The Sternberg Report

The Best 27 TV Series of 2019

It’s hard to imagine that just 20 years ago, the only place to watch first-run original scripted series was on one of four broadcast networks – and only for six or seven months of the year.  Today, in the era of Peak TV, there are so many good TV series on so many different platforms, year-round, that I am constantly discovering new shows to watch – many of which have already been on the air for multiple seasons.  Nobody has to watch the so-called “least objectionable programming” anymore, and those under 40 have probably never even heard that phrase.

 

As a result of so many programs on so many platforms, and the fact that everybody doesn’t have access to everything anymore, television viewing has become much more splintered than even just a few years ago.  So, it is possible, even likely, that any list of “best” TV shows will have several that many readers have not seen, or perhaps even heard of.

 

Here are 27 series that top my list for 2019.  Some are new, some returning.  They are substantially different from one another, which makes them difficult to compare – so I am presenting them in alphabetical rather than rank order.  All have something that make then rise above the pack, and each is worth your time to check out.

 

Barry (HBO):  Seamlessly moving between light comedy and dark drama (not easy to do), Bill Hader is superb as a disillusioned and depressed midwestern hitman.  In Season 1, he travels to L.A. to kill an actor who is sleeping with a mobster’s wife.  He follows his target to an acting class, where he becomes drawn to this community of dedicated and desperate students, falling in love with one of them (Sarah Goldberg).  He remains there to take acting lessons and pursue a more normal life.  But changing is not so easy, as gangsters he’s worked for and against come to town. 

 

Henry Winkler is great as Barry’s pompous acting teacher, as is Anthony Carrigan as wacky mobster, Noho Hank.  Stephen Root also shines as Barry’s “handler.”  Both Bill Hader and Henry Winkler won Emmys in 2018 for their performances.  On paper, this high concept show shouldn’t work.  On television, with these stellar performances, it somehow creates magic. 

 

Starting with the Season 1 finale and continuing through Season 2, the show gets significantly darker. It is still worth watching, but it’s definitely not for everyone.  Each season is eight episodes – perfect for bingeing.

 

Big Little Lies (HBO):  Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoe Kravitz star.  What else do you need to know?  How about Meryl Streep joining the cast in season 2?  A master class in acting. 

 

Lies and secrets (and murder) in the beachfront town of Monterey, California – successful parents, precocious kids, and stunning homes, all masking the dysfunctional relationships among family, friends, and neighbors in this seemingly tranquil community.  The short- and long-term impact of rape, and the effect of spousal abuse and bullying on children, is handled in a way seldom seen anywhere, much less on television.  

 

There reportedly will not be a third season, but you never know – it’s hard to coordinate schedules among these busy A-list actresses.  The Season 2 finale was a fitting end to the story, so I’m not sure there’s any reason to do another.

 

Bosch (Amazon Prime Video):   This is not only the best procedural drama currently on television, it might be the best procedural drama ever on television (and for those who feel compelled to @ me on Twitter, series such as NYPD Blue and The Wire are not procedural dramas). 

 

Titus Willever is perfect as the smart, tough as nails, flawed and haunted detective Harry Bosch.  He’s been brilliant in many supporting roles over the years, and it’s great to see him in the lead.  He melts into the role (as he does with virtually everything he touches).  The ensemble cast of regulars, including Jamie Hector, Madison Lintz, Lance Reddick, Amy Aquino, Troy Evans, and Gregory Scott Cummins, are spot on for their respective roles.  The guest stars have been a string of superb character actors who you will immediately recognize (if you’re over 40) and wonder where you’ve seen them before.

 

Each season focuses on one main crime that Bosch and crew need to solve, along with one or two related (or not-so-related) crimes.  Solving the crimes focuses on the everyday routine police work that the show somehow manages to continually make interesting.  The murder of Bosch’s prostitute mom when he was 12, how it has impacted who he is today, and his relentless efforts to solve the crime, is a thread that has sewn its way through the first four 10-episode seasons.

 

Season 5 is basically a new beginning for detective Bosch, and is as addicting as ever (and shows why Bosch is Amazon’s longest-running original drama).  It opens a year after the shocking events in Season 4, and Bosch’s time is split between another two cases, one that requires a dangerous undercover assignment.  Bosch continues to be tight, straightforward, and unhurried as the detectives gradually unravel clues to solve each crime. 

 

If you haven’t discovered Bosch yet, you’ll have the joy of being able to binge 50 episodes.  They are currently filming season 6.

 

The Boys (Amazon Prime Video):  What would happen in a world where superheroes are real, unaccountable, and can basically do whatever they want (such as accidentally kill ordinary citizens)?  And what if they work for a multibillion-dollar conglomerate that licenses their images and covers up their crimes?  Perhaps a vigilante group would be formed to try and expose the rogue “heroes.” 

 

In this dark comedy-drama, based on the comic book series, such a world exists, as members of a Justice League-type superhero group known as The Seven wreak havoc as they sometimes do and sometimes only pretend to do great deeds, often leaving destruction and death in their wake.

 

Just because this show centers around superheroes, however, does not mean it’s for kids.  Scenes of graphic and implied violence and sex are prevalent throughout.  But for adults, this is a surprisingly thoughtful take on the power of giant, faceless corporations in our society, and how they can shape the news and public opinion – and sometimes can only be brought down by whistleblowers and vigilant activists.  It has been renewed for a second season, probably in summer 2020.

 

Dead to Me (Netflix):   Christina Applegate gives a career performance in this dark comedy as a woman whose husband recently died in a hit-and-run crash, who meets and becomes fast friends with another woman (Linda Cardellini) at a grief-support group.  Her new friend, however. may not be all she seems.  Any further explanation will give away too much.

 

The show seamlessly moves from comedy to crime mystery and back.  There are numerous twists and turns, many of which happen in the first few episodes.  Produced by Adam McCay and Will Ferrel (the team that brought us Anchorman) this is definitely worth a look and a binge.  It has been renewed for a second season, which will probably drop in mid-2020.

 

Fleabag (Amazon Prime Video):  The immensely talented Phoebe Waller-Bridge (she created and writes for Killing Eve) writes and stars in this comedy-drama as a depressed, dysfunctional, yet strangely confident single woman with a voracious sexual appetite, navigating the streets of London (surrounded by other dysfunctional people), and dealing with her equally dysfunctional family (and a “hot priest”).

 

Breaking the fourth wall has never been done this brilliantly with her side-eyed glances and talking directly to the camera as the show provides insights into the ongoing themes of love, grief, faith, and using sex to fill a void in your life.  The sex scenes (of which there are many) are sometimes hilarious and sometimes squirm-inducing, so Fleabag is not for everyone.  That said, it should be for everyone else. The supporting cast is excellent.  You seldom, if ever, see an aggressive, independent, and sexually autonomous woman like Fleabag on television (even in the age of more creative freedom offered by advertiser-less programming).    

 

Fans had to wait three years between the two six-episode seasons, but it was worth it.  Phoebe Waller-Bridge has indicated there probably won’t be a third season.  It has managed to break through the clutter of a Peak TV world, at least with Emmy voters, being nominated for 11 awards this year (and winning for Best Comedy and Best Actress in a Comedy).  A uniquely inventive gem.

 

Glow (Netflix):  A behind-the-scenes fictionalized look at the 1980s syndicated TV show, the low-budget Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.  Alison Brie, as an unemployed actress who becomes a GLOW star (as evil Russian, “Zoya the Destroyer”) and Betty Gilpin as a former soap star, now spandex-laden wrestling All-American, “Liberty Belle,” are standouts, as is Marc Maron as a washed up “B” movie director who leads the ladies to fame.  Along with a winning and diverse ensemble cast of misfits, they make this way more fun than it has any right to be.  It took three or four episodes to get rolling, but then my wife and I were hooked.  Season 2 is a blast from start to finish.

 

Geena Davis joined the cast in Season 3 as the wrestlers’ new boss, when the women of GLOW move to Las Vegas as the headliner at her hotel and casino.  The latest season brings some shocking real-life 1980s events into the forefront, and deals with more serious topics (racism, gender inequality, and homophobia, among others), but always manages to walk the tightrope between pathos and genuinely entertaining comedy.   The writing and acting in Season 3 raise GLOW to another level.  One of the best original series on Netflix (or anywhere).  Courageous and triumphant.  It has been renewed for a fourth and apparently final season.

 

Goliath (Amazon Prime Video):  Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton), once a high-powered lawyer ln Los Angeles, has become a burned out and washed-up ambulance chaser, who spends more time in bars than in a courtroom.  But he’s still got the skills.  His naturalistic, laid back style is well suited as a former Goliath, now a David, beaten down but still confident in his ability to take down new Goliaths each season.

 

In Season 1 he reluctantly agrees to take on a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest (and

extremely dangerous) client of the giant law firm he helped create (William Hurt plays his former

partner, now biggest adversary).  He puts together a ragtag team that helps him uncover a big and deadly conspiracy.  He returns in Season 2 to defend his friend’s 16-year-old son who is wrongly accused of a grisly double murder.  He and his team uncover another conspiracy, which leads to the highest levels of city politics and corruption.  Season 2 has a harder edge, as it becomes more difficult for David to slay all the Goliaths.

 

Randy Quaid, Amy Brenneman, Beau Bridges, Griffin Dunne, and Sherilyn Fenn, join the Season 3 cast.  McBride takes a case where he goes up against a villainous billionaire rancher (Quaid) and his even more villainous sister (Brenneman), who are accused of illegally drilling for water in draught-stricken Central Valley, California.

 

Created and written by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro.  Each season is substantially different from the previous one, so I can understand only liking one or two of them – I liked Season 1 the most, and Season 3 the least.  It was just renewed for a fourth season. 

 

The Good Fight (CBS All Access):  The wonderful Christine Baransky stars, along with Cush Jumbo and Rose Leslie in this female-driven legal drama spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife.  They make a diverse team that is as much in (or out of) control professionally as they are in their relationships.  Audra McDonald and Delroy Lindo also star.

 

Sexual harassment, racism, and income inequality have been dealt with here in a more thought-provoking way than is typically seen on television.  Having Christine Baransky’s character, Diane Lockhart, take a partner position at a majority black-owned and staffed Chicago law firm lends itself to a wide range of race-related storylines, which the writers have handled well, without getting too heavy-handed.

 

The first season was uneven with its Madoff-like plot, but as it developed its main characters, the second season hit its stride and found its voice.  There remains a clear anti-Trump tone, particularly with the over-the-top animated shorts that appear in each episode during the third season (which are often hilarious if you agree with the politics). 

 

Just the right mix of drama and humor, along with the excellent cast and superb writing, make this great television – although returning to more courtroom drama and less anti-Trump rhetoric would not be a bad thing – but not likely as election season looms.

 

Season 1 aired on CBS’s linear network this summer.  If you don’t subscribe to CBS All Access, watch this cleaned up version.  Then subscribe and binge all three seasons of what is one of the very best series on television.

 

The Good Place (NBC):  There’s a good place and a bad place in the afterlife in this sharp-witted, original comedy that’s hard to describe without providing any spoilers.  Suffice it to say that this is a show about humanity and hope.

 

There’s a point system to get into the good place, and life on Earth has become so complex, that it is virtually impossible for anyone to get into the good place under the current system.  So how did Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), who was a terrible person when alive, wind up there?  Michael (Ted Danson), the architect of the heavenly neighborhood (with a frozen yogurt shop on every corner) seems to have the answer.  Her group of misfits that might all be in the wrong place include William Jackson, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto, D’Arcy Carden, who are all excellent here.  Maya Rudolph has a perfect recurring role as the judge.

 

The surprise ending to Season 1 changes the game for everything that comes after, and elevated this unique comedy into something even greater than it was.

 

The show has surprisingly insightful conversations and debates about the nature of goodness, does it matter if you’re a bad person, do people have a natural tendency to better themselves, is it possible for people to be ethical when surrounded by unethical systems.  These heavy topics are sprinkled in with fart jokes and demons from the bad place discussing particularly gross ways of torturing people.

 

Currently in its fourth and final season, this series continues to be head and shoulders above any other comedy on the broadcast networks (and among the top anywhere).  If you haven’t discovered it yet, you should watch it from the beginning to really appreciate what’s going on.

 

Harlots (Hulu):  Samantha Morton portrays a brothel owner trying to secure a better future for her two daughters (Jessica Brown Findlay, Eloise Smyth) in 18^th century London.  When her business is attacked by a ruthless rival madam (Lesley Manville), it sets off a war over the sex trade.

 

This is a story of how every class of woman navigates and tries to survive and thrive in a world where wealth and social standing mean everything, women are essentially the property of men, one in five women works in the sex trade, and either good fortune or disaster is just a deception away.  The show is full of sex (although not as much nudity as you might think – they wore so many layers of clothes back then), most of it not for pleasure, but for power or to gain some advantage. 

 

The series is created, written, and directed by women, and it shows, as the point of view is refreshingly from the female, not male perspective.  Enjoyable, entertaining, and insightful. Season 3 hasn’t lost a step from the great and gritty first two seasons.  No word yet on if there will be a fourth season.

 

Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix):  Krysten Ritter shines as Jessica Jones, a reluctant hero, brooding and haunted by her past (she was given super strength in a medical experiment that saved her life after a car crash killed her family). 

 

Darker than other Marvel TV series, Jessica Jones turns the standard noir elements of the show upside down.  More hard-boiled detective than femme fatale, Jessica swears, drinks too much, has meaningless sex, and thinks nothing of breaking the rules if it suits her idea of the greater good – the type of woman you virtually never see on television (or in the Marvel universe).  Traditional female roles – sidekicks and “the girlfriend” – are the male characters in this world.  The first two seasons were strong social commentaries on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on topics such as addiction, sexual harassment, rape, retaliation, and redemption – subjects seldom dealt with on television, and never in the Marvel universe at large.

 

Season 1 has one of the great supervillains of all time in the mind-controlling Kilgrave (David Tennant), and was brutal in its depiction of violence.  Season 2 is more introspective, as Jessica searches for the origins of her power and discovers some shocking truths.  Season 3 is a fitting end to Jessica’s journey as she not only has to fight a serial killer, but her sister/best friend as well, as she struggles with what it means to be a hero.

 

This is the last of Netflix’s Marvel series about street-level heroes to be officially canceled, as Disney ramped up its Disney+ streaming service and took full control of Hulu.  The others were, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher.

 

Killing Eve (BBCA):  Sandra Oh has justifiably received critical acclaim and awards for her role as the title character, a bored, but ambitious and insightful mid-level MI5 security officer.  But Jodie Corner (who just won an Emmy for her performance) is the real revelation as a mercurial and brutal female assassin, named Villanelle. 

 

In Season 1, Eve is tasked with hunting down the sociopathic killer.  As they become equally obsessed with one another (admiration, fear, love?), a fierce game of cat and mouse ensues.  Men are the peripheral characters here, and most of the victims

. 

Season 2 picks up immediately following the surprise Season 1 finale.  The chase and head games between the two adversaries continue for another eight addicting episodes.  The second season lacked some of the magic of the first, no doubt because the great Phoebe Waller-Bridge is no longer the head writer, and there were a few extra (and unnecessary) storylines, as Eve and Villanelle become even more obsessed with and attracted to one another.  It’s still a great show, however.  It’s been renewed for a third season, which will also have its third female showrunner.

 

The Kominsky Method (Netflix):  Created by comedy master, Chuck Lorre, and starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as an iconic aging acting coach, Sandy Kominnsky and his long-time agent and friend, Norman.  Life is constantly throwing them curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that places more value on youth and beauty.

 

The inspired pairing of Douglas and Arkin, combined with brilliant writing, make for a hilarious and often poignant 8-episode first season.  Danny DeVito has an extremely funny recurring role as Kominsky’s urologist.   If you’re over 50 (or 60), this will resonate, if you’re under 50, this is what you can look forward to (or not). 

 

In Season 2, Paul Reiser joins the cast as Sandy’s daughter’s new boyfriend (who is uncomfortably close to Sandy’s age), and Jane Seymour guest stars as Norman’s former flame (and they renew their relationship after 50 years).  Kathleen Turner, who worked with Michael Douglas during the 1980s (Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses) also joined the cast as Sandy’s ex-wife.   Another winning season.  No word yet on whether there will be a Season 4, but I’d be surprised if there wasn’t at least one more.  This was the first Netflix series to win a Golden Globe for best comedy (and lead actor in a comedy for Michael Douglas).

 

Mindhunter (Netflix):  In the late 1970s, FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and veteran agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) pioneer behavioral profiling of a new type of murderer – the serial killer.  Anna Torv also stars as a psychology professor who helps them categorize the killers and predict future behavior.

 

Their interviews with imprisoned serial killers can be tense and chilling, as they and the viewer start to realize how many multiple killers are out there, and how far behind the curve law enforcement was at the time.

 

Rises way above a typical procedural.  Smart, compelling, and cinematic.  You won’t want to wait for the next episode – and if you have enough time, you don’t need to.  If you enjoy series such as Criminal Minds, Hannibal, and Prodigal Son, you’ll probably like this too – but keep in mind there’s no murder of the week that conveniently get solved by the end of each hour.  This aims much higher, and, for the most part, hits the mark. 

 

Season 2 has more urgency and gets darker, as the series focuses on events such as the Atlanta child murders, which uncovers deep flaws in the FBI’s methods, and raises doubts into how effective they are.  Critical acclaim doesn’t always result in renewal at Netflix, but if I had to guess, I’d say there will be a third season. 

 

The Morning Show (Apple TV Plus):  The first original show on Apple’s new streaming service, inspired by Brian Stelter’s 2013 book, Top of the Morning, is a winner.  Jennifer Aniston is great as half of an iconic morning show couple, who is stunned when her partner of 15 years (Steve Carell) is fired for sexual misconduct (shades of Matt Lauer and the Today Show).

 

As she learns how to exert her power against the many male executives who want to push her out, she forces them to team her with the new correspondent her smarmy new boss ( Billy Crudup) brings in – an aggressive female reporter from a conservative leaning local station (Reese Witherspoon, who is wonderful here), whose “freak out” when her cameraman was attacked by a protester went viral.

 

The episode 3 scene between Steve Carell and his director friend (Martin Short), who are commiserating about both being caught up in the #MeToo movement, which they see as discriminating against men who have done nothing wrong (or at least nothing that men in power haven’t always done), is one of the best couple of minutes of television I’ve seen in years – as Steve Carell’s character slowly starts to realize his friend is a sexual predator (and maybe he is too).  At this writing, I’ve only seen the first five episodes, but so The Morning Show is a winner.

 

Mr Inbetween (FX):  A half-hour Australian dark comedy/drama about Ray Shoesmith (the magnetic Scott Ryan, who also created and writes the show).  Ray seems to have a relatively normal life.  He’s juggling raising a pre-teen daughter with his ex-wife, a relationship with a new girlfriend, and caring for a sick brother.  He also has a day (and night) job collecting debts from deadbeats, and occasionally as a hitman.

 

Season 2 brings a bit more introspection, as Ray starts to realize how his propensity to handle every problem with his fists (with a glint in his eye as he knows he can win almost every fight) starts to impact the people he really cares about – as his work and personal lives start to collide.  This season also examines why Ray sees no real difference between his years in the Army when he was told to kill people and his life at home where he is hired to kill people.

 

The series is lean and taut, sharply written with no bloat or wasted content.  It seamlessly jumps from humorous to violent moments.  That we like and root for Ray despite his casual brutality is a tribute to Scott Ryan’s talents.  It also fits the mold of many FX dramas, where you root for bad or flawed people with some redeeming qualities who go up against even badder people with no (or at least fewer) redeeming qualities.  Each season is just six episodes – perfect for bingeing.

 

Pose (FX):  This fabulous show from Ryan Murphy is set in 1980s and early 1990s New York City, and juxtaposes the ball culture world, the luxury Trump-era universe, the downtown social and literary scene, and the specter of AIDS. 

 

Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) forms a “house” that provides support to LGBTQ youth who have been rejected by their families.  Billy Porter (great as drag ball emcee and Bianca’s mentor), Evan Peters, Kate Mara, and James Van Der Beek also star.

 

Season 2 starts out in the summer of 1990, when the influence of Madonna’s Vogue briefly shone a spotlight on this subculture of the Manhattan “drag ball” scene – although it took almost 30 years for a look into its origins and what it was really all about.  At the same time, this is the peak of deaths within the LGBTQ community from the AIDS crisis.

 

I’m including this here not because it “makes television history” by having the largest cast of transgender and LBGTQ actors ever for a scripted series (five transgender actresses are regulars).   I’m including it here because it’s great television, which at its core, in addition to being revolutionary, is a surprisingly addictive and sweet family show.

 

Queen of the South (USA):  This crime drama’s uneven first season got better and hit overdrive in seasons 2, and 3, as Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcon) and her former protégé, Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), battle for supremacy of a drug cartel.  Both are seductive and conniving, occasionally vicious, and always captivating.  Hemky Madera is wonderfully menacing as Teresa’a loyal lieutenant.

 

Season 4 sees Teresa and her allies move to New Orleans and try to expand her fledgling empire, while facing a whole new level of threats and enemies.  No awards or brilliant writing here.  Just a gritty and entertaining guilty pleasure.  It has been renewed for a fifth season.

 

Rick and Morty (Adult Swim):  My 20-year-old son got me hooked on this Adult Swim animated piece of brilliance several years ago.  It follows super-genius (and boozy) scientist, Rick, as he drags his not-so-bright grandson, Morty, on wild adventures through other worlds and alternate dimensions.  While other great animated series, The Simpsons and Family Guy, are grounded in reality and have some absurd situations, Rick and Morty is grounded in absurdity.  It’s at once high- and low-brow, clever and silly, but always hilarious.  You’ll either love it or say “huh?”  After making fans wait more than two years, Season 4 came out this November.  It’s better than ever.  Seasons 1-3 are available on Hulu.  I suggest catching up before watching the new episodes.

Russian Doll (Netflix):  Star, Natasha Lyonne created this comedy-drama with Amy Poehler.  She is stuck in her own “Groundhog Day” loop, as she repeatedly attends her own 36^th birthday party in New York City, dies at the end of the night, and re-awakens on the same day unharmed as though nothing had happened.  No matter how many times she goes through slight variations of the same events and tries to alter the ultimate outcome, she reaches the same end by a variety of means (getting hit by a car, falling down a flight of stairs, etc.).

 

When she gets stuck in an elevator about to fall to her umpteenth death, she meets a guy (Charlie Barnett) who is going through the same thing.  They team up to try and figure out what is going on and how to stop it (and how they might be connected) – but each time, they only have a day to figure it out before the cycle begins again.

 

Natasha Lyonne gives an award-worthy performance in this inventive, clever, thought provoking, and all-around wonderful series.  The dialogue is fast-paced and witty, and provides several different and insightful views of life in New York City.  A rare gem that borders on art.  There will be a second season, but it probably won’t be until summer 2020 at the earliest.

 

Sneaky Pete (Amazon Prime Video):  Con man and ex-con Marious (Giovanni Ribisi), on the run from some very bad people, assumes the identity of his still imprisoned cellmate Pete, and tries to hide out with Pete’s family (who hasn’t seen him for 20 years).  They have a bail bonds business in Connecticut and their own set of problems and sinister characters to deal with, so it takes a while before any of them question his story. 

 

All three seasons have multiple cons and obstacles to solve that are handled in a crisp, keep-you-guessing manner.  There are short cons, long cons, and double crosses, as “Pete” cleverly navigates the new world he finds himself in, while trying to avoid the old, as certain family members become increasingly suspicious.

 

The excellent cast includes Margo Martindale and Peter Gerety as Pete’s grandparents, and Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, and Libby Barer as his cousins.  Bryan Cranston is executive producer, and has a role as a gangster who is after Pete in Season 1.  Intelligent, gritty, and a good mix of drama and humor.  Unfortunately, Season 3 was the last for this fine series.  Definitely worth a look.

 

Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access):  Taking place a decade before Captain Kirk and crew’s original five-year mission, the series follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Discovery as it seeks out new worlds and new civilizations (and battles Klingons and other alien forces along the way).

 

Star Trek TV series are not known for strong starts – the original series was continually on the verge of cancellation during its three-season run, while both Next Generation and Deep Space Nine didn’t hit their strides until their third seasons.  Discovery’s first season was no exception – it showed potential but was uneven as it introduced the many new characters.  Season 2, however, found its way, revved up the action, and gave this series real potential to become a classic and revitalize the Star Trek franchise (there are more Trek series on the way).

 

Sonequa Martin-Green is excellent as science officer Michael Burnham, a human who was raised on Vulcan by Spock’s parents.  Michelle Yeoh is also excellent as Captain Philippa Georgiou.  Season 2 has several nods to the original series, introducing us to a young Spock and Captain Christopher Pike (James T. Kirk’s predecessor on the U.S.S. Enterprise), but you need not be familiar with Star Trek canon to like this series. 

 

Season 2’s ending propels Star Trek Discovery into new terrain to make Season 3 a completely new entity with endless possibilities.  After season 3, CBS should air this series on its broadcast network during the summer as it is doing with The Good Fight.

 

Succession (HBO):  One of the buzziest shows in the past couple of seasons is that rare series that actually lives up to the hype.  When Logan Roy (Brian Cox), an aging Rupert Murdoch style media tycoon has a stroke, his four adult children (Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Sarah Snook) start jockeying for control of the family’s international media and entertainment empire.  When he recovers and lets them know he has no intention of stepping down anytime soon, all types of power plays, backstabbing schemes, and elaborate infighting ensue, as ambitions collide with family loyalties.

 

One might think a series about unlikeable and privileged one-percenters is not the recipe for broad success, but the sharp writing, fierce acting, acid wit, and effortless shifts between comedy, tragedy, and family drama, make this compelling viewing.  Season 1 started out slowly, but built into something great as the season progressed.  Season 2 is near perfection, with strong guest starring roles for Cherry Jones and Holly Hunter.

 

This is Us (NBC):  In its fourth season, still checks off all the boxes on how to tug at viewers’ heartstrings, still checks off many diversity boxes, and still makes for great television.  Anything but a typical family drama, This is Us somehow manages to continually and seamlessly flash back to various periods of each character to weave a tapestry of their family history and how they all became who they are today, often through memories of interactions with their (not so) perfect father/husband/friend, Jack Pearson.  It has also started adding new characters who either impact or become part of the Pearson clan.

 

Vida (Starz):  Two vastly different and estranged Mexican-American sisters Lynn (Melissa Barrera) and Emma (Mishel Prada) – both perfectly cast – are forced to come together to deal with the death of their mother (nicknamed Vida) and the discovery that she had a secret wife, Eddy (Ser Anzoategui).  They also have to deal with the apartment building and bar Vida owned in her East L.A. neighborhood, which is in the process of undergoing gentrification.

 

Emma is a buttoned-down Chicago lawyer (and closeted lesbian), while Lyn is more fun loving, hopping from one job and sexual partner to another.  They are both insiders and outsiders, having left the neighborhood, but still intimately familiar with the life on these streets.  Their friend and anti-gentrification activist, Marisol (Chelsea Rendon), calls them “chipsters,” Chicana hipsters who traded their Mexican roots for more snobbish and stereotypically white personas.

 

This half-hour dramedy has all Latinx writers (a first).  LGBTQ characters fill the writer’s room and supporting cast as well, and queer communities are dealt with in a casual matter-of-fact way you never see on television.  The sex scenes, of which there are many, are shown from a female perspective – they are often graphic, but treated with a certain gentleness and care.  There’s nothing else like Vida on television.

 

Watchmen (HBO):  Those of us familiar with Alan Moore’s 1986 graphic novel of the same name will either love Watchmen or hate it.  Those unfamiliar with the mythology involved will either love Watchmen or hate it.

 

Rather than remake the original (which has been done in a less-than-successful 2009 theatrical release), writer-producer Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) decided to set this tale of an alternate reality 30 years later, moving the main action from New York City to Tulsa, Oklahoma (the site of the real-life race massacre committed upon Tulsa’s black population, known as Black Wall Street, in 1921, which was virtually erased from history books, and figures prominently in the story). 

 

In this version of the United States, Richard Nixon remained President well into the 1980s, the U.S. won the Vietnam war (with the help of Dr. Manhattan, a blue, omnipotent “superhero,” now living on Mars), there is no internet or smartphones, and an interdimensional psychic giant squid appeared in Manhattan, killing 3 million people 30 years ago, in 1985.  In 2019 an unseen Robert Redford is President, and a white supremacist group called the Seventh Kavalry is at war with the police (who wear masks to protect their identities after several cops and their families were murdered).

 

Numerous mysteries abound, and whether or not you are familiar with Watchmen canon, you will likely be confused at several points in the first few episodes.  Episode 6 will either thrill or outrage hard-core fans of the comic.  The stellar cast is led by Regina King (as a detective and masked vigilante known as Sister Night), Jean Smart (as FBI agent and former costumed “hero,” Silk Spectre), Jeremy Irons (as the mysteriously exiled “smartest man in the world.” Adrian Veidt), Lou Gossett Jr (as the mysterious Will Reeves), and Don Johnson (as the Tulsa Police Chief).  Watchmen is strange, complex, ambitious, and exhilirating.

Netflix Still Rules the OTT-Verse, but for How Long?

The era of Peak TV is the best of times for television viewers (at least for those who can afford multiple streaming services).  There is more original content and more high-quality programming available on more platforms geared to more demographic groups with more high-profile actors, and more diversity than ever before.  In addition to more original content than ever, virtually any show you grew up watching is or soon will be available to stream somewhere.

 

With so many program choices available, however, it often takes viewers longer than ever to even become aware of a new show, much less start watching it.  While this is a major problem for ad-supported linear broadcast and cable networks, it is not so much for streaming services.  While a Stranger Things, Handmaid’s Tale, or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel might become instant hits, win awards, and result in new subscribers whenever a new season drops, there are numerous other really good shows, such as Fleabag (Amazon Prime Video) and Russian Doll (Netflix), which might require more word of mouth (Fleabag just won an Emmy for best actress and best comedy following its second season).  I was unaware of it during its first season.   

 

There are also hidden gems, such as Harlots (Hulu) and Strange Angel (CBS All Access), which still have not attracted large followings but nevertheless have been on three and two seasons, respectively (of course, Harlot’s 24 episodes over three years would have been basically the number of episodes for a single season on a broadcast network – although it probably would have been canceled due to low ratings after just a few episodes). 

 

Since streaming services order and air entire seasons, there is a relatively long period over which to determine if a series is worth renewing.  Broadcast networks tend to give an initial order for just a few episodes and then decide whether to pick up the show for a full season.  Unlike broadcast and cable networks, reach, not average ratings, matters most – how many views does the show generate over a certain period of time.  Streaming services don’t need to worry about scheduling tactics, audience flow, or narrow demographics – while CBS might have trouble fitting a show that appeals to 18-34-year-olds onto its older-skewing schedule, Netflix has numerous series appealing to completely different audiences (50-64-year-olds are just as valuable to them as younger viewers).  BoJack Horseman and Stranger Things thrive alongside Mindhunter, Grace and Frankie, and The Kominsky Method.  And, of course, streaming services do not have the same content restrictions as most ad-supported networks, nor do they need to concern themselves with fall and mid seasons.

 

The Big 3 or Just the First 3?

Streaming services are a relatively recent phenomenon.  It’s hard to imagine it was less than seven years ago (February 2013) when Netflix introduced House of Cards, the first original scripted streaming hit (Netflix itself was a public company since 2002, when its main business was DVD subscriptions). 

As the first major streaming services providing original scripted series, Netflix had a head start on everyone else and became almost synonymous with streaming and bingeing. It now boasts about 150 million subscribers worldwide (60 million in the U.S.), far more than any other company.  In addition to House of Cards, Netflix also debuted the popular Orange is the New Black in 2013.  Other major successes quickly followed, and continued every year since.  Here are just some of the more notable series and the years they debuted:  2014 – BoJack Horseman;  2015 – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Marvel’s Daredevil, Grace and Frankie, Narcos, Master of None, Marvel’s Jessica Jones;  2016 – Fuller House, Stranger Things, Marvel’s Luke Cage, Black Mirror, The Crown;  2017 – One Day At A Time, 13 Reasons Why, GLOW, Ozark, Mindhunter, Marvel’s The Punisher;  2018 – Altered Carbon, Lost in Space, The Haunting of Hill House, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; 2019 – The Umbrella Academy, Russian Doll, Dead to Me, When They See Us, The Politician.

 

As the streaming competition heats up, Netflix is spending big money to lure high-profile show creators – reportedly giving Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) a 5-year $300 million deal (he sold The Politician to Netflix before that deal was signed), as well as a $150 million deal with Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy), and a $100 million deal with black-ish’s Kenya Barris.  Netflix also has multi-year deals with Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off the Boat), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), David Benioff and Dan Weiss (Game of Thrones), Janet Mock (FX’s Pose), Regina King (Scandal, Green Leaf, Animal Kingdom), Beyonce Knowles, and Barack and Michelle Obama, among others.

 

Going forward, Netflix plans to release around 90 original movies per year (it had 50 in 2017).  That’s an extraordinary number – more than three times as many original movies released in theaters by the top two box-office leaders, Disney and Warner Bros., combined.  While many of Netflix’s movies are not top tier, some are of the highest quality, as the streamer makes periodic pushes for Oscar gold.  The critically acclaimed Roma debuted in 2018 in theaters for two weeks before airing on Netflix.  It was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture.  It didn’t win, partly because this practice is controversial and goes against what many theater owners and Academy members think of as traditional theatrical movies eligible for awards.  They essentially want three-month theatrical windows.  Netflix’s new original movie, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, is sure to be nominated this year – even though many theaters in the U.S., Canada, and Europe are refusing to run it in the short window Netflix insists upon.

 

Netflix has been gradually raising its prices over the past several years – a necessity since the streamer spends significantly more than its competitors on original content and steadfastly refuses to accept advertising.  It currently has three pricing plans: Basic ($8.99 per month – you can only use one screen at a time and resolution is limited to SD (equivalent to pre-HDTV); Standard ($12.99 per month – you can use two screens at a time in HD); Premium ($15.99 per month – you can use four screens at once in HD or 4K Ultra HD if available).

 

Amazon Prime Video launched in 2006 as Amazon Unbox in the U.S., and originally was a service for downloading purchased instant videos.  It was rebranded in 2011 as Amazon Instant Video and added access to 5,000 movies and TV shows for Amazon Prime members.  It made a deal with pay-TV channel Epix in 2012 to feature movies on their streaming service, and premiered its first original series in 2013 (all in an effort to start competing with Netflix).  Amazon Prime Video is a different animal from either Netflix and Hulu.  The bulk of its subscribers traditionally got it for Amazon’s shopping service and free shipping, and see the video platform as a bonus (although Clearleap has reported that roughly 75% of subscribers say they do watch video).  As it starts scheduling more high-profile and buzzworthy original series, that is starting to change.  Amazon also offers numerous a la carte channels, covering a variety of genres.  It’s hard to tell exactly how many subscribers Amazon Prime Video has, but most experts place it at about 95 million globally, and 40 million in the U.S.

 

Amazon had early success in 2014 with the award winning Transparent (the first original series from a streaming service to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy) and Mozart in the Jungle, and followed up with Bosch and The Man in the High Castle in 2015.  Perhaps its most well-known series, the award winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, premiered in 2017.  Since then, Amazon has spent more on original scripted series, releasing Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Romanoffs, and Homecoming (starring Julia Roberts) in 2018, and Hanna, Good Omens, The Boys, and Carnival Row in 2019.  

 

Fleabag, a comedy-drama co-production between the BBC and Amazon has only two 6-episode seasons, but recently won Emmys for Best Comedy and Best Actress in a comedy (for its creator, writer, and lead actress, Phoebe Waller-Bridge).  Amazon still only has a fraction of the original scripted series on Netflix.  It does, however, have global reach, and is reportedly looking for its own Game of Thrones type series – high-end dramas with global appeal.   

 

Of the $4.5 billion spent on content in 2017, reportedly about one-third went into originals.  Amazon recently secured the rights to The Lord of the Rings universe, which will include a new TV series adaptation (at an estimated cost of $200 million).  It is also jumping into the live sports arena, with subscribers being able to stream NFL Thursday Night Football telecasts for the past two seasons.  I’ve seen predictions that over the next five years, the amount Amazon spends on originals could rise to $8 billion or more, as it will need to compete not just with Netflix, but an array of deep-pocketed new entries into the streaming arena.

 

Amazon membership costs $119 per year ($12.99/month) and includes Amazon Prime Video, free 2-day shipping on Amazon purchases, and access to exclusive shopping deals.  You can subscribe to just Prime Video for $8.99 per month.

Hulu started out in 2011 and was originally owned by Disney (ABC), 21st Century Fox (FOX), and Comcast (NBC), each of which had a 30% ownership, and Time Warner, which owned the remaining 10%.  Soon after purchasing the FOX assets Comcast sold its ownership stake to Disney.  The deal will take five years to complete, but Disney now has complete operational control.  Hulu did have some early scripted series, but it initially focused more on reruns from the libraries of its major owners, and airing broadcast network series shortly after their linear runs.  It was not really in competition with Netflix.  In 2017, Hulu developed its first signature show in the Emmy winning A Handmaid’s Tale, and received good notices for Marvel’s Runaways and Future Man, during the same year.  It followed up with The Looming Tower in 2018, and also had some success and buzz in 2019 with Catch-22 and Pen15.

 

Providing current season series episodes shortly after their initial broadcast run does appeal to many viewers.  From 2016 to 2019 Hulu grew from 12 to 28 million subscribers in the United States – impressive, but still less than half of Netflix’s U.S. subscriber base (Hulu is not a global service).

 

Hulu’s premium tier (no commercials) costs $11.99 per month, while its basic service (with ads) is $5.99 per month.  With the debut of Disney+ this November, subscribers will be able to bundle Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ (but only the cheaper Hulu version that contains commercials).  Hulu now limits show interruptions to 90 seconds.  This essentially has removed more than half of the commercial time that had previously run in programming on the streaming service. 

 

Hulu also has a live TV bundle for $45 per month (actually $37 if you already subscribe to Hulu’s basic streaming service), containing about 60 channels, including the Big Four broadcast networks, Turner, A&E, and Scripps, and the cable networks they own (which means the cable sports and news networks are there as well).  Hulu’s live streaming service has about 2 million customers, making it second to Dish-owned Sling TV with 2.42 million subscribers at the end of 2018.

 

A New Player Joins the Club

The first broadcast network to join the streaming wars, CBS launched, CBS All Access in 2017 with CBS Studios’ and the network’s extensive library, recent episodes of current CBS broadcast shows, and three new high-profile original series – The Good Fight (a spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife), Star Trek: Discovery, and a new version of The Twilight Zone.  It now has eight original scriptedseries.  It also offers a live stream of the local CBS affiliate in many markets. 

 

It has grown from only 100,000 subscribers at its start, to roughly 4 million in 2019 (CBS also has about 4 million subs to its Showtime streaming app).  The company expects to grow from a combined 8 million subscribers in 2019, to 25 million by 2022.  I think 20 million is more likely.

 

This growth will be spurred no doubt by the expansion of the Star Trek franchise, with Star Trek: Picard (set to debut in January) and an adult animation series, Lower Decks, slated for 2020 (with more reportedly to follow).  The expensive Star Trek: Discovery is actually co-funded by Netflix, which has the international rights to the series.  Amazon Prime Video, however, will stream the new series internationally 24 hours after its U.S. release.

 

CBS All Access costs $9.99 per month for the commercial-free version and $5.99 per month if you don’t mind putting up with ads.

 

Battlegrounds Take Shape – but Who is Competing With Whom?

While Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu have the obvious advantage of being the first ones in, there are several new entries in the streaming wars with strong potential to either challenge the leaders or carve out strong niches of their own (as did CBS All Access).

Disney, with its popular existing franchises (Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar) and its cross-promotion machine (which includes Disneyland, Hulu, ESPN, and FX) may be best positioned to actually compete with Netflix.  On the other hand, the Disney brand might make it more niche than one might think.  Its new streaming service, Disney+, will debut on November 12^th. 

 

The service plans to have nine original series at launch, including the highly anticipated live-action Star Wars spinoff, The Mandalorian, which is about bounty hunters in the outer reaches of the Galaxy (taking place after the events in the Return of the Jedi movie).  The bounty hunter mythology has long been extremely popular among hard-core Star Wars fans.  Disney+ plans to have 25 original scripted series and 10 original movies within year one.  It will have 100 recent and 400 classic Disney movies on tap as well.  Disney+ will also be the exclusive SVOD home for all 30 seasons of The Simpsons.

 

The Marvel universe will likely be a big initial draw, as Disney+ rolls out original series featuring The Vision and Scarlet Witch (called WandaVision), The Falcon and Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye (starring the original actors from The Avengers movies), as well as series featuring lesser-known Marvel characters – She Hulk, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel.  There will also be an animated Marvel series called What If…?, looking at what might have happened if certain events in the Marvel universe had turned out differently. 

 

Disney has been building awareness for its new streaming service through numerous fan-oriented events such as the big San Diego and New York comic cons (in July and October, respectively) and Disney’s own D-23 fan convention (August).  You couldn’t visit a Disney theme park, go on a Disney Cruise, or watch ESPN over the past year without knowing that Disney+ was coming.

 

Disney + plans to spend about $1 billion on original content in 2020, which will increase to about $2.5 billion by 2024 (when they expect to become profitable).  This is still only a fraction of the amount Netflix spends each year, so it’s clear that it will be relying on Disney’s existing franchises and extensive library more than developing new original scripted series.

 

Disney + will cost $6.99 per month, but you can get it bundled with Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99 per month (the same price as Netflix’s standard tier).  This will initially only include the Hulu version with commercials.  Right now, Hulu’s ad version costs $5.99 per month (with 28 million subscribers) and ESPN + costs $4.99 per month (with 2.4 million subscribers).  So, the bundle essentially gives subscribers ESPN+ for free.  Ironically, if viewers flock to this bundled service, it could result in a fair amount of cord cutting, which would hurt Disney’s main media business.  Disney expects its streaming service to have between 60 and 90 million subscribers by 2024, two-thirds of them outside the U.S.  This seems reasonable.

 

Apple TV+ is launching on November 1^st, and at just $4.99 per month, will be the least expensive streaming option out there.  In an effort to quickly build a large subscriber base, Apple is offering a year of free Apple TV+ to anyone who buys a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod Touch, or Mac computer.  Apple sold more than 36 million iPhones in Q3, so we’re talking about more than 140 million likely being sold over the next year.  With that many potential subscribers receiving free Apple TV+ for a year, it could easily have 10 million paid subscribers by the end of 2020. 

 

Unlike many other streaming services, Apple TV+ will not have an existing library of TV shows or movies, but it is working on more than 20 original series for its first year – and how consumers react to its initial crop of scripted series will go a long way in determining Apple’s success in carving out a niche for itself.  Rather than competing with Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Disney+, Apple TV+ seems like something consumers will either add to their current mix or not.  The pricing leads me to believe many will.  Apple TV+ will be available in 100 countries and accessible through the Apple TV app.

 

Apple is hoping its first major drama series, The Morning Show, starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, will be its House of Cards, luring subscribers to check out the service, as that show did for Netflix.  Other series will include Ronald D. Moore’s For All Mankind, Dickenson (a comedy starring Hailee Steinfeld), the Jason Momoa sci-fi series, See, and Servant, a psychological thriller from Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan.

 

 

 

Netflix, of course, is the perfect name for a streaming service.  But HBO Max?  That’s the name chosen by AT&T owned WarnerMedia for its new streaming service scheduled for spring 2020.  If you already have HBO and HBO Go, or HBO Now, why would you think you need something called HBO Max?  People who don’t have HBO are already not sure which version to get.  HBO has a very specific brand tied to movies and edgy premium cable series, such as Game of Thrones.  People probably won’t immediately think of streaming, Warner Bros., Turner, or broad-based original scripted series.  Adding another HBO brand extension may just confuse people.  It could need a lot of extra marketing to create awareness (is this replacing HBO Now, which provides access to all current HBO movies, as well as past and current HBO original series without needing a cable subscription?).

 

WarnerMedia has said that subscribers will have access to 10,000 hours of content at launch.  HBO Max will reportedly cost $14.99 per month (the same price as HBO Now), and will not contain commercials.  This would make it the most expensive streaming option, which could be a problem attracting customers who don’t already subscribe to HBO.  There might eventually be a commercial tier at a lower cost, but ads seem to go against the HBO brand.  HBO currently has 140 million subscribers worldwide, mostly through pay TV services such as DirecTV and Comcast.  More than 5 million of its subscribers are digital customers in the U.S.

 

While there will be some original content in addition to HBO programming, HBO Max will rely heavily on WarnerMedia’s library (including Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, TNT, TBS, Tru TV, CNN, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim). 

 

HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home for all 236 episodes of Friends (which cost more than $400 million for five years) and all 279 episodes of The Big Bang Theory (reportedly at a cost of $600 million+, which includes extending its syndication run on TBS through 2028). 

 

The new streaming service will also have The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Pretty Little Liars, as well as Warner Bros.-produced series airing on The CW network starting this season (such as Batwoman, and Riverdale spinoff, Katy Keene).  Previous CW series, such as Arrow, The Flash, Supernatural, and Riverdale, will continue to be available on Netflix for a few more years.  HBO Max also made a deal with the BBC for all 11 seasons of Doctor Who in the U.S. (season 12 will be available after its cable run).  The original British version of The Office, and past seasons of Top Gear, Luther, and The Honorable Woman will also be available.  Subscribers will also have access to the extensive Warner Bros. film library, which includes Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Harry Potter series.

 

Five new seasons and annual specials of Sesame Street will air on HBO Max starting in 2020 (it will continue to air free on PBS Kids), and in a new content partnership deal, its 50-year library will also be available. 

 

Original series planned for HBO Max include, Dune: The Sisterhood (based on the classic sci-fi Dune novels), Tokyo Vice (starring Ansel Elgort as an American journalist on the Tokyo police beat), Love Life (a half-hour romantic comedy starring Anna Kendrick), The Flight Attendant (starring Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco), Station Eleven (based on the Emily St. John Mandel novel about the world following a pandemic that kills most of the population), Made for Love (based on the novel by Alissa Nutting), Americanah (a limited series about a young Nigerian woman who moves to the U.S., starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o), Starstruck, a six-episode comedy starring comedian Rose Matafeo, Circe (a limited series centering around the Greek mythological god, Circe), a reboot of Gossip Girls, and animated reboots of The Gremlins and The Boondocks.

 

WarnerMedia is moving the critically acclaimed but low-rated comedy, Search Party (starring Alia Shawkat) HBO Max.  Its first two seasons aired on TBS December, but has now been renewed for seasons three and four on the new streaming service (in an effort to get a larger and broader audience).  Its first two seasons will also be available.  It’s not clear whether any other TBS or TNT series will eventually move to HBO Max, but I wouldn’t be surprised.  

 

Star producer Greg Berlanti will produce four original movies for HBO Max and Reese Witherspoon will produce at least two.  And, of course, past and current HBO hits – The Sopranos, Veep, Sex and the City, Game of Thrones, etc. – will be available for streaming.  HBO Max also plans to have live sports and news programming at some point, but probably not at the start.

 

While HBO Now subscribers will seamlessly switch over to HBO Max (and it could get some Friends fanatics), it will really be the quality and buzz generated by its original scripted series that will be necessary to lure anyone who does not currently subscribe to an HBO service.  There is no word as of this writing whether WarnerMedia will have some sort of bundle with HBO Max, DirecTV Now, and DC Universe, but that would be a good idea.  HBO Max is hoping to get 50 million subscribers within five years, which is a lofty goal indeed.

 

Peacock might have sounded like the perfect name for NBC Universal’s streaming service, but how many people under 40 will associate the network with the Peacock that had been its logo for years?   It may not matter much – perhaps they want to separate Peacock from the NBC broadcast brand (unlike CBS All Access).  We’ll find out when the Comcast owned streaming service launches in April 2020 with more than 15,000 hours of content, including a huge inventory of past hit series, such as Parks and Recreation, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Downton Abbey, Friday Night Lights, House, Parenthood, Will & Grace, Monk, Psych, Royal Pains, Married…With Children, and Frasier, as well as every season of Saturday Night Live. 

 

In 2021, they will be joined by The Office, which NBC Universal shelled out $500 million for domestic rights to get it back from Netflix (where it was reportedly its most viewed show in 2018) in an exclusive five-year deal.  Peacock will also contain more than 3,000 hours of content from NBCU’s Spanish language Telemundo.  Sports and news content will be announced at a later date.  Peacock will not initially be a global service.

 

Included at launch will be a library of film titles from Universal, Dreamworks Animation, and Focus Features (although not on an exclusive basis).  Peacock will also look to some of its film franchises to create new TV series. Titles available at include American Pie, Bridesmaids, Knocked Up, Meet the Parents, A Beautiful Mind, Back to the Future, Brokeback Mountain, Casino, Dallas Buyers Club, Do the Right Thing, Erin Brockovich, E.T., Field of Dreams, Jaws, Mama Mia, Shrek and The Breakfast Club.  The Bourne, Despicable Me, and Fast & Furious franchises will also be available.

 

During the 2020 Summer Olympics, the entire NBC Universal family (NBC, Telemundo, USA, SYFY, E!, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Sports, Universal Studios) will have a massive marketing campaign promoting Peacock, with original series premiering soon after the Games.  

 

Peacock’s slate of original scripted dramas will reportedly include a reboot of Battlestar Galactica, Dr. Death (starring Alec Baldwin, Jamie Dornan, and Christian Slater), Brave New World (with Demi Moore), limited series, Angelyne (starring Emmy Rossum, and based on a Hollywood Reporter feature), and the thriller, One of Us is Lying.  Comedies will include a reboot of Saved by the Bell a Punky Brewster sequel (with Soleil Moon Frye reprising her role), Rutherford Falls (starring Ed Helms), Straight Talk (from Rashida Jones, starring Jada Pinkett Smith), a spinoff of Psych, and former NBC series, A.P. Bio.

 

NBC has announced that the service will be ad supported (consumers who subscribe to Comcast will reportedly be able to log in to Peacock for free).  This gives Peacock a potential starting base of 20 million viewers.  There should also be an ad-free option at some point.  The cost of the service has not yet been announced.

 

The Streaming Landscape:  Is Netflix the Once and Future King?

• For the first time in eight years, Netflix lost domestic subscribers in the second quarter of 2019. It added a less-than-expected 2.7 million overall subscribers globally, while losing 130,000 U.S. subs (out of a base of 60 million).  Netflix has about 150 million subscribers worldwide, so this is not the end of the world, but with new streaming services from major players, Disney, WarnerMediia, Comcast/NBC Universal, and Apple, on the way this year and next, it is cause for some concern.

 

• I wonder how much of this subscriber loss has to do with Netflix canceling all of its Marvel series –Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher. We should not underestimate the fierce loyalty of Marvel fans (as anyone who has attended the San Diego and New York comic cons can attest) – and the possible draw of characters from The Avengers movies, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye (all with the original stars), slated to air on the upcoming Disney+, which is also adding three new lesser known Marvel properties to the mix, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Marvel (the first Pakistani-American superhero).    Of course, Netflix increasing the cost of its standard plan by a couple of bucks may also have had something to do with some of the subscriber loss.

 

• Two of Netflix’s most watched licensed series, The Office and Friends, are going to Peacock and HBO Max, respectively. I may be in the minority, but I think the potential negative impact on Netflix is overblown.  Most people don’t subscribe to a streaming service for off-network repeats (which have been available in syndications for years).  The major draw has been, and will continue to be, original content.  Once you subscribe, you may be happy to watch something like The Office over and over, but that’s not why most people subscribe.  Receiving much less publicity is the fact that Nielsen cites Grey’s Anatomy and Criminal Minds as two of Netflix’s most watched shows.  No one thinks a sizable number of subscribers buy Netflix because these shows are available, or would leave if they disappeared.  Netflix recently made a deal for the global rights to all 180 episodes of Seinfeld starting in 2021 (the show currently airs on Hulu in the U.S.).

 

• Netflix still spends far more than any other streaming service on original content, hitting a staggering $15 billion in 2019 (up from $7 billion in 2017). According to analytics company, Jumpshot, 26 of the 30 most popular original streaming shows in 2019 are on Netflix, including House of Cards, Altered Carbon, Narcos, Stranger Things, Marvel’s Daredevil, Ozark, Orange is the New Black, Fuller House, BoJack Horseman, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Russian Doll, Sex Education, Grace and Frankie, You, Marvel’s The Punisher, and The Umbrella Academy.  Note that these appeal to a wide array of audiences.  Four series from Hulu also made the list – Pen15, Marvel’s Runaways, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Future Man.

 

• Bingeing matters. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video release full seasons of a new series at once, allowing viewers to watch as many as they want on their own schedule.  But other streamers are adhering to the more traditional weekly schedule.  Hulu often releases three episodes to begin a new season, and then reverts to one-a-week.  CBS All Access is on a once-a-week schedule for its original series, while Disney+, Peacock, and Apple TV+ reportedly will do the same.  This remains a big advantage for Netflix, which is able to do drop entire seasons at once because of its vast amount of original programming.  Other services that are trying to build a new subscriber base probably feel (incorrectly) that weekly episodes are better for keeping new viewers hooked.

 

• Ad-supported TV isn’t dead yet. Several years ago, when Netflix started accounting for a third of all primetime internet traffic (it’s now closer to 40%), and DVR penetration hit the 50% mark, there was a lot of speculation that the TV advertising model was in trouble.  After all, people were flocking to commercial-free video streaming, and 70% of DVR users were fast-forwarding through commercials.  But the subscription monetization model that works for Netflix is hard for others to sustain.  Netflix built a huge global and U.S. subscriber base before there were many other players.  It was therefore able to gradually raise prices and still have subscriber gains far outpace any subscriber losses.  But there is only so much consumers are willing to spend on subscription television (particularly for those who also subscribe to cable, satellite, or telco).  So newer players necessarily have to charge less than Netflix.  Original content, particularly with high-profile stars and showrunners, is very expensive.  Dual revenue streams are almost required for those that want to compete on a large scale (as opposed to being a niche player).  More platforms are embracing at least some sort of advertising.  And since most streaming services have much less commercial clutter than linear television, and most ads cannot be fast-forwarded, SVOD or AVOD commercials are actually more valuable to advertisers than commercials on broadcast or cable TV.

 

• My feeling is that at least for the time being, Netflix will remain a foundational streaming service to most current subscribers in the U.S. – other services might be added on, but Netflix won’t be substantially hurt. But for those who do not yet subscribe to a streaming service, however, Netflix may no longer be the first choice in the U.S.  Most of its future growth will come from international markets.  Netflix realizes that the U.S. market is nearing a saturation point, and that two-thirds of its subscriber base will be international in five years.  It is producing an increasing amount of original content outside the U.S. in an effort to appeal to local international audiences.  Netflix is so far ahead of the pack here, that even if it gained no additional domestic subscribers over the next five years, it would still be the streaming leader in the U.S. (although I’m projecting it will get close to 10 million additional subscribers in the United States by 2024).

 

• Amazon Prime Video will remain strong, and will continue to spend more than most streaming services on original content (although still only half as much as Netflix). It should be noted, however, that less than 5% of Amazon’s customers pay directly for Prime Video, which will continue to be more of a service designed to retain Amazon customers than become a profit center.  It remains to be seen how committed Amazon will be to developing expensive video projects a more pure-play video competitors proliferate.  But the company does seem to want to be a leader in every business it enters, so I would guess it will continue to be a major player in the video streaming world, and continue to be second to Netflix in subscribers worldwide.

 

• Many consider Disney+ to be the major competitor to Netflix, but I see them as substantially different services that can thrive side-by-side without negatively affecting one another. Current Netflix subscribers who are into Star Wars, Marvel, or Pixar, or who have kids, are likely to add Disney+ without dropping the more adult-oriented Netflix.  And bundling Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+ will certainly help boost its subscriber base in the U.S.  I think it has the potential of reaching roughly 30 million subscribers in this country within five years.  Outside the U.S., where Hulu and ESPN+ do not operate, Disney will have to rely on its powerful brand name (and lower price than Netflix) to grow in the increasingly important international marketplace.  As streaming in the U.S. gets closer to a saturation point, other countries become key.  Disney has already said it expects two-thirds of its subscribers to be international by 2024.

 

• One advantage for Apple TV+ is that it has tons of money on hand, and is not necessarily concerned about making a profit from its video streaming service (which will be a tiny fraction of the company’s business). Apple can readily afford to have Apple TV+ be a loss leader, as long as it contributes to selling other Apple products (particularly iPhones).  Giving Apple TV+ free for a year to those who purchase other Apple products, may do just that.  This will place the service in front of more than 140 million Apple customers in its first year.  If even a small percentage of them subscribe, and for only $4.99 a month many will, it could have more than 10 million paying subscribers by the end of 2020.

 

 

Here's Why Most New Shows Will Flop

These are the best of times for TV viewers, but it might be the worst of times for broadcast TV.

 

The mortality rate of new broadcast series is higher than ever.  Out of 68 new primetime scripted series premiering in the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, only 11 (16%) will still be on the air in fall 2019.  Here are some thoughts on the whys and wherefores.

 

The new TV season is not as relevant as it used to be.  Prior to the early 2000s, the new fall TV season was one of the few entertainment topics discussed throughout the summer on syndicated TV shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Extra, and Access Hollywood, and print magazines such as People, Us, and Entertainment Weekly.  The broadcast networks aired mostly repeats, cable networks contained mostly off-network reruns and reality, and except for the occasional movie blockbuster or celebrity scandal, there wasn’t much else to focus on.  But that was before original scripted series started proliferating on various cable networks during the summer months, and before more than half the country subscribed to at least one streaming service.  The new broadcast season simply doesn’t get as much press as it used to.  There are new scripted series available to viewers year-round.

 

 

Summer and fall programming appeal to different audiences.  My wife and I watch a significant amount of broadcast television during the fall and winter, but very little in the summer.  For us, summer is the time to find new streaming shows to binge.  This is becoming the case for more and more people across the country, particularly younger viewers.  Promos for new dramas such as Emergence (ABC), Evil (CBS), Bluff City Law (NBC), and Prodigal Son (FOX) are not maximizing their potential target audience in Bachelor in Paradise (ABC), Love Island (CBS), Bring the Funny (NBC), and Spin the Wheel (FOX).  The networks need more creative ways, beyond on-air promos to create awareness and intent to view.

 

Live TV viewing is declining, particularly for primetime entertainment series.  DVR ownership continues to inch upward (and is now over 55% of TV homes).  My wife and I were recently at the movies, and when the ads came on, she commented that she hadn’t seen any of them before.  I had seen one or two that had aired repeatedly on various sports programming.  Most of our viewing to primetime shows is on a delayed basis via DVR, and we tend to fast-forward through most of the commercials – as do many of the folks across the country who own DVRs.  The exceptions are generally sports, award shows, and off-network series, such as The Big Bang Theory on TBS and Criminal Minds on ION, which we watch live.  Ten years ago, she (and many regular TV viewers) could have named most of the new series set to debut over the next week or two and would have been looking forward to checking them out.  Now, she’s only heard of two or three – and only those because we’ve been watching football for the past three weeks.

 

Broadcast networks still won’t cross-promote.  Cable networks long ago realized the best way to grow their audience was to appeal to those who were watching similar shows on other networks.  They also understood that it didn’t really hurt them if other cable networks did the same.  If everyone gained viewers, more advertising dollars would shift from broadcast to cable, and everyone would eventually benefit – which is exactly what happened.  The broadcast networks still stubbornly refuse to promote one another’s new shows, while accepting ads from their real competitors – namely cable networks and streaming services.  The idea that a new show produced by CBS can’t be promoted on CBS because it airs on ABC, is, to say the least, ludicrous.

 

Viewers don’t think in terms of ABC vs. CBS vs. NBC vs. FOX anymore.  Only network executives still think that way.  They don’t seem to understand that in today’s video landscape, ad-supported television should be allied against everything else.

 

This past Sunday’s Emmy telecast was symbolic of just how out of touch the broadcast networks seem to be.  The show trotted out numerous broadcast TV stars to present awards to series, actors, writers, and directors of non-broadcast TV.  No broadcast show won a single award in any comedy, drama, movie, or limited series category (a first?).  Yet during the telecast, which aired on FOX, there were several ads for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video series, ads for the upcoming Disney + and Apple + streaming services, and ads for FX cable – but no ads for any broadcast network other than FOX.  And this, one day before the start of the new broadcast season.  This is simply  mind boggling!

 

Networks stop promoting too soon.  While the broadcast networks heavily promote their new shows over the summer and during premiere week, they tend to cut back on these efforts way too soon.  It usually takes three to five weeks for a new show to settle into its final ratings range.  And in the era of Peak TV, it takes viewers longer than ever to even become aware of a new show much less start watching it.  I’m still discovering shows to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video that have been on for several seasons.  While the networks rely on ad revenue, so don’t have that kind of time, they should be promoting new shows they believe in throughout the fourth quarter and heavily promote that recent episodes are available to stream on demand.  

 

Viewers are becoming used to edgier shows.  The broadcast networks are much more limited by content restraints than other viewing sources.  Premium cable series, such as Westworld, Game of Thrones, and The Deuce, as well as subscription streaming services, enjoy the leeway when it comes to sex and violence that you simply cannot have on ad-supported TV.  And even ad-supported cable series have much more creative freedom than broadcast series.  While this does actually contribute to developing more broad-based hits than edgier and more niche venues, it also results in more failure.  The threshold for success is significantly higher for broadcast than for cable – many cable hits would be canceled after a single episode if they drew the same number of viewers on a broadcast network.

 

Broadcast networks still reach more viewers.  Despite all of the above points, the broadcast networks still have most viewed series on television (The Walking Dead notwithstanding).  Virtually all of the top 50 rated primetime series are on ABC, CBS. NBC, or FOX.  They still reach the broadest audience.  And it is a promising sign that five of the seven highest rated scripted broadcast series debuted over the past three seasons.  But there are only five broadcast networks (if you add in CW).  Numerous other viewing sources and screens continue to slice into and splinter the total viewing pie.  There’s no law that says the broadcast networks’ audience must erode every season.  But they need to stop acting as if it’s still 1989 and basic cable is the only thing they need to worry about.  They should understand that ad-supported broadcast networks, in fact all ad-supported television networks are allies, not adversaries, and start acting accordingly.  Of course, with all of them getting involved in the streaming wars, this seems less likely than ever.

 

The broadcast networks need to keep in mind that many long-running and iconic series over the years needed time, and sometimes a new time period to succeed.  This is truer than ever, yet much more unlikely today.  Long gone are the days when a Cheers can debut as the lowest rated show on television and end its 11-year run as a consistent top-1o series.  Or a Seinfeld can sustain low ratings for three seasons before taking off.  Or an Everybody Loves Raymond can start out on Friday night with low ratings, move to Monday, and become a hit.  We will always have shows such as This is Us, FBI, and The Good Doctor, which immediately click with viewers.  But those are few and far between.  If the broadcast networks are to significantly lower the mortality rate of new series, they need to give shows they like more time to find an audience and promote them more effectively.

Summer Bingeing - 20 Shows You Should Check Out

Once a time for little but repeats, reality, and game shows, the summer months are now filled with original scripted series – several on cable networks, but many you may never have heard of on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and CBS All Access, as well.

 

I’ve been analyzing programming for more than 30 years and continue to keep on top of the television and video landscape.  The fact that I am just now discovering some excellent shows that have already been on for two or three seasons should tell you something about how many gems are out there in the era of Peak TV. 

 

Here are some of the best series you may not have heard about, but should check out over the summer.  Each has at least two seasons worth of episodes you can binge.  I’ll try my best not to provide spoilers.

 

Bosch (Amazon Prime Video):   I’ve said it before and I stand by it - this is not only the best procedural drama currently on television, it might be the best procedural drama ever on television. 

 

Titus Willever is perfect as the brilliant, tough as nails, flawed, and haunted detective Harry Bosch.  He melts into the role with a smoothness that is simply delicious.  The ensemble cast of regulars are spot on – Jamie Hector as his partner, Madison Lintz as his daughter, Amy Aquino as his friend and boss, Lance Reddick as police chief, and Troy Evans and Gregory Scott Cummins as fellow detectives, nicknamed Crate and Barrel. 

 

The guest stars have been a string of superb character actors who you will immediately recognize (if you’re over 40) and wonder where you’ve seen them before.

 

Each season focuses on one main crime that Bosch and crew need to solve, along with one or two secondary crimes.  The murder of Bosch’s prostitute mom when he was 12, how it impacted who he is today, and his relentless efforts to solve the crime, is a thread that has sewn its way through the first four 10-episode seasons. 

 

Season 5 hasn’t lost a step.  It continues to be tight, straightforward, and unhurried as it gradually unravels clues to solve each crime.  It remains as addictive as ever.  If you haven’t discovered Bosch yet, you’ll have the joy of being able to binge 50 episodes.

 

Goliath (Amazon Prime Video):  Billy McBride (Billy Bob Thornton), once a high-powered lawyer ln Los Angeles, has be become a burned out and washed-up ambulance chaser, who spends more time in bars than in a courtroom.  But he’s still got the skills.

 

In season 1 he reluctantly agrees to take on a wrongful death lawsuit against the biggest (and

extremely dangerous) client of the giant law firm he helped create (William Hurt plays his former

 

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partner, now biggest adversary).  Maria Bello is his ex-wife, also a partner in his former firm.  He puts

together a ragtag team that helps him uncover a big and deadly conspiracy (Nina Arianda and Tany Raymonde are both solid here).

 

He returns in season 2 to defend his friend’s 16-year-old son who is wrongly accused of a grisly double murder.  He and his team uncover another conspiracy, which leads to the highest levels of the city politics and corruption.  This season has a harder edge than season 1, as it becomes more difficult for David to slay all the Goliaths.

 

Created and written by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, Billy Bob Thornton’s naturalistic, laid back style is well suited as a former Goliath, now a David, beaten down but still confident in his ability to take down new Goliaths each season.  Randy Quaid, Amy Brenneman, Beau Bridges, Griffin Dunne, and Sherilyn Finn have signed on for season 3 (scheduled for sometime in 2019). 

 

Sneaky Pete (Amazon Prime Video):  Giovanni Ribisi is Marius, a con man who assumes the identity of his prison cell mate, Pete, to escape a vicious mobster.  He moves in with Pete’s family (who haven’t seen him for twenty years), including his grandma (Marge Martindale), Grampa (Peter Gerety), and cousin (Marin Ireland), who run a bail-bonds business.  They have their own secrets and lies (and world of shady characters) that make “Pete’s” new life as dangerous as the one he is trying to escape.  He uses his well-honed skills to help them out of one jam after another.  His past, however, is never far behind, constantly threatening to expose him to his new extended family.

 

Bryan Cranston is executive producer, and has a role as a gangster who is after Pete in season 1.  Intelligent, gritty, and a good mix of drama and humor.  Season 3 (its last) dropped in May.

 

The Good Fight (CBS All Access):  The great Christine Baransky stars, along with Cush Jumbo and Rose Leslie (both also great) in this female-driven legal drama (and spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife).  They make a diverse team that is as much in (or out of) control professionally as they are in their relationships.  Audra McDonald and Delroy Lindo also star.

 

Sexual harassment, racism, and income inequality have been dealt with here in a more thought-provoking way than is typically seen on television (or anywhere, for that matter).  Having Christine Baransky’s character, Diane Lockhart take a partner position at a majority black-owned and staffed Chicago law firm lends itself to a number of race-related storylines, which the writers have handled well, without getting heavy-handed.

 

There remains a clear anti-Trump tone, particularly with the animated shorts that appear in each episode during the third season, but this is also perhaps the only show on TV showing its few Trump supporters, and conservatives in general in a somewhat positive light.  Just the right mix of drama and humor, along with the excellent cast and superb writing, make this great television.

 

Season 1 is being aired on CBS this summer (something I suggested the network do when CBS All Access debuted in 2017).  If you don’t subscribe to CBS All Access, watch this cleaned up version.  Then subscribe and binge all three seasons of what is one of the very best series on television.

 

Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access):  Taking place a decade before Captain Kirk’s original five-year mission, the series follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Discovery as it seeks out new worlds and new civilizations (and battles Klingons and other alien forces along the way).

 

Star Trek TV series are not known for strong starts – the original series was continually on the verge of cancellation during its three-season run, while both Next Generation and Deep Space Nine didn’t hit their strides until their third seasons.  Discovery’s first season was no exception – it was good but uneven.  Season 2, however, found its way, revved up the action, and gave this series real potential to become a classic and revitalize the Star Trek franchise.

 

Sonequa Martin-Green is excellent as science officer Michael Burnham, a human who was raised on Vulcan by Spock’s father, Sarek.  Michelle Yeoh is also excellent as Captain Philippa Georgiou.  Season 2 has several nods to the original series, introducing us to a young Spock and Captain Christopher Pike (James T. Kirk’s predecessor on the U.S.S. Enterprise), but you need not be familiar with Star Trek canon to like this series. 

 

Season 2’s ending propels Star Trek Discovery into new terrain to make Season 3 a completely new entity with endless possibilities.  After season 3, CBS should air this series on its broadcast network during the summer as it is doing with The Good Fight.

 

GLOW (Netflix):   This surprise Netflix hit from the summer of 2017 provides a behind-the-scenes look at the 1980s syndicated TV show, the low-budget Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. 

 

Alison Brie, as an unemployed actress who becomes a GLOW star, and Marc Maron as a washed up “B” movie director who leads the ladies to fame, are standouts.  Along with an excellent, diverse ensemble cast of misfits, they make this way more fun than I expected.  It took three or four episodes to get rolling, but then my wife and I were hooked.  Season 2 is a blast from start to finish.

 

Geena Davis will appear in 5 of the 10 episodes in season 3, which will be released in August.  She’ll portray the wrestlers’ new boss, when the women of GLOW move to Las Vegas as the headliner at her hotel and casino.

 

Ozark (Netflix):  Jason Bateman (in his best and most nuanced performance) is Marty Byrde, a Chicago financial advisor who is forced to move to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks with his wife Wendy (Laura Linney, who is also great here) and their two kids.   After Marty’s business partener steals money from a cartel and is subsequently killed, he is forced to pay back the debt by laundering money for a drug lord.  When they get there they also have to deal with some vicious local gangsters. 

 

Quirky and gritty, dangerous characters and situations abound.  An unusual but very effective mix of humor and violence (which can be sudden and jarring).  Season 3 probably won’t be ready until sometime in 2020.

 

Daredevil (Netflix):  When Daredevil debuted on Netflix in 2015, it raised the bar for superhero storytelling on television.   As the best known of the Netflix Marvel street-level heroes (which also include Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher), Charlie Cox gives a strong performance as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil – blind lawyer by day, vigilante crimefighter by night. 

 

While he has no actual superpowers, Daredevil has ninja-like fighting skills, and heightened senses to make up for his lack of sight.  As with most Marvel vigilantes, he is haunted by events in his past, and struggles with the violence he is forced to inflict on the bad guys – at what point do you become what you are fighting?

 

The fight choreography (check out the hallway fight sequence from season 1 and the prison gym fight in season 3) goes well beyond anything I’ve seen on TV.

 

Great heroes are often defined and elevated by great villains, and Vincent D’Onofrio is larger than life as Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin.  In the comic books, he’s one of Daredevil’s and Spiderman’s greatest foes.  Living up to one of the most iconic bad guys in comicdom is no easy task, but he pulls it off.

 

Unfortunately, the stellar third season was its last, unless Disney decides to eventually resurrect it on Disney+ or Hulu.

 

The Punisher (Netflix):  Marvel’s most violent anti-hero, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, is perfectly embodied by Jon Bernthal.  He’s a former special forces soldier seeking vengeance on those who murdered his family.  His internal struggle is more straightforward than other Marvel vigilantes – he has no qualms or remorse about the high body counts he leaves in his lurch, but his dilemma is simply after you kill everyone who has wronged you, can you once again become a normal human being?  The answer seems to be maybe, at least until he sees some innocent person in danger – then he’s compelled to come to the rescue and again mercilessly put down the bad guys (as he does in season 2).

 

The fight scenes are fantastic, and virtually every episode is exhilarating (if you like this sort of thing).  The Punisher was canceled with the rest of Netflix’s Marvel series after two high-octane seasons.

 

Jessica Jones (Netflix):  Krysten Ritter shines as Jessica Jones, a reluctant hero, brooding and haunted by her past (given super strength in a medical experiment that saved her life after a car crash killed her family).  More noir, and at times darker than other Marvel TV series, she turns the standard genre elements of the show upside down.  More hard-boiled detective than femme fatale, she swears, drinks too much, has meaningless sex, and thinks nothing of breaking the rules if it suits her idea of the greater good – the type of woman you virtually never see on television (or in the Marvel universe).  Traditional female roles – sidekicks and “the girlfriend” – are the male characters in this world.  

 

The first two seasons were surprisingly strong social commentaries on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on topics such as addiction, sexual harassment, rape, retaliation, and redemption – subjects seldom dealt with on television, and never in the Marvel universe at large.  Season 1 also had one of the great supervillains of all time in the mind-controlling Kilgrave (David Tennant).  Season 2 is more personal, as Jessica searches for those responsible for her powers, and discovers some shocking details.

 

Season 3 dropped in June, and is a fitting end to Jessica’s journey as she fights a serial killer and struggles with what it means to be a hero.  This is the last of Netflix’s Marvel series to be officially canceled (as Disney ramps up its own streaming service and takes full control of Hulu).

 

Big Little Lies (HBO):  Starring Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoe Kravitz.  What else do you need to know?  How about Meryl Streep joining the cast in season 2?  Lies and secrets (and murder) in the beachfront town of Monterey, California – successful parents, doting moms, precocious kids, stunning homes, all masking the dysfunctional relationships among family, friends, and neighbors in this seemingly tranquil community.  A master class in acting.  Season 2 started in June.

 

Queen of the South (USA):  The USA crime drama’s uneven first season got better and hit overdrive in seasons 2, and 3, as Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcon) and her former protégé, Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), battle for supremacy of a drug cartel.  Both are seductive and conniving, occasionally vicious, and always captivating. 

 

From the looks of early season 4 episodes, which premiered in June, it’s not slowing down one bit, as Teresa Mendoza strikes out on her own, making dangerous allies and facing down powerful adversaries, both new and old. 

 

Claws (TNT):   This dark TNT comedy centers on five manicurists who own a nail salon in Central Florida and are trying to get out of their life of crime (laundering money for the “Dixie Mafia” in season 1, the Russian mob in season 2, and new adversaries as they become casino owners in season 3). 

 

Claws is much funnier than it has any right to be, which makes some of the violence more unexpected and jarring.  Niecy Nash, Dean Norris, and Carrie Preston stand out among a fine ensemble cast.

 

Rick and Morty (Adult Swim):  My 20-year-old son got me hooked on this Adult Swim animated piece of brilliance a few years ago.  It follows super-genius (and boozy) scientist, Rick, as he drags his not-so-bright grandson, Morty, on wild adventures through other worlds and alternate dimensions.  Walks the line between sublime and ridiculous.  You’ll either love it or say “huh?” 

 

The long-awaited fourth season starts in November, but seasons 1-3 are available on Hulu.

 

 Killing Eve (BBCA/AMC):  Sandra Oh received a Golden Globe win and Emmy nomination for her role as the title character, a bored, but very smart and ambitious MI5 security officer.  She is excellent as always, but Jodie Comer is the real revelation as her adversary, Villanelle, a brutal and sociopathic assassin. 

 

Eve is tasked with hunting down the talented killer.  As they become equally obsessed with one another, a fierce game of cat and mouse ensues.  Men are the peripheral characters here (and most of the victims).  Each of the two seasons has eight episodes, which are available on demand.  Season 1 is also available on Hulu.  It’s as good as everyone says it is.

 

There are also several shows with only one season so far that are worth bingeing.  They include:

 

Bodyguard (Netflix):  British television hit centering around a special forces war veteran with PTSD (Richard Madden), who is now a police sergeant in London.  After thwarting a terrorist attack, he is assigned to protect the home secretary, a controversial politician and major proponent of the conflict he fought in.

 

You’ll be hooked after the first 15 minutes or so as the intensity of the opening continues unabated for the entire six-episode run.  Complicated, taut, absorbing, violent, and perfectly paced.  It will hold you and keep you guessing from start to finish.

 

They’re still discussing a potential season 2, but it probably won’t be until 2020-21 at the earliest.  According to its star, Richard Madden,  “We’re going to give it a breath and do it justice…and not just repeat the cycle, repeat the formula.”

 

Mindhunter (Netflix):  In the late 1970s, FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and veteran agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) pioneer behavioral profiling of a new type of murderer – the serial killer.  Anna Torv also stars as a psychology professor who helps them categorize the killers and predict future behavior. 

 

Rises way above a typical procedural.  Smart, compelling, and cinematic.  You won’t want to wait for the next episode – and if you have enough time, you don’t need to.  If you enjoy series such as Dexter,  Criminal Minds and Hannibal, you’ll probably like this too – but keep in mind there’s no murder of the week that conveniently get solved by the end of each hour.  This aims much higher, and, for the first season at least, hits the mark.  Season 2 is scheduled for this August.

 

The Kominsky Method (Netflix):  Created by comedy master, Chuck Lorre, and starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin as an iconic aging acting coach, Sandy Kominnsky and his long-time agent and friend.  Life is constantly throwing them curveballs as they navigate their later years in Los Angeles, a city that values youth and beauty.

 

The inspired pairing of Douglas and Arkin, combined with brilliant writing, make for a hilarious and often poignant eight episode first season.  Danny DeVito has an extremely funny recurring role as Kominsky’s urologist.   If you’re over 50, this will resonate, if you’re under 50, this is what you can look forward to (or not). 

 

This was the first Netflix series to win a Golden Globe for best comedy (and lead actor in a comedy for Michael Douglas).  It has been renewed for season 2, but no date has yet been announced.

 

Altered Carbon (Netflix):  Science fiction cyber punk.  In a dystopian future 300 years from now, new technology has transformed society by making human bodies interchangeable (if you can afford it), and death no longer necessarily permanent.  Joel Kinnaman portrays the lone survivor of a group of elite warriors who were defeated in an uprising.  His mind was imprisoned for years until a wealthy businessman gives him a chance to live if he solves his murder.

 

The second half of the first season is better than the first, but the entire series is gripping, and touches a surprising number of topical issues (income inequality being just the most obvious).  Visually stunning production values, action-packed (and violent), it’s reminiscent of Blade Runner.  It’s not for everyone (particularly the squeamish), but it’s great on many levels.

 

Hanna (Amazon Prime Video):  Based on the 2011 film of the same name, 15-year-old Hanna (Esme Creed-Miles) has been raised in the forest by her ex-spy “father” (Joel Kinnaman) to be a hunter and killer, as they evade the relentless pursuit of off-the-book CIA agents (one of whom is played by Mirielle Enos, who teamed with Kinnaman in AMC’s The Killing).

 

Part thriller, part coming-of-age drama, Creed-Miles and Kinnaman give performances over eight episodes that elevate this beyond just another action series.  Season 2 will air sometime in 2020.

 

These just scratch the surface.  If you have Netflix, check out House of Cards (great up until the disappointing Kevin Spacey-less final season), Narcos, Stranger Things, The Crown, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Dark, Russian Doll, Black Mirror, and Designated Survivor (formerly on ABC).  For those with Hulu, check out The Handmaids Tale, Marvel’s Runaways, Shrill, Castle Rock, Catch 22, Pen15, and The Looming Tower.  Amazon Prime Video viewers should check out Mozart in the Jungle, The Man in the High Castle, Fleabag, Absentia, Jack Ryan, Good Omens, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  On premium cable, you can watch HBO’s Barry and Euphoria, Cinemax’s Jett, Showtime’s City on a Hill, Starz’s Vida and The Rook.  Traditional cable viewers can check out AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead, Lodge 49, and NOS4A2, FX’s Pose, Snowfall, and Legion, TNT’s Animal Kingdom, USA’s Suits, and Paramount’s Yellowstone, among others.  And let’s not forget you can always live-binge repeats of network favorites on TBS (The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, Friends, Seinfeld,), TNT (Law & Order, Bones, Castle, Charmed, Supernatural, NCIS New Orleans), ION (Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, CSI, NCIS: L.A., Law & Order: SVU, Chicago PD), Nick-at-Nite (Full House, Friends, George Lopez, Mom, The Goldbergs), TV Land (Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Two-and-a-Half Men, The Golden Girls), Oxygen (NCIS, NCIS: L.A., Chicago P.D., CSI), and several other cable networks.

In Game of Thrones, Women Rule

It’s the most successful series on premium cable since The Sopranos.  Its eighth and final season, eagerly awaited by its legion of fans, just got underway.  Of course, in today’s splintered video world, more than half the country has never seen a single episode, and is wondering what all the fuss is about.  Those of us who are Game of Thrones fans know how special it is, and how it’s unlike anything else that’s ever been on television.

 

Of all the articles and columns written about the series over the years and leading up to its final season, there’s one aspect of the show seldom touched on.  Never before on television has there been a series with so many strong, independent, well-written female characters.  Virtually all of them have overcome, defeated, pushed aside, or killed domineering men who threatened or abused them.  All have become forces in their own right, and each is substantially different from the others.  (Of course, much of the credit here goes to George R.R. Martin, author of the series of novels on which the show is based, as well as the wonderful actresses who bring the characters to life.) 

 

Here’s a brief rundown of the major kickass women populating Game of Thrones.  Many spoilers follow.

 

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke):  The exiled princess of the Targaryen dynasty (her father, dubbed “The Mad King,” was murdered), who possesses three petrified dragon eggs, is forced by her abusive brother to marry a powerful warlord of the savage Dothraki people. 

 

To summarize the first seven seasons, she has her brother killed after he threatens her unborn baby (who is killed by a sorceress after her husband dies).  After she has the sorceress killed by tying her to her husband’s funeral pyre, she places the dragon eggs on the fire, and steps into the flames.  She emerges unscathed, with three baby dragons.

 

Determined to return to Westeros, claim her rightful crown, and rule over the Seven Kingdoms, she goes from city to city, freeing slaves (and killing their masters), amassing an army, and acquiring ships to sail west (with the help of her three now full-grown dragons).  Along the way, she faces and overcomes many challenges to her leadership, killing all the condescending and abusive men who under-estimate her and stand in her way.

 

She is eventually captured by the Dothraki, and as widow to one of their warlords, is told she will either be forced to live out her days with the other widows, or face an even less appealing fate.  She sets fire to their temple, killing all the Dothraki warlords.  She emerges from the fire unscathed, and is now the unquestioned leader of the Dothraki hordes.

 

She is determined to defeat the evil Queen Cersei, and take what she believes is her rightful place on the Iron Throne and rule the Seven Kingdoms.  She forges an alliance Jon Snow (King of the North).  But before they can battle Cersei, they must face an even greater threat – the  undead White Walkers, who threaten all who live. 

 

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey):  Cersei is one of the truly evil characters on television.  But she was made that way by being mistreated by powerful men her entire life.

 

She sleeps with her twin brother, Jamie, and has his children.  She has her husband, the king, killed before he can find out her children are not his true heirs.  She manages to install her son, Joffrey, on the throne with herself as Queen Regent and chief political advisor.

 

After King Joffey is murdered, she has her brother and political rival, Tyrion, arrested for the crime, even though she knows he is innocent.  Jamie helps him escape (Tyrion eventually becomes a key ally to Daenerys Targaryen).  Cersei’s younger son, Tommen, becomes king.  To form an alliance with House Tyrell, Tommen is betrothed to Margaery Tyrell, who immediately makes Cersei feel her position controlling the king is threatened.

 

Religious leader, the High Sparrow, finds out about Cersei’s incest, as well as her hand in her husband’s assassination, and has her arrested.  She is stripped of her authority, tortured and humiliated.  Cersei is allowed to return to the castle to await her trial.  Just as her trial is to get underway, Margaery Tyrell realizes neither Cersei or king Tommen is in attendance.  She knows something is wrong and tries to warn everyone to get out.  The High Sparrow scoffs at her concerns and stops her from leaving.  Cersei has a cache of wildfire  under the structure detonated, killing everyone inside – all of Cersei’s enemies and everyone else unlucky enough to be there.  King Tommen, seeing all of this take place from his window, and knowing his wife is dead, commits suicide.

 

In her final scene of the sixth season, Cersei is crowned Queen and sits on the Iron Throne.  In Season 7, as all the major players get together to try and figure out how to battle the White Walkers, we learn that Cersei is only pretending to join them in a temporary truce, hoping to solidify her power as many of her enemies are in danger of falling.

 

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner):  Sansa has perhaps seen as significant a transformation as any of the characters in the series.  We first saw her as a spoiled, sheltered, oldest daughter of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell.

 

She is promised in marriage to King Joffrey in order to join their houses.  But when her father discovers the truth about Joffrey’s birth (his parents being brother and sister), Joffrey orders him beheaded.  The entire Stark household, except for Sansa and her sister, Arya, are executed.  Sansa suffers tremendous abuse at the hands of Joffrey, but when he is murdered, she sees her chance and escapes.  Unfortunately, things are about to get much worse.

 

Lord Baelish, another duplicitous man in her life (who Sansa doesn’t know betrayed her father) persuades Sansa to marry Ramsey Bolton, the heir to the North, telling her it will enable her to avenge her family.  He turns out to be a sadistic monster who rapes her on their wedding night, and then continues to abuse her.  She eventually manages to escape.

 

She finds her half-brother, Jon Snow, and together they get a handful of northern lords to help them fight Ramsey Bolton’s forces.  After defeating him in battle (with the help of Lord Baelish’s army), Ramsey Bolton is taken prisoner.

 

In her final scene of season 6, Sansa literally feeds Ramsey to his savage hounds, and the close-up of her walking away with a gradual grin lighting up her face indicates she is now a force to be reckoned with.  In season 7, she discovers Baelish’s many deceptions, and while filling in for her brother as ruler of the North, has him executed.

 

Arya Stark (Maisie Williams):  Arya Stark is introduced to viewers as the tomboy opposite of her ladylike older and more reserved sister, Sansa. 

 

We first see her playing with a sword gifted to her by her half-brother, Jon Snow.  After Joffrey kills the Stark household, Arya escapes, and hides out on the streets of King’s Landing, disguised as a beggar.  She poses as a boy to join recruits marching north to the Night’s Watch (a place where your former identity doesn’t matter), whose residents live behind a massive wall of ice, and are sworn to protect the Seven Kingdoms.

 

The marchers are attacked and captured by the Lannister army.   Arya saves the life of the leader of the Faceless Men guild of assassins, who promises to help her.  Arya escapes and barely avoids the massacre of much of her remaining family at the infamous Red Wedding.  She is eventually taken in and trained by the guild of assassins (killing several men who threaten her along the way).

 

Arya’s final scene in the sixth season shows her disguised as a serving girl, cutting the throat of Lord Walder Frey (who killed her brother Robb and mother, Catelyn at the Red Wedding).  She already killed his two sons and cooked them in a pie she serves to him right before killing him.  Her quest to find and kill those who have betrayed her family continued into season 7, where she is reunited with Sansa and John Snow.  She is the one who Sansa has kill Lord Baelish, as Arya gets revenge on yet another man who has betrayed her family.

 

Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie):  From strictly a physical ability standpoint, Brienne of Tarth, a knight sworn to serve Catelyn Stark (Sansa’s and Arya’s mother), is the most badass woman on Game of Thrones (more badass than any of the men as well).

 

She is tasked with finding Sansa and Arya Stark and returning them to Catelyn.  She forms an uneasy reliance with Jamie Lannister.  After Catelyn is murdered at the Red Wedding and King Joffrey is killed, Jamie gives Brienne his Valyrian steel sword (which she dubs “Oathkeeper”) to help her find Sansa and bring her to safety.  She spends much of the time through season 6 searching for Sansa (and dispensing numerous men along the way).

 

Brienne comes upon a group of soldiers sent by Ramsey Bolton to capture Sansa.  She kills all the soldiers and then offers Sansa her services.  She reveals to Sansa that Arya is still alive.  Sansa sends Brienne to Riverun to seek the aid of Blackfish Tully for the army she is forming with Jon Snow.  But when she gets there, Jamie Lannister has the castle under siege.  Just as Jamie is overrunning the castle, Blackfish helps Brienne escape, without resistance from Jamie, who has developed a strong bond of friendship and respect with Brienne. 

 

Brienne’s final scene in season 6 shows her in a small boat escaping the castle with Jamie looking on from the balcony.  She turns and they wave to one another in a regretful farewell.  In season 7, Sansa sends Brienne to meet with her new potential allies at King Landing (because Sansa doesn’t want to be in the same room as Cersei).

 

Other strong female characters in the series, all of whom overcame horrendous situations of their own, include Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whelan), who claims the throne of the Iron Islands usurped by her uncle, Eliana Sand (Indira Varma), Queen of the Dorne and sworn enemy of Cersei Lannister, and Lady Oleanna Tyrell (the great Diana Rigg), whose son and grandchildren were killed by Cersei Lannister.  At the end of season 6, all three are allied with Daenerys Targaryen as they sail with her toward Westeros.  All three are captured in season 7, with only Yara Greyjoy surviving (barely).

 

Season 8 promises some epic confrontations.  Will it live up to the hype?  Will one of these great women wind up as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms?  Will any of them meet an untimely end?  I’m guessing Game of Thrones will be one of those rare series where the final season soars to even greater heights than those leading up to it.  Winter is here.

The Best 18 TV Dramas of 2018

This is by no means a complete list of the best dramas on television – in the era of peak TV there are so many.  It is simply my list of some of the highest quality series airing in 2018.  I think all have something that make then rise above the pack, and all are worth your time to check out.

I’ve been analyzing television/video for roughly 30 years, and the fact that I am just now discovering some shows that have already been on for multiple seasons should tell you something about how many gems worth finding are out there.    

Here are 18 dramas that top my list for 2018.  Some are new, some returning.  Since they are so different from one another, I am presenting them in alphabetical rather than rank order.

Barry (HBO):  Seamlessly moving between light comedy and dark drama (not easy to do), Bill Hader is superb as a disillusioned and depressed midwestern hitman who travels to L.A. to kill an actor who is sleeping with a mobster’s wife.  He follows his target to an acting class, where he becomes drawn to this community of desperate and dedicated students, falling in love with one of them.  But changing is not so easy.  On paper, this high concept show shouldn’t work.  On television, with these stellar performances, it’s near perfection. 

Henry Winkler is great as his pompous acting teacher, as is Anthony Carrigan as chatty mobster, Noho Hank.  Both Bill Hader and Henry Winkler won Emmys in 2018 for their performances.  It’s been renewed for a second season.  The first season is eight episodes – perfect for bingeing.

Better Call Saul (AMC):  The fourth season of Better Call Saul moved closer to the Breaking Bad universe (that show aired from 2008-2013 and led to the BCS spinoff).  We start to see how lawyer, Jimmy McGill (the excellent Bob Odenkirk) takes the long slide down the slippery slope that ends when he re-invents himself as sleazy mob lawyer, Saul Goodman.

Other Breaking Bad regulars, Mike (Jonathan Banks), one-time cop turned criminal “cleaner,” and drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), have prominent roles this season.  Rhea Seehorn gives an award-worthy performance as Jimmy’s girlfriend Kim, a hotshot lawyer in her own right, who is thrilled by his con-man side but gradually starts to believe that she is being conned as well.  Bob Odenkirk’s performance is so good that the viewer (who knows what he becomes in Breaking Bad) can still be unsure of his motives and moral compass.  Since Kim is never referred to in Breaking Bad, season 5 will likely show us her fate and how (or if) she escapes his world.

Bosch (Amazon Prime Video):   This is not only the best procedural drama currently on television, it might be the best procedural drama ever on television (and for those who feel compelled to @ me, shows such as NYPD Blue and The Wire are not procedural dramas). 

Titus Willever is perfect as the brilliant, tough as nails, flawed and haunted detective Harry Bosch.  The ensemble cast of regulars are spot on for their respective roles – Jamie Hector as his partner, Madison Lintz as his daughter, Amy Aquino as his friend and boss, Lance Reddick as police chief, and Troy Evans and Gregory Scott Cummins as fellow detectives.  The guest stars have been a string of superb character actors who you will immediately recognize (if you’re over 40) and wondcounterer where you’ve seen them before.

Each season focuses on one main crime that Bosch and crew need to solve, along with one or two related or not-so-related crimes.  The murder of Bosch’s prostitute mom when he was 12, how it has impacted who he is today, and his relentless efforts to solve the crime, is a thread that has sewn its way through all four 10-episode seasons.  Season 5 has reportedly been completed and should air in early 2019.

Counterpart (Starz):  J.K. Simmons (always worth watching) is perfect in a dual role as Howard Silk, a mild-mannered low-level office drone at a Berlin-based spy agency, and a hardened high-level spy version of himself in a parallel world – his agency safeguards the secret gateway between the two realities. 

Consistently fascinating as each cast member has an alternate version, who could be substantially different and far more dangerous, depending on which road they may have taken at certain points in their life.  The two Howards secretly switch places in an effort to protect both worlds from forces trying to stir conflict between them.  Season 2 started this month.

The Crown (Netflix):   The first two majestic seasons cover the life of Queen Elizabeth II (the brilliant Claire Foy) from the start of her reign in the 1940s through the mid-1960s, chronicling her family’s romances, political rivalries, and personal intrigues.  Matt Smith and Vanessa Kirby give outstanding performances as Prince Philip and Princess Margaret, as does John Lithgow as Winston Churchill.glow,

The third season will cover from the mid-1960s through 1976 (with Olivia Colman taking over the role as a more mature Queen Elizabeth II), while the fourth season will include Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister and Lady Diana Spencer.  The series is all the more fascinating since it’s about the same Queen who still sits on the British throne today.

Glow (Netflix):   This surprise summer hit from last year provides a behind-the-scenes look at the 1980s syndicated TV show, the low-budget Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.  A great mix of comedy and drama. 

Alison Brie, as an unemployed actress who becomes a GLOW star, and Marc Maron as a washed up “B” movie director who leads the ladies to fame, are standouts.  Along with an excellent, diverse ensemble cast of misfits, they make this way more fun than I expected.  It took three or four episodes to get rolling, but then my wife and I were hooked.  Season 2 is a blast from start to finish.

Goliath (Amazon Prime Video):  I was scanning streaming services this summer for something new to watch and found this gem from David E. Kelley.  Billy Bob Thornton is compelling as a once powerful lawyer who is now a washed-up ambulance chaser who spends more time in bars than in courtrooms.  That changes when he reluctantly agrees to take on a wrongful death lawsuit against the giant law firm he helped create. 

He’s reluctantly pulled back into another criminal case in season 2.  I’m sure he will be reluctantly pulled back in once again in season 3, and I’ll be along for the ride.  His supporting cast and guest stars (which included William Hurt in season 1) are solid. 

The Good Fight (CBS All Access):  The wonderful Christine Baransky stars, along with Cush Limbo and Rose Leslie in this female-driven legal drama (and spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife).  A woman over 50, a woman of color, and a lesbian make a diverse team that is as much in (or out of) control professionally as they are in their relationships.

While the first season was uneven with its Madoff-like storyline, and as it developed its main characters, the second season hit its stride and found its voice.  Topics from racism to gun violence to sexual harassment have been dealt with here in a more thought-provoking way than is typically seen on television.  And while there is a clear anti-Trump tone, this is also perhaps the only show on TV showing its few Trump supporters in a positive light.  Just the right mix of drama and humor along with the excellent cast make this chaotic world great and entertaining TV.

Killing Eve (BBCA):  Sandra Oh received an Emmy nomination for her role as the title character, a bored, but ambitious MI5 security officer, but Jodie Corner is the real revelation as a mercurial and brutal female assassin. 

Eve is tasked with hunting down the psychopathic killer.  As they become equally obsessed with one another, a fierce game of cat and mouse ensues.  Men are the peripheral characters here (and most of the victims).  The first season’s eight episodes are available on demand, and on Hulu – perfect for bingeing.

Manifest (NBC):  When a routine but turbulent flight lands, the crew and passengers discover that while only a few hours have passed for them, more than five years have passed for the outside world.  Their friends, families, and colleagues thought they were lost, have mourned them, and moved on with their lives.

Who is responsible, why do some passengers see visions or hear voices instructing them to do certain things, why is the government performing secret experiments on some passengers?  All questions I assume that will gradually be answered as the series progresses.  Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, and Parveen Kaur are excellent as passengers of the mysterious flight, as is J.R. Martinez as the fiancé of one of the passengers who married her best friend when he thought she was dead.  So far, the series is much better than I expected it to be.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix):  The charismatic Krysten Ritter shines as Jessica Jones, given super strength in a medical experiment that saved her life after a car crash supposedly killed her family.  She’s a reluctant hero, brooding and haunted by her past.  She swears, drinks too much, has casual sex, and can be quite violent – the type of woman you never see on television (or in the Marvel universe). 

Its first two seasons were surprisingly strong social commentaries on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on topics such as addiction, sexual harassment, rape, retaliation, and redemption – subjects seldom dealt with on television.  Traditional female roles – sidekicks and “the girlfriend” – are the male characters in this world.  Rachael Taylor as Patsy Walker (who may have powers of her own in season 3) and Carrie-Anne Moss as a high-powered lawyer are both regulars and are excellent.

All 13 episodes of Season 2 were directed by women.   Netflix recently canceled three of its Marvel shows featuring other “street-level” heroes, Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Iron Fist. Only Jessica Jones and The Punisher remain.  Season 3 of Jessica Jones will air in 2019, and I hope Netflix continues to renew it.  If not, I hope Disney Plus does.

A Million Little Things (ABC):  A group of friends from Boston, who met and bonded several years ago when they got stuck in an elevator together, try to come to terms with why one of them, who seemingly had it all, committed suicide.

Despite some negative reviews, and erroneous comparisons to NBC’s This is Us (probably because it also relies heavily on flashbacks to explain its characters’ backgrounds and motivations), A Million Little Things, with all its soap opera elements, is eminently watchable.  The ensemble cast gels, and it has gotten better with each episode.  You need to watch it from the beginning to understand what’s going on.  It tugs on your heartstrings just as much as This is Us, but it seems less manipulative while doing so.

Mr. Inbetween (FX):  A half-hour Australian dark comedy/drama about Ray Shoesmith (the magnetic Scott Ryan, who also created and writes the show).  Ray is father of an eight-year-old daughter, has an ex-wife, a new girlfriend, a brother, and a best friend.  He also has a day (and night) job as a hitman. 

The series is lean and taut, with no bloat or wasted content.  That we like and root for Ray despite his casual brutality is a tribute to Scott Ryan’s talents.  It also fits the mold of many FX dramas, where you root for bad or flawed people with some redeeming qualities who go up against even badder people with no redeeming qualities.  The first season was just six episodes (binge it).  It has been renewed for a second season – I hope more people discover it.

Ozark (Netflix):  Jason Bateman (in his best and most nuanced performance) is Marty Byrde, a Chicago financial advisor who’s partner is killed after stealing money from a drug lord.  Marty is forced to move to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks with his wife Wendy (Laura Linney, who is also excellent here) and two kids, to launder money for the drug cartel.  When they get there they also have to deal with local gangsters.  Quirky, gritty, and dangerous characters and situations abound.  Julia Garner is a revelation as Ruth, the teenager who lives in a trailer with her dysfunctional family.  After initially clashing with Marty, she winds up working for him.

The first season had a more dangerous tone, as the Byrdes desperately try to get out of their situation.  The second season was a bit more sedate as they start to accept that this is who they are now.  Laura Linney’s shift from reluctant tag-along wife to take-charge protector of her family is fascinating to watch.  The series has been renewed for a third season.

Pose (FX):  This fabulous show from Ryan Murphy is set in 1980s New York, and juxtaposes the ball culture world, the luxury Trump-era universe, the downtown social and literary scene, and the specter of AIDS. 

Blanca (MJ Rodriguez) forms a “house” that provides support to LGBTQ youth who have been rejected by their families.  Billy Porter, Evan Peters, Kate Mara, and James Van Der Beek also star.

I’m including this here not because it “makes television history” by having the largest cast of transgender and LBGTQ actors ever for a scripted series (five transgender actresses are regulars).   I’m including it here because it’s great television, which at its core is a surprisingly addictive and sweet family show.  It’s been renewed for a second season.

Queen of the South (USA):  This crime drama’s uneven first season got better and hit overdrive in seasons 2, and 3, as Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcon) and her former protégé, Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), battle for supremacy of a drug cartel.  Both are seductive and conniving, occasionally vicious, and always captivating.  Hemky Madera is wonderfully menacing as Teresa’a loyal lieutenant. 

Sneaky Pete (Amazon Prime Video):  Ex-con con man Marious (Giovanni Ribisi), on the run from some very bad people, assumes the identity of his still imprisoned cellmate Pete, and tries to hide out with Pete’s family (who haven’t seen him for 20 years).  They have a bail bonds business in Connecticut, money problems, and their own set of sinister characters to deal with.  Both seasons 1 and 2 have multiple cons and obstacles to solve that are handled in a crisp, keep-you-guessing manner.  There are short cons, long cons, and double crosses as “Pete” cleverly navigates the new world he finds himself in, while trying to avoid the old, as certain family members become increasingly suspicious.

The excellent cast includes Margo Martindale and Peter Gerety as Pete’s grandparents, and Marin Ireland, Shane McRae, and Libby Barer as his cousins.  It’s been renewed for a third season.

This is Us (NBC):  Still checks off all the boxes on how to tug at viewers’ heartstrings, still checks off many diversity boxes, and still makes for great television.  Anything but a typical family drama, This is Us somehow manages to continually and seamlessly flash back to various periods of each character to weave a tapestry of their family history and how they all became who they are today.

 

Here's Why Most New Broadcast TV Shows Will Flop

At this year’s upfront presentations to advertisers, the broadcast networks reiterated something they remind us of every year – that they, the broadcast networks, are still the best platform for reaching consumers and impacting sales.  They are correct.  Despite steady audience declines, viewers still spend about five times as many hours watching traditional TV than video on all other screens combined. The broadcast networks, which account for 58 of the top 60 rated ad-supported primetime series, are still the best advertising vehicles out there.  And yet, inexplicably, as they tout their ability to sell everyone else’s products, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and CW continue refusing to utilize one another to sell their own products.

The broadcast networks have been promoting their new fall series throughout the summer.  My wife and I tend to DVR around two-thirds of the primetime shows we watch, and we don’t watch the broadcast networks nearly as much during the summer as the rest of the year, so we’ve seen only a few of these promos.  Overall primetime ratings are down significantly this summer (as viewers of all ages find new shows to stream).  I haven’t watched much NBC this summer, so the first ads I saw for any NBC new show was during the first Thursday Night pre-season football game between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns.  The only new ABC show I’ve seen promos for is The Rookie, which I saw on ESPN. 

My wife and I were watching Instinct on CBS, and saw an ad for Amazon Prime Video’s legal drama, Goliath.  We had never heard of the show, but just binged the first season and will soon start watching season 2.   None of the other broadcast networks, of course, can advertise on CBS because they

still stubbornly hang on to the antiquated and self-destructive policy of not allowing one another to cross-promote their programming.

 

A Sternberg Report sponsored message

The best new Fall series: ABC – A Million Little Things, The Kids Are Alright, Single Parents; CBS – Murphy Brown, The Neighborhood; NBC – I Feel Bad, Manifest; FOX – Rel.  Check out sternbergreport.com  for evaluation of all new fall pilots.  To advertise here, contact steve@thesternbergreport.com

 

The idea that CBS will allow Goliath, but not ABC’s new police drama, The Rookie, to advertise on Instinct is insane.  Of course, it’s not just CBS.  Why can’t NBC promote its new medical drama, New

Amsterdam on ABC’s The Good Doctor?  Why can’t ABC’s new drama, A Million Little Things, advertise on NBC’s This is Us?  Why can’t CW and FOX superhero/sci-fi shows cross-promote one another? 

Live TV viewing is declining.  DVR ownership continues to inch upward (going from 49% to 55% U.S. penetration over the past three years).  Viewing to streaming services is growing (SVOD penetration jumped from 42% to 64% in the past three years).  Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have committed huge sums of money to develop and promote original content.  Hulu and CBS All Access are also gaining viewers, while Disney is about to debut its own streaming service (as reportedly is Walmart).  Is there any question why streaming services, which can each advertise on 100% of the strongest ad platform, continue to gain ground on those who can only advertise on 20% of the strongest ad platform?   The broadcast networks should realize that nearly two-thirds of U.S. TV homes have at least one of the three major SVOD services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video) and more than 10% have all three.  They need to see one another as allies, as well as competitors.

 

Cable networks long ago realized the best way to grow their audience was to appeal to those who were watching similar shows on other networks.  They also understood that it didn’t really hurt them if other cable networks did the same.  If everyone gained viewers, more advertising dollars would shift from broadcast to cable, and everyone would eventually benefit – which is exactly what happened.  

Of course, it made sense at the time, since cable networks were trying to compete with the much bigger, stronger, and more established broadcast networks.  They initially saw themselves more as allies than competitors.  The broadcast networks, on the other hand, once controlled more than 90% of all television viewing, and traditionally have only seen one another as competitors.  They competed so fiercely for every rating point that cross-promotion was unfathomable.  Unlike cable networks, the broadcasters also needed to answer to their affiliates, which would vehemently resist promoting another broadcast network.

The competitive video landscape today is worlds beyond where it was back then.  It is not the 1980s or 1990s (or even the early 2000s) anymore.  A broadcast hit on one network actually does benefit all networks.  When an Empire, This is Us, The Good Doctor, or Young Sheldon takes off, people start believing in the power of network TV again.  Except for the occasional cable phenomenon like The Walking Dead, no other platform is capable of generating the audience of a successful broadcast network series. 

In what other business does a company refuse to advertise its product to the largest group of readily available customers?  These aren’t just random consumers the broadcast networks are choosing not to pursue.  These are their prime prospects, whom the networks know are already watching similar programming, who are at that moment most receptive toward receiving a message about other TV programs.  They are already watching and engaged with the exact type of program the networks are trying to promote.  I’m not sure how to say it more plainly.

If I was a producer or actor in last season’s new military dramas, Valor on CW, or The Brave on NBC (both canceled after one season), I would be quite frustrated that neither series was promoted on compatible broadcast dramas such as CBS’s three NCIS’s.  Both should certainly have been cross-promoted with CBS’s new SEAL Team.  Not to do so is akin to promotional malpractice (particularly for Valor, which was co-produced by CBS Television Studios).

MediaPost recently ran an article sourcing iSpot.tv about how much on-air promotion each network has devoted to its new fall series this summer. 

ABC’s promos have been largely on ABC, with some also airing on its sister cable networks, ESPN and Freeform.  At this writing, the network has run 275 promos for A Million Little Things, 204 for The Rookie, 218 for Single Parents, and 140 for The Kids Are Alright.  Imagine how much greater awareness would be had they also been promoted on CBS, NBC, and FOX.

CBS has so far aired the most on-air promos, focusing on six new series – Magnum P.I. (288 promos), FBI (234 promos), The Neighborhood (215 promos), God Friended Me (213 promos), Murphy Brown (162 promos), and Happy Together (149 promos).

NBC is focusing on just three new primetime fall series – Manifest (222 promos), New Amsterdam (201 promos), and I Feel Bad (187 promos) – again, mostly on NBC’s own air.

FOX has been heavily using its cable FX Networks group in addition to its broadcast network – Last Man Standing (168 promos on FOX, 1,717 overall), Rel (82 on Fox, 1,078 overall), and The Cool Kids (63 on FOX, 879 overall).  FOX has also been heavily promoting its exclusive 11 weeks of Thursday Night Football (585 overall promos).

CW has aired promos for Charmed (72), All American (125), and Legacies (3).

I have no doubt that if the broadcast networks started cross-promoting one another’s shows, new series viewer sampling (and subsequently, success rates) would rise dramatically.  In a MediaPost article last year, I opined that networks only care about how they rank among one another, not whether they actually grow their audience – short-term thinking that could lead to long-term disaster.  If they continue to not advertise to the biggest chunk of available viewers, their audience declines will continue at a steady pace, and the long-term will get here a lot sooner than they think.

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Binge This: 12 shows you should check out – Bosch, Glow, Queen of the South, Rick and Morty, The Good Fight, Mindhunter...  Check out sternbergreport.com  to see the full list and why these series are so good.

 

 

Summer Bingeing - 12 TV Shows You Should Check Out

Once a time for little but repeats, reality, and game shows, the summer months are now filled with original scripted series – some on cable, but many you may never have heard of on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and CBS All Access.

I’ve been analyzing television/video for roughly 30 years, and the fact that I am just now discovering some shows that have already been on for three or four seasons should tell you something about how many gems are out there worth finding.  And, of course, there are many shows that you probably have heard of but not watched, available for streaming.  For example, my wife had never seen Breaking Bad (one of my favorites), so we started watching it this month on Netflix (we just finished season 4).

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Here are some of the best series we’ve been bingeing over the past couple of months.   

Bosch (Amazon Prime Video):   This is not only the best procedural drama currently on television, it might be the best procedural drama ever on television.  Titus Willever is perfect as the brilliant, tough as nails, flawed and haunted detective Harry Bosch.  The ensemble cast of regulars are spot on for their respective roles – Jamie Hector as his partner, Madison Lintz as his daughter, Amy Aquino as his friend and boss, Lance Reddick as police chief, and Troy Evans and Gregory Scott Cummins as fellow detectives.  The guest stars have been a string of superb character actors who you will immediately recognize (if you’re over 40) and wonder where you’ve seen them before.

Each season focuses on one main crime that Bosch and crew need to solve, along with one or two related or not-so-related crimes.  The murder of Bosch’s prostitute mom when he was 12, how it has impacted who he is today, and his relentless efforts to solve the crime, is a thread that has sewn its way through all four 10-episode seasons.

Glow (Netflix):   This surprise Netflix summer hit from last year provides a behind-the-scenes look at the 1980s syndicated TV show, the low-budget Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. 

Alison Brie, as an unemployed actress who becomes a GLOW star, and Marc Maron as a washed up “B” movie director who leads the ladies to fame, are standouts.  Along with an excellent, diverse ensemble cast of misfits, they make this way more fun than I expected.  It took three or four episodes to get rolling, but then my wife and I were hooked.  Season 2 is a blast from start to finish.

Queen of the South (USA):  The USA crime drama’s uneven first season got better and hit overdrive in seasons 2, and 3, as Camila Vargas (Veronica Falcon) and her former protégé, Teresa Mendoza (Alice Braga), battle for supremacy of a drug cartel.  Both are seductive and conniving, occasionally vicious, and always captivating. 

Claws (TNT):   This dark TNT comedy centers on five manicurists who own a nail salon in Central Florida and are trying to get out of their life of crime (laundering money (for the “Dixie Mafia” in season one, and the Russian mob in season 2).  It is much funnier than it has any right to be, which makes some of the violence more unexpected and jarring.  Niecy Nash, Dean Norris, and Carrie Preston stand out among a The Good Fight, fine ensemble cast.

Rick and Morty (Adult Swim):  My 19-year-old son got me hooked on this Adult Swim animated piece of brilliance a few years ago.  It follows super-genius (and boozy) scientist, Rick, as he drags his not-so-bright grandson, Morty, on wild adventures through other worlds and alternate dimensions.  I think New York Magazine TV critic, Matt Zoller Seitz had the perfect description in when he wrote that Rick and Morty “…tightrope-walks the line between highbrow clever and lowbrow brilliant…”  You’ll either love it or say “huh?”  Seasons 1-3 are available on Hulu.

The Good Fight (CBS All Access):  The great Christine Baransky stars, along with Cush Limbo and Rose Leslie in this female-driven legal drama (and spinoff of CBS’s The Good Wife).  A woman over 50, a woman of color, and a lesbian make a diverse team that is as much in (or out of) control professionally as they are in their relationships. 

Sexual harassment has been dealt with here in a more thought-provoking way than is typically seen on television. The Good Fight is great TV – it’s well written, well-acted, and has something to say.  And while there is a clear anti-Trump tone, this is also perhaps the only show on TV showing its few Trump supporters in a positive light.  Just the right mix of drama and humor and the excellent cast and writing make this great TV.

Star Trek Discovery (CBS All Access):  Taking place a decade before Captain Kirk’s original five-year mission, the series follows the exploits of the U.S.S. Discovery as it seeks out new worlds and new civilizations, and battles Klingons.

Star Trek TV series (except for the original) are not known for strong starts – Both Next Generation and Deep Space Nine didn’t really get rolling until season 3.  But Discovery hit the ground running from the get-go, and continued motoring along with only a minor misstep or two along the way.  As a fan of four of the five previous Star Trek series, I was expecting to be disappointed.  I wasn’t.

Sonequa Martin-Green is excellent as science officer Michael Burnham, a human who was raised on Vulcan by Spock’s father, Sarek.    But you don’t really need to be familiar with the Star Trek universe to like this one.  It has the potential to become another classic.

Mindhunter (Netflix):  In the late 1970s, FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and veteran agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) pioneer behavioral profiling of a new type of murderer – the serial killer.  Anna Torv also stars as a psychology professor who helps them categorize the killers and predict future behavior. 

Rises way above a typical procedural.  Smart, compelling, and cinematic.  You won’t want to wait for the next episode – and if you have enough time, you don’t need to.  If you enjoy series such as Criminal Minds and Hannibal, you’ll probably like this too – but keep in mind there’s no convenient murder of the week that conveniently get solved by the end of each hour.  This aims much higher, and, for the first season at least, hits the mark.

 Killing Eve (BBCA):  Sandra Oh received an Emmy nomination for her role as the title character, a bored, but ambitious MI5 security officer, but Jodie Corner is the real revelation as a mercurial and brutal female assassin. 

Eve is tasked with hunting down the psychopathic killer.  As they become equally obsessed with one another, a fierce game of cat and mouse ensues.  Men are the peripheral characters here (and most of the victims).  The first season’s eight episodes are available on demand, and on Hulu before year’s end.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix):  Krysten Ritter shines as Jessica Jones, given super strength in a medical experiment that saved her life after a car crash killed her family.  She’s a reluctant hero, brooding and haunted by her past.  She swears, drinks too much, and is equally likely to explode in desire (and casual sex) as in violence – the type of woman you never see on television. 

Its first two seasons were surprisingly strong social commentaries on male/female relationships and the abuse of privilege and power, focusing on topics such as addiction, sexual harassment, rape, retaliation, and redemption – subjects seldom dealt with on television, and never in the Marvel universe at large.  Traditional female roles – sidekicks and “the girlfriend” – are the male characters in this world. 

All 13 episodes of Season 2 were directed by women.   One of Netflix’s stable of Marvel street-level heroes, which also include Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Punisher.

Ozark (Netflix):  Jason Bateman (in his best and most nuanced performance) as a Chicago financial advisor who is forced to move to a summer resort community in the Missouri Ozarks with his wife (Laura Linney, who is also great here) and two kids to launder money for a drug lord.  When they get there they also have to deal with local gangsters.  Quirky, gritty, and dangerous characters and situations abound.  The second season drops at the end of August.

Altered Carbon (Netflix):  Science fiction cyber punk.  In a dystopian future 300 years from now, new technology has transformed society by making human bodies interchangeable (if you can afford it), and death no longer necessarily permanent.  Joel Kinnaman portrays the lone survivor of a group of elite warriors who were defeated in an uprising.  His mind was imprisoned for years until a wealthy businessman gives him a chance to live if he solves his murder.

The second half of the first season is better than the first, but the entire series is gripping, and touches a surprising number of topical issues (income inequality being just the most obvious).  Visually stunning production values, action-packed (and violent), it’s reminiscent of Blade Runner.  It’s not for everyone (particularly the squeamish), but it’s great on many levels.

These just scratch the surface.  If you have Netflix, check out House of Cards, BoJack Horseman, Marvel’s Daredevil, Luke Cage, and The Punisher, Narcos, Master of None, Stranger Things, The Crown, and Black Mirror.  For those with Hulu, check out The Handmaids Tale, Marvel’s Runaways, and The Looming Tower.  Amazon Prime Video viewers should check out Mozart in the Jungle, The Man in the High Castle, Goliath, Sneaky Pete, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  And traditional cable viewers can check out AMC’s Dietland, FX’s Snowfall and Pose, TNT’s Animal Kingdom, and Freeform’s Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, among others.  And let’s not forget you can always live-binge repeats of network favorites on TBS (The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, Friends, Seinfeld, American Dad, 2 Broke Girls), TNT (Law & Order, Bones, Charmed, Supernatural, NCIS New Orleans, Hawaii Five-0), ION (Criminal Minds, Blue Bloods, CSI, NCIS: L.A., Law & Order: SVU), Nick-at-Nite (Full House, Friends, George Lopez, Mom, The Goldbergs), TV Land (Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Two-and-a-Half Men, The Golden Girls), Oxygen (NCIS, NCIS: L.A., Chicago P.D., CSI), and several other cable networks.

Why Netflix is the Best Thing Ever

Four years ago, I wrote an article for MediaPost explaining why I thought Netflix was poised to enjoy tremendous growth. We had just subscribed, and I thought it had a potentially brilliant model for success.

I ended my article with the following:

“So far Netflix hasn't had any impact on our regular television viewing, but it has cut sharply into our pay-per-view movie and DVD viewing.  I think it's the first thing that's actually cut into my son's videogame playing.  We like the basic platform so much, however, that if and when Netflix does strike more content deals for top TV shows and movies, it will probably have a much bigger impact on our TV viewing -- especially in the summer.  The company has the right model, and seems to have hit that rare chord with kids, teens, and their parents.  

The real question is, can Netflix maintain a per-subscriber charge of what amounts to less than $100 per year (with no advertising) and be able to afford the highest-profile premium television content?  If the company gets enough subscribers, maybe it can.  Netflix certainly has a better chance of thriving than any of the other streaming platforms currently out there."

While my wife and I only watched it occasionally at first, but my tween son loved being able to go on anytime and watch multiple episodes shows like Family Guy.

There were some initial drawbacks, of course.  Most of the stuff we wanted to watch, the best movies and most current TV shows, were not available.  My then 12-year-old son said at the time, “I like Netflix, but it kind of sucks.”  I thought this was actually a profound comment that indicated why Netflix had so much potential.  If we liked it when it sucks, how would we feel when it no longer sucks?

When I told my now 16-year-old son that I’m writing another article about Netflix, his first comment was, “Tell them it no longer sucks, and we love it.”

While there is a lot of talk about people binge watching every episode of new shows as soon as they become available, I suspect relatively few people actually do that.  My wife, son, and I watch Daredevil together (it took us about two weeks to watch all the first-season episodes) and are looking forward to AKA Jessica Jones (also from Marvel).  My wife and I watch House of Cards together (available since February, we just started watching season 3 this week – so far two or three episodes a night).  We will also be watching Longmire, which we watched on A&E and will soon air original episodes on Netflix. When my mother-in-law comes over, she and my wife watch Grace and Frankie.

My son likes searching Netflix for shows he hasn't yet seen but might like (recently discovering Archer - not sure how pleased I am about that).  We also just started re-watching 30 Rock together from the beginning.

The main reason Netflix continues to grow and thrive is that it does not have the same constraints as ad-supported networks, most importantly needing to worry about average minute ratings. We’ve seen time and again, a broadcast or cable network unsuccessfully trying to air a program that does not fit in with the bulk of its lineup.  While reach is considered for media planning, the only things that really matter for programming decisions are average ratings and network rankings (among artificially constructed age groups such as adults 18-49 and 25-54).

Netflix does not need to worry about any of this.  It doesn’t care about adults 18-49 or 18-34.  A 60 year-old has just as much value to Netflix as a 25 year-old – maybe more so since older viewers tend to be more loyal.  Netflix wants Longmire and Grace and Frankie to appeal to different viewers than Orange is the New Black.  Reach matters much more to Netflix than average audience.  That’s how you get and sustain subscribers at this price point.  Ten bucks or less per month is not going to make me drop Netflix even if there are only two original shows I currently watch.  My family likes some of the same, but some different shows.  I know that eventually there will be another one I like.  And when the broadcast networks are in repeats, and there’s nothing I want to watch on cable, there’s always something I can find on Netflix.

It’s the best thing ever.

Binge Viewing: A Thing or Not a Thing?

The first time I heard the term “binge viewing” was not when Netflix released its first season of House of Cards, but rather when people would buy DVD’s of certain shows to catch up on the first season or two.  I did this with Mad Men.  I had seen the pilot, but not the rest of the first or second seasons.  Friends were constantly telling me how good the show was, so about a month before the season 3 premiere, I bought the first two seasons, watched every episode, and became a regular viewer.  I did the same thing with Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead (although I caught up with marathons on AMC, rather than buying the DVDs).

 
Before binge viewing even had a name, DVRs enabled people to store and watch more than one episode of their favorite shows in one sitting.  FOX’s hit drama, 24, was one of the first to fit this category.  The show actually debuted about five years before Nielsen started measuring DVR activity.  The show was so intense for TV (at the time), and initially each episode left viewers hanging so much, that it was a natural for multiple episode viewing via DVR.  A lot of people simply didn’t want to wait an entire week to see the next episode.

 
Even before that, many cable networks built their lineups on binge viewing with a scheduling tactic known as “stacking,” whereby they are several consecutive episodes of the same program.

 Hulu seems to be making a big deal out of acquiring every episode of Seinfeld, but I can’t imagine much binge viewing there.  It’s been on in syndication and on cable for so many years, it’s probably binged out by now.  This probably won’t have much impact on getting new subscribers or substantially increase viewing.

 Not many people really wanted to watch every episode of NBC’s Aquarius at once (so no one should draw any conclusions based on any of its viewing trends that might be made public – unless none are, in which case we’ll know enough).

 Ironically, Netflix, the viewing source that gave binge viewing its name, probably has less binge viewing than any cable network with stacked programming.  I would think viewers spend much more time every month watching Law & Order: SVU, Modern Family and NCIS on USA, Criminal Minds on ION or Big Bang Theory on TBS than they do watching any single series on Netflix.  If that is not the case, I’d love to see the data.

 

But Netflix will continue to be a major and growing factor on television viewing.  It's programming model is different from traditional networks in that it doesn't concern itself with an average audience as much as it does with reach.  Because Netflix relies on subscriptions and not advertising, it's programming is not designed to appeal to the same or even similar audiences.  18-49 is a meaningless age group if you aren't seeking advertising (and should be anyway).  To a service like Netflix, a 60 year-old viewer is just as valuable as a 25 year-old viewer,  maybe more so since they tend o be more loyal. 

House of Cards might have some overlapping viewers with Orange is the New Black, but their core audiences are substantially different.  Certainly Daredevil and Frank and Gracie are similar to neither nor one another.  It is a brilliant model.  The only two original series I currently watch on Netflix are House of Cards and Daredevil.  It is worth less than 10 bucks a month to me just to be able to watch these two shows.  I'll probably also watch Longmire, which Netflix picked up after A&E canceled it.  My 16-year-old son likes searching Netflix for shows he hasn't yet seen but might like (recently discovering Archer - not sure how pleased I am about that).

So to go back to my original question, binge viewing is a thing, but it’s not a new thing, and the impact all these streaming services currently have is probably similar to the impact a new mid-size cable network would have – 0ccasionally siphoning viewers from other networks, occasionally adding new viewers to the mix, and occasionally generating more fear than warranted among those who always fear something new that can’t be measured and fit into a tidy box the way they are accustomed to doing.