Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, July 13th, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, July 13th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by coffee and a Lean Cuisine.

NETFLIX, UNIVERSAL EXPAND THEIR ANIMATION DEAL
Following an announcement earlier this week that Universal has split its pay-one movie window between Peacock and Amazon, the company announced today that it has expanded and extended a deal between Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Netflix:

The pact is a multi-year licensing deal and guarantees that the streamer will have access to films involving the Minions, Shrek and much more. Under the agreement, Netflix’s window to stream upcoming animated films such as “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” or “The Bad Guys” will begin after a four-month window on Peacock, the in-house streaming service launched by Universal parent company Comcast in 2020. This new agreement builds upon Netflix’s pre-existing Illumination output deal with Universal to now include DreamWorks Animation, another Universal-owned animation brand. Tentpoles such as “Minions: The Rise of Gru” will be among the initial 2022 offerings.

As part of the new deal with Universal, Netflix will also license rights to the full animated and live-action slate from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group four years after release. The deal also grants the streamer rights to select titles from Universal’s movie library.

This is rightfully being seen as a big deal, but I do have some questions. This deal seems to be mostly limited to the U.S.? So who will have the other global rights to these movies? I'm assuming that will depend on the region and the local competitors. There also hasn't been able mention of the part of the previous deal that allowed Netflix to create new shows based on Dreamworks IP. I'm assuming that continues, since it's not mentioned in the release.

I've reached out to Netflix and Universal to see if I can get some clarity. I'll let you know if I get a response.

A BIT ABOUT THE EMMY NOMINATIONS
The 2021 Primetime Emmy nominations were released today and I'm not going to wade into the hits/misses of the nominations. I will mention that the most inconvenient nominations are the 18 HBO's Lovecraft Country received - including one for best drama. That show was canceled by the network after its first season and the creator of the series ended up signing a new deal with Apple TV+. 

I'll be interested to see how quickly any of the streamers put together a vertical of "2021 Emmy Nominee" programs. That would especially be helpful at HBO Max, which has a wide range of nominations, some of them for shows that subscribers have likely forgotten about at this point (such as David Byrne’s American Utopia).

THIS IS THE TWITTER BOT I WANT
One of the continuing challenges with any large streaming service is content discovery. How do you get subscribers to notice all of the content that is buried inside the streamer's massive library?

Archive.org has a massive collection of media, including a library of tens of thousands of old records. In particular, their collection of digitally transferred 78 records may be the biggest archive of this recordings in the world. And one way that let people know what has been added is to create a Twitter bot account that automatically tweets out a random new title once an hour.

I would love to see one of the streamers do the same thing. A Peacock Twitter bot that tweets out a reminder for every live Olympic event or an HBO Max bot that randomly tweets out titles buried deep in the archives. I'd also find it helpful to have a Twitter bot that tweets out a notification every time Hulu adds new episodes of television shows.

It's not that this is some massive game changer. It's that the bots are not especially hard to set up and once they are up-and-running, they don't require a lot of attention. And aside from the convenience it provides subscribers, it's also an easy marketing tool. There will definitely be people retweeting the messages, which provides even more free media. 

FORGET BOB IGER, THIS IS THE DISNEY RETIREMENT REPORTERS CARE ABOUT
This is a bit of inside baseball, but The NY Times has a piece (free for TooMuchTV subscribers) on the upcoming retirement of 65-year-old Zenia B. Mucha, the much-feared terror who protected the image of Disney and was not afraid to confront any reporter whom she felt was being unfair. Or even, not cooperative

Ms. Mucha — who has been variously described during her career in politics and at Disney as “warrior princess,” “razor-sharp and acid-tongued,” “mother crocodile” and “director of revenge” — has influence at Disney that extends far beyond her official duties. As other C-suite executives have cycled through the company over the decades, Ms. Mucha has endured to become leadership team bedrock, giving her a voice in nearly every major corporate decision. In 2016, for instance, when Disney was thinking about buying Twitter, she was against it. (Too much porn, she cautioned.) Mr. Iger passed, later citing the platform’s “nastiness.”

Lately, Ms. Mucha’s job has taken on a difficult new dimension. Disney’s family-friendly brand is meant to be for everyone. But neutrality in today’s hyperpartisan world is almost impossible. Many employees and customers want and expect companies like Disney to be advocates for progressive issues. Another faction is just as adamant that Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear steer clear of politics and hot-button cultural topics.

Anyone who covered Disney for any length of time has been the recipient of a call or email from Mucha, who is very....passionate about the company and more than willing to cut off any reporter's access if she believes they are painting Disney in a bad light.

THE MAGNOLIA NETWORK LAUNCHES ON DISCOVERY+
The Chip & Joanna Gaines Magnolia Network isn't having its linear launch until later this year. But in the meantime, it is doing a streaming launch on Discovery+, where a total of 22 shows will be premiering or adding new seasons. Most of the shows will launch on Thursday and AllYourScreens will have a bunch of reviews and some exclusive interviews posting late Wednesday and early Thursday.

ODDS AND SODS
* The Smash Brothers-style platform game Nickelodeon's All-Star Brawl is coming this fall. Click here to see the trailer.

* What it look like if Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson was a TV critic?

* ITV is rebooting Undercover Boss for the U.K.

WEDNESDAY PREMIERES
1) A Classic Horror Story (Netflix)
"In this gruesome suspense film, strangers traveling in southern Italy become stranded in the woods, where they must fight desperately to get out alive."

2) Good Trouble Season Premiere (Freeform)
"Some bold decisions were made in love and life, and now it’s time to deal with the consequences. Nothing says “adulting” like not apologizing for being your authentic self… no matter how many tables you turn. Season three continues with Callie battling Jamie in the biggest court case of her career while rekindling her rooftop romance with Gael. Mariana is forced to choose between Evan and her friends and colleagues in the Fight Club. Malika deals with the aftermath of changing her relationship structure with Isaac. Alice stands alone after her bold departure from the problematic comedy diversity program. Gael prepares for fatherhood. Dennis returns to the Coterie to pick things back up with Davia, but has she grown tired of waiting?"

3) Gunpowder Milkshake (Netflix)
"Three generations of women fight back against those who could take everything from them in the mother of all action movies."

4) Heist (Netflix)
"A 21-year-old woman steals millions in Vegas casino cash. An aspiring father swipes a fortune from the Miami airport... and uses TV shows to learn how to get away with it. A Kentucky dad is accused of one of the biggest bourbon burglaries in history. Using dynamic reenactments, original interviews, and a fast-paced style that fits perfectly into the cinematic canon alongside films like Ocean’s Eleven and Catch Me If You Can, directors Derek Doneen (The Price of Free), Martin Desmond Roe (Two Distant Strangers), and Nick Frew (We Are the Champions) each take the helm of a single heist, told over two episodes."

5) Mechashark (Discovery)
"Researchers Kina Scollay, Mark Erdmann and Al Baxter build a submersible mechanical shark to track down New Zealand's monster great whites and pilot it deep into what they believe could be a mating ground."

6) My Unorthodox Life Series Premiere (Netflix)
"Follow Julia Haart, Elite World Group CEO and a former member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, and her adult kids in this reality series."

7) Private Network: Who Killed Manuel Buendia? (Netflix)
"A deep dive into the work of renowned Mexican journalist Manuel Buendía looks to unravel his murder and the ties between politics and drug trafficking."

8) Return To The Lair Of The Great White (Discovery)
"Dr. Craig O'Connell and Marc Payne return to where they filmed a juvenile great white. Believing there's a nursery nearby, they follow the trial to a discovery that could change everything known about great whites."

9) The Guide To The Perfect Family (Netflix)
"A couple in Québec deals with the pitfalls, pressure and high expectations of raising kids in a society obsessed with success and social media image."

10) The Real Sharknado (Discovery)
"Ian Ziering and Tara Reid join Dr. Tristan Gutteridge to see if a real "Sharknado," with sharks risking their lives to attack humans, could happen."

11) Tiger Queen (Discovery+)
"The shark population in Turks and Caicos has a sizable concentration of female tiger sharks, leaving scientists wondering where all the males are hiding. Shark enthusiast Kinga Philipps joins Dr. Austin Gallagher to help solve this puzzling mystery."

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