Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, February 22nd, 2024.
TWO VERY DIFFERENT TAKES ON ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALISM
There are some definite fault lines in the entertainment/media journalism business and one obvious example can be seen in the way that people respond to Puck's Matt Belloni.
On the one hand, Vulture's profile of him includes the very friendly headline How Matthew Belloni Became The Must-Read Columnist For Hollywood's Executive Class:
Belloni’s ascent has inevitably inspired comparisons to Nikki Finke, arguably the last major Hollywood columnist who demanded the attention of the town (or its executives, at least). When she died in 2022, tributes focused on the way she threatened and bullied sources — studio execs, publicists, fellow journalists, A-list talent — into submission. (“Nikki was a terrorist,” Belloni says.) But whereas Finke possessed an outsider’s anger against the historically cozy nature of entertainment journalism, Belloni is generally liked and respected by the people he reports on, perhaps even accepted as a kind of executive-level peer.
Now, as a journalist, I would feel a bit uneasy about being described as "an executive-level peer" of the bosses, but that's just me. But love him or hate him, he seems to be clear about who he is and what his place is in the Hollywood hierarchy:
“I write it in a way that I hope it’s accessible to average people, but I don’t care about that at all. Executives pay for the newsletter. So it’s a totally different mind-set.” He books them on his podcast year-round, and on occasion, he convenes off-the-records gatherings with them to discuss the business. That fundamental alignment underscores Belloni’s singular position in Hollywood. Enough of an outsider to feel comfortable snarking on the power elite, enough of an insider to invite them to dinners.
Belloni's attitude tends to rub some of my fellow less-than-executive-level journalists the wrong way. Including David Poland, who just posted an absolutely scathing take on the Vulture piece and Belloni's overall journalism skills:
He is very different than either Harry or Nikki. But unlike Harry, Matt’s constituency is the top of the food chain, not the rebels trying to overcome the uppers. He is there to dance for the bosses. To tell the world “what he hears,” which is what they want the world to hear. Sometimes, even in the same paragraph, he will take 2 sides… not comparing and contrasting… but serving both sides because they both want him to speak their words. More words. Endless words. Little meaning.
Unlike Nikki, he is not that smart or hard working. He doesn’t use fear as a tool. He’s just a tool. He doesn’t seem to need to climb, because he thinks he is already at the top. He surrounds himself with those willing to be sycophantic, most of whom are smarter than he is, but he’s not smart enough to see that.
In some ways, he is more dangerous that Harry or Nikki, as he has no moorings at all, other than feeling good about himself, which is not really that high a bar. He is, as the phrase has been bandied about in recent years, a useful idiot. He runs around Hollywood playing James Bond with a toy gun, seemingly harmless and with no one actually threatening him.
No matter what you think of Belloni and his journalism, he has definitely figured out a way to monetize his skills. He reports having 15,000 paid subscribers and around 35,000 free ones. I have twice that many free ones, but since everything I post is free, let's just say that I am severely lagging Belloni in the monetization race.
SOME HOMETOWN NEWS
Matt Williams had a very successful run in Hollywood as a writer/producer/showrunner. After spending three years writing on The Cosby Show, he was the co-creator of the spin-off A Different World. He went on the creator and executive producer of the hit series Roseanne and the co-creator and executive producer of Home Improvement. And as it turns out, he's from my hometown of Evansville, Indiana.
He has a new book out and was recently profiled in Evansville Living Magazine. It's fascinating to see what someone's life looks like after such an impressive Hollywood run:
Make no mistake: Although his creative juices are flowing, they are not sending him down the river back to screenwriting.
“I’m not doing TV. I’m not doing film. I don’t want to. I want to get back to writing books,” he says. “Every other week, somebody calls and says, ‘Would you be willing to …’ or, ‘We have an idea for a TV series, do you think …’ And I go, ‘Nope, nope, nope.’ I’m a grandpa who writes books. I’m not a TV producer anymore. I do consult with friends. I’ll read scripts, I’ll give them feedback. I’ll do that. But to get back into the hamster wheel of Hollywood — I’m not going to do that.”
For a town in Southern Indiana that is barely over 100,000 people, Evansville has managed to give birth to a lot of show business talent, including Ron Glass and Avery Brooks.
ODDS AND SODS
* The Frasier reboot has been renewed for a second ten episode season. No word on whether there will be any changes/additions, although I think there were a couple of subplots in season one that ended up not really working. But that's pretty much the norm with new (or sorta new) comedies.
* I like the Embedded Substack. But reading this piece touting the innovations of someone who's decided to go out on their own after being laid-off felt a bit like people being celebrated for reinventing the wheel. Since it is the kind of thing journalists like myself have been doing for....well, a very long time. Kids today..
* Season four of Prime Video's The Boys will premiere on June 13th.
* HGTV has ordered House Hunters: All Stars, a House Hunters spinoff that will feature HGTV's top real estate experts helping prospective buyers find dream properties in their own hometowns, including Mina Starsiak Hawk, Heather Rae El Moussa, Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, Galey Alix, Chelsea and Cole DeBoer, Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis, Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt, Rico León, Jasmine Roth, Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson, Page Turner and Veronica Valencia.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND:
* Avatar: The Last Airbender Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Death In The Dorms (Hulu)
* Jellystone (Max)
* Rory Scovel: Religion, Sex And A Few Things In Between (Max)
* Summer House Season Premiere (Bravo)
* The Ex Obsession (LMN)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23RD:
* Great Performances: George Jones: Still Playin’ Possum (PBS)
* Formula 1: Drive To Survive Season Premiere (Netflix)
* Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds (Disney+)
* History Of Evil (Shudder)
* Jenny Slate: Seasoned Professional (Prime Video)
* Married To The Game Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Mea Culpa (Netflix)
* Poacher Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Pokemon Horizons Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story (Hulu)
* The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth (Netflix)
* The Second Best Hospital In The Galaxy Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Through My Window: Looking At You (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!