On Tuesday morning after seeing the ABC Upfront announcement, and after evaluating the FOX and NBC schedules on Monday I tweeted out the following:
So this year
the networks are acting like broadcast networks and casting their cable
envy aside. This is gonna drive certain people bonkers.
Over the course of the next two days I found myself in two "conversations" on Twitter about both the relevance of the Upfronts and the level of creativity and quality in what was being peddled by the networks.
The first discussion was with Tim Goodman, Television Critic for the Hollywood Reporter and professional Bitcher and Moaner. Tim is that guy who, for decades you see standing on a street corner with a crazed look on his face carrying a sign saying "The End Is Near". He has coined the two TCA
annual events the "Death March With Cocktails" and each year mocks the Upfronts claiming both the networks and advertisers are in denial regarding the reality of Broadcast Television. It's only 8-9 billion dollars about to change hands. Tim also believes he could do the job of a Network President (or whatever the title de jour is) better than the incumbents but then questions why anyone would want such a well compensated job. Our exchange ended with the following tweet on my part.
@BastardMachine If you guys ran networks you would be rocking in a corner sucking your thumb crying "Mommy" within a week. Trust me.
There are several TV writers who think they can do the job of a Network Executive and believe me they can't. These are high pressure jobs and most criticism of the people in them comes out of ignorance and a lack of understanding about why and how decisions are made. By the way, I like Tim. We actually have the same taste in TV shows and he will be bitching and moaning about upfronts and TCAs for many many many many more years to come. Broadcast television isn't going away all that quickly and the networks are much more savvy about the future than Tim and others might think.
Linda Holmes, who hosts the NPR Podcast "Pop Culture Happy Hour" (highly recommended) responded to my tweet on the Networks' strategies.
Here was my response to Linda:
@maskedscheduler I thought that, too. They're taking more cues from movie studios than cable networks.
@nprmonkeysee Also it appears there's ad dollars out there so networks are giving their sales peeps stuff they can sell.
@nprmonkeysee This cycle the nets are doing a better job trying to impress the ad buyers rather than the culture gatekeepers
Masked Scheduler
Later that day Diane Gordon a TV writer and a really nice person inadvertently incurred my wrath when she lamented the quality of the CBS comedies starring Kevin James and Matt LeBlanc. More so than the other networks CBS knows their audience and those Monday multi-cam comedies with established sit-com stars should rake in the gelt for the network.
Let's listen in:
Diane Gordon @thesurfreport
The really sad thing is the new CBS comedies will most likely do well for the network.
@maskedscheduler because they're not at all funny and they feel like repeats.
@thesurfreport But if they're not funny and they feel like repeats why do you think they will do well?
@maskedscheduler because a certain sector of the tv audience watching CBS evidently responds to that type of re-tread, which is depressing
Masked Scheduler
@maskedscheduler@thesurfreport Why is it depressing? It's not to them.
@maskedscheduler you got me -- I'm judging taste level here. I like when TV inches forward instead of backward.
@thesurfreport Maybe backward is the new forward. Given these upfront presentations that's the thing. And why is that a bad thing?
@maskedscheduler yes, there's always a retro element w/TV but these 2 comedies feel especially tired. Bad because good talent is wasted.
@maskedscheduler I'm not saying you're wrong though. Let me be clear about that.
@maskedscheduler @thesurfreport leave Diane alone. She's entitled to be sad.
That's Suzanna Makkos head of Comedy Development at my old stalking ground FBC. Maybe I pushed it too far but I will blame it on my Trump hairstyle. The conversation came to an end thusly:
@maskedscheduler Talent never complains publicly - they're paid very well. Yes, CBS will make money. It's just tired TV
I really try not to get into these twitter food fights but I was just fed up with a certain segment of the TV intelligentsia who can't seem to evaluate the Upfronts and the shows presented for what they are. It's all about the advertising and selling time in these shows.
I feel the broadcast networks all did the smart thing this year which was to provide their Sales groups with what they needed to bring in as much money as possible in what appears to be a robust marketplace. You do it with stable schedules. Lots of returning series and new series that are pre-sold. So we saw TV versions of movies and reimaginings of television franchises. We saw a bit more of an emphasis on episodic procedurals and sci-fi that was all looking to the past rather than to a dystopian future. CBS remains committed to mult-cam comedies (although they finally had success with a single cam last season). FOX continues to do well FOX comedies. NBC returned to its comedy roots on Thursday. The CW remains committed to the one hour comedy format and the ghost of Paul Lee was walking through the halls of ABC greenlighting its comedies. Oh and a little less unscripted.
A few weeks ago on Silicon Valley (my favorite comedy) Stephen Tobolowsky's character has the funniest line of the season. He is trying to explain to the heroes of the show why it is more profitable for his sales group to sell a box rather than compression software which could be game changing. "You know how you keep the best salespeople? Give them something easy to sell." BINGO!!!!!
There are those who will bemoan these schedules and, yes, a lot of this stuff will turn to shit real fast, but all the networks will bring in the gelt and then figure things out. The networks got their swagger back this May and kudos to them for choosing commerce over art and, by the way, there may be some gems or at the very least some solid broad appeal shows among this group. I saw a few where I said to myself "Now that's a TV show".
In this era of alleged "Peak TV" everyone can find the programming that will satisfy their needs. Someone needs to explain to me why it all has to have the seal of approval of the cultural elite. We should all like what we like, respect other people's tastes and not shame people for trying to make a buck. Let's have fun and celebrate TV!!!!!
In this era of alleged "Peak TV" everyone can find the programming that will satisfy their needs. Someone needs to explain to me why it all has to have the seal of approval of the cultural elite. We should all like what we like, respect other people's tastes and not shame people for trying to make a buck. Let's have fun and celebrate TV!!!!!
My biggest problem with remakes and movie adaptations is that they don't seem to work. For every Hawaii Five-O, Buffy or Parenthood, there's an Ironside, a Lethal Weapon, a Bad Teacher, a Minority Report, a Kojack, a Napoleon Dynamite, a Fugitive, a Rush Hour, Fast Times etc.
ReplyDeleteFor every show that succeeds, there are several that fail. Remakes and adaptations aren't necessarily more likely to follow this trend than shows in general do.
DeleteI don't think it's fair to put Lethal Weapon inside of this box. The pilot was very strong, and it was great to see the leads embrace their versions of Murtaugh and Riggs which works.
ReplyDelete" Someone needs to explain to me why it all has to have the seal of approval of the cultural elite. "
ReplyDeleteTHIS.