Jon Stewart on bridging the authenticity gap
I seem to have lost an entire weekend to house hunting (if anyone has a good lead on a decent rental property in Sydney’s outer-inner west, let me know) and to binge watching the last two seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale. Expect many thoughts on the series finale for the show mid-week because I am now INVESTED.
Down with the patriarchy!
Jon Stewart on bridging the authenticity gap
Worth listening to / watching today is Jon Stewart being interviewed on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
In the chat, he articulates really well what it is that makes The Daily Show (particularly when he’s hosting it) such a compelling watch, which is that too many news programs fail to capture the truths and honesty found in the green room before guests and hosts actually go on air - The Daily Show tries to capture that authenticity and call it out when the audience is obviously being sold some BS.
The term ‘authenticity’ gets abused a lot by people in the media who are often anything but authentic. But, look at the rise of platforms like YouTube where you are often seeing content creators filming from their bedrooms, kitchens, and other personal spaces from within their homes. Audiences have bought into the authenticity of the everyday and the fake veneer of TV studios no longer connects in the way that it once did. That extends to the presentation and openness of on-screen talent.
The other interesting aspect of the conversation is Stewart talking about the payments to Trump that TV networks have been making to settle frivolous lawsuits. As he mentions, The Daily Show only stays on air until it becomes a political problem for whoever owns Paramount.
News Desk
Citing dropping viewership (a whopping 60%), Netflix has dumped CoCoMelon, with Disney+ picking up the still-massive kids franchise from 2027. Read: Variety
Still a bit sceptical about the dominance of YouTube as a viewing destination? THR is now reporting on LAX livestreams on the platform.
The Wheel of Time has been cancelled after three seasons at Prime Video. Read: THR
The word seems to be out that Channel Ten in Australia is hiring up for a new current affairs show, with nightly show The Project (produced by third-party Roving Enterprises) under review. David Knox @ TV Tonight is talking about it. I’d point people towards these odd job ads for studio jobs at Ten News listed as jobs for The Amazing Race.
Amazon is now selling The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Citadel to the US syndication market. Read: Variety
RIP comic book legend Peter David. While he did do *some* TV work, including writing on episodes of Babylon 5 and novelizations of movies and TV shows, he’s best known for comics where so much of his work has made its way to TV and movie screens. Most notably in my eyes, his work in co-creating and writing the Spider-Man 2099 character, but also in writing the Young Justice comics and work on titles like Aquaman, The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, Supergirl, and many, many more. He died at the age of 68 after a decade of health problems including multiple strokes, kidney failure, and a mild heart attack. Read: Bleeding Cool
Former BBC executive and TV presenter Alan Yentob has died at the age of 78. As per The Guardian, his commissions included Absolutely Fabulous, Have I Got News for You, and the classic adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. He also launched CBBC and CBeebies.
The more I ever listen to know-it-all Adam Conover, the less convinced I am that he actually knows anything at all. Anyway, he has recently apologised for being an advocate for Sam Altman’s new AI eye scanner tech nonsense. Read: The AV Club
That’s the newsletter for today.
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