Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, February 21st, 2023
Is the WGA really "made up of 20,000 Leon Trotskys?"
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, February 21st, 2023.
A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE
You may or may not know that AllYourScreens World Headquarters is located in the Twin Cities and Minnesota is expecting a historically bad snowstorm. If estimates are accurate, by midday Thursday there should be somewhere between 16 and 24 inches of new snow on the ground. Which would make this storm the second largest snowstorm in recorded history in Minnesota.
I mention this only because a storm of this size might bring some unpredictable technology challenges, from a loss of broadband to power outages. So if the newsletters for the next couple of days are late or missing, that is the reason.
A REMINDER OF WHY YOU CAN'T STREAM 'HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS'
The recent death of Richard Belzer motivated a few people to ask me why we still can't stream Homicide: Life On The Streets.
It's an issue I've written about a few times, but it's been awhile and after checking around today, nothing seems to have changed.
As is often the case, there are multiple reasons why the show still isn't available for streaming. But the biggest problem is the result of the collapse of a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC).
MCEG Sterling Incorporated was a co-producer on seasons 2-7 of "Homicide" & my understanding is that they would have to sign off on a deal. Except....they don't exist anymore. Sterling was the home entertainment arm of UAV & its primary business was selling DVDs of MTM shows.
In 2006, the private equity firm that controlled UAV lost control of the company to lenders & it was liquidated. A company called ContentFilm apparently acquired the rights later that year when they purchased a bunch of UAVassets. They were acquired by Key Media Group in 2017.
Key Media Group was picking up all sorts of random assets using a SPAC for funding. Ranging from the rights to international distribution of Finding Neverland to the production company that did Dance Moms. KMG collapsed about three years ago & the parts were sold off piecemeal.
At that point, the percentage of "Homicide" ownership originally controlled by MCEG Sterling seems to have been part of KMG subsidiary Kew Media Distribution, which was sold to UK's Quiver Entertainment in May 2020. Except that Quiver says the "Homicide" rights weren't part of the deal. So who controls the rights to that sliver of "Homicide?" I've tried to find out & none of the entities that acquired pieces of KMG seem to have it. So I have no clue. And that's likely why "Homicide" isn't available for streaming.
The rights to "Homicide" seem to be all tied up & while it's possible to get it figured out, it would require some expensive legal work & I don't think anyone has been willing to tackle it to this point. Especially given the other usual suspects when something isn't streaming (musical rights, other subsidiary rights).
RICHARD RUSHFIELD REALLY DOESN'T LIKE THE WGA
The Ankler bills itself as a nimble digital upstart to the mostly Penske-owned entertainment trade publications and that is mostly true. But it's also owned and run by journalists who had long careers working at those same outlets. So there isn't always a great deal of difference between newer outlets like The Ankler and Puck editorially. Their big differentiator is the "we're also insiders, but better" argument, which is I guess, sorta true?
But it's also true that the good folks at Ankler have their own industry blind spots and they are all in full view in the latest column from Ankler co-founder Richard Rushfield. He takes another run at the likely upcoming writer's strike. And after his typical complaints that many of the problems of the entertainment industry are due to the tech executives running the streamers, he focuses his scorn on one his favorite targets. the members of the WGA.
After reluctantly admitting they do have some valid complaints, he frames the WGA in a way that would sound harsh coming from the head of one of the studios:
The coverage and chatter on the strike have focused heavily on the militancy of the Writers Guild — a subject I've had a few words on during the past movements. But at this moment, that is not the point, at all. The Guild might be made up of 20,000 Leon Trotskys, but the Guild didn't create the breakdown described above. And it's not in the Guild's power to singlehandedly fix it.
As is widely noted, the WGA might well be subject to the whims of its unemployed or underemployed members who see a picket line as a great adventure and have nothing to lose by striking.
Sure, Rushfield goes on to argue that the streamers and their incessant firehose stream of new content is the real problem. He moans about how current entertainment executives are clueless technocrats who don't understand how creative people work. Trust me, I've heard this all before.
But one big takeaway I had from reading his piece is that while Rushfield believes writers are an integral part of Hollywood, he doesn't much like the WGA and believes the industry would be better off if the WGA would just be a bit more reasonable.
Which makes me think that when the strike begins - and I'll be shocked if it doesn't happen - I wouldn't count on the Ankler as being a friendly outlet. If your union is being described *before* the strike as being "made up of 20,000 Leon Trotskys," how will it be described two months into a crippling strike?
SEE, I AM NOT THE ONLY PERSON COMPLAINING ABOUT STREAMING PR FAILS
If you are a fan of reality television, the web site Reality Blurred should be a regular destination. Founder Andy Dehnart was recently thrilled to discover there are new episodes of The Traitor streaming on Peacock, but he wasn't so happy about how he discovered the episodes were available:
Andy also uses the post to announce he has left his day job to write about television full-time. He highlights all of the ways that readers can support him, but I will add one other thing that he can't mention. It's against the rules to do anything that would be seen by ad networks as click manipulation. So I will simply say that if you see an ad on your favorite web site and you find it of interest, click it. Because so few people interact with ads, every click tends to pay out pretty well.
ODDS AND SODS
* CBS has now renewed nearly its entire lineup: dramas NCIS, NCIS Hawaii, CSI Vegas, Fire Country, FBI, FBI International, FBI Most Wanted, The Equalizer and So Help Me Todd; comedies Young Sheldon, Ghosts, The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola; reality shows Survivor, Tough As Nails, Amazing Race and Lingo. Along with the news shows 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. Negotiations are apparently so ongoing on the long-running Blue Bloods and the fate of rookie series East New York rests on how well the upcoming True Lies does in the ratings.
IS 'INSIDE' REALLY HELPFUL POSITIONING FOR A CABLE NEWS SHOW?
MSNBC announced today that the new show with former White House press secretary Jen Psaki will premiere on Sunday, March 19th. This is how the network describes Inside With Jen Psaki:
Inside with Jen Psaki will leverage Psaki’s wide-ranging expertise to tackle the biggest issues of the week, featuring one-on-one interviews with newsmakers. Each Sunday, she will break down and make sense of the most complex public policy discussions happening in the Nation’s Capital from the debt ceiling to the political campaign trail to the war in Ukraine and more. In one special recurring segment “Weekend Routine,” Psaki will pull back the curtain on the everyday lives of notable lawmakers and influential thought leaders. She will shadow each newsmaker as they move through their usual activities discussing their work, careers and personal lives, spotlighting a unique and often unseen side.
Okaaaay. I'm sure that Jen Psaki will be fine on the show, she has certainly shown some serious camera skills on her work so far on MSNBC. But is another insider view really want viewers want specifically from MSNBC and more generally from a cable news channel?
I'd argue that viewers already get plenty of insider takes on MSNBC. The network is lousy with former White House and political insiders. And while bringing another insider onto the air won't scare away any current viewers, it's not going to lure in any new ones. The road to viewer growth (and more viewers under the age of 60) leads outside the beltway.
WHAT'S NEW FOR TUESDAY:
Don't Leave Me Behind: Stories Of Young Ukrainian Survival (MTV)
Kathleen Madigan: Hunting Bigfoot (Prime Video)
The Swan Company Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.