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I am working on a couple of pieces about Netflix’s move into video podcasts, and I’d like to hear from anyone who is watching them.
Are these shows ones that are new to you? Are they ones you used to watch on YouTube, but are now just viewing on Netflix?
What do you think of the way Netflix integrates the podcasts into its UI?
Leave your thoughts in the comments, or email me at [email protected]
Every Local PBS Station Has Its Own Unique Story
One of the joys for me doing this deep dive on PBS is getting to hear the stories of the individual local PBS affiliates. No matter the size of the station and its audience, each station has its own unique connection to its local audience and the community at large.
Panhandle PBS is based in Amarillo, Texas and it didn’t go on the air until 1988. But because the station license is owned by the Amarillo Junior College District, the station has an exceptionally close relationship with the college and the community.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Kevin Ball, CEO Panhandle PBS and Vice President of Communications and Marketing at Amarillo College about the history of the station, how he sees its place in the community and the challenges of navigating recent federal cuts to public media.
He also talked about some of the local productions, which range from serious news stories to online documentaries about local residents who are into tabletop gaming in the Texas panhandle:
“We also try to do serious items, like Rain We Keep. That is very serious issue for agriculture, we have a big cattle industry here. But we do some fun things as well, like Cadillac Ranch, which is kind of silly. We went out there about a month ago and painted the PBS logo on one of the Cadillacs, and 200 people out there, because we were the PBS people out there painting the Cadillacs. People paint them every day, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, if it's not, like, raining or snowing, they're out there. So we had a lot of fun with that. But we really have always been very local-orientated, because this area loves its local, but it also loves its Lawrence Welk, it loves, The News Hour. It loves all the things that PBS brings. But it loves that blend of the local with it, and that was the whole intent when the station founded in ‘88, so we're trying to keep that up right now.”
I have been doing a lot of PBS-related interviews, but the ones with the local stations are some of my favorites. Honestly, I think interviewing someone from every local PBS station and then turning it into a book would be a fun, albeit probably poor-selling project.
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‘I’m Shocked To Learn That Gambling Is Taking Place In Casablanca’
Every day brings some new, generally corrupt twist to the Paramount/WBD merger story.
Today’s tale of casual corruption comes from Pro Publica, who is reporting that after voting for a Paramount merger, Republican FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty took Kennedy Center tickets worth over $12,000. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has accepted tickets worth at least $63,000:
Five months earlier, Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s historic $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Now, the commissioner and a guest enjoyed the star-studded celebration thanks to tickets gifted to her by Paramount worth more than $12,000, according to ethics disclosure records obtained by ProPublica.
The other commissioner who approved the merger watched from a prized perch. FCC Chair Brendan Carr and his wife sat in a private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison and other executives from Paramount and CBS. Such seats sold for $125,000 a ticket, according to Kennedy Center guidelines.
It’s unclear if Paramount gifted Carr the premium seats because the FCC has yet to make public his financial disclosure for last year.
This is another datapoint that various organizations suing to block the merger will use to illustrate that the FCC merger approval process for the deal was corrupt.
This Is What Your Netflix Home Page Looks Like When You Watch A Lot Of Asian TV Shows
Odds & Sods
Really, the show should be called “Totally 90s Mansion”
The critically acclaimed documentary Time And Water premieres Friday, July 31st on NatGeo. Here is the official logline: “Renowned Icelandic poet and author, Andri Snær Magnason, is chasing something elusive. As the glacial ice of his homeland melts, he constructs a time capsule to hold onto this moment and send it to the future, before everything he loves slips away. Using his own collected archives, his grandparents’ photographs and films as well as traditional songs and folktales, Andri interlaces his family’s story with that of the land around him. From Academy Award-nominated director Sara Dosa, Time And Water is a universal reflection on the power of home and what it means to be alive amid profound epochal change.”
I mentioned a few weeks that while HGTV hadn’t announced it, they were testing names for a new 90s-themed series that was going to feature 90s-era stars “with a passion for design.” The network announced the series today and Totally 90s House will premiere Wednesday, August 26th. Here is the official logline: "A true blast from the past, the six-episode renovation competition, hosted by actor, producer and game show host Jaleel White (Family Matters), will follow two celeb teams as they scour the country for houses stuck in the 1990s—think honey oak cabinets, sponge-painted walls and mirrored closets—with each team ultimately picking their perfect throwback in need of a major overhaul. The superstar teams will spotlight Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210), Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven) and Jodie Sweetin (Full House) going up against Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Matthew Lawrence (Boy Meets World) and Keshia Knight Pulliam (The Cosby Show) with help from Matthew’s brother Joey Lawrence (Blossom). Backed by design expertise from mentors Carter Oosterhouse (Carter Can) and Sabrina Soto (The High Low Project), the competitors will face a massive challenge—modernize the dated spaces while preserving their nostalgic charm in hopes of creating the ideal '90s-inspired dream home—to win bragging rights and $25,000 for their chosen charity."
An extended cut of the season eight episode of The Rookie entitled “His Name Was Martin,” written and directed by The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley, is getting an extended director’s cut. The episode, containing approximately 5/12 extra minutes of footage, will be released on Hulu July 20th under the show’s “extras” section.
Season 42?!? of the reality series The Challenge will be moving from MTV to Paramount+, and will premiere Wednesday, August 5th on the streamer. The series first debuted on MTV in 1998 and when you’re strip mining a linear network so deeply that you’re moving The Challenge to streaming, you’re really admitting the channel is essentially dead.
‘Stranger Things’ Finally Gets A VHS Release…Sort Of
In a stunt to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Stranger Things, Netflix is releasing a special version of the first season with a visual downgrade and graphics that make it appear as if you are watching the show on an old VHS player.
It would be more realistic to the 90s VHS experience if halfway through the season, the “tape” broke and you couldn’t watch any more. But I suppose that would be mean.
What’s Premiering Tonight And Tomorrow
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15TH:
Lucky Series Premiere (Apple TV)
MasterChef Season Premiere (Fox)
Nation's Dumbest Series Premiere (Fox)
911: Did The Killer Call? Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Ride Or Die Series Premiere (Prime Video)
The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On Season Premiere (Netflix)
2026 ESPY Awards (ABC)
Worst Yard On The Block Series Premiere (HGTV)
THURSDAY, JULY 16TH:
Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (Disney Channel)
House Rules Series Premiere (Tubi)
Me Before Me (Netflix)
Scott Peterson: The New Evidence (A&E)
The First 48 Season Premiere (A&E)
The Hawk Series Premiere (Netflix)