Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, September 2nd, 2021

Magnolia leans into what it means to be a dad.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, September 2nd, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by not-so-great coffee and tomato soup.

30 YEARS AGO: REMEMBERING THE 1991/1992 PRIMETIME SEASON
There was a time when September meant the kick-off of the new fall broadcast television season. That's evolved over the past few years as television has moved to more of a 3-4 times a year premiere season. And thanks to production delays caused by the pandemic, much of the 2021/2022 primetime schedule doesn't premiere until October. 

So to fill that gap, I'm looking back thirty years to the 1991/1992 TV season on AllYourScreens.com. Throughout the month of September, I'll be posting daily stories about the season, from profiles of the shows that didn't work, to feature pieces and industry stories you might have forgotten.

The first piece posted yesterday and in it I run down the state of each of the four broadcast networks going into the 1991/1992 season. And I tease a bit of what readers can expect in September:

AllYourScreens is going to spend this September highlighting the hits and misses of the 1991/1992 primetime season. We will especially be focusing on highlighting as many of the 66 new shows that premiered between September 1st, 1991 and August 31, 1992. There will be some exclusive interviews, features about the trends that season, profiles of most of the shows as well as some news stories from that season that you might not have heard before. Like the charges of plagiarism against an upcoming Dick Wolf-produced cop drama that threatened the future of the proposed series Homicide: Life On The Street. Or the TV movie that Dolly Parton hoped would become a TV franchise. And then there was the short-lived series Vinny & Bobby, which was notable because it featured Matt LeBlanc playing the same character in the second of two unsuccessful attempts to launch a spin-off of Married With Children. And I haven't even mentioned Darren Starr's attempt at doing a TV spinoff of a hit movie.

And if you were working in television during the 1991/1992 television season, I'd love to hear from you. It's been a challenge to find people working in television who are still alive and willing to talk about work they did a generation ago. You can reach me by email at rick@allyourscreens.com.

LOCAST SHUTS DOWN
Two days after a district court issued a summary judgment dismissing much of its argument against a copyright-infringement lawsuit, the local-TV streaming service Locast has shut down. At first the service said it would stop asking for donations from viewers, but on Thursday, it shut down the service entirely. The decision is apparently related to an agreement the company had made with the broadcast networks when their lawsuit was first filed. The networks agreed not to ask for damages if Locast would agree to shut its doors if the court ruled against any of their underlying arguments. Locast promises to continue to pursue a final judgment on the case, but at this juncture it seems unlikely to be successful.

As you might imagine, many of the company's more than two million users are not happy:

As I mentioned in my piece yesterday, Locast is an elegant solution to a real consumer problem. And if the networks were smart, they would figure out a way to convert this into a real business. If all sides can restrain their desire to milk dry every new source of revenue, the broadcast networks and local TV station groups could craft a business model that would see them getting paid, while still having a service with a price point of less than $10 a month. If they can also get those viewers included in the live ratings numbers, this could provide a nice bump for everyone.

MAGNOLIA AND ITS FOCUS ON DADS
Networks hate to talk about programming philosophies or why they focus on certain genres of content. And getting someone from the Magnolia Network to talk about their plans is even more difficult, given the careful branding of the streaming service/linear network to be.

But I am fascinated by the way the network is rolling out a number of shows that have a very specific Dad-oriented focus. And if you want to see what I am talking about check out this video I posted on Twitter a few weeks ago. It's from the series Super Dad, which is a show about building play areas for kids that midway through the first season evolved into a show about what it means to be a dad. I can't think of another show that has men talking about being a dad in this way. That first clip features a guy named Brandon, who is raising his young kids following the death of his wife. And this clip from the show features a guy who grew up without a dad explaining why he decided to adopt some kids. Just amazing television. 

It's also the focus of Self Employed, which is a show about people chasing their economic dreams, but it also has a strong focus on fatherhood. And there are probably a half dozen other shows that lean into fatherhood. And I am assuming this is a conscious programming decision, but I have yet to be able to find anyone at Magnolia who will admit to it. Which is a shame, because I think having shows that feature healthy male relationships would be a compelling draw for a lot of viewers who might not otherwise check out Magnolia programming.

TUBI, BBC STUDIOS SIGN CONTENT DEAL
A new deal between Fox Entertainment's free AVOD Tubi and BBC Studios will bring more than 400 hours worth of programming to the streaming service beginning on September 15th. Shows include:

* The First Team,  a character-driven comedy following the off-the-pitch escapades of three Premier league footballers. Created by The Inbetweeners creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, it stars Will Arnett

* Life is a spin-off of the hit show Doctor Foster and explores the human capacity for connection in an increasingly splintered society.

* High & Dry follows a group of misfits who find themselves stranded on a desert island after their flight mysteriously crashes in the Indian Ocean.

* The deal also includes multiple full seasons of long-running BBC series on a non-exclusive basis, including the classic Antiques Roadshow, as well as Atlantis, Misfits, Monarch of the Glen, The Musketeers, Primeval, and Robin Hood.

ODDS AND SODS
* The third and final season of Hailee Steinfeld's Dickinson will premiere November 5th on Apple TV+. I look forward to all of the hot takes arguing Apple TV+ cancels all of its best shows after 3 or 4 seasons.

* Pre-Order the new JoJo Siwa-branded Monopoly game.

* 'Big Brother' history: alliances through the years.

* In a press release Viacom/CBS Chief Research Officer Colleen Fahey Rush weighs in about Nielsen: "'Nielsen no longer has data advantage as consumers move to connected TV. The business needs fresh thinking, and we’re committed to a diversified currency strategy for a more accurate view of our holistic audiences."

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