The Pitt inspires a new (re: old) sort of TV at HBO Max
I’ve made no secret of my love for HBO Max drama The Pitt in this newsletter. Beyond just being a very good show, I appreciate that it is a very purposeful throwback to the high quality TV network dramas that used to dominate television in the 90s and 00s, with a decent episode count (15 episodes) to support it.
We lost a sense of connection with the TV shows we enjoyed when they became far more cinematic, with short episode counts and multi-year gaps between seasons. The Pitt was a corrective to this, but also mixing in a bit more adult content in than US network TV would generally allow.
Following the success of the Emmy award-winning hospital drama, HBO Max has today announced two new dramas taking its cues from The Pitt and its 15 episode network-vibe:
American Blue - Written by former Supernatural showrunner Jeremy Carver, who executive produces with Brian Udovich, American Blue centers on native son Brian “Milk” Milkovich who returns to his hometown of Joliet, Illinois, to rescue a beleaguered police force while seeking redemption of his own.
How to Survive Without Me - A family drama created by Greg Berlanti, Robbie Rogers, and Bash Doran. This series follows adult siblings as they deal with grief and love in Los Angeles.
I’m actually wondering how long it will be until we hear about a spin-off from The Pitt - it seems very much like a format that can be replicated across connected shows with other emergency workers (police, fire, and all the other genres One Chicago serve). One presumes that as soon as there’s a decision made in the lawsuit surrounding The Pitt (with a win for WBD), we’ll see a spin-off announcement made.
This is what a Christmas ad should feel like
For the last few years Aardman teams up with UK fashion brand Barbour for a Christmas-time TV commercial. In the past ads have used Shaun The Sheep, but this year they are using Wallace & Gromit in the campaign.
You can read about the campaign over at Radio Times where you can read the standard cursory comments like:
Barbour’s Group Deputy Managing Director, Paul Wilkinson shared: “We are excited to be continuing our partnership with Aardman for another year; a brand, like Barbour, that is renowned for its heritage, nostalgia, craftsmanship and meticulous detail.
“This year’s film bring a light-hearted charm to Barbour’s Original and Authentic Tartans including the Classic Tartan Scarf and the exclusive, reimagined Winterberry Tartan wrapping Wallace’s ingenious Gift-o-matic. Whilst rooted in our British heritage, the story’s themes of generosity and togetherness resonate far beyond the UK, reflecting the universal spirit of the season.”
What you will not find in the article are comments from the brand defending its production techniques, so, nothing like, say, this for example:
“Before, when we were doing the shooting and all the standard processes for a project, we would start a year in advance,” Arroyo said. “Now, you can get it done in around a month.”
It has been ridiculous reading comments from anyone defending the Coke Christmas ad. It looks off and creates a distance between the viewer and the video. It completely betrays the feelings of warmth and human connection that a Christmas campaign should evoke - all traits found in the above Wallace & Grommit Barbour commercial.
I’m sure that, give it a few more years, AI video will absolutely be at the point where it is indistinguishable from the claymation work that Aardman painstakingly do now. But we’re not there yet.
I’ve produced my own campaign work for Coke. We can all agree that while it is distancing and lacks humanity, it’ll look great when I learn to draw over the next few years.
News Desk
Grand Theft Auto VI has been delayed to November 2026. Read: THR
Keeping Up With… is a new FAST channel launching on Samsung TV in the UK and Ireland from NBCUniversal. It’ll include episodes from early seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, as well as shows including: Kourtney & Khloé Take Miami, Kourtney & Kim Take Miami, Khloé & Lamar, Kourtney & Kim Take New York, Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons, and Dash Dolls. Read: Deadline
TV news site TV Line has had a pretty major editorial refresh this past week or so (and a new site design) following a change in ownership. There’s now a lot more listicles are weird nostalgic flashback articles like this one focused on failed Cheers spin-off The Tortellis.
Stuart Heritage asks if it is fair that people are calling new Kim Kardashian legal drama All’s Fair the worst show of 2025. Read: The Guardian
Here’s Lucy Mangan’s zero star review for All’s Fair. Read: The Guardian
Reasonable Doubt has been renewed for a fourth season. Read: Deadline
24% of YouTube TV subscribers say they have already canceled or plan to soon following the carriage dispute underway with Disney. Read: Variety
The (pricey) Star Trek: The Next Generation Enterprise D LEGO set looks pretty cool. I wonder if the dish separates… Read: Polygon.
Trailer Park
Stranger Things: Tales From 85 debuts on Netflix in 2026.
Welcome back to Hawkins in the stark winter of 1985, where the original characters must fight new monsters and unravel a paranormal mystery terrorizing their town in Stranger Things: Tales From ‘85, an epic new animated series.
Oh What Fun debuts on Prime Video Dec 3.
Claire Clauster (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the glue that holds her chaotic, lovable family together every holiday season.
The Hunt debuts Dec 3 on Apple TV.
Franck (Benoît Magimel) and his longtime friends enjoy spending their weekends hunting together, but one Sunday, they come across another group of hunters who start targeting them without explanation.
Percy Jackson & The Olympians returns for season 2 on Dec 10.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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