Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, January 15th, 2025:
PRODUCTION NOTES
Just as an FYI, through the end of January, I'm matching all new paid subscriptions with a donation to the Entertainment Community Fund, which was formerly the Actor's Fund.
HOLLYWOOD IS LOSING THE SOCIAL MEDIA WAR
The Ankler has an interesting piece about the challenges of creating a social media viral moment if you are a studio or streamer.
The biggest challenge comes down to constrictions around talent. No studio wants to offend talent or imply that their vision for their project is somehow laugh-worthy. As a result, studios and streamers go out of their way not to offend anyone they work with. Which means that any attempt at an engineered viral campaign is going to result in a safe, lifeless effort that doesn't engage users:
Worthington has a theory that the bottleneck for the industry is the ecosystem that surrounds the talent involved in a project. “You have your agents, you have your publicist — everybody has an opinion on how their talent should look and feel and be perceived in the world, and nine times out of 10, their team is a little more sensitive than the actual talent themselves,” he says. “For archaic institutions — like agents, like some publicists — it behooves them to understand the value of social.”
We asked a veteran PR exec how studios and agencies can adapt to a world where users grab pieces of their material (or that of their clients) and turn it into content that they otherwise wouldn’t approve of and put out themselves. They pushed back on the idea that marketing doesn’t influence the digital discourse. “There is still messaging that’s said by PR, by marketing, by social media teams that tends to drive pieces of the culture and the conversation on social that in some way control what may or may not happen with user-generated content.”
I think if you wanted an example of why talent-approved viral campaigns don't work, that last paragraph pretty much explains it all.
Someone at The Ankler provided me with a link to non-paywalled PDF of the story if you don't have a subscription.
THE WEST WING SUCKS - A RANT
I have a complicated relationship with The West Wing. Yes, it's a great drama with a stellar cast and a vision of America and democracy that can be comforting in the times we live in.
And yet, I can't help feeling that there is an entire generation of people who The West Wing represents an authentic look at how politics and life insider the White House. And despite having some experienced political veterans on staff, the show paints a picture of American politics that doesn't exist. In The West Wing, the most important factor in the success is messaging. It often feels as if everyone in the show believes that any battle can be won if you can just find the perfect way to frame it.
As it turns out, I am not the only person who is troubled by the show. Longtime political journalist Chris Cillizza has a piece today in which he lays out the various reasons why he believes The West Wing sucks (as he puts it):
In everything from the way President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) thinks and makes decisions to the conversations his top aides have — totally unrealistic and not the way real people talk — everything is centered on policy.
What’s the best policy for the most people? What are the pro and cons of this policy? What do thinktanks say? (Of course, all of Sorkin’s characters are familiar with every single white paper ever released on a particular subject.)
When a character injects the idea of political calculation into any discussion, it is looked down on. And Bartlet/Sheen never makes BIG decisions based on politics. All of his decisions are because of deeply-held beliefs. Or some policy paper that he read in the middle of the night that led to a change in his thinking.
This is NOT how politics (or any effective White House) works. The reality is that political calculation sits at the heart of almost any decision that gets made or even considered. Presidents that don’t put politics at the forefront are usually one-term presidents.
The left tends to bristle at this fact. They want our elected officials to be high-minded — debating and deciding on issues based on the policy merits.
I know it's not a popular stance, but I think it's a more common feeling that you might realize if most of your friends are other show business types.
ODDS AND SODS
* Apple TV+ has apparently pulled the plug on season two The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin after production had begun. It's not clear what happened, I was just told the shutdown was due to the unavailability of show lead (and co-producer) Noel Fielding. I've reached out to Apple TV+ for more clarity and I'm not sure if the production halt is permanent and/or if it will restart once Fielding is available.
* The Guardian has a fun look at what is described as the best known and most-used cat screech sound effect in movies and television.
* Apparently the AOL Desktop client still exists and only costs $6.99 per month.
* In a first, Fox Media’s free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform Tubi will live-stream Super Bowl LIX on February 9th from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
* The Warner Bros. Discovery Q4 earnings call will be Thursday, February 27th at 8:00 am ET.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15TH, 2025:
An Update On Our Family (HBO)
A Real Bug's Life Season Two Premiere (Disney+)
Cristóbal Balenciaga (Hulu)
Public Disorder Series Premiere (Netflix)
Scam Goddess Series Premiere (Freeform)
Unmasked Series Premiere (Hulu)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16TH:
Castlevania Nocturne Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Divided By Design Season Premiere (HGTV)
Found Spring Premiere (NBC)
Harley Quinn Season Five Premiere (Max)
Hollywood Squares Season Premiere (CBS)
Law & Order Spring Premiere (NBC)
Law & Order: SVU Spring Premiere (NBC)
Lovers Anonymous Series Premiere (Netflix)
Mermicorno: Starfall Series Premiere (Max)
Paatal Lok (Prime Video)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
The Calendar Killer (Prime Video)
Unstoppable (Prime Video)
XO, Kitty Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON THURSDAY!