Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, September 24th, 2025:
A WATERSHED MOMENT IN LATE NIGHT TELEVISION
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returned to ABC Tuesday night and Kimmel's opening monologue was a note perfect distillation of the importance of entertainment in protecting politics and free speech. The entire opening 18 minutes matched the moment and it reminded me of David Letterman's first post 9/11 monologue. It was powerful, thoughtful and yet never forgot the importance of resonating with the home audience. And opening with a nod to what Jack Parr said 60-ish years ago when he returned to The Tonight Show ("And as I was saying...") was a nice touch.
<Here is a link to the full monologue on YouTube>
The overall tone of the opening segment was fairly easy to predict, as I mentioned in yesterday's newsletter:
My suspicion that will include a non-apology that sorta sounds like one, a lot of talk about freedom of speech, perhaps an admission that his jokes last week were "ill-timed" and he'll express hope everyone can learn from this and move on. There's also a chance he might apologize to the Kirk family "for any hurt he caused."
And while he did hit all of those points, what made the first two segments of the show so striking is the emotion behind it. In the early moments, he frequently teared up discussing the events of the week and the support he felt from his fellow late night talk show hosts ("I even heard from Jay!"), the audience and even from people who disagreed with him. In the "A" block of the show, Kimmel mostly didn't mention Trump by name, but had some fun with comments by Ted Cruz and FCC head Brendan Carr.
But after a commercial break, the monologue continued with a relentless stream of shots at President Trump and Carr. Robert DeNiro even showed up by video, playing the "new head of the FCC." Of course, DeNiro did some mobster references, but he was surprisingly funny and struggled to hold his composure towards the end of the bit. I don't know if I've ever seen the actor having that much fun with a sketch.
Overall, it was a near flawless way to come back. Kimmel thanked Disney for its support over the years, although he admitted that he didn't agree with the decision to bench him. But he also seemed to revel in the irony that pressure from the Trump Administration likely resulted in the largest late night audience of his career. He also asked the audience to support any other late night host who is targeted by the Administration and frequently reminded viewers of the importance of free speech.
It's going to be interesting to see how the FCC responds and if Carr opts to just go after another Disney show instead. It took the company too long to get there, but it feels as if Bob Iger and other executives have decided they have to draw a line in the sand now, or the company will pecked to death by endless complaints and demands from the Trump Administration.
What seems clear is that Kimmel's return is seen as victory by the Left and supporters of free speech. Optimism is the opponent of oppression and after Tuesday's show, there are a lot of Americans feeling slightly better about the future.
DONALD TRUMP IS NOT AMUSED
HALLMARK PLUS ADDS THEMED CHANNELS
While Hallmark Plus isn't adding the various Hallmark linear channels to its offerings (at least, not yet), it is doing Beta tests of some genre-themed "live" channels.
On an unrelated note, I find it strange that Hallmark Plus won't allow non-subscribers to even browse the service without signing up for a subscription. Given its challenges growing subscribers, why put another piece of friction in the process? Give visitors an idea of what they're missing, in hopes they'll sign up. For that matter, once a visitor has browsed a bit, have a pop-up show them a special discount, since they likely are already considering a subscription, but may be on the fence.
TWEET OF THE DAY
APPLE TV+ HAS PULLED THE NEW DRAMA 'THE SAVANT' BECAUSE OF....REASONS
Apple has pulled The Savant, its series starring Jessica Chastain’s hunting down white supremacist cells across America, from its immediate release schedule. The series was set to premiere this Friday and the streamer has not announced a new release date.
In the series, "The Savant" (Chastain) as she infiltrates online hate groups in an effort to stop domestic extremists before they act. Here is the trailer, to give you an idea of what to expect.
I've watched the screeners for the series and since I'm assuming the embargo is still in effect, I'll just say that I don't recall anything which might feel uncomfortable to watch following the death of Charlie Kirk. Unless the idea of targeting right-wing domestic terrorists is inherently unsettling. Which probably says more about the sensibilities of conservatives right now than anything else.
But the show being pulled also is another indication that every media company is playing it extremely safe right now. Even when they don't need to do so.
LURING THE GEN-Z AUDIENCE TO LINEAR TELEVISION SHOWS
The newsletter Like & Subscribe has a great piece on the ways networks and producers are using short clips and other methods to get the attention of a generation who doesn't watch a lot of linear TV:
Even if you never watched FX's Adults, you might have caught clips of it on TikTok or YouTube. The Gen Z-centric sitcom, created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw, which premiered in May, cracked Hulu's top 10 for just two weeks, and didn't make any Nielsen charts. Still, it turned up in plenty of social media feeds, maybe yours.
That's thanks to Max Peterson, whose company Clip was hired to disseminate clips from the show starting on May 31, three days after its debut. Peterson, 22, was hired not by FX or Hulu (where the show streams) but by a producer on the series who sought an out-of-the-box strategy for a series targeted at a younger, more online audience. The campaign commenced with just a $3,000 budget for clippers — hired and shepherded by Peterson — who could earn $1 per 1,000 views.
“We basically put the whole season one in a Google Drive folder and gave it to these editors and clippers to kind of go ham,” Peterson says.
ODDS AND SODS
* Fox's Baywatch reboot has landed a 12-episode straight-to-series order with a premiere during the 2026-27 season.
* In what is one of the more perplexing strategic decisions of the year, Disney moved forward with its plans on Tuesday to announce it was boosting the monthly price of its various streaming services. Yep, that will really help lure those subscribers who recently cancelled back into the fold.
WHAT'S COMING TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH:
* Help! I Wrecked My House Season Premiere (HGTV)
* Hotel Costiera Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent Series Premiere (The CW)
* Marvel Zombies (Disney+)
* Next Gen Chef Season One Finale (Food)
* Shark Tank Season Seventeen Premiere (ABC)
* Slow Horses Season Five Season Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Survivor Season Forty Nine Premiere (CBS)
* The Change (Britbox)
* The Golden Bachelor Season Two Premiere (ABC)
* The Floor Season Four Premiere (Fox)
* The Guest Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Season One Finale (Prime Video)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH:
* Alice In Borderland Season Three Premiere (Netflix)
* America’s Got Talent Season Twenty Finale (NBC)
* Cleopatra's Final Secret (NatGeo)
* Cocaine Quarterback: Signal-Caller For The Cartel (Prime Video)
* Do It For The Gram (ALLBLK)
* English Teacher Season Two Premiere (FX)
* E! News Series Finale (E!)
* Hell's Kitchen Season Twenty-Four Premiere (Fox)
* House Of Guinness Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Law & Order Season Twenty-Five Premiere (NBC)
* Law & Order: Organized Crime Season Five Premiere (NBC)
* Law & Order: SVU Season Twenty-Seven Premiere (NBC)
* Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (The CW)
* Lynley Season One Finale (BritBox)
* 99 To Beat Series Premiere (Fox)
* Project Runway Season Twenty-One Finale (Freeform)
* Shark Tank Season Seventeen Premiere (ABC)
* Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season Four Premiere (Fox)
* Survivor Season 49 Premiere (CBS)
* The Amazing Race Season Thirty-Eight Premiere (CBS)
* The Man In My Basement (Hulu)
*The Red Queen Series Premiere (AMC+)
* Wayward Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Season Four Finale (ABC)
SEE YOU EARLY THURSDAY MORNING!