Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, January 19th, 2024

Has the industry press coverage of Peak TV, umm..."peaked?"

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, January 19th, 2024.

HAS THE INDUSTRY PRESS COVERAGE OF PEAK TV...UM, PEAKED?

As I have written many times before, I really dislike the phrase "Peak TV." It's a great marketing tool and it's catnip for entertainment news journalists looking for an easy topic to write about. Back in the beginning of this month, I wrote a piece that estimated how many original scripted English-language shows premiered in the US in 2023 and to be honest, it received a lot less attention than I expected.

There are two research reports out today that essentially make the same argument that I did: TV production was off in 2023 and it's expected to be off in 2024. The question is how much of that drop is due to the dual Hollywood strikes and how much can be attributed to an overall drop in industry spending on new content.

Ampere Research estimates the number last year at 481 shows released and 418 shows ordered:

And Penske Media-owned Luminate released data noting a total of 1,784 TV programs were released across all genres and platforms in the U.S. last year, a 21 percent drop on 2022 or nearly 500 fewer shows aired.

As an aside, it’s worth noting these two reports end up with different numbers and that data doesn’t quite match the estimate of previous years provided by FX Research. Everyone is using slightly different criteria to determine “new",” so all you do is just follow the trends.

Regardless, these reports sparked a number of headlines about the collapse of "Peak TV," even though both reports only highlight the drop and decline to estimate if the trend is permanent or a primary consequence of the Hollywood strikes.

And that's the difference between someone who's paid to release accurate information and someone who's paid to write a story that will generate some clicks. Writing "Peak TV is OVER! We're DOOMED!" certainly generates a lot of online interest. But it's not accurate.

The truth is that no has a clue whether 2023 represents some tipping point or is just part of a two-year aberration due to the strikes. And we won't have an accurate sense of that until at least mid-2025.

Rather than focusing on the clickbait "It's The End Of Peak TV!" headlines, the trades should have focused on the more important but less trendy observation from both Ampere and Luminate: that more production moving overseas:

This is one of the reasons why I focus so much attention on international productions. Like it or not, they are an increasingly important part of the TV and streaming business in the US and it's a story that is still woefully under-reported in the Hollywood trade press. Oh, they do a good job or reporting casting and production information. But they still don't do a great job explaining the nuts and bolts parts of the international TV and streaming video business. And like it or not, that is going to be a big part of Hollywood’s future.

A COUPLE OF VIEWING SUGGESTIONS
If you're enjoying the new season of True Detective: Night Country and are looking for something similar, there are a lot of choices. The dour, obsessive and somewhat haunted female police lieutenant is so common in European TV productions that it's almost a trope. 

But one show that I think somewhat captures the same vibe is the 2019 French TV series Black Spot, which is streaming on Netflix. 

Suliane Brahim plays the police chief of the French town of Villefranche, a town secluded both by its location and the fact that it's a dead zone when it comes to cellphone service. Hubert Delattre is an eccentric new prosecutor who is sent to the town to determine why the murder rate is so high.

While Black Spot feels like it will have a predictable story arc as you begin watching, the series becomes increasingly odd and unpredictable. When I watched the season one finale (there are two seasons), I remember wondering if somehow I was watching a lost episode of Twin Peaks.

The show isn't for everybody, but if a combination of world-weary cops and supernatural elements is your jam, you should give it a try.

If you're looking for an absolutely fascinating documentary that tells the story of people you likely had no idea even existed, I'd like to recommend The Last Repair Shop, which you can watch for free right now on YouTube. It'll also be available on Disney+ and Hulu on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Directed by Oscar winning director Ben Proudfoot (two-time Oscar nominee for The Queen of Basketball and A Concerto is a Conversation) and Emmy-winning filmmaker, musician and LAUSD star alumni Kris Bowers (A Concerto is a Conversation, Green Book, King Richard, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), the film is just an absolute delight. I love short films that highlight average people just putting their heads down and doing extraordinary work that has an impact.

If it helps, here is the logline of the film:

In a nondescript warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain over 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of the recording capital of the world.

If you run across any smaller titles you think deserve more attention, let me know in the comments and I'll take a look. 

TWEET OF THE DAY

ODDS AND SODS
* I've been writing a lot about cutbacks in journalism recently and for journalists, the news today from Sports Illustrated is pretty dark. But as Deadspin notes today, sports journalism is getting hit from all sides. Whether it is the NFL interfering in the news coverage at ESPN, to local sports reporting that ends up being done by reporters who don't have a grasp of the basic facts of the game:

Yesterday, a reporter got heat from all sides for asking Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles if he was doing anything special to prepare his team for playing in cold weather in Detroit, apparently not realizing that the Lions play at Ford Field, a domed stadium. And while everyone had a good laugh at the reporter who was too dumb to realize that the Lions play indoors, the situation probably surprised no one, as newsrooms have been decimated across the board, and reporters are, too often, having to cover multiple beats, some of which they aren’t well-versed in, to keep their jobs. Turns out, the outlet the reporter was representing no longer has a sports department.

* Speaking of reader comments, I wanted to highlight this one from yesterday's newsletter:

Thanks a lot for this piece Rick. I was one of these Pitchfork readers whose musical horizons were broaden by their insatiable curiosity. Such a shame to see them folded into GQ. The 2 brands have nothing to do with one another, not sure what the outcome will be.

Over the years, I lost touched with them though and to me it speaks to UI/UX and distribution. The website has barely changed in years. As I stopped using Facebook and therefore following Pitchfork socials, there was no place to interact with them (besides the newsletter which I ended up unsubscribing from). They were no longer front and centre (granted I also got older ☺️) but now I will miss them

NO, MAYBE THIS IS THE TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY, JANUARY 19TH:
* Caged Wings (Netflix)
* Chad Season Two Premiere (The Roku Channel)
* Cristóbal Balenciaga Series Premiere (Disney+)
* Dance Life Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Hazbin Hotel Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Hustlers Gamblers Crooks Series Premiere (Discovery)
* LOL: Last One Laughing Ireland Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Love On The Spectrum US Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
* My Loneliness Has Wings (Mi soledad tiene alas) (Netflix)
* Real Time With Bill Maher Season Twenty Tour Premiere (HBO)
* Relighting Candles: The Tim Sullivan Story (Hulu)
* Sixty Minutes (Netflix)
* The Bequeathed Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Kitchen (Netflix)
* Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? Season Premiere (Max)
* Zorro Series Premiere (Prime Video)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2024:
* Betty's Bad Luck In Love (Hallmark)
* Dying In Plain Sight (Lifetime)
* OWN Spotlight: Oprah & Danielle Brooks (OWN)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 21ST, 2024:
* A Slice Of Chicago Romance (UP tv)
* Captivating The King Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Love & Translation Series Premiere (TLC)
* The Way Home Season Premiere (Hallmark)
* The Woman In The Wall Series Premiere (Showtime)
* Woman With The Red Lipstick (Lifetime)

MONDAY, JANUARY 22ND, 2024:
* America's Most Wanted Season Premiere (Fox)
* Battle On The Mountain Series Premiere (HGTV)
* Death By Fame Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* Hey Qween! (WOW Presents Plus)
* Just Justice Season Premiere (Freevee/Prime Video)
* Monsters 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation (Netflix)
* Not Quite Narwhal Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
* Superhot: The Spicy World Of Pepper People Series Premiere (Hulu)
* The Bachelor Season Premiere (ABC)
* The Impact New York Series Premiere (VH1)
* The Playboy Murders (A&E)
* TMZ Investigates (Fox)

SEE YOU MONDAY!