Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, March 6th, 2026:
PRODUCTION NOTES
My apologies for the lack of a newsletter yesterday. I try very not to miss any - particularly with no warning. But I had a family issue come up.
Thank you for your understanding.
GRANTED, HOLLYWOOD IS THE CITY OF DREAMS. BUT YOUR DREAMS SHOULDN'T EXTEND TO YOUR COMPANY'S BOTTOM LINE
I really didn't want to write about the Paramount Skydance acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery again this week. But getting caught from yesterday, I finally caught the extended David Ellison interview on CNBC and while I don't want to be rude, it's clear there are certain things he doesn't want to talk about specifically. And tops on that list is how the company is going to cut another $4-6 billion worth of spending (excuse me "synergies") out of the two companies while also spending more on programming.
Now, there is a reason why CEOs feel comfortable going on CNBC. They are able to speak directly to the investor class and for the most part, while they can face a uncomfortable question or two, they aren't likely to get pressed by the anchors the way they would if they sat down for an in-depth print interview. And that certainly was the case when Ellison spoke with the network.
He continues to argue he can cut these multiples of billions worth of spending by doing things such as combining Paramount+ and HBO Max into one service and "synergizing" half of those jobs away. Aside from the fact that doesn't account for what it will cost to combine two services into one usable platform, it's not as if two streamers have huge engineering staffs.
And if we are being real here, the track record for any two companies in any industry coming together and successfully just firing half of the employees is not particularly impressive. Especially in the case of these two media companies, which have already undergone a series of "rightsizings." While I am sure there are a few extra workers hanging onto their jobs despite it all, there is no way you can cuts thousands of jobs and not deeply impact the business operations of the merged company.
And yet, Ellison continues to claim that somehow Paramount and Warner Brothers will somehow be able to make more theatrical films than they do now, and they'll be better! And he hints that the original streaming content budgets won't be significantly impacted. Although he is self-aware enough to realize that saying as a statement of fact will come back to haunt him.
The problem with where the companies are at now, it that they are at a place where any major cost-cutting effort will save money in one spot, but cost the company somewhere else. There has been some talk of Paramount reexamining the TNT live sports rights portfolio and perhaps sublicensing some rights or walking away entirely when the current contracts expire.
Which makes level of sense until you realize that Ellison is also talking about "reinvigorating linear." And that requires not only boosted spending on content for the linear channels, but keeping as many live sports rights as possible. Because the high per-subscriber money TNT and TBS garner is based on a lot of live sports. Making even a dollar per subscriber per month less for those channels translates into hundreds of millions in lost revenue.
But Ellison doesn't want to talk about that. He prefers to talk about vague technological efforts that will make the company more efficient and profitable.
All of which is CEO bullshit. But he can't tell the truth into the deal closes, because there is still a chance it could all go wrong. Then when the two companies officially come together, the cuts will be massive, as he is forced to hack off an arm and leg from the company in order to stay alive. While all the while claiming that hopping is a much more profitable way to do business.
HONESTLY, I'D RATHER SEE A REBOOT OF THIS SHOW THAN 'THE X FILES'
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere of the short-lived Fox series The Lone Gunmen. A pin-off of The X-Files, it featured the adventures of Byers (Bruce Harwood), Langly (Dean Haglund), and Frohike (Tom Braidwood), the three publishers of a conspiracy-centric supermarket tabloid named The Lone Gunman.
Polygon's Brian Vanhooker interviewed Vince Gilligan about the series, and it's a reminder that for all the random conspiracy theories it followed, the show also had some uncanny instincts about the fate of the world:
In the show’s pilot episode, which aired on Mar. 4, 2001, the trio investigates a plot where evildoers within the government plan to hijack a passenger plane via remote control and fly it into the World Trade Center. The script even contains the haunting line, “They’re going to crash the plane into the World Trade Center.”
The show was canceled after 13 episodes and trio were brought back on season nine of The X-Files in order to kill them off:
So, the show ends, and you get to do kind of a makeshift finale in The X-Files where the three characters die. I’m curious, do you know why the decision was made to kill them off?
Well, I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but what I will say is, that was really, really, really not my idea. I hated that idea and I fought against it and I lost. I got out-voted. I'm not going to cast any aspersions, but that was not a moment that I enjoyed on The X-Files and I enjoyed seven wonderful years on The X-Files.
That was not our finest hour as a show and that was not my favorite moment because, with the Lone Gunmen, I like to think of them still being out there. This sounds corny, but I don't think of them as being dead. I think of them still being out there. I don't do that with every show I love, but I kind of do that with Mulder and Scully, and I do that with the Lone Gunmen. I kind of wonder what they're doing now.
Fox had an amazing run of interesting dramas in the mid/late 1990s and many of them only lasted one season. None of the shows have ever been available for streaming, but if I could pick a job in the industry, one option would be scheduling a FAST channel with nothing but these lost dramas: The Lone Gunmen, VR 5, Space: Above & Beyond, Profit, Kindred: The Embraced, Strange Luck, Harsh Realm, Roar, Brimstone, Millennium, The Visitor, and FreakyLinks.
The big challenge with many of these shows is clearing the music rights. The 1990s was the beginning of the push to use current hits as needle drops in episodic shows and it would take some work to clear these. Still, it would cheaper than producing a couple of episodes of a high profile new series and then the episodes are cleared forever.
HERE'S WHY SCOTT PATTERSON ISN'T RETURNING TO 'SULLIVAN'S CROSSING'
Season four of the drama Sullivan's Crossing is premiering Monday, April 20th on The CW.
But the show is returning without one of its main leads. Scott Patterson (who played Sully) had been sent to Ireland to begin a "new life," but the presumption among fans was that he would return to the show at some point. But after Sullivan’s Crossing executive producer/showrunner Roma Roth issued a statement to Us Weekly explaining that Sully wasn't returning to show for "creative reasons," Patterson apparently decided to speak out and issued this statement on Thursday:
Here is the text of his complete statement:
Every actor knows what it’s like to fall in love with a character and a story. I fell in love with Sully and have nothing but fondness for him.
The creative differences were becoming untenable and I just sadly realized that the show was not something that I could agree to continue.
It’s unfortunate that it is now being implied that they moved on from me/Sully when the fact is the complete opposite, and those who sadly already have spoken out are also fully aware of this fact, and yet chose to say otherwise.
I was not intending to make any statement but the fans of the books and the show deserve to know the truth as I have always been respectful of those who support this industry by watching and loving these characters we are so dang lucky and blessed to portray and bring to life.
I really enjoyed Sully and fought for his voice and his character. The richness and depth of Sully, whom the fans of the books all know and love, is so multi-layered and interesting.
The fans deserved better than to think the embodiment of this character, me, would just disrespect not only the show, but them. In the end, we’re all fans of these characters and stories, and I’ll always support and defend the truth.
ODDS AND SODS
* Alex Rollins Berg's Underexposed newsletter takes a look at some "strangest, most unhinged movie sequels we never got to see." Including Forrest Gump 2: Gump & Co., E.T. II: Nocturnal Fears and Return To Casablanca: Brazzaville.
* The Night Agent has been renewed by Netflix for a 4th season that will shoot in Los Angeles.
* ABC has renewed High Concept for a third season. Although it will be looking for a new showrunner.
DARYL HANNAH IS REALLY UNHAPPY WITH FX'S 'LOVE STORY
It isn't often that you see a New York Times op-ed written by an actor complaining publicly about the way they are portrayed in a TV series. But actress Daryl Hannah is upset about the way the "Daryl Hannah" in Love Story is written and to be honest, I think she has a valid point:
The character “Daryl Hannah” portrayed in the series is not even a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John. The actions and behaviors attributed to me are untrue. I have never used cocaine in my life or hosted cocaine-fueled parties. I have never pressured anyone into marriage. I have never desecrated any family heirloom or intruded upon anyone’s private memorial. I have never planted any story in the press. I never compared Jacqueline Onassis’ death to a dog’s. It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false.
When so many people watch a dramatization that uses a real name, real-life consequences follow. In the weeks since the series aired, I have received many hostile and even threatening messages from viewers who seem to believe the portrayal is factual. When entertainment borrows a real person’s name, it can permanently impact her reputation.
I am sure that is especially frustrating for Hannah because - as she notes in the op-ed - the Kennedy family is notoriously private and she has declined to talk about her relationship John F. Kennedy Jr.
WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND
FRIDAY, MARCH 6TH:
* Boyfriend On Demand Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese (Hulu)
* Hello Bachon Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Outlander Season Eight Premiere (Starz)
* Still Shining Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Strangers In The Park (Netflix)
* The Dinosaurs (Netflix)
* The Pink Pill: Sex, Drugs & Who Has Control (Paramount)
* The Tik Tok Killer (Netflix)
* War Machine (Netflix)
SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH:
* Duck Dynasty: The Revival Season Premiere (A&E)
* Girl From Nowhere (Netflix)
* Sugar & Vice: A Hannah Swensen Mystery (Hallmark)
* Vanished In An Instant (Lifetime)
SUNDAY, MARCH 8TH:
* A Plan To Kill (Oxygen)
* Rooster Series Premiere (HBO)
SEE YOU THIS MONDAY!