Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, March 16th, 2021
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, March 16th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by lots of Tums.
WILL THE CBS DAYTIME SHOW 'THE TALK' EVER RETURN TO THE AIR?
The Talk has been a relative ratings success for CBS, despite a revolving door of co-hosts and a lot of rumors of turmoil behind the scenes.
The most recent public problems came last week after co-host Sharon Osbourne came out in support of Piers Morgan, who had just walked off of his ITV morning show after being criticized for comments he made about the Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry & Meghan Markle:
"The next day on “The Talk,” Osbourne got into a heated debate with co-host Sheryl Underwood after Underwood calmly questioned why Osbourne would support someone who was “racist in his stance against Meghan Markle.”
“Tell me: What has he uttered that’s racist?” Osbourne replied. “I feel like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is a racist, so that makes me a racist. … How can I be racist about anybody? How can I be racist about anybody or anything in my life? How can I?”
Osbourne became visibly angry during the segment and at one point ordered Underwood, who is Black, to not cry, saying, “And don’t try and cry, because if anyone should be crying, it should be me.”
On Friday, Osbourne gave an interview with Variety in which she criticized the show's producers of blindsiding her with the segment, although she did admit later that she had been warned that the topic would be raised by her co-hosts:
Osbourne says about eight minutes before the show began on Wednesday, a showrunners called and ask her if it was OK if they asked about Morgan. “I said, ‘Sure, they can ask me whatever.’ But then I get on there, I say my piece and Sheryl [Underwood] turns around straight-faced, looks at me and is reading from a card with questions. I was just so hurt, caught off guard and stunned by what I was being asked and not prepared. I was honestly in shock. I felt like I was in front of a firing squad. I felt like a lamb held out for slaughter. … They had me there for 20 minutes.”
The segment prompted public comments from several of Osbourne's former co-hosts, who accused her of forcing them off the show as well as making derogatory and racist comments about them. Holly Robinson Peete tweeted that Osbourne pushed her out of the show in part because she thought Peete’s speaking style was "too ghetto."
In just the last few minutes, Yashar Ali's newsletter has posted a deep dive into the backstage turmoil, including an exclusive interview with former co-host Leah Remini, who exited the show along with Holly Robinson Peete at the end of the show's first season:
Osbourne’s attempts to oust Robinson Peete before the show premiered were unsuccessful, but the lunch foreshadowed what would be a deeply toxic work environment. By the end of the first season, Robinson Peete and Remini were both fired—at the direction, according to multiple sources, of Osbourne.
In a December 2011 interview with Howard Stern, Osbourne told the radio host that she had told Chen she didn’t think Remini and Robinson Peete were working out.
From the beginning, Osbourne also objected to Chen having any leadership role on the show and repeatedly tried to rally Remini and Robinson Peete in an effort to marginalize Chen, Remini said. According to Remini, in one exchange during the first season, Osbourne said of Chen: “I mean, who the fuck does slanty eyes think she is? She shouldn’t be pillow-talking with our boss."
There is a lot more in Ali's piece, which can be read here.
WHEN YOUR ICONIC CABLE NETWORK LOOKS MORE LIKE A NICHE PLUTO CHANNEL
Viacom/CBS executives spend a lot of time talking up the company's well-known IP. But what they gloss over is that nearly all of the IP that matters comes from 20 or more years ago. While Nickelodeon and VH1 are still creating some potentially memorable content, networks such as MTV have devolved into little more than 90% percent reruns and the random new series built around some familiar personality or older piece of IP.
CHART OF THE DAY
ODDS AND SODS
Sling TV is the latest streaming service to stop offering a free trial.
The Canadian Energy Centre has sent an angry note to Netflix Canada, arguing that the animated movie Bigfoot Family of "peddling lies" about the Canadian oil and gas industry.
TODAY'S PREMIERES
1) Holmes Family Effect Series Premiere (Fox)
Mike, Sherry and Michael Holmes help to save a school's skilled trades program. The family also works to overhaul an entrepreneurial co-op.
2) Mayans M.C. Season Three Premiere (FX)
A border shutdown squeezes the Mayan's heroin trade setting off an internal clash over the future of the club.
3) RebellComedy: Straight Outta the Zoo (Netflix)
The comics of RebellComedy take the stage and tackle topics including mistaken identities, being the "funny" kid and anatomically interesting starfish.
4) Staged Season Two Premiere (Hulu)
David Tennant and Michael Sheen star as two actors whose West End play has been put on hold due to COVID-19, but whose director has persuaded them to continue rehearsing online.
5) The Beatrice Six: Keith Morrison Investigates (Discovery+)
Three confessions, six murder confessions, a man's fight for freedom.
6) The Blended Bunch Series Premiere (TLC)
In a small town in Utah, widow Erica, widower Spencer and their 11 children have formed the modern-day Brady Bunch. Blending two families can be rough and a surprise announcement sends Erica's brother reeling.
7) Waffles + Mochi Series Premiere (Netflix)
Curious puppet pals Waffles and Mochi travel the world exploring the wonders of food and culture while learning how to cook with fresh ingredients.
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 to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.