Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, October 8th, 2025:
A BIT OF SELF-PROMOTION
I’ve lived in the Twin Cities a long time and it can be a frustrating experience if you are in the media business. I’ve found it incredibly difficult to convince other journalists in town to write about what I am doing. Partly because I have a mostly national (and international) audience and they don’t feel like is is a local story. But also I think because it’s still difficult for many people to conceptualize what I do. Many legacy journalists still thought of someone running an independent web site and newsletter as being the stereotypical “overweight guy living in his parent’s basement.” It doesn’t feel like a real profession, so convincing journalists to write about it is challenging.
But that is thankfully changing and I appreciate Vince Tuss at the Minnesota Star Tribune for this wonderful profile (gift link), which was based on a piece he originally did for his Substack. Please go take a look at it.
THE STORY OF KING RECORDS
On Friday, most PBS stations will premiere the documentary King Of Them All: The Story Of King Records, which tells the story of the fabled King Records. Founded by Syd Nathan in Cincinnati, King Records became one of the most successful independent labels of its day - producing and releasing music by James Brown, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, The Stanley Brothers, Little Willie Brown and many, many more.
The one-hour film (which will apparently be released at some point in a longer version) tells a truly fascinating story of a record label most people probably haven't heard of before now. It was arguably as influential in its way as Motown or Stax Records. But because of the type of music they released, it wasn't always given the same attention in the media.
There are a number of jaw-dropping stories in the film, but my favorite centers around the iconic live album James Brown: Live At The Apollo. Iconic is a word that is incredibly over-used, but it fits in this case. This is a live album that routinely is at the top of critic's "Best Live Albums Of All-Time" lists. And yet, there is a secret not many people know.
Nathan wouldn't pay for the live recording, so James Brown paid to have it done out of his own pocket. Unfortunately, the audience wasn't properly miked during the show and the crowd could barely be heard. So a King Records engineer decided to find an audience to record so he could sweeten the sound. He found a local sock hop filled with teenage girls, and recorded their reactions to music all night. Then carefully spliced it into the final version of the live album. So much of the audience you hear on the album James Brown: Live At The Apollo actually comes from a sock hop filled with Jewish girls just outside Cincinnati.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with the film's director, Yemi Oyediran. I'll be posting the entire interview late Thursday, but I wanted to provide this excerpt ahead of time:
King Records starts out primarily, well, they used to call it Hillbilly records. Appalachian music. And King later also moved into R&B music as well and the documentary talks about how there wasn't just a migration of poor black north in search of a future. There was also an accompanying flight of poor whites north from Appalachia. And that is part of the story that many people don't understand.
One of the things in this film that we wanted to talk about was race, and really giving people a different understanding of American racial history. And in the process of researching, I started to really come away with the sense that there were multiple shades of white back then. It wasn't as we look at white America as a homogeny at this point in time. That wasn't the case.
You know, whatever your ethnic group was, that's what you were. And that ethnic group fit somewhere in America's caste system. We really wanted to explain the American caste system in a way that people could understand.
So that really forced an understanding of where poor white Americans fit in the whole context of things. So we had to really show where standard Leave It To Beaver America was in context to a burgeoning lower class in America. Where you had African-Americans and poor whites who were moving because World War Two really decimated the Appalachian populations. We don't really talk a lot about that.
King Of Them All: The Story Of King Records is just fascinating if you are a fan of early rock & roll or R&B. And the film uncovers stories that you've probably never heard before. And if you're a fan of early punk music, there are some great stories from Sire Records founder Seymour Stein, who began his career interning at King Records. He credits Syd Nathan for helping to make Sire Records happen, which is not a story I saw coming.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT INDEPENDENT SYNDICATED TELEVISION LOOKS LIKE IN 2025
The 1980s and 1990s were the peak years for syndicated television programming. Smaller companies had been producing programming specifically to be sold to smaller independent TV stations since the late 1950s. But by the 1980s - thanks to some changes in federal laws and better technology - some syndicated programming was as expensive and lush as their broadcast counterparts. Star Trek: The Next Generation was always a syndicated show and its success spawned a long string of syndicated sci-fi and action TV series. And Baywatch ran for a single season on NBC before successfully moving to syndication for another ten seasons.
But those days are long behind us. Thanks to the move to digital signals and the consolidation of stations under large station groups, most of those independent stations are long gone. They are either part of a larger independent networks such as Ion and The CW, or reduced to running a few old broadcast TV reruns and a bunch of cheap syndicated talk shows and an endless procession of court-related programs.
There are, however, some exceptions to the norm. Some people are out there syndicating programs despite the challenges of the marketplace and one of those is the series Taste Buds With Stephanie, which is syndicated into 85 markets and is also available on Tubi. The show is described as "a fun, food-focused TV show hosted by food personality Stephanie Hansen. Each episode explores the flavors and stories behind chefs, makers, and food traditions, blending behind-the-scenes visits with easy, approachable recipes you can create at home."
Hansen is an interesting example of how people are cobbling together a multi-faceted career in traditional media. She has the television show, a weekly radio show in the Twin Cities, she makes regular appearances on the daily talker The Jason Show (which is also seen in multiple markets in the Midwest), has published several cooks books, does live events, and of course, has a Substack.
She recently wrote a bit about why she has a paywall on parts of her Substack work, and I think it provides a good look of the challenges of building a career in today's fragmented media world:
What's also confusing is.. I am a 100 percent freelance content creator. This is very unique for TV and radio. I submit freelance invoices to be paid for my radio show and TV show. I pay my own employment tax, health insurance, a buy all the food I make on TV and I pay technology folks to help host my web site, keep my computer tip top and thank god for the I-phone that makes shooting photos for a book or YouTube videos possible. I get my silly nails done so when I hold food on TV it looks ok and I am endlessly on the hunt for thrifted dishes, napkins or tablecloths that make the food look good on camera and in books. The plus side is I am my own boss and set my own vacation time but its a lot to keep track of and I cobble it together every month and the Substack income is a part of the puzzle that makes it work.
This is one of the interesting things about the times we are living in. People are building careers in all sorts of unconventional ways and while it's not easy to do, it's also something that likely wouldn't have been possible ten years ago.
ODDS AND SODS
* Prime Video will broadcast the the Skins Game golf event the morning of November 28th before the third annual Black Friday Football game and a brand-new NBA on Prime doubleheader. This will be the first iteration of one of golf’s most celebrated television franchises since its last event in 2008.
* The new animated series Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches premieres Monday, November 3rd on Netflix. Here is a first video look at the series.
* California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that bars streaming services “from transmitting the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany." Now maybe they can do something about those damn ads for Slice, which features a loud ringing chime.
* Season three of the anime One-Punch Man will premiere Sunday, October 12th on Hulu.
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH:
* Caramelo (Netflix)
* Fugitives Caught On Tape Season Premiere (A&E)
* Is It Cake?.....Halloween (Netflix)
* Maintenance Required (Prime Video)
* Nero The Assassin (Netflix)
* Nova: Human: Into The Americas (PBS)
* Stay (Hulu)
* The Dark History Of The Reincarnated Villainess Series Premiere (Crunchyoll)
* The Lost Station Girls (Hulu)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9TH:
* Boots Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Grey's Anatomy Season Premiere (ABC)
* 9-1-1 Season Premiere (ABC)
* 9-1-1 Nashville Series Premiere (ABC)
* O'ahu Shores Season Premiere (Peacock)
* Peacemaker Season Two Finale (HBO Max)
* Saquon (Prime Video)
* Team Mekbots: Animal Rescue Season Premiere (Peacock)
* The Resurrected Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Vgly (HBO Max)
* Victoria Beckham (Netflix)
* Zatima Midseason Finale (BET+)
SEE YOU EARLY THURSDAY MORNING!