Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, January 16th, 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 CAN'T DODGE THE CONSERVATIVE CULTURE WARS
In this morning's video for paid subscribers, I talked about the latest Donald Trump plan for Hollywood, which involves some sort of weird "oversight" plan:
It's easy to dismiss the idea as another example of Donald Trump just riffing on social media. But if you look at this in the context of the comments from various Republican leaders - including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson - that conditions should be placed on wildfire aid to California, the comments might be an indication of a more serious push to intimidate Hollywood.
To be clear, I've never believed that media executives were particularly passionate about diversity or making content that more reflected America. Their job is to create value for shareholders, which also coincidentally also puts more money in the pockets of the executives. So cultural issues only matter to the extent that it matters to the company's users.
Still, I'm saddened by the willingness of executives to defer to what they perceive as the wishes of Donald Trump and his supporters. They seem to have convinced themselves that if they bend the knee now - without acknowledging in public that they are doing so - it will somehow make the problem go away.
But in the same way that a bear can smell fear, cultural bullies know when they've intimidated their opponents. And that knowledge just means they'll come back again with more suggestions, additional requests that are increasingly more difficult to resist.
That dynamic plays out in all sorts of ways. For CNN, it has meant the network has truly lost its way in a stunning fashion. From the time of the Warner Media/Discovery Communications merger, John Malone - who is an investor in the company and advisor to CEO David Zaslav - publicly complained that CNN was too partisan. And while it was never clear just what he meant by that, he seemed to have same attitude that other very wealthy white men seem to share in America right now. He felt that CNN's coverage was too hard on Donald Trump and his supporters and that there wasn't a "balance" to the coverage.
So CNN has spent the past several years flailing away, as it audience gets smaller and it becomes increasingly more isolated from the news zeitgeist. Because the truth is that none of the people arguing CNN is biased are making the claims in hopes the network will change in a way that will convince them to become regular viewers. They complain as a way to keep network executives off balance and make the network as irrelevant as possible.
Adding ultra-conservative voices to CNN such as Scott Jennings didn't bring in any conservative viewers. The network could probably add Donald Trump Jr. to the primetime lineup and it wouldn't change the mind of conservative news viewers. And even worse for CNN, those additions alienated existing viewers and led to endless segments of bickering which bring a lot of heat, but in the end are pretty boring to watch.
And tonight, Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter brings the news that current CNN head Mark Thompson has told longtime anchor Jim Acosta he wants to move Acosta's 10am show to midnight. Which seems like an odd request, given the show delivers some of the network's best ratings. So why make the choice? This paragraph provides an explanation:
Of course, it’s impossible to ignore the obvious: Sidelining Acosta would also work to curry favor with Donald Trump, who very much despises the CNN anchor. As one media executive I spoke to Thursday night candidly assessed to me, "They want to get rid of Acosta to throw a bone to Trump. Midnight is not a serious offer when his ratings are among the best on the network.
Currying favor with a bully never works out the way you hope it will. And I have this sinking suspicion that many media executives are going to learn that lesson the hard way in the next few years.
And along those lines, I will wrap this up with a paragraph from today's Deadline, which provides a pretty good indication of where this might be headed:
Media companies and studios are gearing up for the next administration, and they have tried to distinguish between the industry’s business concerns and the political stances of individuals in the creative community. Patrick Kilcur, who has led lobbying for the Motion Picture Association, is departing to Ballard Partners, a firm with substantial ties to Trump and his administration. Kilcur will continue to represent the MPA and other industry clients.
IT'S LIVE AID FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The biggest names in music are coming together to raise funds for those affected by the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
FireAid will be held at the Intuit Dome and Kia Forum on January 30th.
Musicians announced so far include Billie Eilish & Finneas, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gracie Abrams, Green Day, Gwen Stefani, Jelly Roll, Joni Mitchell, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Lil Baby, Pink, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rod Stewart, Sting, Stephen Stills, Stevie Nicks, Tate McRae, Dave Matthews Band, & John Mayer. More acts are set to be announced between now and the concert.
FireAid will be broadcast and streamed live on Apple Music and the Apple TV app, Max, iHeartRadio, KTLA+, Netflix/Tudum, Paramount+, Prime Video and the Amazon Music Channel on Twitch, SiriusXM, exclusively on LIFE with John Mayer, Spotify, SoundCloud, Veeps, and YouTube, and at select AMC Theatre locations in 70 US markets.
It is a massive undertaking, but a couple of things stand out. So far, there aren't any country acts included in the lineup and I don't know if it's because the generally conservative country music stars aren't interested or if the organizers didn't reach out. It's also interesting to me that according to the press release, every major streamer will be airing the event live...except Peacock.
I HAD NO IDEA TOM GREEN STILL HAD AN AUDIENCE
Amazon has announced a trio of new projects from Tom Green – a documentary, a comedy special and an unscripted series:
This Is The Tom Green Documentary launches January 24 on Prime Video. The Amazon Original follows Green’s early beginnings in Canada to Hollywood stardom and a full-circle return from L.A. to a rural farm in Canada.
The Amazon Original unscripted series Tom Green Country follows Green’s life on his country farm, which includes his 1,500-pound mule, a donkey and six chickens. It launches January 31.
His comedy special Tom Green: I Got A Mule!, which premieres January 28, was taped during his most recent sold-out stand-up tour across North America.
ODDS AND SODS
* I reviewed the new Hulu series Unmasked, which is a South Korean series that is equal parts Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
* Moonshiners star Everett “Kenny” Law died yesterday at the age of 68.
* The Food Network has renewed Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking for a second season.
* Fox has given a season two renewal to its crime series Murder in a Small Town.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16TH, 2025:
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)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17TH, 2025:
Back In Action (Netflix)
Henry Danger: The Movie (Nickelodeon)
Molly-Mae: Behind It All Series Premiere (Prime Video)
NFL Icons (MGM+)
Real Time With Bill Maher Season Premiere (HBO)
Roy Wood Jr.: Lonely Flowers (Hulu)
Severance Season Two Premiere (Apple TV+)
Shark Tank Spring Premiere (ABC)
Silo Season Two Finale (Apple TV+)
The Couple Next Door Series Premiere (Starz)
The Liberation (La Liberación) Series Premiere (Prime Video)
The Lies We Bury (LMN)
The Roshans Series Premiere (Netflix)
Undercover Party Crasher (MIssão Porto Seguro) (Prime Video)
Yellowstone Wolves: Succession (NatGeo)
Young, Famous & African Season Three Premiere (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!