Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, June 27th, 2024:
QUICK TAKE ON THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Yikes.
If you were hoping for a solid debate performance from Joe Biden, tonight's results likely feel like a body blow. Donald Trump might have been free flowing lie after lie, but he looked relatively strong and vital. Biden look dazed, standing at the podium with his mouth open as if he was a dog watching a fan. He meandered at time and his noticeably mumbled and rushed through answers.
His performance improved as the debate progressed, but Biden continued to talk as if he had just woke up from major surgery.
I wanted to Joe Biden to do well, but apparently this was not the night. The next few days are going to be very interesting.
ONE MORE THING ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
My piece in yesterday's newsletter about a change in direction at The Hollywood Reporter sparked a number of responses from readers, including current and former Penske Media employees. I am working on a larger stand-alone piece for tomorrow and if you have any thoughts, you can share them with me on background or off-the-record at
Many of the changes at THR seem to lead back to last August, when Maer Roshan was named co-editor of the outlet. He had previously been editor in chief at Los Angeles Magazine and before that was an editor at New York Magazine, Interview, Talk and 429.
As you might notice from that list, none of the outlets Roshan worked for are traditional entertainment news outlets and several of the people I spoke with today told me they don't feel Roshan particularly understood or cared about Hollywood and that lack of interest translated to a shift in focus in coverage.
THE MOST PAINFUL AWARDS SHOW YOU'LL EVER WATCH
Waiting for the presidential debate I turned on ESPN and watched a bit of the NHL Awards and it was nearly as difficult to watch as the Presidential debate. It was hosted by comedian Matt Friend, who somehow managed to do an opening monologue without one discernable punchline. Even worse, he did this bits where he did impressions of people that all managed to look and sound the same. It was bad enough that after one segment, when the next two presenters came to the stage, one looked at the other and said "I don't know how to follow that."
And the audience of hockey players, coaches and significant others looked glum and bored as if they were being held hostage. No one seemed happy to be there and it was just a stunningly cringy program.
IT'S A TOUGH TIME TO BE A JOURNALIST, PART 212
I am extremely open to the complaints about AI that are coming from actors and the other Hollywood trades because it's an issue journalists wrestle with on a daily basis. It's hard enough to get attention for your work and figure out a way to monetize it. But having sites rip off your reporting and post it word-for-word with their own ads (and often much better SEO) is infuriating.
And it is remarkably easy to do. Emanuel Maiberg at 404 Media decided to give it a try and spent just $365 to build an AI-powered “news” site that directly rips off 404’s original reporting optimized for Google and Adsense:
What I learned from this experiment is that flooding the internet with an infinite amount of what could pass for journalism is cheap and even easier than I imagined, as long as I didn’t respect the craft, my audience, or myself. I also learned that while AI has made all of this much easier, faster, and better, the advent of generative AI did not invent this practice—it’s simply adding to a vast infrastructure of tools and services built by companies like WordPress, Fiverr, and Google designed to convert clicks to dollars at the expense of quality journalism and information, polluting the internet we all use and live in every day.
It is a wonder that I am not a day drinker.
ODDS AND SODS
* If you're a fan of classic TV, you'll love this 13-minute collection of B-roll from a 1973 Minneapolis appearance by Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper.
* Netflix has ordered a third season of Perfect Match. Which means we are about one season away from Perfect Match: All-Stars.
* Ina Garten has signed a new exclusive multi-year deal with the Food Network which includes new episodes of Be My Guest.
* I wish I had thought about this first: NBC News asked the two leading AI chat models whether there would be a delay during tonight's presidential debate. And both answered "yes," and repeated a conservative media trope that CNN was going to delay the live feed 1-2 minutes, in order to help protect Biden.
* Art curator Racquel Chevremont joins Bravo's The Real Housewives Of New York City for the upcoming season fifteen.
* Slow Horses season four premieres Wednesday, September 4th on Apple TV+.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, JUNE 27TH:
* Diane Von Furstenberg: Woman In Charge (Hulu)
* Domino Day: Lone Witch Series Premiere (Sundance Now)
* Drawing Close (Netflix)
* My Lady Jane Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* That 90s Show Season One Part Two Premiere (Netflix) - [first look video]
* The Bear Season Three Premiere (Hulu)
* Young. Wild. Free. (BET+) - [first look video]
FRIDAY, JUNE 28TH:
* A Family Affair (Netflix)
* Beach Cottage Chronicles Series Premiere (Magnolia)
* Family Empire: Houston Series Premiere (OWN)
* Fancy Dance (Apple TV+)
* Guy's All-American Road Trip Season Finale (Food)
* Owning Manhattan Series Premiere (Netflix)
* The Devil's Bath (Shudder)
* The Mole Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
* WondLa Series Premiere (Apple TV+) - [first look video]
* Zombies: The Re-Animated Series Series Premiere (Disney)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!
Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, June 27th, 2024
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- By Rick Ellis
