Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, May 27th, 2022
Thank God it's....you know.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, May 27th, 2022.
PROGRAMMING NOTES
There won't be a newsletter on Monday, due to the holiday.
There will be a lot of new stuff posting on Monday and Tuesday at AllYourScreens and I'll link to all of it in Tuesday's newsletter. That will include a bunch of interviews with the cast and crew of the upcoming FX limited series Pistol. As well as an interview with Danny Boyle. I'll also have an extended interview Philo's Head of Advertising, Reed Barker. We talked a lot about ad tech and the challenges of the vMVPD sector and even if advertising isn't your primary focus, I think you'll find it really interesting. If for no other reason than it will give you a sense of why you are seeing the commercials you're seeing while streaming.
Otherwise, try and have a relaxed weekend with family and/or friends. Or even just friendly strangers. It's been a tough week and I think we all need to decompress.
A BIT ABOUT TELEVISION AND STREAMING PR
I have a fun job, because I work for myself and as a result, I can pretty much write what I want. And over the past few years, that has evolved into a mix of traditional TV critic stuff: reviews, interviews and some news pieces, along with work like this newsletter and pieces for AllYourScreens which are more industry-centric. I especially enjoy focusing on content discovery issues - from UX and engineering challenges to marketing and promotion. It is an admittedly eclectic mix, but it's also a mix that is very distinctive and I think that part of the reason that this newsletter has 23,000 subscribers and the web site is poised to hit more than 2.5 million unique visitors in May.
While I write a lot of the industry, I try not to write too much about my individual challenges as a journalist. Believe me, I know no one wants to hear that I am having problems with a specific company or that I can't get some publicist to respond.
But I received a call this morning from a senior publicist at one of the streamers who asked about why I hadn't covered one of their higher-profile shows and we had a really helpful discussion about their PR process. At one point, I was asked what they could do to help me do my job and that is not the question that I hear a lot from publicists and various marketing people. And so forgive the insider baseball nature of this, but here is what I would say if anyone asked me the same question.
* Make it as easy as possible to get screeners and to watch them. Everyone knows that there is more new content coming out each week than any critic could possibly watch. So the easier you make it for critics to watch the programming, the more likely it is going to be covered. While there are some high-profile "must-review" titles, most new shows don't fall in that category. And sometimes, tracking down the screeners is almost more trouble than it's worth. I won't call out individual networks and streamers, but for instance, one major streamer insists that I individually contact each publicist when I want to receive a screener. Which would be fine, except that because it is a huge service, I keep having to convince each individual publicist to send me screeners, a lengthy process that takes up time I don't have. Another service has a Google doc you have to use for each request. It goes....somewhere. Sometimes the title randomly ends up in your screener que and sometimes it doesn't. But the show publicist can't (or won't) help, and refer critics to an email address which automatically spits back the URL for the Google doc. And those are just two examples.
I have been doing this a long time and that fact, combined with my TCA membership should mean that at least the process of getting screeners shouldn't take multiple emails and near begging to get access to the material I need to do my job. So I can't imagine how difficult it is for someone who is newer in the business.
* Everything I've said above goes double when we're talking about TV shows and movies produced outside the United States. This is primarily a problem right now with Netflix and HBO Max, since they have the biggest pipeline of global productions hitting their service. Although Disney+ and Paramount+ are beginning to ramp up their offerings as well. Odds are that if it's a global production, there aren't screeners available. More often than not, there's not even info available about the show. Which sucks from my perspective, because I am increasingly writing about non-Hollywood programming and I'm finding that there is just no process in place in the industry to make that easy for either critics or the publicists. I want to help viewers discover worthwhile new content, but I've got to know about it before I can make that happen.
* Provide as much info on the show as possible. This means more than the standard cut-and-paste logline and MAYBE an episode list. Who wrote and directed each episode? How about guest stars? This might sound like silly stuff, but including it not only makes it easier for the critic, it makes it more likely the resulting review will be well informed and useful to everyone.
* One more thought about screeners. Make them easy to watch on a TV. I bought an Apple TV to go along with my Roku devices because some of the sites use services that only support Apple TV. I didn't mind that. Or the fact that I have maybe a dozen different screener apps. But no one wants to watch screeners on a laptop or tablet after being on a computer all day. I understand the worries about piracy, but that is so infrequent now that you can move on. There are plenty of third-party solutions out there. Just pick one and make everyone's lives much easier. Speaking of easy, Netflix has the best solution for screeners. When they're added to your screener que, they populate into a section of your regular Netflix account.
* And let's talk about press sites. I am amazed that some sites aren't regularly updated. Or only include one or two images from a show. And while I said I wasn't going to call out anyone, I will say the press site for the various Discovery networks is the worst. Barely updated, almost no photos. As an example of why this matters, I received a consumer email from Discovery letting me know the series Gold Rush: Parker's Trail is returning for a new season in mid-June. I've reviewed earlier seasons and since I hadn't received a release about it, I headed over to the press site to find a PR contact. Except that the show page on the site has what is essentially a brief press release (and one photo) highlighting the season four premiere in 2020. Sigh. I'm assuming (okay, hoping) that the site will be combined with the Warner networks press site at some point and I can only hope things will improve.
I could go on, but none of us want that. I will say that any critic I speak with who isn't working at one of big industry trade publications has variations of these complaints. You'll just never hear them because none of us want to be pests or seen as whiners. But we just want to do our jobs and that will make your job easier as well.
NETFLIX TO PRESENT AT ANIMATION FESTIVAL
Netflix announced its line-up to this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where the studio will present its Netflix Animation Showcase, inspirational masterclasses and first look of its projects:
On Monday, June 13, Chris Nee, creator and executive producer of “Doc McStuffins,” the Annie Award-winning preschool series “Ada Twist,” “Scientist,” “Ridley Jones,” and “We the People” begins the activities with a masterclass session at Petite Salle Bonlieu. The focus of Nee’s masterclass will be on the power of inclusive storytelling, and Karissa Valencia, creator of the upcoming Spirit Rangers, will join to provide an early look at the series.
On Wednesday, June 15, Sony Pictures Animation will present the Netflix adult animated series “Agent King” as part of their studio focus with Fletcher Moules, Robert Valley and Antonio Canobbio at the Impérial Palace. Director of “My Father’s Dragon,” Nora Twomey, presents a Work in Progress on the film at Salle Pierre Lamy also on June 15. Inspired by the Newbery-honored children’s book from author Ruth Stiles Gannett, the film from animation studio Cartoon Saloon follows Elmer’s journey as he struggles to cope after a move to the city with his mother, and runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued.
The Netflix Animation Showcase begins at 1.30 pm on June 15 in Theater Bonlieu. Diving into the upcoming slate of animated series and films, from preschool and kids, to anime, adult, as well as family tent poles, the showcase will feature on-stage and video conversations with Netflix’s team, creators and talent as they celebrate and showcase the variety of animated stories for all ages.
Continuing the activities on June 15, the world premiere of Chris Williams’ monstrous adventure “The Sea Beast” is scheduled at Theater Bonlieu. The film is set in an era when terrifying beasts roamed the seas, monster hunters were celebrated heroes - and none were more beloved than the great Jacob Holland. But when young Maisie Brumble stows away on his fabled ship, he is saddled with an unexpected ally. Together they embark on an epic journey into uncharted waters and make history.
ODDS AND SODS
* Jack Osbourne and actor Jason Mewes are on the hunt for Bigfoot in the new Discovery+ special Jack Osbourne's Night Of Terror: Bigfoot. It premieres on Sunday, June 26th and while I haven't seen it yet, I am predicting they won't make any big discoveries.
* Why Netflix needs to embrace FAST.
* The unstoppable bots behind the gaming console shortage.
I'M TOTALLY INTO THIS IF IT MEANS HE'S BRINGING BACK 'MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE'
WHAT'S NEW FOR FRIDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:
Carpool Karaoke: The Series Season Premiere (Apple TV+)
Emergency (Prime Video)
Great Performances Presents Broadway's Best: Company (PBS)
Helpsters Season Three Premiere (Apple TV+)
Iain Stirling: Failing Upwards (Prime Video)
Kick Like Tayla (Prime Video)
Mom Made Me Do It (LMN)
Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Premiere (Disney+)
Shoresy Series Premiere (Hulu)
Stranger Things Season Four Premiere (Netflix)
We Feed People (Disney+)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU TUESDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.