Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, November 21st, 2024:
PRODUCTION NOTES
Tonight's newsletter is running late, because among other things, I was on the Twin Cities legendary AM talker WCCO, speaking with Jason DeRusha about Comcast shedding most of its cable networks. He also brought up this recent piece in which I recommended CNN adapt a more populist bent, because hating the Man is a non-partisan issue:
Over the past few years, focus group after focus group has found that a large number of Americans struggle with the same issues. They feel abandoned. Good-paying manufacturing jobs have left the country. And that impacts workers in every place from the deep rural south to the biggest urban cities. Local stores (with local jobs) have been swallowed up by large hedge fund-driven semi-monopolies.
It feels as if every aspect of America - all the important community institutions that used to bind us together - are now just hallowed-out piggy banks that are being sucked by private equity funds and then discarded.
And no matter the politics of the people you ask, they all feel as if they've been let down by the government. By the media. That the issues that are important to them are dismissed by power brokers on Wall Street and in the Federal Government.
And that's where I think CNN's focus should be. It needs to non-partisan voice of the viewers. It needs to be the voice of populism, the one place where issues that matter to America as a whole can be reported on and highlighted.
Jason brought up an interesting take on this, saying that the piece made sense to him in part because trying to figure out how to bridge the big partisan divide is an ongoing issue for non-political radio talkers like himself. WCCO is one of the last surviving big urban AM news talkers and while I think the station does really well overall, I suspect that it's a challenge trying to triangulate what audiences might want against what they'll listen to.
Much has been made in the Hollywood trades about the sizeable dip in viewership at both CNN and MSNBC in the post-election era. And many of the takes have been along the lines of "ratings will come back once Trump is President." However, I'd argue that this is the perfect time to recalibrate the news networks. Lean into populism, be a voice for viewers. In our conversation, Jason brought up the classic local TV news franchises like "5 On Your Side." Imagine what it would look like if CNN or MSNBC took that to heart and approached every news story through that consumer-friendly editorial lens.
SPEAKING OF CABLE NEWS
Lachlan Cartwright has a piece on The Ankler today about some of the turmoil at MSNBC following the announcement it was being spun off from Comcast:
Even before the spinoff was announced, MSNBC president Jones had been eyeing changes to the lineup, two people familiar with the matter tell me. Andrea Mitchell’s decision to exit her midday hour provides Jones an opportunity to shake up the schedule for 2025. The moves would see José Díaz-Balart depart his 11 a.m. slot for streaming platform NBC News Now, meaning Ana Cabrera could extend her 10 a.m. show an hour. Jansing would move up an hour, allowing Katy Tur Reports to start at 2 p.m. and extend to two hours.
Morning Joe lead-in show Way Too Early, which has been helmed by former Daily News man and now Politico White House bureau chief Jonathan Lemire, is set to name NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Ali Vitali to the sleep-deprived role, sources tell me.
In another cost-cutting move, Jones is considering a shakeup of the weekend lineup, with the Rev. Al Sharpton’s PoliticsNation, Jonathan Capehart’s The Saturday Show and Ayman Mohyeldin’s Ayman all under review. It’s situation normal for Jen Psaki, the former Biden comms chief who anchors the Sunday noon hour and is Maddow’s Monday lead-in.
I don't always agree with his takes, but Cartwright has some really good sources. Well, except for Keith Olbermann, whose presence in this piece doesn't contribute much.
Cartwright recently spent a bit of time at The Hollywood Reporter as a roving reporter, but the outlet never seemed to do much with him.
If it were my decision (and it is most certainly not), I'd blow out most of the current line-up, which tends to primarily be comprised of news and opinions from the previous week. The panel show with Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele (The Weekend) is especially clunky. And to be honest, the last thing I think the audience wants is to hear takes from people who have been part of the establishment party apparatus.
Play with some formats, ranging from a reboot of the old Chris Hayes early morning roundtable program to shows featuring new faces. It's the perfect, low-pressure place to experiment and it's likely that if the network did throw some long balls, something might catch fire.
GLOBAL TV AWARDS
I announced this a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to mention this again ahead of the December 1st deadline.
I am launching the first annual AYS Global TV Awards, with the nominations being announced on 12/1. Coming up with the best set of guidelines was tricky, because I am a staff of one and "global" covers a lot of ground. So here what I ended up with:
1) Titles must have premiered in the U.S. on a streamer or TV network between 12/1/2023 and 12/1/2024.
2) Titles must have premiered in their original country no earlier than 12/1/2022 (because there are often delays with a US release)
3) Titles must been produced in a language other than English
4) The categories include: Best Scripted TV Drama Series, Best Scripted TV Comedy Series, Best Unscripted TV Series, Best Original Streaming Movie, Best Documentary.
5) And there will be nominees in each category in three territories: Latin America, APAC (Asia Pacific) and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). In theory, I would break the Middle East and Africa into a separate territory, but while there are plenty of worthy titles, most of them haven't been released in the US.
If you have suggestions on titles I should include, let me know. I've received a number of great choices and I find myself dropping and adding titles in order to come up with the best results. Which is a good problem to have.
You can email me at
ODDS AND SODS
* MGM+ has renewed From for a fourth season. I know this streamer isn't on most people's radar, but it's original line-up is quite good and From is one of my current favorite shows on any streamer.
* The four-episode Friends-adjacent game show Fast Friends will premiere December 19th on Max. The show will test contestants on-themed trivia, puzzles and games.
* Season two of A Real Bug’s Life is set to premiere Sunday, January 15th of NatGeo.
* CNN has renewed Roy Wood Jr.-hosted series Have I Got News for You for a second season.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST, 2024:
A Man On The Inside Series Premiere (Netflix)
A Novel Noel (Hallmark Movie Channel)
A Wesley South African Christmas (BET+)
Based On A True Story Season Premiere (Peacock)
Cruel Intentions Series Premiere (Prime Video)
Dinner Club (Prime Video)
Human Vs. Hamster Series Premiere (Max) - [first look video]
Maybe Baby 2 (Netflix)
My Mother Stole My Life (LMN)
Nugget Is Dead: A Christmas Story (CBS)
Press Start Series Premiere (Peacock)
Saudi Pro League: Kickoff Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Sex Lives Of College Girls Season Three Premiere (Max)
Thomas & Friends: The Christmas Letter Express (Netflix)
Tokyo Override Series Premiere (Netflix)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND:
Bia And Victor Series Premiere (Hulu) - [first look video]
Blitz (Apple TV+) - [first look video]
Bread & Roses (Apple TV+)
Christmas On Call (Hallmark)
Great Performances: Patsy Cline: Walkin' After Midnight (PBS)
I Am Ready, Warden (Paramount+) - [first look video]
Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny (Hulu)
Joy (Netflix)
Outlander Season Seven B Premiere (Starz)
Out Of My Mind (Disney+)
Pimpenero: Blood & Oil (Prime Video) - [first look video]
Rita (Shudder)
Sago Mini Friends Season Three Premiere (Apple TV+) - [first look video]
Spellbound (Netflix)
Tex Mex Motors Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
The Empress Season Two Premiere (Netflix) - [first look video]
The Helicopter Heist (Netflix) - [first look video]
The New York Times Presents: Weight Of The World (FX)
The Piano Lesson (Netflix)
Tia Mowry: My Next Act Season Finale (WE tv)
Transmitzvah (Netflix)
When The Phone Rings (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!