Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, February 19th, 2025:
READER FEEDBACK
I received a lot of feedback about the interview that appeared in yesterday's newsletter. Many of the comments focused on this exchange:
You didn't get it wrong, exactly. But I think you underplayed the legal stakes for the networks. President Trump signed an executive order that forbids American companies from pursuing DEI efforts. And like it or not, that's the law right now. Personally, I don't think it stands in the long run and I suspect some company will fight it all the way up the Supreme Court and win.
The phrase "that's the law right now" set off a lot of readers, and I can understand why. Legally, an executive order isn't "the law," even though an EO can direct enforcement at some agencies.
I spoke with my source again this morning for a few minutes on background and I was told the point they were attempting to make was that the Trump Administration executive order that focuses on DEI and diversity issues might not technically be a law. But given the current environment and the uncertainty around programs may or may not cross the line, the best thing to do is to treat the EO as if it were an actual law.
OTOH, I received a terse email from a corporate lawyer who also works in the media industry, who allowed me to share this part of the email exchange:
My advice has always been to slow walk everything. Issue some statement along the lines of "we understand the concerns," rework the programs with names that don't pop as much or even move some people around to confuse everyone. Anyone who has ever dealt with the business affairs office at a studio already knows we can drag decision making and changes to programs into the next century if we want to. These people might think they're smart because they've designed an app or won an election. But BA lawyers are the real ninjas when it comes to wearing down the other side.
Do you have any feedback or a tip? Email me confidentially at
DON'T READ TOO MUCH INTO THAT NETFLIX THEATRICAL RELEASE OF 'NARNIA' ON TO IMAX SCREENS
When Netflix announced it had negotiated a deal to release Greta Gerwig's Narnia for a global two-week Imax exclusive run beginning on Thanksgiving 2026, there was a lot of speculation from journalists that the move signaled some sort of shift of the streamer's policy towards theatrical releases.
I always felt as if that shift was overblown. Both Netflix and Gerwig made it clear the movie wasn't going to have a similar release on theatrical screens. And the number of Netflix original movies that can justify a two-week exclusive run on Imax screens is extremely low. For that matter, the same holds for movies released by any studio. A two-week Imax exclusive run is a pretty high bar to reach.
Imax had its earning call earlier today and chief executive Rich Gelfond told investors that while Imax might do a similar deal in the future, the negotiation process was extremely complicated:
“I’ve talked to Netflix about this and I think in general they are as excited as we are to do it. But we are not in a rush to do another one tomorrow. I think the factors have to come into place that work for everyone,” chief executive Rich Gelfond told Wall Streeters after Imax’s latest earnings.
“That deal took a pretty long time to put together,” he noted. “Obviously, there’s a lot of different constituencies with different agendas that go in there. So, we really had to construct something that would work for the exhibitors, that would work for Greta, that would work for Netflix, that would work for a lot of people. The right amount of windows. The right amount of playtime … It’s a fairly complex deal to have met all the various constituencies.”
ANOTHER GREAT NEWSLETTER
Reality Blurred obsessively and critically covers reality TV, unscripted entertainment, and true crime—focusing on how real-life entertainment is made and what it means, and sharing what’s worth your time.
Most Fridays, editor Andy Dehnart sends a newsletter with reviews and analysis; curated, recent reality TV news; and recommendations.
CBS PUSHES BACK ON TRUMP '60 MINUTES' LAWSUIT
CBS‘ legal team said in a court filing this week that the network planned to seek Donald Trump‘s personal financial information if the president’s $20 billion lawsuit against the network proceeds to a discovery phase:
The network’s attorneys outlined their likely requests in a filing in Texas federal court Tuesday. They also said they would seek the financials of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, the Trump Media & Technology Group and Truth Social, and the president’s $TRUMP meme crypto project.
“Defendants further anticipate that discovery will be needed into President Trump’s legal relationship, if any, with the Donald J. Trump for President 2024 campaign and the Trump Media & Technology Group,” the network’s legal team said in a joint proposed scheduling order.
This is a smart move by CBS lawyers, because they realize that one of the few things that motivates Donald Trump more than revenge is his desire to keep his financial information private. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
ODDS AND SODS
* Because I will review just about any show that surfaces on my radar, I may be the only TV critic in America who wrote about the "new fyi original" series Tiny House Nation: Memory Lane. Believe me, I took a bullet for all of you with this one.
* Season two of The Last Of Us premieres Sunday, April 13th on HBO.
* Hollywood critics of AI point to the fact that most video created by AI tends to look wonky. That is certainly the case for now. But ByteDance researchers recently demoed new AI tech called OmniHuman-1 that generates realistic deepfake videos from a single image. While I'm sure it's a best-case scenario example, this AI-generated Albert Einstein giving a lecture looks scary good.
* The true crime docuseries Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer premieres Monday, March 31st on Netflix.
* The eight-episode docuseries Onside: Major League Soccer features some of the sport’s most prolific athletes and leaders including Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy), Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union), Emil Forsberg (New York Red Bulls), Olivier Giroud (LAFC), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati), Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew), Pat Noonan (FC Cincinnati Head Coach), Wilfried Nancy (Columbus Crew Head Coach), David Beckham (Inter Miami Owner), and many more. It premieres Friday, February 21st on Apple TV+.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH:
Death In Paradise (Britbox)
Good Cop/Bad Cop Series Premiere (The CW)
My Family (Netflix)
Spartans: A True Story (Hulu)
Win Or Lose Series Premiere (Disney+)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH:
Bea's Block (Max)
How I Escaped My Cult Series Premiere (Freeform)
Memes And Nightmares (Hulu)
Reacher Season Three Premiere (Prime Video)
Zero Day Series Premiere (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON THURSDAY!