Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Saturday, August 2nd, 2025:
PRODUCTION NOTES
Yes, you are correct. This newsletter should have went out last night. But it was delayed thanks to some technical issues at TooMuchTV World HQ. I've updated it a bit before sending out this special weekend edition.
WE ARE IN THE ERA OF 'I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD HAPPEN THIS WAY'
One of the takeaways so far from the Trump Administration is that there are a lot of people who know in theory that something is going to happen. But they either don't really believe it will happen. Or they don't think through the consequences of a decision.
I've been talking to a number of people over the last few days about the loss of federal funding for public media and I've been struck by how many otherwise astute people didn't really believe it would happen. The Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB) has been a target of Republicans since the 1980s and it's always managed to survive. And I think a lot of people believed it would somehow do the same thing this time.
There are also a lot of rural legislators who have been pushing to defund public media their entire careers and yet somehow don't believe those cuts will impact their local public media stations. You will no doubt see some of them calling for Congressional hearings after some of their constituents complain when the local PBS or NPR station closes down.
Aside from complaints about perceived partisanship programming (and it's worth noting, critics this time around were citing random episodes from 10-15 years ago), there seems to be this belief from many legislators that there is all sorts of waste and graft in public media funding. Which from what I can tell is not the case. But like the supposed $1 trillion worth of fraud and waste that was supposed to be in the federal budget, wasteful spending for public media is more of a partisan talking point than it is a reality.
READER FEEDBACK
When I posted my piece on the production costs of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert earlier this week, I asked for your thoughts about whether or not it was possible to reinvent late night talk shows for a new generation. And you had a lot of thoughts. I received more than 200 emails and messages. There were a lot of great ideas and arguing points and while I don't have the space to post all of them, here is a representative sampling:
There is no reinvention. Because there is no more late night. Colbert killed it. So did Meyers and Fallon and any other of the late night shills who traded actual comedy and a connection with all Americans for being a dancing monkey of the mainstream media. Any reinvention these days is going to happen on YouTube. Sure, it will be tough to survive without seeing Colbert dancing with a bunch of syringes (or Chuck Schumer) but somehow we will all have to manage it.
--Jeremy E.
My idea: Take a show like Match Game and give it to a comedy troupe--an actual troupe or one of those informal groups of comics who are always in each others' shows/movies/podcasts--and let them do it 4 nights a week. Not all of them have to be on the show every night, you rotate in some others--actors, authors, whatever. And the contestants are normies--people there for the game. The timeslot allows for some looseness that prime times doesn't so you can be raucous and raunchy a bit.
I think this could be a thing.
--Christopher K.
(Editor's note: strangely enough, I once pitched NBC on a late night idea that wasn't all that far off from this. Before NBC picked up Later With Bob Costas, they were soliciting low-budget ideas from their biggest O&O stations. We pitched Chicago WMAQ on an idea to use an improv troupe to do a nightly twist on This Is The Week That Was. We started shooting tests, but the idea was dropped once Costas agreed to do the talker).
If I were running CBS I'd replace The Late Show with 3 new programs. All would be produced pretty cheaply and lean very hard into social.
MON-THURS:
- Half-hour interview show at 11:35 in the style of the old "Later" with Costas and Kinnear. Tape twice a week, two episodes each taping. Funny but mainly interesting, think of it as a video podcast for the type of people who watch the local news lead-in.
- Half-hour irreverent comedy show at 12:05 hosted by an Adam Friedland type. With stand-ups, guests, sketches, repeating bits, games, occasional bands, etc.
FRIDAY:
- Convert Jon Stewart's podcast "The Weekly Show" into an hour-long 11:35 panel show in the style of Real Time with Bill Maher. But obviously, much better because you're swapping Jon Stewart for Bill Maher.
--Austin C.
DID YOU KNOW THAT A NEW SEASON OF 'PROJECT RUNWAY' PREMIERED THIS WEEK?
Reality Blurred's Andy Dehnart is the target audience for a new season of Project Runway. The problem is that he discovered it's moved this season to Freeform, which his cable system no longer carries. And when he attempted to obtain screeners from the network, they ghosted him.
He laid out his frustrations in his most recent newsletter, which unfortunately doesn't appear to be available on the web:
Anyway, here comes Project Runway: a big-name, presumably bigger-than-most budget show with name recognition and goodwill.
And, well, they shuffle it off to a cable network that barely exists and many of us don’t have—or even know about—and don’t bother to reach out to critics who cover reality TV to help them cover it.
This is not the fault of publicists at companies that have had their publicity departments decimated, nor of the producers who make shows.
Entertainment is a business, sure, but it’s wild how hostile the people at the top have gotten to the actual entertainment part.
ARE THE STREAMING WARS REALLY PICKING UP IN 2025? YOU SHOULDN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ
The Entertainment Strategy Guy had a piece last month that argued the "streaming wars" are becoming more competitive. I didn't mention it at the time, because I get into trouble every time I disagree with him. Although I will note he seems to spend a lot of time congratulating himself over how he bucks the crowd of other journalists who just report data in the laziest way possible:
Sometimes, I wish I could let myself go wild rhetorically.
Specifically, I would love to write crazy, hyperbolic headlines.1 I pull a lot of data cuts every week, and it would be very easy to say, “Oh man, look at this data…can you believe this?!?!? This changes everything!!!”
This sort of hyperbolic conclusion would help my writing reach more people. Virality is real, and the more hyperbolic the headline, frankly, the easier it is to make a piece go viral.
Unfortunately, reality is nuanced and caveated to hell. And I just don’t feel like I can do my job well if I don’t provide you, the reader, those caveats. Sigh.
Today, I (finally) took the time to take a step back and look at some long term trends—which all journalists, yours truly included, should do more often!—for one key metric: Netflix's share of titles in Nielsen’s top ten originals chart in America.
Since I haven’t seen anyone else uncover this trend, in a way, I’m breaking news, but how I break that news could be hyperbolic and one-sided, or I could present it moderately, with a host of nuance and caveats. Guess which way I went?
But I just read a piece on Frederic D's Netflix And Chiffres, which argue that ESG got some of his basic premises wrong:
His conclusion, based on the composition of the Nielsen Top 10s over several years and the origin of the titles’ streaming services, is clear-cut: the streaming wars are getting more competitive than ever, because Netflix titles now occupy only 50% of the Nielsen Top 10 spots, compared to 80% in 2021.
That sure is one catchy headline but if I may, here are four reasons that may explain that, with none of them suggesting the streaming wars are getting more competitive.
-
Some streaming services were not covered by Nielsen in 2021 or 2022.
Wondering why HBO Max, Paramount+, or Peacock didn’t have any titles in the weekly Top 10s in 2021 or even 2022? That’s because Nielsen didn’t have permission to include data from those services during that time. HBO Max was only added in July 2022, Peacock in November 2022, and Paramount+ in March 2023. So it’s not that these services finally broke into the Top 10 after years of trying. It’s just that Nielsen couldn’t publish their viewing numbers before.
For instance, if HBO Max had allowed Nielsen to include its viewing data back in 2021, most of the films from the notorious PopCorn Project (when Jason Kilar released Warner’s entire theatrical slate day-and-date on HBO Max) would likely have appeared in the Nielsen Top 10s, pushing some Netflix titles out of them.
I recommend reading the entire piece. I'm not enough of a data person to pick a side definitively, but Frederic seems to make a very solid argument for his point of view.
ODDS AND SODS
* HBO Max has cancelled ...And Just Like That and its final episode will air on August 14th.
* And to no one's surprise, Netflix has cancelled Arnold Schwarzenegger's Fubar after two seasons. While the viewing numbers for season one were okay, but there was a huge drop for season two. Although Netflix didn't exactly go out of its way to promote the show's return.
* Samsung TV Plus has just added two more cooking-oriented FAST channels to its lineup: The Martha Stewart Channel and The Emeril Lagasse Channel.
* Courage the Cowardly Dog and What's New, Scooby-Doo left HBO Max on July 31st, as part of the streamer's self-described "move away from children's content." Honestly, I find these moves perplexing. Children's programming is some of the stickiest of any streaming content. So HBO Max removing much of its children's programming - along with not having the ability for subscribers to create a kid-friendly profile - just feels like a big mistake.
WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEKEND
SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND:
* Beyond The Bar Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Heart & Hustle: Houston Series Premiere (OWN)
* Naming The Dead Series Premiere (NatGeo)
* Oceanfront Bargain Hunt Season One Finale (A&E)
* Providence Falls (Hallmark)
* Terri Blackstock's If I Run (Lifetime)
* 2025 Pro Football Hall Of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony (ESPN)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 3RD:
* Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Death At The Diner (Hallmark)
* Duck Dynasty: The Revival Season One Finale (A&E)
* Grantchester Season Ten Finale (PBS)
* Hazardous History With Henry Winkler Season One Finale (History)
* Live Aid: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took The World Docuseries Finale (CNN)
* 1,000 Ways To Dine (A&E)
* Signs Of A Psychopath Season Ten Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
* Sins Of The Father (Lifetime)
* The Great Food Truck Race Season Eighteen Premiere (Food)
* The Mega-Brands That Built America Season Three Finale (History)
* The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO)
* Wardens Of The North Season Five Premiere (Animal Planet)
MONDAY, AUGUST 4TH:
* Atomic People (PBS)
* Cocomelon Lane (Netflix)
* Dreamers Series Premiere (The Network)
* King Of The Hill Season Fourteen Premiere (Hulu)
* The Librarians: The Next Chapter Season One Finale (TNT)
* Tim Rex In Space (Nickelodeon)
SEE YOU ON MONDAY!