But, like with all of the best intentions, I did the TV watching equivalent of just dicking around and watched a whole bunch of Entourage. I fell into rewatching the show a few weeks back – watching it now, it’s certainly way less funny than I remember the early seasons as being, but it’s still a really easy watch.

As I’m closing out season three, it is becoming pretty clear that the show was really running out of ideas already. I can’t believe I have another four seasons and a movie ahead of me. It’s going to be a rough May-June ahead.

There was one joke that made me laugh…. The only truly compelling character in it is Johnny Drama, a guy who has supposedly been a working actor on the fringe of the industry for around 20 years. Regularly he’ll reference a TV show he guested on and it’ll always be something dopey like Melrose Place.

There’s this season three episode titled Sorry Ari where Drama is going through a collection of business cards he has been handed through his career from agents. He pulls one out and delivers this line:

I fell off the couch howling at that line. It was such a specific show to choose. It is so dated and forgotten. A perfect choice by credited writers Doug Ellin & Rob Weiss.

You don’t remember Midnight Caller? It ran four seasons starting in 1988 and starred Gary Cole as a late night talk radio host (yes, 1988 is also the year Eric Bogosian starred in the film Talk Radio) who would get involved in the life of one of his callers each week.

Man, get a load of these opening titles. Smooth.

The only lasting legacy of the show really was as a trivia point related to a controversial AIDS panic storyline in an early season one episode and, I guess, being referenced on Entourage.

Here’s a photo of protestors outside San Francisco TV station KRON on the night Midnight Caller aired the controversial episode:

Clearly, I have digressed…

I went into the week thinking there was nothing especially interesting at all about this week. It turns out I was very wrong.

Mid-week Hulu dropped a surprise prequel to The Bear named Gary. It is an hour-long one-off special written by and starring Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal. The episode explores their friendship on a single afternoon on a day just a few months prior to Jon Bernthal’s character Mikey committed suicide.

Two things to know about Gary:

1. It’s really very good. If you’re a fan of The Bear, I think you’ll more than likely find this to be a valuable watch.

2. If you haven’t seen The Bear, know that this stands on its own pretty well. Gary isn’t branded as an episode of The Bear on Hulu / Disney+ and I think that’s for the best. It’s kind-of its own thing.

The other thing to know about TV this week is that Netflix have a show that, I’ll admit, I never knew existed until about 20 minutes ago. Legends is a comedy-infused drama set in the 90s about British undercover Customs investigators who infiltrated the drugs world in the early 1990s. It stars Steve Coogan with my beloved Charlotte Ritchie in a supporting role.

It is a six-parter and looks like it’s going to be great TV fun.

Returning TV

Amandaland (s02), The Terror (s03), Citadel (s02), The Chestnut Man (s02), Thank You, Next (s03)

New TV

Gary — Hulu

Who’s in it: Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal

What’s it about? Two friends, Richard 'Richie' Jerimovich and Michael 'Mikey' Berzatto, go on a work trip to Gary, Indiana

Note: There’s no trailer for Gary, so here instead is a video of Gary Busey wrestling a bear:

Legends — Netflix

Who’s in it: Tom Burke, Steve Coogan, Tom Hughes, Charlotte Ritchie

What’s it about? As drugs flood the streets of '90s Britain, a team of civil servants is thrust undercover to topple the gangs behind it. Inspired by an untold true story.

Lukkhe — Netflix

Who’s in it: Nakul Roshan Sahdev, Kritika Bharadwaj, Shivankit Parihar

What’s it about? An aspiring athlete ventures into the perilous world of Punjab’s rap industry to dismantle a narcotics network; he soon finds himself in a cruel personal battle.

My Royal Nemesis — Netflix

Who’s in it: Im Ji Yeon, Han Nam Jun, Jang Seung

What’s it about? A legendary villain from the Joseon era is reincarnated in the body of a struggling modern actress and clashes with a cold, calculating chaebol heir, igniting an intense love-hate romance that transcends centuries.

MIA — Peacock [US] | Paramount+ [AUS]

Who’s in it: Shannon Gisela, Cary Elwes, Danay Garcia, Brittany Adebumola

What’s it about? Etta Tiger Jonze seeks to avenge her family's murder and become the most powerful crime queenpin in South Florida

Unconditional — Apple TV

Who’s in it: Liraz Chamami, Talia Lynne Ronn, Amir Haddad, Yossi Marshek, Evgenia Dodina and Vladimir Friedman

What’s it about? A mother's vacation with her daughter becomes a nightmare when Gali, 25, is arrested for drug smuggling in Moscow.

Number One Fan — Channel 5

Who’s in it: Jill Halfpenny, Sally Lindsay

What’s it about? TV star Lucy Logan is saved from a mugging by ‘number one fan’ Donna. To thank her, Lucy invites her to visit her on the set of her show, but Donna’s subsequent behaviour becomes increasingly obsessive and concerning.

New Movies

My Dearest Assassin — Netflix

Who’s in it: Pimchanok Luevisadpaibul, Tor Thanapob Leeratanakachorn, Sivakorn Adulsuttikul

What’s it about? A woman whose rare blood type puts a target on her back finds protection in the arms of the deadly assassin she loves - together, they fight to survive.

No Place To Be Single — Prime Video

Who’s in it: Matilde Gioli, Cristiano Caccamo, Amanda Campana, Sebastiano Pigazzi

What’s it about? In a picturesque Tuscan town, Elisa’s world shifts when a childhood friend returns, stirring up some old emotions.

That’s the newsletter for this week.

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The narrative surrounding the show is that everyone loves it and it is performing gangbusters on social media. So, it makes sense to get moving on that second season quickly and keep the momentum moving

But… someone still has to pay to get the show made. And the week-to-week ratings haven’t been all that sunny.

After debuting at 226,000 viewers, the viewership has dropped dramatically, with subsequent episodes doing between 119,540 for episode four, hosted by Jack Whitehall to 143,700 for the most recent Aimee Lou Wood-hosted episode (it’s sixth).

With a reported £2 million per episode budget, this is a pricey show to mount for what is a fairly limited audience. They’re good figures for a show on pay provider Sky, but the question ultimately comes down to whether Sky is seeing enough bang for its buck for the show to become an ongoing proposition.

The only question that ultimately matters: Is it driving subscribers? We’ll know the answer to that if Sky commissions a third season. Right now the show has some green shoots of promise, but a pay TV network isn’t in the business of spending big only to drive YouTube viewership.

My own personal take on the UK show is that it takes far too much from the US SNL and doesn’t do enough to be its own thing. But, that’s what you get with an imported format…

It’d make a bit more sense to me if they could find a way to run the UK version during the off-season for the US version, giving audiences more fresh SNL across the year. It’s weird having two concurrent Saturday Night Lives on the air in any given week.

Read: THR

News Desk

• Lizzy Caplan is joining The Morning Show on Apple TV for season 5. It’s a shame we can’t replace the words “The Morning Show” with “Party Down,” but the world is a harsh mistress. Read: Deadline

• Aussie reality doc format Muster Dogs will be adapted for the US with a new Prime Video series. Read: Deadline

• In a show with Dave Letterman at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival, John Mulaney said that he still has another season of Everybody’s in LA for Netflix. Read: THR

• David Letterman will be a guest on the May 14 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On May 11, Colbert will interview other late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver. Read: Variety

• Former General Hospital star Mark Hamill (he was probably in something else…) is copping it online after posting a picture of a dead Donald Trump to his Bluesky account. The White House has called him ‘sick.’ Read: Deadline

• Jason Katims (Parenthood) will showrun a remake of Highway To Heaven. Read: THR

• Fox has renewed Murder in a Small Town for a third season. Read: thefutoncritic

• Bridgerton will launch a collaboration with The Sims 4. Read: Variety

Trailer Park

TV series adaptation Cape Fear debuts on Apple TV June 5 and stars Amy Adams, Patrick Wilson, and Javier Bardem. Watch out for all those rakes, Javier Bardem.

Life, Larry, and The Pursuit of Unhappiness debuts on HBO Max June 26.

Alice and Steve debuts on Hulu June 8.

Alice & Steve is a hilarious, messy, and complicated exploration of friendship, love, and revenge. The show is described as an anti-romantic comedy (a wrong-com) that asks the question: how far would you go for love – or revenge? Will Alice forgive Steve? Will Steve and Izzy make a relationship work? Amongst all the questions hanging in the balance, one thing is certain: their lives will never be the same.

Harlan Coben’s I Will Find You debuts on Netflix June 18.

An innocent father serving life for the murder of his own son receives evidence that his child may still be alive - and must break out of prison to find out the truth.

Kartavya debuts 15 May on Netflix.

With his family's safety at stake and menacing threats closing in, a police officer must decide how far he'll go to uphold his duty.

Teach You a Lesson debuts on Netflix June 5.

When respect collapses in schools, unconventional inspectors arrive to set things right - with sharp, no-nonsense lessons you won't find in textbooks.

NZ show Bust Up debuts on Sky Open on Tuesday, May 27 at 8.30pm, with new episodes dropping weekly and available to stream on NEON from the same day.

Deb and Mihi - ex-partners in life - are forced to partner up again as cops

The Australian ABC revival of Race Around The World debuts June 7.

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On May 8, 2006, Guy Goma walked into the BBC HQ in London to interview for a job as a data specialist. Interviews are stressful at the best of times and everything feels a bit heightened.

Guy Goma was moved into a room and asked to sit at a table. Moments later in came a news anchor and Goma realised things were about to go horribly wrong.

The man that was supposed to be in that chair was technology journalist Guy Kewney, leading to the understandable mistake where producer Elliot Gotkine brought Guy Goma into the studio to discuss the verdict in a legal case against Apple.

Watch the video as Goma realises what has happened, then as he just goes for it and tries to roll with the situation.

Goma didn’t get the BBC job. These days he works with people that have learning disabilities. Producer Gotkine soon left the BBC job. Nowadays he works as a freelance journalist and moderates conferences. The two have since teamed up to write a book together about the incident titled The Wrong Guy.

Is this story worthy of writing an entire book about the incident? I haven’t read the book, but I think we all know.

Read more: NYT | VICE

Note: To save you looking it up. Robert Kelly’s infamous BBC interview interrupted by his daughter Marion was on March 10, 2017.

RIP Ted Turner

Cable TV legend Ted Turner has died at the age of 87. A few weeks ago in the newsletter I was reflecting on the idea that Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is one of the all-time most influential people in the history of the TV medium. Ted Turner is right up there with him.

No man has had a greater impact on TV than Ted Turner, with his influence felt in the US through early investments in cable TV and the founding of CNN in 1980. His impact was also felt globally through the international expansion of CNN.

As the creator of CNN he is the guy responsible for the 24-hour news cycle.

While a lot of stories today will be focused on CNN as the founder of CNN, I think it’s really important to also acknowledge the contribution of its co-founder, the late Reese Schonfeld.

Schonfeld was an early satellite TV pioneer, delivering news stations with pooled news coverage. Turner first approached Schonfeld for information on the costs involved, then later engaged him again to work out how to launch a news cable channel. Turner brought the initial vision and (importantly) the money, but it was Schonfeld that made it all work.

Schonfeld has a really great memoir that’s worth a read: Me and Ted Against the World : The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN.

Turner’s contribution to television didn’t end with CNN.

After Turner’s purchase of the MGM studio library of films, he went on to create Turner Classic Movies (usually referred to these days as TCM). A purchase of the Hanna-Barbera library similarly saw the creation of Cartoon Network.

In 1996 he merged his cable giant Turner Broadcasting System with Time Warner.

In addition to incredible wealth and influence as one of the 20th century’s most successful media tycoons, he had a number of other achievements:

• Marriage to Jane Fonda (it didn’t last, but good on him)

• He co-created Captain Planet and the Planeteers (it was supposed to get pollution down to zero. It didn’t, but good on him)

• He walked past me once in Brisbane in 2001. He was in town for the Goodwill Games.

There are, obviously, quite a number of articles and obits about Ted Turner today. All are worth a read. My recommendations:

• New York Times has a great obit

• CNN has an even better obit. All of the great pics I’ve published here are from this CNN obit

• Deadline has comments from rival Rupert Murdoch and current Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav

• THR provides context on the transformational impact of CNN

• THR also reflects on Captain Planet

• Atlanta News First has a video story about Ted Turner and Captain Planet

• While Jane Fonda hasn’t yet commented, Deadline has video of her talking about the contribution of her “favourite ex-husband” to cinema through the founding of TCM.

News Desk

• FX / Hulu has confirmed what we all knew: The fifth season of The Bear will be its last. The show returns with all eight episodes available June 25. Read: thefutoncritic

• Oscar Isaac is closing negotiations to star in Netflix’s new Untitled Vegas series from Billions creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien. JC Chandor is directing the first two episodes. Read: Deadline

• HBO has made it official with a second season greenlight on the new Harry Potter series. Read: THR

• UKTV has acquired 420 30-minute episodes, comprising Aussie soap Neighbours first two years on air, starting in 1985. Read: C21

• PBS Kids is rebooting the ultimate Big Dog, Clifford. Read: THR

• I’m always delighted when I see Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David sharing time together, so was frustrated that I’d not be able to see their interview at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival. But, good news… the event was part of a live podcast taping, so it’ll be in my earholes soon. Here’s a summary of the event… Read: THR

• Hope Valley: 1874, the prequel series to When Calls The Heart, has been picked up for a second season. Read: Deadline

• The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has been renewed for a second season at NBC. Read: THR

• Apple TV has ordered thriller series Disavowed, which is set to star the man of the moment James Marsden in the lead. Read: THR

• I was a big fan of the narrative podcast American Hostage. Jon Hamm, who voiced the lead character will star in the MGM+ TV series adaptation which has just had a ton of international sales including HBO Max in France and Movistar Plus+ in Spain. In Australia it will stream on Stan. Read: C21

Trailer Park

Elle debuts on Prime Video July 1.

Season One of Elle follows Elle Woods before she was a fish-out-of-water at Harvard. We meet her in 1995 as a fish in the tumultuous waters of high school where she encounters tricky friendships, forbidden romance, and questionable fashion choices. Through it all, Elle uses her family as a touchstone, and forms an even tighter bond to her mother, proving that they can get through anything life throws their way as long as they have each other. With each challenge she faces, Elle grows closer to the Elle Woods we know and love today.

Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine debuts on Netflix May 15.

Hungry for a new heist, Berlin summons the gang to Seville and turns an ambitious duke into the victim of his own plan: to steal a Da Vinci masterpiece.

Propeller One-Way Night Coach was written, directed, narrated, and produced by John Travolta. It debuts on Apple TV May 29.

Set in the golden age of aviation, a young airplane enthusiast, Jeff (Clark Shotwell), and his mother (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) set off on a one-way cross-country odyssey to Hollywood, which transforms a simple flight into the trip of a lifetime.

County Rescue returns for season 3 on Great American Family.

Dragon Striker debuts on Disney+ June 10.

Blending European fantasy with Japanese animation influences, the series follows an underdog hero's journey, brought to life through high-stakes battles, visually stunning action and expansive mythology.

Deli Boys is back for season 2 May 28 on Hulu./

That’s the newsletter for the today.

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If the show going off the air was Gutfeld! on Fox News or Jimmy Kimmel Live!, I don’t think you would see as much of a focus on the death of the late night chat show. But The Late Show has had a broadcast run stretching back to 1993 and, more than that, has its legacy tied up with David Letterman who was not only hosting late night talk since 1982, but was seen by many as the natural heir to Johnny Carson who hosted The Tonight Show since 1962 (which, itself, had roots going back to 1954).

The end of The Late Show feels connected to all of that history.

It also feels like a premature ending, with the show cancelled under a cloud of political favouritism disguised as a financial decision. To my mind, the decision to cancel the show was because the finances weren’t making sense. The end of the show was absolutely nigh. But did it have to be this year, or should CBS have weathered a few rocky years of loss in an effort to preserve one of the defining shows of the network? Well, that’s the key question.

The New York Times reporter Jason Zinoman quite literally wrote the book on Letterman and today has published two articles worth your time today. First is an essay asking what viewers lose by The Late Show going away.

STEPHEN COLBERT IS a very different performer from Letterman, but when he got the job as Letterman’s successor at “The Late Show,” it represented a kind of continuity. He also inspired comedy-nerd passion and stood out as a performer with ambition. Letterman put on what was considered an anti-talk show, a stark contrast to “The Tonight Show,” even down to putting the desk on the opposite side of the stage. Colbert had done something similar at Comedy Central: he followed the righteous voice of “The Daily Show” with a coolly virtuosic spoof, “The Colbert Report.” Like Letterman, he reinvented a form by mastering the art of saying the opposite of what he meant.

Since it was built in opposition to its NBC rival, “The Late Show” was both an institution and anti-institutional. Colbert kept that dual spirit alive. Colbert put on a more traditional show than “The Colbert Report” but found eccentric ways for “The Late Show” to express his personality, whether that be his habit of reciting poems by heart to movie stars, his loving interview with Stephen Sondheim or a monologue delivered from his bathtub.

The most obvious way “Late Show” remained counterprogramming involved current events: while “The Tonight Show,” led by Jimmy Fallon since 2014, has aimed for light apolitical fare, Colbert has responded to our moment by becoming forceful in his comic attacks on President Trump. The cancellation of Colbert’s show right before a deal that needed government approval has given his exit an additional resonance. In recent months, Colbert has leaned into Democratic political guests like James Talarico, Elizabeth Warren and (on May 5) Barack Obama.

Zinoman spoke to a number of people for his article, which included David Letterman. That interview has also been published today.

He says two things that I found particularly interesting.

So much of Dave’s professional and personal life has been tied up with his work in late night television. Until the birth of his son Harry, it seems to have been the only thing that got him up in the morning. It also seemed to be the thing that kept him up at night, bothered.

With that in mind, it was interesting to read him talk about how in his mind he feels divorced from The Late Show:

…Wait a minute, this used to be my show. It’s like driving by your old neighborhood and realizing that where you used to live, they’re putting up an adult bookstore.

Are you far enough away from hosting “The Late Show” that you don’t feel a sense of ownership anymore?

Yes. Time has separated me from the genealogy of the show. On the other hand, if there’s outrage to be directed at management, either real or imagined, I’m all in. Let’s go.

Letterman also thinks that late night chat has a very short window of life left in it:

We still have Jimmy. We still have Seth [Meyers]. It’s not completely dead on arrival, but I would be surprised if it lasts more than a year or so. But it’s such an easy soothing format that it’s got to stay on.

I’d be more inclined to give it another five years at least, but the spider is certainly circling the drain. The death of late night TV will be like bankruptcy. It happens slowly at first, then all at once.

Surprise ‘The Bear’ episode

Log onto Hulu in the US or Disney+ everywhere else in the world and you will see an hour-long TV movie called Gary is front and centre on your screen. It isn’t branded as an episode of The Bear, but it is a prequel to the show.

The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach stars as Richie opposite his late cousin Mikey, played by Jon Bernthal, who has been a presence in the series in flashbacks since season one. The two actors co-wrote the special, with series creator Christopher Storer directing.

No one knew Gary was coming, with Moss-Bachrach revealing its existence on Instagram:

The Bear will be back for season five, believed to be the final season (which hasn’t been officially confirmed yet), at a date TBA. But, you can probably expect to see it in June.

In this newsletter I have talked a bit in recent weeks about Emmy eligibility and the way TV networks are using these final weeks of the current eligibility period (it ends May 31) to release shows believed to be Emmy frontrunners. That’s absolutely what is happening here.

Too short to qualify for the Outstanding TV Movie category, Gary is being submitted as an episode of the fourth season of The Bear. But don’t go looking for Gary as part of season four on the streaming service – it is its own freestanding special. It isn’t clear to me that, when the show is later packaged and sold in the years to come, that Gary will be included with The Bear.

As per Gold Derby, the show will be submitted by FX and Hulu for the Emmys in three categories:

• Best Comedy Guest Actor for Jon Bernthal

• Best Comedy Guest Actress for Marin Ireland

• Best Comedy Writing for Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal

WKRP lives

Following news earlier this year that the WKRP call sign was up for sale, The Oasis, a three-station radio network serving Northern Kentucky, Dayton, Ohio, and, as you would hope, Cincinnati, has officially rebranded to “WKRP”.

I’m too young to have seen WKRP in Cincinnati in its original run (and I’m middle-aged, so it’s been a while now…) and it isn’t a series that has been repeated all that much here in Australia. I don’t know how much reverence younger generations have for the show, but it’s certainly a noteworthy series as one considers sitcoms of that late 70s era (it ran 1978-1982).

It’s enduring pop-cultural legacy really is tied to the name of the show and its connection to a city that isn’t reflected all that much in national/global pop culture. So, when one thinks Cincinnati, WKRP in Cincinnati is an adjacent thought.

The newly-branded WKRP-FM began transmission this week and serves to strengthen that connection between a dopey sitcom from nearly 50 years ago to the Cincinnati of today.

Jeff Ziesmann, the radio network owner, was interviewed by NPR station WVXU:

“We play essentially the same music that they played on WKRP. It made more sense for us to do this than any other station in town.”

But don’t expect it to be a slavish recreation of the fictional radio station. It’s a loving connection, but that’s as far as it goes.

“The presentation will be a tribute to the TV show — not a parody of a 40-year-old TV show that aired for only four years,” Ziesmann says. “For us, WKRP is more of an attitude.”

The Oasis radio format will remain on air. The station format plays songs from the 60s through to the 80s, with tracks from artists like the Beatles, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Credence Clearwater Revival, Queen, Styx, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and Eric Clapton.

“This is just a rebranding. We don’t want to spook those people who might think we threw out their favorite radio station,” Ziesmann says.

You can listen to WKRP online.

News Desk

• Rita Wilson has joined the cast of HBO’s family drama How to Survive Without Me. Read: Variety

• Good news for XBOX users with CEO Asha Sharma revealing they have scrapped plans to bring Microsoft Co-Pilot to the console. There’s only so many platforms one should have to ignore that thing on. Read: Polygon

• I have been wondering this past week or so when King of The Hill would be back. News today is season 15 is set to return July 20. Read: thefutoncritic

• Amazon is asking The Summer I Turned Pretty fans to stop turning up to the shooting location and bothering the production. Read: Variety

• Northern Lights is developing a TV series remake of Babette’s Feast. Read: ScreenDaily

• HBO Max is launching a new podcast series starting May 19 that will cover the Harry Potter movie series. Read: Variety

Trailer Park

The Boroughs debuts on Netflix May 21.

In a seemingly perfect retirement community, a crew of unlikely heroes must stop an otherworldly threat from stealing the one thing they don't have: time.

Yellowstone sequel series Dutton Ranch debuts on Paramount+ May 15.

Sofia The First: Royal Magic debuts May 25 on Disney+.

The series follows Sofia as she attends the Charmswell School for Royal Magic, where she discovers she is the most magical princess in the realm and must learn how to master her powers while making new royal friends.

Brazil 70: The Third Star debuts on Netflix May 29.

In 1970, facing doubt and immense pressure, Brazil took the pitch to redefine soccer forever.

Three-part documentary series Kylie debuts May 20 on Netflix.

A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder returns for season 2 on Netflix May 27.

The Polygamist debuts on Netflix June 12.

A glamorous social media influencer and matriarch fights to reclaim her dignity and self-worth as her husband's web of secret wives, lies, and betrayals violently unravels her curated world.

Ground Up debuts on ABC TV and ABC iView on June 7.

After years of trying, Tasmania has finally been given the green light to field a team in the AFL - but there's a catch. The locals have to build a new stadium.

That’s the newsletter for the today.

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In hindsight it was a bad deal. Bluey is said to make around $2.5 billion a year.

But, in true contrarian fashion, I’m here to ask: Was this a bad deal?

Last week Charlie Gearside posted a YouTube video where he criticised the deal. What he said was nothing new, but thanks to his outsized profile (he’s the co-founder of Eucalyptus, an online health company that sells dick pills, weight loss injections, skin care products, etc – it just sold to US company Hims & Hers for $A1.6 billion), it sparked a robust conversation over the weekend about what losers the ABC are.

I’m throwing out there two counterpoints to all of this.

First of all, Bluey, like almost every commission, wasn’t a sure thing. There was no reason to believe that Bluey would be a smash hit. Instead, it was more likely than not to be a nice and cheery kids show that would fit on its schedule alongside other commissions like Kangaroo Beach, and Flower & Flour. Like every Australian broadcaster, the ABC is cash-strapped and the way local productions tend to be made nowadays is by having an international partner on board.

Would Bluey have been made without the BBC on-board as a production partner? Maybe. Maybe not. I’d contend that the ABC’s purpose is to be making shows for Australian viewers, like the dedicated ABC Kids audience. If the choice is between the ABC having a good kids show with BBC making oodles from it through BBC Studios, or the show not being made at all, then the ABC made the right choice here.

And just on a side note… ABC Kids is a really f**king awesome service. The curation of kids shows on it is second to none and they do a remarkable job with scheduling as well. Is it perfect? Heavens no. But it is pretty great and probably the most valuable service the ABC delivers.

But the second crucial point I think is important to consider: If ABC had gone it alone on Bluey and retained international distribution and merchandise rights (while covering the cost of that), does anybody actually believe that Bluey would still be a smash hit show?

Back in 2018/19 in the earliest days of Bluey as a success story, I, a mature (adjacent) adult man without a kid in my life, knew of Bluey through articles and discussion online about hot-dad Bandit and how he was seen as a perfect father. The show was generally praised as being pretty good, but Bandit Heeler was the breakout talking point surrounding the show.

Had the ABC somehow managed to get the show on the air without co-producer BBC, I’d suggest that burst of energy around the show is probably about as far as it would have gotten.

A show isn’t a success because it is good. It helps a show to become a success because it is good, but it takes more than just quality. BBC Studios has runs on the board in terms of supporting TV shows with international distribution and merchandising deals.

Through the strength of the Bluey YouTube channel, through key sales like the 2019 sale of the show to Disney for the US market, through the launch of stage shows and licensed public appearances, through the endless supply of Bluey merchandise (I cannot turn my head in my house without some sort of Bluey presence thanks to Little Miss 4 in my house, the future publisher of Always Be Watching). BBC Studios is behind all of that.

BBC Studios has built up the muscle required to make all of that happen.

Could ABC Commercial have made that happen? I’m far from convinced.

Gen X loved Andor

Tied with May The Fourth (an online fan-driven Star Wars celebration that has gotten bigger than the message boards could ever have imagined), Nielsen has released a point exploring what Star Wars product people are actually watching. Among the findings:

• 44 per cent of fans are watching Star Wars movies vs 39 per cent watching the live action shows and 17 per cent watching the cartoons.

• The most-watched Star Wars show in 2025 was Andor. THR tries to explain this away as recency bias, but I’d also counter that Andor is the only live action show that feels integral to the experience of watching the movies. I can’t imagine not sliding that series in if I’m going to watch Rogue One as part of a Star Wars movie rewatch.

• While Andor is number one, its success is generational. Millennials (ages 30-45) and Gen X (46-61) viewers are watching it, but Gen Alpha (2-13) and Boomers (62-80) are watching The Mandalorian. Meanwhile Gen Z (14-29) are watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Yes, Gen Z are the lamest generation.

• The most-streamed titles:

Are the two Ewok TV movies from the 80s on Disney+? If so, I’m not sure how Caravan of Courage didn’t make the top 10…

News Desk

• Amazon’s Head of Nonfiction Jenn Levy says that they are looking at a US version of its international comedy stunt show LOL: Last One Laughing. Read: Deadline

• Jenna Elfman will star in new Fox series The Interrogator opposite Stephen Fry. Read: Variety

• Barack Obama has pointed out the obvious reasons he isn’t popping off more about the current state of politics in an interview with the New Yorker. Don’t expect Barry to launch his own podcast anytime soon. Read: New Yorker

• Netflix’s The Night Agent will end after four seasons. Read: Variety

• Son of a Critch will end after five seasons at CBC. Read: Deadline

• Denis Leary comedy Going Dutch has been cancelled after two seasons. Read: THR

• BBC News will lose around 2000 of its head count (about 15% of its staff). Read: The Guardian

• Neon has acquired the movie adaptation of oral history book I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. I don’t really get what the narrative focus of a film like this is, but it is a very entertaining book. Read: Deadline

• In this interview about the upcoming Netflix is a Joke Festival, Netflix stand-up chief Robbie Praw basically confirms we have seen the end of John Mulaney’s talk show Everybody’s Live. Read: Variety

• The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (which I am desperate to visit) has just announced its first Star Wars installation. Star Wars in Motion will showcase the various modes of transport on display in the films & TV shows. Now that’s what I call pod racing! Read: THR

Trailer Park

Following on from the worst ending of a TV show in 2025 is season 2 of The Four Seasons on Netflix. It returns May 28.

PAC-MAN: Snack Breaks debuts on the official PAC-MAN YouTube channel May 22.

That’s the newsletter for the today.

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Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Challenge him on the NYT word game Crossplay. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.

The final episode will air on May 21, meaning on Monday May 24 that audience will be looking around for a new show to fall asleep to on the couch. Some will stick around with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, but CBS has effectively abandoned the audience for the highest rated network show in late night.

Nobody knows the late night space better than reporter Bill Carter, who late last week appeared on his monthly Late Nighter roundtable podcast and talked about recent ratings data showing that in recent months anytime Colbert runs a repeat, the audience are choosing to move over to watch Jimmy Kimmel.

Watch from around 9:50:

Carter’s thinking is that audiences are seeing Kimmel as the heir apparent of sorts and in this politically charged moment, Colbert viewers are seeing watching Kimmel as a sign of resistance against Trump.

Where I think this is interesting is that, as Carter talks about in the podcast, Kimmel has been fairly public about his reticence to continue hosting his show. But, with a mass influx of viewers combined with political cultural winds behind his back, could this actually convince Kimmel to stay on the air for longer than he planned – at least past the next US Presidential election in 2028?

For the first time in, well, decades, we are seeing reduced competition in US late night with a single host soon expected to control the bulk of the audience.

By picking a fight with Kimmel, Trump seems to be fuelling the conditions that will lead to Kimmel staying on the air for years longer than he’d planned.

ABC certainly aren’t going to be pushing Kimmel off the air anytime soon after he large volume Disney+ cancellations by pissed off viewers when ABC caved to political pressure and took Kimmel off the air last year.

News Desk

• NBC has cancelled Brilliant Minds and Stumble. Still no word on Law & Order. Read: THR

• Netflix has pushed the release of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician's Nephew to February 12, 2027, with a launch on Netflix April 2, 2027. It was expected in cinemas this year in November, with a Christmas release date. This now gives the film a much longer run in cinemas. Read: Indiewire

• RIP character actor Beau Starr, a regular on Due South along with an extensive number of TV shows and movies. Read: TMZ

• ITV is planning a new version of game show Name That Tune. Alison Hammond is set to host. The current US revival of the format, hosted by Jane Krakowski, is five seasons in. Read: C21

• Netflix is now in production on a sequel to its mindless sharks in Paris movie Under Paris. Movies are back, baby! Read: Variety

• A very quiet screening of a 2.5 hour assembly cut of Gremlins, the second greatest Gremlins movie ever made, has taken place. Read: The AV Club | Screencrush

• CBS is reducing the episode counts for several of its high-profile dramas. For example, Fire Country will deliver just 13 episodes this coming season vs the 20 it produced last season. It’s an effort to get more TV shows on the air each season. Read: Deadline

• Amazon has denied that a revival for The Apprentice is in active development, meaning the likelihood of Don Jr hosting a new version of the show is as likely as the supposed hunting/fishing show he was attached to for Warner Bros Discovery. Read: Deadline

Trailer Park

Marty, Life Is Short debuts May 12 on Netflix.

The definitive documentary on beloved comedian Martin Short, using beautiful, intimate, never-before-seen archive.

Important journalism is on display with The Mystery of Richard Simons: A Diana Sawyer Special. It debuts May 12.

A Poignant Look at a Beloved Pop-Culture Figure Who Rose to Fame as a Fitness Guru and Television Personality, His Decade-Long Disappearance From Public Life, Planned Comeback and Sudden Death

That’s the newsletter for the today.

Consider becoming a paid supporter of Always Be Watching.

Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Challenge him on the NYT word game Crossplay. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.

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