friend." But usually when they say that, they're describing their publicist or their agent. And honestly, it's nice to see a celebrity who has a best friend that doesn't work for them.

Rory Millikin: So that's funny. It's interesting. The first thing is that I don't have a horse in his race ever. I don't go to set much, I haven't gone to any premieres and that's kind of his work. We hang out a lot and I end up staying and living with him a lot. But while I've dropped by a set once or twice, that's where he works. I don't need him in my mushroom factory in Canada. I don't need Jeremy Renner walking around distracting everyone and he doesn't need Rory walking around the set distracting him. You know, this is where we work.

I had no aspirations to be involved in this television series or movies, I have nothing to do with the industry. So I think that's why we're great friends, because we're dads and we have similar outlooks in life and we don't talk a lot about that stuff. Movies. I don't ask him about movies. I don't even see most of his movies.

I met him seven, eight years ago. My buddy who is the singer from Nickelback introduced us. I didn't know who he was and I just seen The Arrival. And I told him that Superman's girlfriend and the guy from The Crying Game were the two stars. And he's like "no I was the star of the movie." And I told him "No you weren't, I just saw the movie." And he explained to me that he was that guy. And that's how not involved I am in show business. 

But yeah, it's an interesting point and you're the first person who mentioned it.

PAY CUTS COME TO BROADCAST TELEVISION
A combination of slumping ratings and a probable upcoming writer's strike have pushed the various broadcast networks to cut budgets on some of their long-running shows. In some cases, it's a flat across-the-board pay cut for the cast. In other cases, members of large casts are being told they will appear in fewer episodes in the upcoming season:

NBC earlier this week picked up all six Wolf Entertainment series — Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime — for next season. The renewals came with an asterisk as casts were told that they will appear in fewer episodes next year.

The development comes on the heels of CBS recently renewing veteran drama Blue Bloods for a 14th season after the cast agreed to a 25% pay cut. We now can reveal that the actors on another recently renewed CBS series, comedy Bob ❤️ Abishola, also had to agree to a substantial, double-digit salary reduction for the show to get a Season 5 renewal. (According to sources, it was less than 25%). Blue Bloods comes from CBS sibling CBS Studios, Bob ❤️ Abishola from an outside supplier, Warner Bros. TV.

Additionally, a S.W.A.T. renewal is in limbo over the size of the license fee offered by CBS.

WHY YES, I DO LOVE THESE DEEP DATA DIVES
Parrot Analytics’ entertainment industry strategist Brandon Katz has a long piece in C21 Media where compares the streaming strategies and options for US giants Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global and Netflix. Lots of smart perspective, data and charts:

It’s no secret that launching international sensations outside of Hollywood is Netflix’s primary focus right now in its quest for global domination. It makes sense – production costs outside of the US are typically less expensive. Since Q4 2021, subscription growth in the Lat Am (2.7 million), EMEA (6.24 million) and APAC (7.98 million) regions has far outstripped the saturated US/Canada (UCAN) market (260,000).

So with the market-leading streamer attempting to keep annual content budgets from soaring above the US$17bn range without sacrificing growth, it’ll need these non-English-language series to pop. (It’s worth noting that Netflix plans to increase content spend in Asia in 2023.)

Alas, the problem: the mature UCAN market still boasts Netflix’s highest average revenue per user (ARPU) at US$16.23 as of last quarter, significantly better than APAC (US$7.69), Lat Am (US$8.30) and EMEA (US$10.43). Netflix can’t simply hike prices to make up the difference, as flexible cost is what helps the streamer stay competitive in these regions. The company is even reducing prices in certain countries to compensate for expected churn from its password-sharing crackdown. So to maximise value from these international productions, Netflix needs breakout regional hits turned global victories that penetrate the UCAN market. Easier said than done.

ODDS AND SODS
* Roku has picked up a third season of the old Quibi series Die Hart, starring Kevin Hart.

* The Canadian writers' union is planning on advising members later this week not to work on WGA-jurisdiction shows in the event of a strike. WGA members are “our closest colleagues,” says the WGC's exec director.

WHAT'S NEW FOR THURSDAY:

Cell 8 Series Premiere (Viaplay)
Florida Man Series Premiere (Netflix)
From Black (Shudder)
If I Can't Have You (LMN)
Obsession (Netflix)
Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest Of Courage (Crunchyroll)
Rough Cut (Topic)
RSVP (Viaplay)
The Boss Baby: Back In The Crib (Netflix)
Titans Season Premiere (HBO Max)
True Crime Obsession (Vice)

Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU FRIDAY!

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.