Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, March 19th, 2026:
PRODUCTION NOTES
I struggle with my work-life balance. Don't get me wrong, I do try and prioritize my family above everything else. But I don't do so well when it comes to giving myself a break and taking a bit of "me" time. A prime example of that is that today is my birthday and I am still cranking out a newsletter (albeit a very late one).
But tomorrow, my wife is taking the day off of work and she is giving me the best present I could receive - a day alone with her while our son is at school. We'll have a nice lunch together and I am going to try very hard to just relax. I am sending out a newsletter in the morning, but it will be a much shorter one that I am putting together this evening. It will feature an interview with the creator of a show that has a new season premiering tomorrow, and there will be a few other items as well as the weekend listings.
As for presents, I am going to suck it up and reward myself with a ticket to Bruce Springsteen's show here in St. Paul at the end of the month. Although given the price of tickets, this may be a multi-year birthday present.
THE VERGE HIGHLIGHTS MY NEWSLETTER FROM YESTERDAY
In Wednesday's newsletter, I wrote about my decision to turn down an offer from one of the prediction markets/gambling sites to integrate their data into stories I post here.
That piece generated a lot of attention, including this piece from The Verge's Mia Sato, who spoke with me about the decision and the slippery slope that comes with integrating gambling into your editorial decisions:
“I’ve been a reporter all my life, on and off,” Ellis says. “I don’t mind being pitched something. Maybe I see something and say, ‘Oh, this would be a good story.’ But getting paid to do it just crosses a line that I just wasn’t willing to do.”
Journalists are regularly approached by PR firms, data providers, and other entities hoping to get coverage of their work, which may lead to inclusion in a story. Both independent media and large newsrooms sometimes publish work that is sponsored by a company, although the sponsor has no editorial sway. Getting paid to mention a company or use a specific firm’s data, though, would breach many outlets’ ethics policies (I would certainly be fired, for example).
I also appreciated that she ended the piece with a quote from me that nicely frames why I think people subscribe to this newsletter:
Ellis says the offer made to him would have been a significant windfall. Entertainment media, he says, already has behind-the-scenes financial incentives — the Hollywood trades vying for studio advertising money — and it affects editorial coverage. It’s also facing an existential threat, with outlets consolidating, staff being laid off, and the public information ecosystem increasingly becoming fractured.
“It’s hard for me to say no to, but I didn’t feel like I could live with myself,” Ellis says. “A lot of the reason that people pay for my newsletter and read it is that they trust me."
In the end, I can't claim to be an independent journalist who is beholden to the powers that be if I am also taking their money to tell their story.
AMAZON PRIME BETS BIG ON INDIA
India is a tough market for international streamers. There are plenty of well-funded regional streaming competition and average revenue per user is substantially lower than in many other major markets. Which is why you've seen American media companies mostly opt to license their content to local streamers.
But both Netflix and Prime Video have been aggressively expanding their efforts in India, despite the challenges of producing programming in multiple languages in order to cover the market.
One way both those streamers have been able to find success despite lowered revenue is that Indian content travels well. It's extremely popular not just in the Asian-Pacific region, but anywhere there is a base of Indian subscribers. Which is just about anywhere in the world. And it helps that a lot of that programming is also finding an audience with English-speaking audiences.
Earlier today, Amazon Prime rolled out an impressive slate of over 50 programs - some of them licensed - and it's so extensive that you'll need to click here to read about all of it.
Amazon offers the subscription service Prime Video and free streamer Amazon MX Player in India, and while it doesn't reveal subscriber numbers, it is believed to have about 20 million subscribers in India, trailing market leader JioHotstar.
"Internationally, we’re seeing non-English titles breaking ground, and we’re seeing that English is no longer the default language of choice for global storytelling," said Nicole Clemens, Vice President of International Originals at Amazon MGM Studios said at the event.
“This slate marks Prime Video India‘s new era, delivering unparalleled content diversity,” added Shilangi Mukherji, Director & Head of SVOD Business, Prime Video India. “India remains central to Prime Video’s global growth, ranking among the top territories worldwide for attracting new Prime members in 2025. Close to two-thirds of our customers watch content in more than four languages, reflecting the growing appetite for diverse storytelling. And our Indian content is resonating globally among customers as well, — over half of the most-watched Top 50 non-English titles in 2025 came from Prime Video India.”
ODDS AND SODS
* Records obtained by Wired show an FCC enforcement director who oversees West Coast broadcasters - who is not a political staffer - quietly pledged to aide Brendan Carr's campaign against Disney and Jimmy Kimmel. This is great reporting. But also, note it's coming from Wired, not one of the Penske Hollywood trades, who in theory should be covering this type of story.
* A Duggar Family boy has been arrested for sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. No, not Duggar. Another one. Joseph Duggar, who was featured on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting and its spinoff series Counting On, was arrested following sexual abuse claims.
* Ed Bernard, a series regular on such hit series Police Woman and The White Shadow, has died in Northridge, CA, at the age of 86.
* Eight state attorneys general are suing to block Nexstar's pending acquisition of Tegna. They say broadcast TV consolidation would hurt consumers by hiking prices and weakening local news coverage.
* EverPass says it will be the exclusive commercial option for the NFL Sunday Ticket package for the upcoming season, after sharing rights with DirecTV since 2023.
* HBO has renewed Neighbors for a second season.
ABC HAS PULLED THE UPCOMING SEASON OF 'THE BACHELORETTE," AND HALTED PRODUCTION ON 'MORMON WIVES'
ABC has decided to pull Taylor Frankie Paul‘s season of The Bachelorette, which was slated to premiere on Sunday.
“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” a Disney Entertainment Television spokesperson said in a statement.
News of a reported "domestic assault investigation" between The Bachelorette star and her ex Dakota Mortensen also resulted in a production pause for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season five:
Paul was previously arrested for domestic violence in February 2023, in another incident involving Mortensen. The fallout from her arrest, and her turbulent relationship and pregnancy with Mortensen, was captured for the first season of Mormon Wives, which catapulted to quick success for Hulu.
Footage of the alleged 2023 incident between Paul and Mortensen was leaked to TMZ on Thursday, where she can be seen kicking her former partner and throwing chairs at him. In the footage, TMZ points out where Paul’s daughter was sitting in close contact to the conflict, with Mortensen yelling out, “Your daughter is right here,” as she launched another chair his way.
Towards the end of the video posted to the outlet’s socials (a longer cut was posted on their website), Paul threw an additional chair at Mortensen, and a child can be heard crying.
Hollywood Reporter TV Critic Daniel Feinberg notes that this is just the latest in a series of bad decisions by ABC when it comes to choosing which people to promote in its unscripted programming:
"ABC, which proudly and happily platformed Adrian Peterson on "Dancing with the Stars," draws the line at attempting to perpetuate a love story around an alleged abuser."
To be clear, just in case it wasn't: ABC *absolutely* is doing the right thing here, pulling "The Bachelorette." But ABC *also* should never have let Adrian Peterson anywhere near "Dancing with the Stars."
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, MARCH 19TH:
* Beauty In Black Season Premiere (Netflix)
* Double Stakes Series Premiere (Viaplay)
* Heartland Season Nineteen Premiere (UPtv)
* JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Season Premiere (Netflix)
* Last One Laughing UK Season Premiere (Prime Video)
* Meal Ticket (Prime Video)
* That Thrifting Show With Lara Spencer Series Premiere (Freeform)
* Unicorn Academy Season Premiere (Netflix)
FRIDAY, MARCH 20TH:
* Animal Love Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Deadloch Season Premiere (Prime Video)
* Jury Duty: Country Retreat Season Two Premiere (Prime Video)
* 1000 Women In Horror (Shudder)
* Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (Netflix)
* Pokémon Horizons: Season 3: Rising Hope (Netflix)
* The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel (Netflix)
* Wonder Pets: In The City Season Two Premiere (Apple TV)
* Zeta (Prime VIdeo)
SEE YOU FRIDAY!