Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, July 14th, 2023

The consequences of neglected anger

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, July 13th, 2023.

PROGRAMMING NOTES
Today's newsletter will be a bit shorter than normal. Because it's Friday and it's been a long week for all of us.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLECTED ANGER
I wish I could find the original article now, but I remember reading this think piece a couple of years ago in which the male author was talking about his recent divorce. He was startled when his wife told him she was leaving because while he knew that they had intermittent problems, he believed the underlying love between them was still there. She explained to him that she didn't feel respected or appreciated and he was honestly just flummoxed by her comments.

After months of pained contemplation, his mind kept coming back to their dishwasher. His wife hated coming home to discover dirty dishes in the sink. And while he worked at home and knew how his wife felt, he often just made the decision to delay putting everything in the dishwasher. The issue turned into a regular disagreement and at some point, she just gave up bringing it up to him again. She would just wearily walk into the kitchen, see the sink full of dishes and quietly load the dishwasher.

He finally realized that the dishes weren't important in themselves. But they represented a lack of respect he had for her feelings. Doing them everyday wouldn't have been difficult. She certainly had made adjustments for him. And at some point, every time she did the dishes that he could have handled, it just reminded her that on some level, he didn't appreciate or respect her in the way she deserved. And she left. Disrespecting her wasn't a conscious decision on his part. But the effect was the same, nonetheless.

I've been thinking about that story a great deal over the past few days. Because I think it represents why we're seeing such a strong response from striking writers and actors. I've heard from several fairly highly-placed studio executives in recent days who are legitimately perplexed by the anger and hatred being thrown their way. But from the viewpoint of many writers and actors, this strike is as much about their equivalent of dirty dishes as it is about mini-rooms or AI (although those are also vitally important). 

For example, take this pair of tweets from Cristela Alonzo, whose 2014 sitcom Cristela aired on ABC:

Given her experience, do you think she is inclined to take the studios at their word during contract negotiations? Do you think she sees the studios as partners or even as someone she can trust?

And while her story is a bit more high-profile than the average writer or actor, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone currently on strike who doesn't have their own collection of entertainment industry indignities. Writers and actors understand this is a business and that sometimes that means you don't get what you deserve. But what angers them are the petty, penny-pinching decisions that just reinforce how little respect the studios have for the people who work for them. 

If you're a support staffer making little more than minimum wage and the studio lays you off for two weeks over the holidays so they don't have to pay holiday pay, how inclined are you to be understanding of the studio's claims of potential economic ruin? 

For many people on strike, they have reached that point in the relationship with the studios where they have decided they can't stomach coming home another day to do the dirty dishes. 

They need drastic, substantive changes. And I don't believe the studio heads comprehend that yet.

IS THE TCM WATCH APP STILL BROKE? OR AT LEAST, BROKE AGAIN?
Somewhat against my will, I've become a bit of an expert on the ongoing problems with the TCM Watch App. Until this month, the app would automatically load the new movies being added on the first of the month. But on July 1st, I began hearing from users who noticed the monthly update hadn't happened. 

I reached out to TCM and on July 6th was told the problem was the result of some engineering problems behind the scenes and that it would be fixed "shortly."  Finally earlier this week, the TCM Watch app seemed to be working correctly. I heard from multiple users who reported new movies had been added and their classic film fix was being satiated.

Unfortunately, that joy was apparently short-lived. I have begun hearing from TCM subscribers who are now reporting they are unable to watch titles that have newly been added to the app. For example:

I’ve been doing research and as of 5:45 this morning, here’s what I’ve discovered.

It seems like the only films playable from July are some of the titles aired Sunday, July 9 through early Tuesday, July 11. Starting with IMPACT on Noir Alley. I've been able to get the following titles to play: DANGEROUS WHEN WET, DESIGNING WOMEN, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, all of Sunday night's "Disability in the Movies" features, TOKYO CHORUS, CASTLE OF SAND, THE MAN I LOVE, JAZZ HEAVEN, A KISS IN THE DARK, TOO YOUNG TO KISS, THE SECRET HEART, SINCERELY YOURS, BROADWAY SERENADE, HARVEY, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and FLOWER DRUM SONG. 

Beginning with CAREFREE which aired early Tuesday, July11, none of the films after that will play on the app.

I've reached out to TCM again in hopes of getting some clarification or explanation. But given that we are going into the weekend, if I hear back anything, it won't be until Monday.

ODDS AND SODS
* Wall Street loves Disney CEO Bob Iger. Some of the people who have worked for Disney? Not so much. 

* If you'd like to support striking WGA and SAG-AFTRA workers, here is a handy guide to some official ways to do so.

UNDERSTANDING AVOD RESIDUALS
Part of the challenge of writing about this WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike is some of the issues are incredibly complex. I've spent a lot of time reading through the various minimum basic agreements (MBA) and the complexity is just insane. Plus, it's not just a challenge figuring out the terms of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA MBAs, it's also important to understand how those contractual guidelines are implemented in real life situations.

I talked a bit on Twitter yesterday about AVOD residuals and I asked for some help trying to understand the financial and strategic implications of moving things on and off AVOD. I heard from really smart people in response. But I'll be honest, I'm left with more questions that answers.

And that's a problem for the industry. Because reporters can't accurately cover these stories correctly unless they understand how things work. Luckily, since I am my own boss, I can give myself more time than most reporters to try and develop some knowledge and expertise on things such as AVOD finances. But where does that leave the average entertainment and media reporter, who doesn't have the time to spend on the subject?

BTW, if you have any expertise in AVOD issues or other complex MBA questions, I'd love to hear from you. Email me at rick@allyourscreens.com

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW FOR THIS WEEKEND:
FRIDAY, JULY 14TH:
* Bird Box Barcelona (Netflix)
* Five Star Chef Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Foundation Season Two Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Imagine Dragons: Live In Vegas (Hulu)
* Lincoln Log Masters Series Premiere (The Roku Channel)
* Link Click (Crunchyroll)
* Love Tactics 2 (Netflix)
* Mama June: Family Crisis Season Finale (WE tv)
* Quicksand (Shudder)
* Run The World Season Finale (Starz)
* The Beauty Queen Of Jerusalem (Netflix)
* The Summer I Turned Pretty Season Two Premiere (Prime Video)
* Time Zone (Max)
* Too Hot To Handle (Netflix)
* Yuzuru Hanyu Ice Story 2023 "Gift" At Tokyo Dome (Disney+)

SATURDAY, JULY 15TH, 2023:
* A Scent Of Time (Max)
* Country Queen (Netflix)
* Kohrra (Netflix)
* The Christmas Reboot (Hallmark)

SUNDAY, JULY 16TH, 2023:
* Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge (Food)
* Carnival Eats Season Premiere (Cooking)
* First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder (TV One)
* Goliath (Showtime)
* Kids In A Cage (A&E)
* Nightmare School Moms (Lifetime)
* 90 Day Fiance UK Season Premiere (Discovery+)
* The Chosen Series Premiere (The CW)
* The Real Housewives Of New York Season Fourteen Premiere (Bravo)
* Zoe Bakes Season Premiere (Magnolia)

MONDAY, JULY 17TH, 2023:
* Almost Paradise Season Two Premiere (Freevee)
* Below Deck: Down Under Season Premiere (Bravo)
* Unknown: Cave Of Bones (Netflix)

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

SEE YOU MONDAY!

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