Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, September 6th, 2024

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, September 6th, 2024:

PRODUCTION NOTES
The Friday newsletters tend to be shorter than the rest of the week and also the time when I can get caught up on what's going on here behind the scenes.

While I still believe offering up every newsletter for free has been a great way to cut through the clutter and encourage people to share the newsletter (I am regularly having 3 or 4 times the number of readers each day as subscribers), I do have a paid option. And if industry statistics are to be believed, I am lagging a bit on that front.

So over the next few weeks, you are going to see some new subscriber-only features, some designed to encourage more people to upgrade to a paid subscription. And some will be essentially "thanks for being a subscriber" bonuses.

In that latter category, a new feature is rolling out next Friday for paid subscribers. Each Friday morning, the paid subscribers will receive a short newsletter running down some items they can enter to win that week. Based on the response so far, it looks as if it will typically be 4-5 different items each week. Ranging from new TV-related DVD & BluRay releases to a free year to various streamers to more fun items such as TV-show branded dog treats or a Guy Fieri-branded Monopoly game.

As a subscriber, all you'll have to do to enter is click on a Google Drive page, select the contests you'd like to enter and you're set. Contest software will randomly pick out to names the following Thursday night. 

And by the way, if you are a studio, network or publicist who has something you'd like to giveaway to my readers, reach out to me directly.

In the category of things that might encourage people to pay for a subscription, I'm rolling out a couple of other items. Beginning a week from Sunday, I am bringing back the expanded rundown of listings of premieres for the upcoming week. You'll find not only the listings for every premiere, but there will also be links to show information, video and photos as well as exclusive interviews. The email is more detailed that you'll find anywhere and I think it will be of interest to both TV fans as well as those working in the industry.

And on Monday, September 23rd, paid subscribers will also be able to sign up for a short morning video. It will likely run 5 minutes or so, and I'll talk about some breaking story from that morning, perhaps something interesting that happened overnight in global television, whatever talking point of the morning I think you should know. I've been inspired to do this by Chris Cilizza, who does a great job with his daily videos.

There will be more paid subscriber-only content on the way as well. I have plenty of ideas, but right now the biggest challenge is just managing my personal bandwidth. 


ODDS AND SODS
* By far my favorite current HGTV series is Bargain Block, starring Evan Thomas and Keith Bynum. The duo buy essentially abandoned houses in Detroit and fix them up to resell them both for a profit and as a way of building up the value of the community. It's been fascinating to see their growth over the four seasons, from living in the houses they renovated in the early episodes to now having their own building and a  thriving business. The partners (both professionally and personally) are talented renovators, but also solidly entertaining personalities. Not in the typical HGTV over-the-top style. But they seem like a duo that would be a lot of fun to spend a few hours following around.

The new season of Bargain Block began this week, but the network also announced a premiere date for the inevitable spin-off series Bargain Block: New Orleans. That series premieres on Wednesday, October 9th. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to interview them, although my impression is that HGTV doesn't place a high priority on such things.

* The Great British Bake Off is returning to the UK's Channel 4 with a new season and today the network released an animated trailer for the episodes. Click here to watch the video. 

* The Donnie Walhlberg-hosted Investigation Discovery series Very Scary People started production this week on a new eight-episode season. According to the network, the series "offers an expansive look into society’s most evil minds, revealing unprecedented insight into their twisted crimes through rare in-depth interviews and remarkable archival footage."

* NBC announced today that it is moving to a four-day-a-week schedule for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Friday broadcasts will be a rerun.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND
Here is a rundown of some new movies and documentaries  that are worth watching this weekend:

Rebel Ridge (Netflix, Friday)
Some people have described this film as being very Rambo-esque. But Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) is a much more nuanced character, although the end result that comes from some small-town Southern cop screwing with him is a lot like what you might remember from that first Rambo film: a lot of destruction and mayhem. 

The film is tightly edited and the action builds in that way that transcends logic. At some point, Richmond is laser focused on revenge and bringing down a corrupt sheriff (played by Don Johnson). And you'll be rooting for him to make that happen, which is the mark of a successful action film. This is the type of movie you might have expected to see from Chuck Norris back in the 1980s, which is quite the compliment.

The Wonderland Murders & The Secret History of Hollywood (MGM+, Sunday)
The four-part docuseries is based on Michael Connelly’s (Bosch; The Lincoln Lawyer) hit Audible podcast of the same name. Directed by Alison Ellwood (San Francisco Sounds, Laurel Canyon), it examines the infamous Wonderland murder case in 1980s Los Angeles. There is a lot of archival footage, along with a series of interviews with the late Scott Thorson, who might be best known for being the "companion" of Liberace. Thorson was deeply involved in the case and to be kind, he is quite a character during interviews. It's a true crime story that had more than enough details to fill the four hours.

Earlier this week I spoke with Michael Connelly and Alison Ellwood about the documentary and the challenges of telling a story that ultimately has an ambiguous ending. You can watch the entire interview here.

TWEET OF THE DAY



WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH:
* Disco, Ibiza, Locomía (Netflix)
* Elisabeth Rioux: Unfiltered Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Family Empire: Houston Season Finale (OWN)
* Power Book II: Ghost Season Four, Part Two Premiere (Starz)
* Rebel Ridge (Netflix)
* Selling Sunset Season Eight Premiere (Netflix)
* The Demon Disorder (Shudder)
* The Money Game (Prime Video)
* The Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives Series Premiere (Hulu) 
* Whose Line Is It Anyway? Season Thirteen Premiere (The CW)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH, 2024:
* Attacked In The Woods (Investigation Discovery)
* Held Hostage In My House (Lifetime)
* His & Hers (Hallmark)
* Love & Marriage: Detroit Season Premiere (OWN)
* Love & Marriage: Huntsville Season Finale (OWN)
* Wise Guy David Chase And The Sopranos (HBO)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2024:
* Animal Genius Series Premiere (NatGeo)
* Bob's Burgers Season Premiere (Fox)
* Murder Below Deck (Lifetime)
* National Parks USA Series Premiere (NatGeo)
* The Great North Season Premiere (Fox)
* The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History Of Hollywood (MGM+)
* Victim To Verdict With Ted Rowlands Series Premiere (Court TV)
* Universal Basic Guys Series Premiere (Fox) 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH, 2024:
* Cabin In The Woods Series Premiere (Investigation Discovery) 
* Hot Wheels Let's Race Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
* My Brilliant Friend Season Four Premiere (HBO)
* POV: Name Me Lawand (PBS)
* Rachael Ray In Tuscany Season Finale (fyi)
* The Drew Barrymore Show Season Five Premiere (Syndicated)
* The Real Murders On Elm Street (Investigation Discovery)

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!