Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, March 8th, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, March 8th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by iced tea and a hard-to-find Zero candy bar.

WHY ISN'T THAT OPRAH SPECIAL ON PARAMOUNT+ TODAY?
The biggest show on broadcast television Sunday night (and arguably on all of television) was the two-hour interview between Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry/Meghan. Conversation is all over social media today and if you missed out on the initial broadcast, you might think it would be easy to find the special on-demand the morning after an airing. It's a huge event, it's the type of broadcast that is made for next-day viewing. It HAS to be easily available, right?

Um....no.

The obvious place to find it would be on the new Viacom/CBS streaming platform Paramount+. It's the official home of all things CBS and given that the special aired on that network, it's the most likely place to find it.

But as far as I can tell, it's not available at all right now (11:00 a.m. CT). And if you search for Harry and Meghan, all that come up are a couple of Smithsonian Channel specials. But hey, Paramount+ has plenty of episodes of Criminal Minds and iCarly! (and just as a side note: what the hell does the category "Peak Originals" mean?")

I'm assuming that it isn't available on Paramount+ for some sort of licensing reasons, since CBS didn't produce the special, they just licensed it from Oprah's production company. Which leads me to believe Oprah's Harpo Productions has put some restriction on streaming in the U.S. Still, not having it the next day on Paramount+ is just a massive mistake. Especially for a service that is barely a week old and is still trying to prove its a must-have streaming service.

One strange quirk about all of this is that while the special is not available on Paramount+, it is available for streaming at CBS.com and on the CBS app. While seems....strange.

One of the services I have is Hulu Live TV and the special showed up at as the top highlight on my main page. My assumption is that it's available because I have a live TV package and the same factors that make the special available on the CBS app also keep it available for live TV subscribers.

I've reached out to both CBS and Paramount+ to try and get some clarity, but I haven't heard back yet.

SPEAKING OF PARAMOUNT+
There a lot of things to complain about when it comes to Paramount TV+. But the biggest one is that it launched without wish lists or a way to "save" shows to watch later. It's one of those features that should be a baseline feature for any streaming service in 2021.

What other features should be included in any streaming service & what is your biggest pet peeve about a streaming service? I'll be writing about this in Wednesday's newsletter and I'd like to hear from you. Email me at rick@allyourscreens.com or let me know on Twitter at @aysrick.

PEACOCK IS RUNNING A WWE NETWORK PROMO DEAL
The WWE Network is coming to Peacock Premium and they're offering a deal if you subscribe now. You can can prepay for four months at the discounted rate of $2.50 per month. After that, it will cost you $5 per month.

'WANDAVISION' ENDING WAS APPARENTLY CHANGED DUE TO FAN THEORIES
Most of the time, post-season finale interviews with a showrunner or director doesn't provide many surprises. Everything that was supposed to be in the season was there, even though sometimes the viewing audience doesn't quite understand it.

But a recent interview of Wandavision director Matt Shakman by Kevin Smith and Marc Bernardin’s for their Fatman Beyond podcast provided a LOT of details about the season that might have been (spoilers here, so feel free to skip over):







<<SPOILER SPACE>>







For one thing, the pandemic industry shutdown led to big changes in the season arc and how the series was released:

...he revealed that the ongoing pandemic meant the crew couldn’t finish the show as originally planned. For starters, the series would’ve debuted the first three episodes at the same time (which might’ve helped some audiences get onboard easier) but the team would’ve had to delay the finale if they stuck to this plan. The crew only finished the last episode two weeks before the official release, which is why some of the CGI didn’t quite look right because it was edited after the shutdown.

Matt Shakman explained to Smith and Bernardin that originally, a sub-plot was filmed involving the twins, Monica, Darcy and Ralph Bohner as they attempted to steal the Darkhold from Agatha Harkness’ basement. It sounds like it would’ve teased more monstrous things in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the director confirmed that Agatha’s rabbit, Scratchy, would’ve been revealed as a demon. Shakman also confirmed that the earlier tease about the aerospace engineer was purposefully included – but a scene paying off the reference was seemingly taken out when audiences began speculating about Reed Richards arriving on the show.

But the most fascinating revelation to me is that Marvel Studios was apparently tweaking the final episodes of the season based on the social media chatter from fans:

Editing a show in reaction to fan theories seems like an example of fan service taken to a dark place. On the other hand, maybe it's also an example of the upsides of dropping an entire season at one time.

TODAY'S PREMIERES
1) Bombay Begums Series Premiere (Netflix)
From boardrooms to society's margins, five ambitious women from various walks of life navigate dreams, desires and disappointments in modern Mumbai.

2) Bombay Rose (Netflic)
Escaping from child marriage, a young club dancer living in the streets of Bombay, must choose between fending for her family and finding love with a boy orphaned by the militancy. Painted frame by frame and woven delicately through music, a red rose brings together three tales of impossible loves. Love between two dreamers tested by duty and religious divides. Love between two women. Love of an entire city for its Bollywood stars. Based on true events, the film, in documentary fashion, explores the ruthlessness of a society where the love and life that reigns on the big screen can crush you in its mean streets. Bombay Rose is directed by Gitanjali Rao and produced by Cinestaan Film Company/Les Films d'ici. An award-winning festival favorite, it was the first Indian animated film ever selected to open Venice Critics Week; it was also selected by the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival, and an award winner at the Chicago and Mumbai Film Festivals.

3) Rock The Block Season Premiere (HGTV)
Host Ty Pennington will referee the action as the experts battle to maximize the value of identical suburban properties with $225,000 and only six weeks to complete their projects. In the end, just one pair will score bragging rights and a street named in their honor. In addition to a rotating panel of guest judges, the new season’s star roster of dueling duos includes legendary home renovator and contractor Mike Holmes (Holmes On Homes) paired with Chicago’s fearless home reno and design expert Alison Victoria (Windy City Rehab); designing dads Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent (Nate and Jeremiah: Save My House); two HGTV Design Star winners, David Bromstad (My Lottery Dream Home) and Tiffany Brooks ($50K Three Ways), who join forces; and the couple who can build and design an entire home in 100 days, Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt (100 Day Dream Home.)

4) Web Of Lies (Discovery+)
The dark web is home to the most insidious crimes of the modern era. 

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.

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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.