Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, June 2nd, 2022

No, there's really not too much TV...

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, June 2nd, 2022.
 
NO, THERE ISN'T 'TOO MUCH TV'
I named this newsletter "Too Much TV" more ironically than anything else. Yes, there is a lot of new television being produced. More than any one person could watch. But isn't that a good thing? Let's set aside the question of whether or not companies can make money off of all of that new content. Complaining that there is more new great stuff than you can watch is not the same as having too much new stuff. It's like arguing that the book industry is printing too many great books because you don't have time to read them all. 

I recognize that my opinion is in the minority and I was reminded of that today with this new piece from Vulture's Joe Adalian, who focuses on the ten or so weeks this spring when nearly 50 shows premiered:

It’s not your imagination: Spring 2022 has seen an avalanche of new and returning TV content. In the past ten weeks or so, streaming platforms and cable networks rolled out more than 50 new and returning high-profile series. An insane 15-day stretch at the end of April crammed in roughly two dozen pedigreed projects including fresh seasons of past Emmy faves (Barry, Russian Doll, The Flight Attendant, Ozark), a galaxy of star-studded newcomers (The First Lady, Shining Girls, Gaslit), and a few long shots just hoping to get noticed (Billy the Kid, Outer Range). Even for the era of too much TV, it’s been ridiculous — yet amazingly, this audiovisual assault wasn’t simply an accident of the calendar. In some cases, it was a premeditated act.

What strikes me most about this is that the shows listed here encompass such a wide range of topics and genres that no one person would watch most of them even if they had a year. Yes, it's a lot to digest and some stuff is going to be missed. But that happened even in the slightly less complicated world of linear television. This flurry of riches is a less of a reflection of too much television and more of a shift from a handful of big, culture-changing shows to a world where there are big hits, but also plenty of smaller shows that targets audiences that might be overlooked in a blockbuster-first environment.

Adalian's piece does touch briefly on an issue I write a lot about here: the problem is less about the number of shows being released and more about the marketing and content discovery issues that stand in the way of audiences finding the new programs:

Of course, the bigger issue for platforms these days isn’t finding something new to fill their schedules; it’s whether audiences will notice all the new shows. That’s what has made the spring crush so problematic. While awards-addicted platforms can target the few thousand members of the Television Academy with events and advertising, getting general audiences to take note is far more difficult if not impossible. This is an issue outside the awards-season window, of course, but the past few months took things to a whole new level of ridiculousness: Peak TV basically morphed into Peak TV+. Worse, it happened at a time when Americans were taking advantage of a post-Omicron-wave low in COVID infections to travel, socialize, and go to movies and concerts as if it was 2019. “This traffic jam was not good for the industry,” a senior streaming programmer concedes. “Everyone is doing what they think is best for them, but a lot of shows got hurt.” As one cable marketing exec adds, “It’s almost hurting consumers at this point. It’s just too much.”

My first question is I hear people argue there is too much TV is simple: okay, pick which shows shouldn't have been made. And there's the rub. While lots of people argue there is too much TV, no one wants to see any of their favorite shows go away. In fact, if anything, you hear people complain about the fact that a favorite show wasn't picked up for another season.

So it feels to me as if a lot of the "there's too much TV" talk is partly an emotional response and partly a way to distract from other issues. It's much easier to blame the amount of television for marketing or promotional failures than it is to admit that as an industry, everyone continues to struggle with content discovery.

READER FEEDBACK ON TV GUIDE 3.0
I speculated a bit yesterday about what a streaming generation TV Guide-like app might look like and I received quite a bit of feedback. Thanks to everyone who sent me a note and here are a couple of comments I wanted to respond to publicly:

Have you seen the new Plex interface? They're trying to address some of the discovery issues by allowing you to add the services you subscribe to and have them integrated into search.

--Peter S.

I have played around with it a bit. It's an interesting effort and I think there's some promise there. But it doesn't feel all that helpful yet and I see two immediate problems with it. First, it doesn't allow you to integrate OTA channels, which is a huge component of content discovery. It also doesn't provide any context for recommendations. I don't know how helpful it is to have Plex reminding me about shows such as Succession, which are already pretty wildly publicized. So it's definitely a small step forward, but it's not close to what we need.

There's already a couple of apps I use for this:

Showly & Just Watch. 

Another thing to keep in mind is it needs to be regionalized. Just Watch is, Showly isn't.

Being Canadian, what would be on HBO Max is actually on Crave...and so on.

Adriano A.

I'm more familiar with Just Watch than Showly and I agree, Just Watch is very helpful when it comes to determining what is available for streaming. But a TV Guide-ish solution needs to focus on more than just the streaming services. If you could integrate the TV Watch backend with a database of OTA and FAST options, then you'd be most of the way there to a killer app.

I agree this is something the industry needs. But how do you get all of the various big media companies to cooperate. None of them are going to want to sign on to something that could cost them viewers.

Donna R.

That's certainly a concern, although I suspect that the content discovery issue is pressing enough that most it not all of the major players would eventually sign on. The bigger challenge is that this idea only works if it's not owned by another of the big media companies. And raising the money to develop and launch the app - along with the assorted costs of running it - would be a challenge. I think you can make a case that it would be successful and if the adoption rate is high enough, it becomes the default choice for viewers. Which is a huge first mover advantage for any company.

BUT WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT
This NY Times piece on the niche streaming service PassionFlix is getting a lot of attention because it's run by Tosca Musk, younger sister of Elon Musk. The service itself has an interesting niche and I can see where there would be a market for a streaming service for romantics tired of the Hallmark formula:

Passionflix is sort of a sexy Hallmark Channel. The stories are simple, and the acting is sometimes unrefined. Passionflix dialogue is usually taken directly from the source material, which can be majestically cheesy. “I’ve missed making love with you,” a shirtless hunk whispers huskily in “Gabriel’s Rapture,” a Passionflix series based on Sylvain Reynard’s best-selling novel. “It was as if one of my limbs was missing.”

But please do not call Passionflix a guilty pleasure. “I hate that description,” Ms. Musk said in her matter-of-fact way. “It’s simply pleasure.” And get your heads out of the gutter: Naughtiness barometer aside, Passionflix content rarely if ever approaches the soft-core threshold. There are sex scenes, certainly, but the carnality is often on simmer — a sultry glance here, a thigh graze there. Ms. Musk enforces a rule of no frontal nudity below the waist.

But I laughed out loud when I read this passage, which glossed over the fact that Ms. Musk ends up directing most of the original films on the streaming service:

In addition to adaptations — the vast majority directed by Ms. Musk, who is the company’s chief executive — Passionflix stocks a revolving array of licensed material. Such offerings have included “Random Encounters,” a 2013 movie starring the Duchess of Sussex, then known as Meghan Markle, and “Two Night Stand,” a 2014 romantic comedy starring Miles Teller. Studio films like “Sabrina” and “The English Patient,” both from the 1990s, have also been available.

MAGNUM P.I. MAY RETURN ON NBC AND/OR USA
Deadline is reporting that the reboot of Magnum P.I. recently canceled by CBS might be headed to NBC and/or USA:

Magnum P.I. is looking to join an elite group of popular broadcast series who have overcome shocking cancellations to continue their runs. No one is commenting but I hear talks are underway for NBC and/or USA Network to potentially carry the series, starring Jay Hernandez. An arrangement is still being figured out but I hear one scenario is for new episodes to air on NBC while USA would run previous seasons of the action drama, a reboot of the 1980s series, which starred Tom Selleck.

Once you get past the headline, however, there is a lot still up in the air about this possible deal. Including the fact that negotiations haven't even begun with CBS Studios. And then there is the complicated rights issues:

As co-producing entities, Universal TV and CBS Studios have split rights, with Universal TV handling international and CBS spearheading domestic off-network sales. Interestingly, four years into its run, Magnum P.I. has not been taken out yet to domestic cable or SVOD buyers, and I hear there is no price tag on the show library yet, something that will need to be sorted out. It is not clear yet whether Paramount+ may be interested in the SVOD library rights or would Peacock emerge as the strongest possibility, keeping the series within the NBCU family across linear and digital.

All sides have until the end of the month to hammer out an agreement. If negotiations stretch beyond that, Universal TV will have to extend the options on the cast, which are up June 30.

There are a lot of questions here, including whether CBS Studios is interested in giving up the SVOD rights so that Peacock can stream both the new episodes and the library seasons. While Paramount+ could benefit from the show, it might make sense for Universal to have the rights to both the SVOD and international, giving it the opportunity to roll it out in a somewhat global fashion.

TWEET OF THE DAY

ODDS AND SODS
* Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premieres June 22nd on Disney+

* HBO has picked up A Black Lady Sketch Show for a fourth season

* Season two of Wild West Chronicles premieres Thursday, July 28th on INSP

WHAT'S NEW FOR THURSDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:

A Fan's Guide To Ms. Marvel (Disney+)
Generation Drag Series Premiere (Discovery+) 
Sistas Season Premiere (BET)
South Park: The Streaming Wars (Paramount+)
The Real Housewives Of Dubai Series Premiere (Bravo)
Trixie Motel Series Premiere (Discovery+)

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

SEE YOU FRIDAY!

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