The Sternberg Report

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

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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.

A Sternberg Report sponsored message

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.