Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, April 7th, 2025:
PRODUCTION NOTES
I mentioned several weeks ago that I'm going through some medical stuff right now and it might take me offline every so often for a day or two.
This is one of those weeks. I have a procedure coming up this week and while it won't involve an overnight hospital stay, it'll take me a bit to recover. So there won't be a newsletter, subscriber-only video or anything else Wednesday and Thursday. I should be able to get at least a newsletter out on Friday, assuming things go as expected.
Thank you in advance for your patience.
TV PRODUCTION BRACES FOR TRUMP-INDUCED STICKER SHOCK
The Ankler's Elaine Low has a piece today that attempts to predict the possible impact the Trump tariffs will have on Hollywood and it certainly captures the ying and yang of sentiment in the American entertainment business right now. First, there is the impact the tariffs will likely have on the construction and set side of the business:
Labor makes up most of a production budget, he says, referring to both above-the-line talent — actors, writers, directors — and below-the-line crew. “But certainly a big percentage of the budget goes to consumable items. We sometimes refer to them as ‘appetite accounts,’ in the sense of . . . How much money do you want to spend on props? How much money do you want to spend on set construction? Set construction is all labor and raw materials.”
If the cost of goods and materials all rise — off-the-rack clothing, fabric for costumes, steel, lumber, you name it — the studio isn’t going to pony up and expand the budget.
“I don’t think Netflix, Amazon or NBC are going to say, ‘Okay, well, because of the fact that there are tariffs, and costs of goods have gone up, we’re going to give you an increase in your budget,” says this studio production exec.
But this paragraph also highlighted the desperate optimism of some people in Hollywood who are looking for a silver lining, no matter how unlikely the source:
Yet there’s still some hope that somehow Trump’s interests and Stay in L.A.’s could align, despite Trump’s disdain for California and Newsom. “If there was suddenly some sort of nationalism happening,” says Bryan Buckley, founder of the commercial production company Hungry Man, which has done work for Apple, Hulu and NBC, “that would potentially bring business back to the U.S.”
I think this is an EXTREMELY optimistic take on the situation. But I understand everyone's near desperation to see better days ahead. Somehow.
(BTW, here is a non-paywalled link to a PDF of the story)
LEGAL WRANGLINGS CONTINUE BETWEEN DONALD TRUMP AND PARAMOUNT OVER '60 MINUTES' INTERVIEW
The NY Times reported on Monday that Paramount and lawyers for Donald Trump have agreed to a mediator in the president's $20 billion lawsuit against the media company and the newsmagazine 60 Minutes:
While lawyers for CBS News and Mr. Trump file dueling legal briefs, the company is inching toward a merger with Skydance, an upstart Hollywood studio backed by the tech billionaire Larry Ellison. Some executives at Paramount believe that settling the case with Mr. Trump would help grease the wheels for that merger, which is awaiting approval from the F.C.C.
At the same time, lawyers for Paramount Global entered a filing in federal court on Monday accusing Donald Trump's legal team and co-defendant Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) of "failing to provide documents that would shed light on how they came up with their massive damages claims."
The lawsuit filed by Donald Trump (which later added Rep. Jackson on as a co-plaintiff) claimed various Trump companies including the company that owned the social media platform Truth Social had suffered massive losses due to what Trump's lawyers argue was a purposely inaccurate edit of a 60 Minutes interview with then Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Monday's filing notes a number of ways in which Donald Trump and Rep. Jackson have failed to provide discover to the defendants, despite a court order:
• Both President Trump and Representative Jackson cited executive privilege as a basis not to produce documents even though the Requests do not relate to events when President Trump was in office or even after he was re-elected.
• Both President Trump and Representative Jackson cited the “congressional privilege” as a basis not to produce documents even though the Requests do not relate to Representative Jackson’s activities as a legislator.
• President Trump and Representative Jackson object to disclosure of their locations on the dates of the Broadcasts in October 2024 – or whether they were in Texas – citing that such information would “breach the preservation of national security.”
It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I figure there is a 50/50 chance this case blows up, despite both sides basically wanting it to go away.
HOW 'DEADWOOD' HELPED LAUNCH NETFLIX'S ORIGINAL CONTENT BUSINESS
Semafor recently posted an interview with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos that originally appeared in its invite only CEO Signal. I'll leave the discussion of whether a CEO-only platform is the best outlet for Netflix to make its case to the industry for another day. But I thought this story does a nice job of framing just why Netflix felt as if it had to go all-in on original content:
Early in its streaming days, the message from customers was that the content on Netflix was “horrible,” Sarandos recalls. “There was nothing to watch.”
As chief content officer, that was his problem. The reason was that studios were “protecting the downside,” he explains, defending deals with strict windows for cinema screenings, television syndication and home video distribution.
Netflix responded by making the most of what was left — shows that had been canceled, had too few episodes to be worth syndicating, or were too foreign or risqué for broadcasters to be interested. That led to early hits like Arrested Development, La Vie en Rose, and Pan’s Labyrinth. But as Netflix’s reach grew, Sarandos began to believe that threatened rivals would essentially embargo their content. He put that idea to the test.
“I said, ‘Let’s pick a show that would be impossible for them to sell anywhere else, and let’s offer an enormous amount of money, and if they say no to that, then we’re never going to get there,’” he recalls. The show was Deadwood, with language “so filthy” that no broadcaster would take it. When HBO turned his offer down, Sarandos knew: “We’d better get good at this ourselves."
He also repeated what he has said several times recently about the reasoning behind why Netflix isn't interested in theatrical releases of its original films:
Netflix remains ruthlessly data-driven. Asked why it refuses to release films in movie theaters, Sarandos points to the theatrical box office’s failure to bounce back post-pandemic. The average American goes to the movies twice a year, while his typical subscriber watches seven films a month on Netflix, he observes. “You’ve got to look at that and say, ‘What is the consumer trying to tell you?’”
Like it or not, Netflix has a clear idea of its business model and what works for the company. I'll just diplomatically suggest that not every large media company is as clear-headed about their own futures.
ODDS AND SODS
* Two years after being laid off by ESPN (and sidelined from everything from sports writing to videos by a non-compete contract), Joon Lee has launched a YouTube channel and Substack. His first video focuses on what is wrong with sports media and it resonated deeply with me, although I am at best a casual sports fan.
* As proof that our long national nightmare is no where near being over, in an appearance on Monday at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said that he is “leaving all the doors open” to a potential presidential bid.
* The Food Network is leaning into nostalgia with the return of Cutthroat Kitchen. Now called Cutthroat Kitchen: Knives Out, the premise of this version sounds close to that of the original, with the big change being that Alton Brown (who hosted the original for 15 seasons) is now being replaced by Brian Malarkey. Which is certainly a choice.
* If you have watched Netflix's gripping Adolescence, you might have heard a mention of the "80/20 rule. Here is a really solid explanation of that from Lifehacker.
* Acorn TV has greenlit Allie & Andi, a new detective series starring Brooke Shields, who will also executive produce. Here is the logline: "Set in a quaint New England colonial town, Allie & Andi is a six-episode murder mystery series following a bestselling novelist (Shields) who forms an unlikely alliance with an aspiring writer and influencer to find the killer of a close friend. The series will go into production this fall and premiere in 2026."
* The three-part docuseries The Bakersfield 3: A Tale of Murder And Motherhood will premiere Sunday, May 11th on Investigation Discovery. Here is the official logline: "In the spring of 2018 over the course of just 34 days, a young woman and man went missing, and another young man was murdered in Bakersfield, California. While initially thought to be tragic but unconnected events, a string of coincidences unearthed by the victims' mothers led to the realization that these three cases were entangled with one another. Desperate for answers, they banded together in their unyielding quest for the truth, dubbing their children's death and disappearances as "The Bakersfield 3." Now, this three-part docuseries charts the mothers' journey as they navigate through a labyrinth of clues, dead ends, and unexpected revelations to find out what really happened to their children - and how exactly they were connected."
* Pam Levine, who recently left the role of Head of Marketing at Disney Branded Television and National Geographic, is going to Netflix as VP, UCAN Marketing & Publicity.
* Shudder has ordered the unscripted horror-based competition series, Guts & Glory from special effects artist, director and executive producer Greg Nicotero.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
MONDAY, APRIL 7TH, 2025:
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai (Crunchyroll)
Blippi's Job Show Series Premiere (Netflix)
#Compass2.0 Animation Project Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Kill Tony: Kill Or Be Killed (Netflix)
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
90 Day Diaries Season Premiere (TLC)
Summer Pockets Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
The Chelsea Detective (Acorn TV)
The Hunting Party Season One Finale (NBC)
TMZ Presents: The Menendez Brothers: The Prison Interview (Fox)
ZatsuTabi -That's Journey Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
TUESDAY, APRIL 8TH, 2025:
Apocalypse Hotel Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Forever Series Premiere (Netflix)
How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast) Season Premiere (Netflix)
Kian's Bizarre B&B Series Premiere (Netflix)
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Series Premiere (Prime Video)
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman (Netflix)
Spy High (Prime Video)
The Clubhouse: A Year With The Red Sox (Netflix)
The Handmaid's Tale Season Six Premiere (Hulu)
The Shiunji Family Children Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!