Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, April 30th 2025:
VALNET SUES THE WRAP FOR LIBEL OVER SWEATSHOP STORY
One of the challenges about publishing investigative stories is that you always run the risk of being sued. And unfortunately, getting the story correct doesn't protect you from being dragged into court anyway. Being in the right and eventually winning your case is small consolation if you were forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to get there.
As an independent journalist it's something I worry about. So I went through a bit of sympathetic PTSD today when The Wrap posted a story revealing they had been sued by Valnet over a story which argued the company was essentially a sweatshop:
The article, by senior reporter and named defendant Umberto Gonzalez, cites 15 current and former contributors who said Valnet routinely exploits writers, replaces them with cheap contractors and blacklists any who complain. One freelancer, Daniel Quintiliano, has filed a lawsuit claiming oppressive work conditions, and is seeking to establish a class action. Quintiliano’s lawsuit alleges that Valnet fails to pay minimum wage, overtime, provide meal or rest breaks and reimburse business expenses.
I haven't been able to get access yet to the court filing, but in The Wrap's coverage of the lawsuit, it provides these details:
Valnet, the digital media company that owns Screen Rant, Collider, CBR and MovieWeb, has sued TheWrap for $64.5 million in damages over an investigative article about the owner’s past ties to porn sites and “sweatshop” working conditions for its writers. The Canadian company claims that the March 20 article “Valnet Blues: How Online Porn Pioneer Hassan Youssef Built a Digital Media ‘Sweatshop’” libeled the company and its CEO Hassan Youssef and engaged in unfair competition by harming a rival business, citing itself as a competitor to TheWrap.
Now if a reporter can be sued for allegedly engaging in unfair competition because it wrote about a rival, I suppose I should expect a lawsuit from Penske Media. But I am not concerned about that because that it a ludicrous claim. And while I am no lawyer, I am not convinced that "reporting the true facts about a former business that the person would prefer not be made public" could be considered "libel."
But I suspect the two details are tied together because while the bar for proving libel in the United States is very high, one of the few ways to win a libel case is if you can prove malicious intent. In other words, the libel was designed to hurt Valnet's business because some of the company's web sites are competitors to The Wrap.
According to The Wrap, the company was also sued in Canada, although the details of the lawsuit vary a bit:
Robert Chapman, counsel for TheWrap, issued this statement, noting that Valnet has also sued the company in Canada:
“Valnet Inc. and Hassan Youseff have now filed two inconsistent, contradictory and meritless lawsuits,” he stated. “In one lawsuit, they claim they were harmed because TheWrap told the truth about them. In the other lawsuit, based upon the identical article, they claim they were harmed because TheWrap did NOT tell the truth about them. In one lawsuit they sued the reporter, Umberto Gonzalez, claiming he caused harm, and in the other lawsuit Mr. Gonzalez is not named as a defendant at all. Fortunately, there are judges and juries who will sort out these blatant inconsistencies and reject these claims.”
As I said, these types of stories hit close to home. Because while I have never been sued, I have been threatened by lawyers. And as an independent journalist, I worry that one malicious lawsuit could be an extinction level event for me.
TWEET OF THE DAY
IT'S NOT *EXACTLY* GOSSIP, BUT I'M NOT SURE IT'S ACTUALLY JOURNALISM
For a variety of reasons, one of the fastest-growing segments of entertainment journalism right now is the "they randomly said something on a podcast" story. Some celebrity is on a podcast, and in the middle of a two-hour conversation they make some comment that can be conflated in a headline to sound controversial. Which sets off a round of follow-up stories covering the reaction to the initial non-story.
For instance, Ryan Coogler is working on an X-Files reboot and a couple of weeks ago the subject came up during an appearance he made on Last Podcast On The Left. He was discussing his vision for the show and made the mistake of making this otherwise-innocuous comment:
Ryan Coogler recently gave an update on his upcoming reboot of The X Files, which he revealed is “immediately next” for him, noting that he’s “spoken to the great Gillian Anderson” about the series.
“She’s incredible. Fingers crossed there,” said Coogler.
That was enough to convince Deadline to do a story headlined "Ryan Coogler Has Spoken To Gillian Anderson About 'X Files' Reboot: "Fingers Crossed There." Which is *technically* what he said. But despite the way the headline was framed, neither Coogler or Anderson gave an indication that she might seriously be interested in the reboot.
And today Deadline has yet another follow-up on the story. Which - as it turns out - still isn't much of a story. The story headlined "Gillian Anderson Teases Conversation With Ryan Coogler About 'X-Files' Reboot: "If Anyone Were To Do It, I Think You Are The Perfect Person," recounts some brief comments Anderson recently made on ITV1’s This Morning while promoting her latest film The Salt Path:
“I spoke to him, and what I said was, ‘If anyone were to do it, I think you are the perfect person and best of luck, call me,’” Anderson said. “At some point, if the phone rings and it’s good and it feels like the right time — perhaps.”
First of all, the word "tease" is doing a lot of work in the Deadline headline. But also, that comment is the only thing she said about the project. So the rest of the story is a recap of Coogler's early comments, along with some year-old comments Anderson made about The X-Files reboot.
These types of stories are an increasing presence on entertainment news web sites. And while they're not terrible, per se. There's just not much to them?
APPARENTLY, I'M A MORON
I was looking forward to seeing the new Netflix series The Eternaut, a series based on the iconic Argentine sci-fi graphic novel of the same name, written by Héctor G. Oesterheld and illustrated by Francisco Solano Lopez, which was first published in 1957. Netflix didn't provide screeners, but it's only six episodes, so it's not too challenging to binge.
It's set in Buenos Aires, where a mysterious snow comes out of nowhere and kills everyone it touches. Early on, the series feels like one of those "survival during an apocalypse" shows, but then it becomes something more complex. I'll have a full review tomorrow and I don't want to give too much away to people who haven't watched it yet.
But I am *so* confused. The final moments of episode six end on a cliffhanger with what I suspect is supposed to be some earth-shattering reveal. Which I just can't seem to grasp. I know something is going on, but I've re-watched the ending several times and I still don't get it.
ODDS AND SODS
* The eight-episode thriller The Better Sister - starring Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks - will premiere Thursday, May 29th on Prime Video. Here is the official logline: "Chloe (Jessica Biel), a high-profile media executive, lives a picturesque life with her handsome lawyer husband Adam (Corey Stoll) and teenage son Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan) by her side while her estranged sister Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) struggles to make ends meet and stay clean. When Adam is brutally murdered, the prime suspect sends shockwaves through the family, reuniting the two sisters as they try to untangle a complicated family history to discover the truth behind his death."
* Puck's Dylan Byers is reporting that Shari Redstone asked George Cheeks if it would be possible to delay sensitive 60 Minutes stories about Trump or his policies until after she had closed the Skydance deal.
* Much to the surprise of just about everyone, the British-Canadian coming-of-age series Geek Girl has been picked up for a second season by Netflix, eleven months after the season one premiere.
* There has been another round of cuts in the TV side of NBCUniversal, focusing heavily on the unscripted division.
* The documentary Bono: Stories Of Surrender premieres Friday, May 30th on Apple TV+. Here is the logline: "Bono: Stories Of Surrender is a vivid reimagining of Bono’s critically-acclaimed
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30TH, 2025:
Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight (Netflix)
Careme Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune Season Premiere (ABC)
Cheat: Unfinished Business Series Premiere (Netflix)
Exterritorial (Netflix)
In The Kitchen With Harry Hamlin Season Two Premiere (IFC)
Jeopardy! Masters Season Premiere (ABC)
The Eternaut (Netflix)
The Rose Of Versailles (Netflix)
Turning Point: The War In Vietnam (Netflix)
THURSDAY, MAY 1ST, 2025:
Another Simple Favor (Prime Video)
Lucky Chow Season Premiere (PBS)
The Four Seasons Series Premiere (Netflix)
SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY!