Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025:
ABC RENEWS FIVE SHOWS
ABC announced on Thursday that it had ordered new seasons of four dramas and one comedy.
The network ordered season nine of 9-1-1, season twenty-two of Grey's Anatomy, season eight of The Rookie and season four of Will Trent. It also ordered a second season of Shifting Gears.
The only current ABC show that hasn't received a renewal is Doctor Odyssey, since both Abbott Elementary and High Potential have already been renewed.
The network didn't order any new pilots this season, but it did give a direct-to-series order to 9-1-1: Nashville, which will star Chris O'Donnell.
A BIT MORE ABOUT THE TCAS
After yesterday's long piece about the canceling of the Television Critics Association tour, I don't want to dive back into this much tonight. There was a zoom call for TCA members today and without getting into the weeds too much (or betraying any confidences), there seems to be a consensus that this is a good excuse to pivot the organization in a way that can continue to service critics and the networks & streamers they serve.
The slowdown in L.A.-based productions is a huge factor and the around-the-year production process. If I could wave a wand and fix things, I'd like to see the industry shift to a series of shorter, regional mini-press tours for TCA members. A couple of days in Atlanta, or Vancouver or Chicago. That cuts down the costs for networks and still provides the interaction between TV critics and the creative class that I think is important.
I'll also throw out there that last year during the summer TCAs I spent a day at one of the big streamers doing a series of off-the-record conversations with executives, marketing people and even some global TV folks. That was incredibly helpful to me and anytime I can get invited to something like that, I'm going to take advantage of it.
I also wanted you to a piece written by Eric Deggans, longtime NPR TV critic and TCA member. He also has a newsletter called Switching Codes and today's piece focuses on what he learned from his many years attending the press tour:
One of the last big damaging stories from a recent press tour came last year, when producers of The Bachelor were mute following my questions about how the show handles race. That moment was covered in scores of news outlets across the world and still gets mentioned in stories about the show more than year later. None of the three producers who fumbled that question still work on the franchise.
But that was the real power of the TV Critics Press Tours – the ability to force the industry to face critical questions about the industry by spotlighting them. Over the years, we managed to focus conversations on the lack of diversity in TV shows, sexism in staffing and production, production deals which led to terrible programming, racism, sexism and homophobia in content, high quality shows worthy of attention and more.
I hope the TCA and the networks figure out a way to make this process work in a way that makes sense for everyone involved. At a time when entertainment journalism is struggling to stay relevant and media companies continue to wrestle with content discovery, I think there's a bit here for everyone.
I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS
The Hollywood Reporter has a great interview with James L. Brooks, but it is also extremely frustrating. Brooks was doing the interview to promote his new movie and that conversation was fine. But he also talked a lot about his early TV work and I so wish the questions (and answers) had went down the rabbit hole a bit more. Honestly, I think I could spent 30 or 45 minutes just talking old TV shows with Brooks:
You had so many successes in quick succession that it would be easy to talk about all of the hit shows that paved the way for films. But you had one show that was short-lived. What did you learn from The Associates and its cancellation?
First of all, thank God success was steam. The Associates was Marty Short right out of the box. Pure, innocent, out of the birth canal Marty Short. It was fantastic. We had fun. The pilot for that show really worked. You don’t get this very often, but the last line of the pilot delivered the most explosive laugh on the show. It was set up very carefully. We had a terrible dress rehearsal and the show was going long. We needed to fix some things and we fixed them. The last line hit and it was pretty special.
And that was it about The Associates. Which, by the way, might be my favorite Martin Short role. And if you notice, Brooks didn't actually answer the question he was asked.
But speaking of not answering this, I feel like there is a lot more to the story that Brooks told. Or maybe he just wasn't asked the right follow-up question:
You did not rest on your laurels. After creating a hit show, you moved on to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I read how it was initially unpopular at CBS and they wanted to fire you. Grant Tinker, whom you’ve called “one of the best bosses,” demanded they keep you. How difficult was that for you?
It’s going to be hard for you to believe this, but we went in to present to Fred Silverman, the legendary guy in charge of programming at the time. I think there were 15 executives in a semicircle with the three of us sitting across from them. We presented them with what the first iteration would be. It had Mary being divorced. We went in there with a bad idea, not knowing it was a bad idea. We had Rhoda Morgenstern in it at the time, too, and one guy said, “There are two things the American public doesn’t like: Jews and people with mustaches.” I had a mustache at the time, and I’m Jewish. (Laughs.)
How did you respond?
I was scared. I’d never been in a meeting like that before. I was scared and I just wanted a job. But Grant had us step out and he took care of it. It wasn’t until years later, after the show was on, that we found out what had happened in there.
So...what happened in there? Talk about a cliffhanger.
THE IMPACT OF TARIFFS
It's still unclear in many cases the specific impact these newly-imposed tariffs will have on the television and entertainment industries. But while the actual production of TV shows might not be severely impacted, the same can't be said for the hardware of the television industry. The newsletter Lowpass has a rundown of just of the electronic devices likely to be impacted and it's a wide range of products:
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TCL, one of the biggest TV makers of the world and a major manufacturer of both Roku and Google TV sets, has been growing its manufacturing capacities in Vietnam. The company is expected to make 7 million TV sets in the country this year. The majority of those TVs are supposed to go to the US.
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Both Samsung and LG have major display factories in the country; LG recently invested $1 billion in its Haiphong OLED factory, while Samsung plans to build a $1.8 billion OLED factory in the country.
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Meta is manufacturing its Quest 3s VR headset in Vietnam, and has relied on the device’s $300 price tag to grow the target audience for its metaverse ambitions.
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Roku has been manufacturing some of its streaming sticks in Vietnam.
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Walmart-owned Vizio is importing some of its TVs from Vietnam.
And Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter is reporting tonight on comments Disney CEO Bob Iger made earlier this morning at an ABC News editorial meeting:
Iger joined the conversation. The Disney boss, according to people familiar with the matter, referenced two new Disney cruise ships currently under construction and pointed out how reliant they are on steel, indicating that the tariffs will likely drive up Disney’s costs, though it’s unclear by how much. If prices climb too high, Iger said in the closed door meeting, the company might need to scale back spending.
And Iger was just getting started. As the conversation around tariffs unfolded, he kept jumping in—offering more of his unfiltered views to the ABC News staff.
He remarked, for instance, that most people don’t really understand how tariffs work—a comment some ABC News journalists interpreted as a push to help their audience connect the dots.
Iger further cautioned against the idea that companies can simply shift manufacturing to the U.S. overnight, pointing to Apple’s Foxconn plants in China. Those factories, he noted, employ hundreds of thousands of highly specialized workers—the kind of skilled labor force that would take significant time to replicate domestically. It’s not just about hiring, he said, it’s about building and training a workforce in very specific areas.
The Disney boss wrapped by noting that if any company is telling Trump they can speedily move manufacturing to the U.S., they’re not being forthright.
ODDS AND SODS
* A new FilmLA report shows studios reporting the fewest number of onstage shoot days in recorded history.
* The new Netflix limited series The Gardener, "tells the story of Elmer and his controlling mother, La China Jurado, manager of a garden center that hides another thriving underground murder-for-hire business. Killing is easy for Elmer. An accident had left him emotionless. However, while planning the murder of Violeta, a charming nursery school teacher, he falls in love with her. Now, Elmer must learn to love while his mother does everything possible to end Violeta's life." Here is a first look at the trailer.
* In a move that illustrates the not evening Paramount cares about MTV anymore, the company announced that the MTV Video Music Awards will air on CBS this year for the first time. I don't know, maybe they should just air them on YouTube?
* Variety has a piece on American Pickers, which is a VERY loosely-written take on an interview in People Magazine featuring series star Mike Wolfe, who told the magazine he was at former co-host Frank Fritz's bedside for his death. I'm sure Wolfe is sincere in his thoughts about Fritz, but he made a point of mentioning that he hold them Fritz that he "forgave him" on his death bed. Which is pretty strange, given that when Fritz left American Pickers after a stint in the hospital, he was very publicly vocal about his being forced from the show so Wolfe could bring his brother onto the show to replace him.
* Apple TV+ has announced that season three of Jane will premiere on Friday, April 18th. Here is a look at the trailer.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, APRIL 3TH:
Devil May Cry Series Premiere (Netflix)
Flipping 101 With Tarek El Moussa Season Premiere (HGTV)
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season Premiere (Netflix)
Pulse Season Premiere (Netflix)
Rock Is A Lady's Modesty Series Premiere (Hidive)
Savor The City Series Premiere (TV One)
SurrealEstate (Syfy)
The Bondsman Series Premiere (Prime Video)
The Brilliant Healer's New Life In The Shadows Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Wind Breaker (Crunchyroll)
FRIDAY, APRIL 4TH:
Bye, Bye Earth (Crunchyroll)
Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Dying For Sex (Hulu)
825 Forest Road (Shudder)
Fire Force Season Three (Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix)
Karma Series Premiere (Netflix)
Secrets Declassified With David Duchovny Series Premiere (History)
Secrets In The Foundation (LMN)
Test (Netflix)
The Never Ever Mets Season Premiere (OWN)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!