Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, October 10th, 2025:
CNBC HAS A VERY SPECIFIC AUDIENCE. AND IT'S NOT YOU
I started watching CNBC on a regular basis back when I was a financial news journalist. The channel played all day on a TV at the edge of my desk and one thing I quickly learned is that the CNBC anchors and analysts aren't talking to the average small investor. Their audience is a small number of institutional investors and equity firms that buy the ads and services that make the network incredibly profitable. It's a bit of an exaggeration (but not much of one) that if aliens invaded the Earth, the anchors on CNBC would be saying things like "Sure the death camps full of humans aren't ideal. But I think the drastically reduced population will be an overall win for the bond market."
I was reminded of this likelihood just now as I watched longtime CNBC analysts Jim Cramer and David Faber discussing some new reports (or rumors) that David Ellison's new Paramount Skydance might be close to making a formal bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. They waxed enthusiastically about the impact a deal would likely have on WBD's stock price, and is true that a merger will likely make those investors in that company a lot of money.
But then they began discussing all of the great things that would come out of the merger and managed to show an astounding lack of knowledge of media mergers and what is likely to happen after the merger closes.
Jim Cramer talked about the necessity of the merger and suggested that the only reason the Paramount Global & Skydance merger happened was because David Ellison was also planning on rolling up Warner Bros. Discovery. Faber talked about all of the "synergies" that a merger would offer and how it would help create a company large enough to survive the current chaos in the media industry. In case you're keeping track at home, that is the same rationale that was used for the Warner Media merger with Discovery, which turned out to be a disaster for everyone except for a few key investors and top executives.
And what no one on CNBC wants to acknowledge is that a merger between Paramount Skydance and WBD would offer up a similar level of pain for everyone except a few key investors and members of the Ellison Family. Despite what Faber argues, a merger isn't going to combine a 20 movie Paramount slate with a 20 movie Warner Brothers slate into a 40 theatrical releases a year schedule. As was the case when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, one of the first things that will happen is that the combined company will make fewer combined films than they would have had done as separate studios. In part because there is now less competition. But also because producing fewer films saves money.
And it is a similar case with the "synergies" Faber argues will take place post-merger. Nearly all of the financial "synergies" will be the result of laying off employees and cutting production costs. How long do you think it would be before David Ellison decides that keeping both the massive Paramount and Warner Brothers studio lots are "redundant?" Is the combined streaming service going to offer lots of new original content? Or is more likely they'll remove some of what is now available and use the increased size as a leverage to attempt to raise prices?
This merger is a terrible idea. For current employees, for most current investors and most importantly, for consumers.
I am going to be writing about this on a regular basis. Because the majority of the bigger industry outlets are too scared about losing access or advertising money to take a stand against this consumer-unfriendly idea.
APPARENTLY BARI WEISS LEARNED SOMETHING FROM ELON MUSK'S DOGE
In a note to CBS News staff this morning, new Editor-In-Chief Bari Weiss asked everyone to send her a memo by next Tuesday explaining how they spend their workday. Here is the text of the email:
Dear colleagues,
It's been a whirlwind week. I appreciate all the warm welcomes and those who have served as unpaid tour guides through the labyrinth of this building.
CBS News is a big place with functional titles and reporting structures that I'm learning. But more than hierarchical niceties, I'm eager to get to know you.
I hope you are as excited as I am about the prospect of elevating CBS News to its rightful place as No. 1: the most trusted and most consumed news source in the nation. So, I'm interested in any particular ideas you have to achieve in this goal.
By the end of day Tuesday, I'd like a memo from each person across our news organization. I'm not looking for a JD or words like synergy. I want to understand how you spend your working hours-and, ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you are most proud of. I'm also interested in hearing your views on what's working; what's broken or substandard; and how we can do better. Please be blunt-it will help me greatly.
I'll read all of them carefully. And they will be held in the strictest of confidence.
Then I'll use your memo as a discussion guide for when I meet with most of you (ideally, all of you if time permits) in the coming few weeks.
The goal is simple: I want to familiarize myself with you-and I want you to do the same with me-to know that we are aligned on achieving a shared vision for CBS News.
Yours,
Bari
Thanks to the CBS News staffers that immediately shared this with me this morning. If you have something to share, you can send me a message on Signal at allyourscreens.24 or email me confidentially at
I AM NOT A CONTRARIAN. OR MAYBE I AM
I spoke with Mike Pesca yesterday about the 10th anniversary of his podcast The Gist and the conversation included everything from gambling on sports to the current state of stand-up comedy.
The full interview is coming early next week, but I wanted to give you an early look at our conversation about being contrary. A description that likely applies to both of us:
I've seen you described as a "contrarian," and it is something that resonates with me, because that is how I see myself. But at least for myself, I find I'm writing something and think "Am I just saying this to be a contrarian, or is this an issue really worth talking about?" I wonder if you ever struggle with the same issue?
I have an interesting relationship with the label contrarianism and it must be true to some extent. And the reason I've decided that is everyone who is a contrarian would definitely deny being a contrarian. So, it's like the old logic game about truth seeking robots and false speaking robots. I wonder if the false speaking robots know they're false speaking?
Anyway, so I definitely am a contrarian. But then again, I have friends who I think of as contrarians and maybe admit to it and we always disagree.
So wait, is that an aspect of contrarianism that you even disagree with other contrarianism? So I'm not a contrarian in the sense that I always have to go against the herd. Or if the mob is over here, I have to be 180 degrees over there.
It's not like that. It's more like things will naturally occur to me as, wait, why is everyone saying this or why has everyone decided that this is the way to look at it? And also, isn't there this glaringly obvious point that people aren't making?
And that's what good journalism should be, pointing out all the factors that go into an event or all the explanations. And when the explanations are really just curtailed to, it could be an ideology, it could be talking points, could be things that people didn't understand, or rather, it could be things that didn't occur to people to point it out. Otherwise, that's where I jump in and see a purpose for what I'm doing, if you want to call it contrarianism.
Now, sometimes what I do is I say to myself, I don't think I even believe this, but the point should be raised. I'm not hearing the point raised anywhere. And let's just raise the point in case it's true.
In our media discourse, sometimes that gets denigrated as, quote, just asking questions. But there is a value to just asking questions. And I understand why just asking questions and quotes as a phrase, as a dismissive, stands for, you're asking dangerous questions, or you're really trying to sneak your point in under the guise of just asking questions.
But no, a good contrarian should raise counterpoints. And it doesn't have to be the case that the person is of that ideology. They just see a benefit to putting those points out there.
It does seem that if you're going to be a contrarian, you have to be intellectually honest about it. Because I think part of the bad name the phrase has is you have these people saying, "I'm not saying Michelle Obama is a man. I'm just asking the question."
No, you don't really think that. You're just saying this, hoping to get a rise out of somebody, as opposed to highlighting something that people are just not considering.
Right. When someone really is just asking the question to earnestly get an answer, the answer of which I didn't know beforehand. When someone does that, we kind of don't notice.
We kind of just say, "Oh, that was a good question." But the just asking questions thing is, there are a few aspects to it. And one is definitely you're engaging in propaganda with a question mark at the end.
ODDS AND SODS
* I am begging you, "Please Stop Trying Make Me Adore Taylor Swift"
* The six episode drama Malice, starring Jack Whitehall and David Duchovny, will premiere Friday, November 14th on Prime Video. Here is the official logline: "Adam (Jack Whitehall) is a charismatic tutor who charms his way into the life of the wealthy Tanner family while they’re on holiday in Greece. When the family’s nanny falls dangerously ill, Adam orchestrates his way into their London home, and his true vengeful nature begins to emerge...Adam now starts to turn Jamie Tanner (David Duchovny) and Nat (Carice Van Houten) against each other and secretly plots to bring down the entire family. When Adam's obsession with the family raises questions, those who dig deeper into his past find themselves playing a dangerous game. With his world collapsing around him, Jamie starts to realise that Adam may be responsible for all their recent disasters - but is it too late to save his family? In this revenge thriller that proves the past never stays buried, one question remains: how do you protect your family from the enemy within."
* The conservative media watchdog group The Parents Television & Media Council has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
* Season two of The Vince Staples Show will premiere Thursday, November 6th on Netflix.
* Season two of Cross will premiere Wednesday, February 11th on Prime Video.
* This is probably not a huge surprise, but former CBS anchor Dan Rather writes that the hiring of Bari Weiss is a "mistake."
* Fox has renewed MasterChef for seasons sixteen and seventeen.
* The animated series The Mighty Nein will premiere Wednesday, November 19th on Prime Video. Here is the official logline: "The dark and edgy animated series revealed “a homeless wizard”, “an inebriated goblin”, “a shipwrecked sailor”, “a cocky ringmaster”, “a temperamental monk” and “chaos incarnate." The Mighty Nein follows a group of fugitives and outcasts, bound by secrets and scars. But when a powerful arcane relic known as "The Beacon" falls into dangerous hands, they must learn to work together to save the realm and stop reality itself from unraveling."
* Season eleven of Southern Charm will premiere Wednesday, November 19th on Bravo.
* The documentary of The Rise Of RFK Jr. premieres on Frontline, Tuesday, October 21st on PBS. Here is the brief official logline: "From veteran Frontline filmmaker and award-winning chronicler of U.S. politics Michael Kirk, this new film looks at how Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the scion of a storied dynasty — endured tragedy and scandal, broke with the Democratic Party and his family, stoked conspiracy theories, and is now reshaping U.S. government and public health."
* The drama series The Artist premieres Thursday, November 27th on The Network. The cast includes Mandy Patinkin, Janet McTeer, Danny Huston, Hank Azaria, Patti Lupone, Katherine McPhee, Clark Gregg, Ever Anderson, and Zachary Quinto. Here is the official logline: "In the twilight of the Gilded Age, murder strikes the estate of an eccentric and failing tycoon. As he hosts the era's biggest celebrities including Thomas Edison, Edgar Degas and Evelyn Nesbit, lies, mystery and ambition collide as the truth is shockingly revealed."
WHAT'S COMING TODAY AND TOMORROW
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10TH:
* Always, Lady London (Tubi)
* Frankie Quiñones: Damn That's Crazy (Hulu)
* John Candy: I Like Me (Prime Video)
* Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Kurukshetra: The War Of Mahabharata Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Masters Of Illusion Season Premiere (The CW)
* My Father, The BTK Killer (Netflix)
* Old Money Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Penn & Teller: Fool Us Season Premiere (The CW)
* Swim To Me (Netflix)
* The Alabama Solution (HBO)
* The Braxtons Season Premiere (ALLBLK/WE tv)
* The Hyperboreans (Film Movement +)
* The Last Frontier Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* The Paradise Murders (LMN)
*The Woman In Cabin 10 (Netflix)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11TH:
* A Wisconsin Christmas Pie (Great American Family)
* Gnosia Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Haul Out The Halloween (Hallmark)
* Monster In The Family: The Stacey Kananen Story (Lifetime)
* Typhoon Family (Netflix)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12TH:
* A Country Encore (UP tv)
* Brace For Danger (Lifetime)
* Elsbeth Season Three Premiere (CBS)
* Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Buried At C (Hallmark)
* Li'l Miss Vampire Can't Suck Right Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Matlock Season Two Premiere (CBS)
* 60 Minutes Season Premiere (CBS)
* The Chair Company Series Premiere (HBO)
SEE YOU EARLY MONDAY MORNING!