good morning, please enjoy this duck drumming pic.twitter.com/D4Ck5n2VeA
— Bill Corbett (@BillCorbett) February 18, 2022
All Other TV News
It was FX’s turn at the TCAs yesterday, and John Landgraf, the head of the FX networks, is interesting because he spends a lot of time thinking about and talking about “peak TV.” In fact, he has a whole team who keeps count of how many scripted shows are on television, and last year that number was 559. Back in 2015, Landgraf warned that there is “simply too much TV” (true) and insisted that it would have to peak soon. Six years later, there are more shows and streamers than ever. In yesterday’s TCA session, he admitted he was wrong but insisted that too much TV would become “bewildering” for viewers.
That said, he then introduced FX’s 19 new series and talked about their 11 returning shows. So.
As for what news FX broke yesterday, let’s bullet point this:
- There is no end in sight for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or Archer. FX is happy to keep them going as long as they want to go.
- FX is open to spinoffs of Atlanta or Better Things, both of which are set to end this year.
- And Pamela Adlon is not opposed to the idea of a reboot of Better Things … one day.
- As for Donald Glover, though Atlanta is ending with season four, he was ready to end it after the second season. Thankfully, FX allowed him space to do other projects, and we now will have seasons three and four to look forward to.
- American Horror Story will only be one story this year, not another double feature. (Which I never finished blogging — or watching, for that matter.)
- An old deal FX made with Netflix hurt Impeachment: American Crime Story. (Speaking of, I hope that shows up on Netflix soon, I meant to watch that … )
- As a reminder: the Alien series is from Noah Hawley, the creator of Fargo. I only mention that because it looks like Fargo season five will film before Alien does, because Fargo “needs to lens this winter.” Now, I hope that means like, right now, this winter, and not, say, December of this year, because I don’t want to have to wait that long for either Fargo or Alien.
- As for that Alien series:“Alien takes place before Ripley. It’s the first story that takes place in the Alien franchise on Earth,” said Landgraf. “So, it takes place on our planet. Right near the end of this century we’re in — so 70-odd years from now.”He added, “Ripley won’t be a part of it or any of the other characters of Alien other than the alien itself.”
- FX on Hulu canceled Y: The Last Man after only one season because the series was not retaining an audience week after week.
In non-FX news, this article is all about the rise of the TV penis.
House of the Dragon has wrapped filming, and has the seal of approval of George R.R. Martin. As for when we’re going to see it, it won’t be before summer. My guess is they’ll premiere it in the fall.
John Williams is composing the theme for the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. Good.
Collider has 7 questions that Better Call Saul better answer. (I assume they will.)
A love letter to Walton Goggins’ performance on The Righteous Gemstones.
A huge storm hit the U.K. today, shutting down production on a number of series, and turning a guy live-streaming jets landing at Heathrow into a viral sensation. To be fair, it was a fascinating stream:
Yikes: a former Jerry Springer and Divorce Court producer just pleaded guilty to manslaughter after setting her sister’s garage on fire, killing the sister and two of her dogs.
Renewals
- Dave has been renewed for a third season on FXX.
- Harlem has been renewed for a second season on Prime Video.
- Be My Guest With Ina Garten has been renewed for two more seasons ahead of its premiere on Discovery+ and Food Network.
- Transplant has been renewed for a third season at CTV. (Season two will premiere on NBC on March 6.)
- MasterChef; MasterChef: The Professionals; and Celebrity MasterChef have all been renewed through 2028 on BBC.
- The Bay has been renewed for season four on ITV.
Cancellations
- Atlanta is going to end with season four on FX. Season three is set to premiere next month and season four will premiere later in the fall.
In Development
- The Girls on the Bus has been given a series order at HBO Max.
- A documentary about NBA legend Bill Russell is in the works at Netflix.
- A U.S. adaptation of We Can’t Work Together is being developed by Will Smith’s production company.
- Life Is Strange and Disco Elysium are being adapted into series at Amazon.
- A docuseries about The Twelve Tribes cult is being shopped around.
- Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner’s dramedy is not moving forward at FX.
- Camp Friends is not going forward at HBO Max.
Casting News
- Olivia Coleman has been cast as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations on FX and BBC.
- Amanda Seyfried is going to star in The Crowded Room on Apple TV+.
- Oscar Isaac will host Saturday Night Live on March 5 with Charli XCX as the musical guest. Zoë Kravitz will host on March 12 with Rosalía.
- Lukas Gage has joined You on Netflix.
- Stephanie Beatriz and Paul Wesley will co-star in History of Evil on Shudder.
- Anders Holm, Whitney Cummings, Catherine Cohen, and Casey Thomas Brown have been added to the cast of At Midnight on Paramount+.
- Phoebe Dynevor will star in The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne at Amazon.
- Marquise Vilsón, April Parker Jones, and Albert Mwangi are joining Tom Swift on The CW.
- Georgia Flood and Thierry Frémont have joined the cast of Nautilus on Disney+.
- Christian James is joining All American on The CW.
- Moses Storm and Sean Yves Lessard have been cast in Players on Paramount+.
- Reggie “Conceited” Sergile and DJ Diamond Kuts will host Yo! MTV Raps on Paramount+.
Mark Your Calendar
- Watch Out For The Big Grrrls premieres on Prime Video on March 25.
- Hustle will debut on Netflix on June 10.
- Devoured will premiere on Vice on February 21.
- Luxe Listings Sydney will return on Prime Video on April 1.
- Step Into… The Movies with Derek and Julianne Hough will premiere on ABC on March 20.
- Power Rangers Dino Fury will return on Netflix on March 3.
- Secrets of the Chippendales Murders will debut on A&E on March 14.
- Suicide Forest Village will debut on Screambox on May 6.
- Team Zenko Go will premiere on Netflix Jr. on March 15.
- OLIVIA RODRIGO: driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) will premiere on Disney+ on March 25.
- The Terminal List will debut on Prime Video on July 1.
- Build It Forward premiere on HGTV on March 12.
- Be My Guest with Ina Garten will premiere on Food Network and Discovery+ on March 26.
- Wrath and Greed will premiere on Lifetime on April 16.
- Evil Lives Here returns on ID and Discovery+ on February 20.
- Pistol will premiere on FX sometime in May.
- The Old Man will debut on FX this summer.
- Bill Maher: #Adulting will premiere on HBO sometime this spring.
R.I.P.
Alfred Sole, Director and TV production designer
Travis Engle, Co-Founder of talent management firm Trinity Artists International
WATCH THIS
FRIDAY
Space Force: Season two. Netflix
Cuphead Show!: I’m not familiar with the video game this new animated series is based on, but the artwork hearkens back to the early days of cartooning and is simply gorgeous. Series premiere. Netflix
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Leatherface goes after some influencers who are trying to breathe new life into a small Texas town, so who’s the real monster here? Premiere. Netflix
Uprooted: This limited docuseries looks into the unsolved lynching of Keith Warren in Maryland in 1986. Premiere. Discovery+
Winter Olympics: Freestyle Skiing, Speedskating, Figure Skating (Women’s) & More 7 p.m., NBC
SATURDAY
The King’s Man: This prequel film explores the origins of the Kingsmen, the independent intelligence agency. 7 p.m., HBO
Old School: I’ve probably mentioned this before, but you should try rewatching this comedy classic as an informal remake of Fight Club. You’ll be surprised. 6 p.m., Comedy Central
Winter Olympics: Figure Skating (Pairs), Bobsled & More 7 p.m., NBC
SUNDAY
The Walking Dead: It’s time to confront the Reapers. 8 p.m., AMC
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised): Questlove’s Academy-nominated documentary gets the primetime treatment. 7 p.m., ABC
Killing Eve: Season four. AMC+
Last Week Tonight: John Oliver is back and not a moment too soon. 10 p.m., HBO
Winter Olympics: Closing ceremony. Bye. 7 p.m., NBC
| FRI. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Jeopardy! National College Championship (new) |
20/20 |
| CBS | Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (new) |
Blue Bloods (repeat) |
| CW | Penn & Teller: Fool Us (repeat) |
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (repeat) |
Whose Line Is It Anyway? (repeat) |
Local |
| FOX | Friday Night Smackdown | Local |
| NBC | Olympics 2022 Primetime (new) |
—
| SAT. | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 | 11:00 | 11:30 |
| ABC | Jeopardy! National College Championship (repeat) |
News/Local |
| CBS | Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (new) |
48 Hours | 48 Hours | News/Local |
| FOX | 9-1-1 (repeat) |
The Cleaning Lady (repeat) |
News/Local |
| NBC | Olympics 2022 Primetime | Dateline (new) |
Saturday Night Live (repeat) |
News/ Local |
Olympics 2022 Primetime Plus |
—
| SUN. | 6:00 | 6:30 | 7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 |
| ABC | Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (new) |
The Wonder Years (repeat) |
| CBS | 60 Minutes | Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (new) |
The Equalizer (repeat) |
SWAT (repeat) |
| The CW | Local | All American (repeat) |
Two Sentence Horror Stories (new) |
Two Sentence Horror Stories (new) |
Local |
| FOX | The OT (live) |
The Masked Singer Preview (new) |
Call Me Kat (repeat) |
The Simpsons (repeat) |
The Great North (repeat) |
Bob’s Burgers (repeat) |
Family Guy (repeat) |
Local/News |
| NBC | Olympics 2022 Primetime |