Too Much TV: Thank God It's Friday Isn't Quite A Strong Enough Statement

Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, April 24th, 2026:

PRODUCTION NOTES
I have never been so happy for it to be Friday. And late on Friday at that. I truly appreciate everyone's patience this week and am reasonably sure the worst is over.

Here is a recap of where things stand on the big move to Beehiive:

* Paid subscription offers should be live for new subscribers this weekend. Anyone who had a paid subscription through Substack will have it automatically transferred over to Beehiive with nothing required on your end.

* Except if you're paid through Apple Pay. Because, well, Apple. If you pay through Apple Pay, you have to deal with the move yourself and you should receive an email from me this weekend explaining a couple of options.

* I am adding an extra month onto everyone's paid subscription once this is finished to compensate you for all the turmoil this week.

* I have had some people complain the font on the Beehiive version of the newsletter is too small. I upped the font size a bit yesterday and am doing the same thing today. Let me know if that's still a problem.

* I'm working my way through a list of one-off issues this weekend.

* When it comes to comments, I will be turning those this weekend. But I am considering a move to offer either a Discord or Slack channel for paid subscribers. This would be a partnership with several other like-minded newsletters, which should make the effort more fun. Let me know if you have a preference for either Discord or Slack.

Once again, I really appreciate your patience. Have a great weekend.

SPEAKING OF THE WEEKEND...
Tonight's newsletter may be the shortest on record. There is not much going on in the world of media right now and no one needs another think piece focused on the spineless behavior of the White House Correspondents. 

So enjoy the short newsletter and you will likely hear from me on the weekend. And next week, the goal is to get the daily newsletter out just before lunchtime on the East Coast, barring some breaking news that delays things.

ODDS AND SODS
* Tom Goodman has a good reminder of why should be taking advantage of the Hoopla and Kanopy streaming services. And as an FYI, I did an interview last year with Kat Zappa, the VP of digital acquisition at Hoopla.

* Prime Video has canceled Gen V after two seasons.

* Fox News Channel’s Jimmy Failla will host a special White House Correspondents’ Dinner edition of FOX News Saturday Night program this Saturday, April 25th at 9 PM/ET. "Taking place at the Washington Hilton, the two-hour special will feature Failla as he speaks with celebrities, politicians, athletes and his FNC colleagues as they make their way in and react to the dinner. Throughout the evening, Failla will not only get live reactions from dinner attendees, but will also engage with viewers via a live, interactive text messaging feature, where they will weigh in on everything from the red carpet outfits to mentalist Oz Pearlman’s performance and President Donald Trump’s speech as the night unfolds."

APPARENTLY IT'S NOT EASY WORKING FOR NETFLIX ANIMATION
I have heard stories from showrunners and creators who have worked for Netflix animation and complain the executive situation there can be chaotic. Marc Guggenheim (who writes the essential Legal Dispatch newsletter) writes today that he has been replaced on an upcoming Netflix animated project. And his story tracks with what I have heard from other people:

Suffice it to say, I had no idea this was coming. Netflix was extremely happy with the work we’d been doing — or did an Oscar-caliber job indicating otherwise. With the benefit of hindsight, however, this development was not only predictable, it also had an air of inevitability to it. After all, Netflix has already replaced the Head Writer on four other shows. Heck, they’d replaced PROJECT VISTA’s Head Writer with me. This practice of Head Writers lasting less time than your average air freshener is so commonplace — and not just at Netflix — that another Netflix animation exec told me, “Oh yeah. That’s what [the executive who had me fired*] does.” It was just arrogance on my part to think that it couldn’t happen to me.

*Said exec wasn’t in the room for my execution. She was “sick” that day.

These are the types of stories I hear from creatives on a regular basis. There are certain executives in the industry who are difficult to work for. But while it's an open secret behind closed doors, the stories never break containment and become public. So they continue to do their job poorly, without the possibility of anyone outside the business ever knowing the truth.

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND TOMORROW