Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, December 14th, 2022

David Zaslav and the art of the anti-spin.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, December 14th, 2022.

A PROGRAMMING NOTE
Today's newsletter is the answer to the question "can you write a coherent newsletter while also running a fever?" Spoiler: sort of.

DAVID ZASLAV AND THE ART OF THE ANTI-SPIN
I seem to be writing a lot about Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav this week. But in my defense, he continues to work in a way that I find perplexing.

One thing that is important to know about David Zaslav is he is notoriously ambivalent about the press and how he interacts with them. He doesn't mind stories that allow him to get his message out in an unfiltered way, which is why he prefers to speak at places such as friendly industry settings. He also doesn't have a problem tasking people to argue his case to friendly journalists. After all, that flurry of "David Zaslav is a talent-friendly executive who listens to everyone" stories from about a year ago didn't write themselves.

But he also doesn't much believe in journalism's ability to discern his high-level machinations and he certainly doesn't want to be in a situation where he or his fellow executives have to explain their strategy to anyone. So his company ends up making a surprising number of really tone-deaf PR mistakes - in many cases, unforced errors that most experienced executives would never make.

For instance, look at the awkward news cycle we've seen play out this week. Several high-profile shows such as Westworld and The Nevers are removed from HBO Max without notice. Which prompted a series of "what the hell is going on at HBO Max?" stories in the trades. Then there was another cycle of updated stories as WBD PR folks reached out to various publications on background to let them know the shows would likely end up on a new WBD free, ad-supported channel that will launch next year.

Then today, the network sent out a list of shows that had been removed from the streaming service, along with some canned quotes from several producers which read more like a hostage note than an explanation.

Which prompted another round of confusing and often angry stories, especially since it now appears that some of the removed shows will actually end up being licensed for streaming on a rival service.

All of this turmoil could have been avoided if some HBO Max executive had simply done an interview at the end of last week laying out these moves and what they meant to fans of the affected shows. Instead, they've let this story drag out across three news cycles and there still hasn't been any official explanation - other than the almost snarky press release.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT CRACKLE
If you are a fan of obscure and/or classic television, there is no better place to watch those shows than on the free ad-supported streaming service Crackle. Formerly owned by Sony (and now owned by Chicken Soup For The Soul), the service has maybe 40 TV shows you won't find anywhere else.

Now, it's not a perfect situation. Even after a recent update, Crackle's UI is notoriously bad and the shows have an ad load that most closely resembles what you would find on a broadcast television series.

Another challenge is that many of the shows are licensed from Sony TV, which for whatever reason provides the shows to Crackle in three-month increments. So you are never quite sure how long the shows will be available or whether they will be renewed. More than once, big blocks of shows have disappeared from Crackle only to reappear when a new licensing deal is signed in a few days.

(As a big of context, check out this really interesting interview with Crackle's Head of Programming)

AllYourScreens has what may be the only extensive list of shows exiting Crackle and I just updated it to reflect some changes. Interestingly, about half of the TV shows set to expire at the end of December have been renewed early. At the same time, several high-profile shows disappeared early (Charlie's Angels, Starsky & Hutch). It's confusing, and there's no way of knowing whether the remaining shows will be renewed at the end of the month or not.

I've tried to find someone at Sony TV willing to talk about their licensing of these shows. Sony is the only major studio who has bothered to license out episodes of these shows - many of which only ran one season. It's a smart move and I wish it happened more frequently. In fact, if I had a dream job other than writing, it would be programming a classic and obscure TV AVOD channel or two.

ODDS AND SODS
* In the category of "no, this is a real show," TLC is premiering the new reality series MILF Manor on Sunday, January 15th. 

* Disney+ has ordered a second season of The Santa Clauses.

* HBO Max has ordered a third season of The Sex Lives Of College Girls.

* The animated kids series SuperKitties is premiering on Disney and Disney Jr. on Wednesday, January 11th, 2023.

* Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is developing a feature based on the podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra.

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW FOR WEDNESDAY:

A New Diva's Christmas Carol (VH1)
Awake Surgery Series Premiere (TLC)
Blood Ties Series Premiere (Netflix)
Don't Pick Up The Phone (Netflix)
Engineering On The Edge (Science)
Finding Harmony (ABC)
Glitter (Netflix)
Grails: When Sneakers Changed The Game (Hulu)
I Believe In Santa (Netflix)
Kangaroo Valley (Netflix)
Lego Masters Season Finale (Fox)
Masters Of Illusion: Christmas Magic 2022 (The CW)
National Treasure: Edge of History Series Premiere (Disney+)
Nova: Rebuilding Notre Dame (PBS)
The Earthshot Prize: 2022 (PBS)
To Hot To Handle (Netflix)

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

SEE YOU THURSDAY!

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