My plan is to get these daily newsletters moved up so that they hit your inbox around lunchtime on the East Coast. But I am continuing to deal with technical issues surrounding the move to Substack and that is taking up entirely too much of my day.
The latest wrinkle is that some subscribers have apparently stopped receiving newsletters, so I am working now to get that problem tracked down and solved.
Thank you for your patience.
R.I.P. Ted Turner
Media mogul Ted Turner died on Wednesday at his home near Tallahassee, Fla. He was 87. Turner had announced in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder.
I'm sure you've already read a lot about his accomplishments, but here's a good recap from The NY Times:
In 1985, he bought for $1.5 billion the MGM studio’s library of films and nine years later created the cable franchise Turner Classic Movies, or TCM. He made a similar purchase of Hanna-Barbera cartoons and, relying on them, created the Cartoon Network in 1992. And in 1996, he merged his conglomerate, Turner Broadcasting System, with Time Warner to create one of the world’s largest media companies.
I think it's most accurate to say Turner was a complicated man. He bet and lost fortunes when he entered the media business, and modern television has been framed by the battles he won, but also by the ones he lost.
He attempted to acquire CBS and MGM/UA was Ted's backup deal after CBS beat him back. Somewhere out there is a universe where TV news is a very different place.
Even his politics were complicated. He was friendly with both John Birch conservatives as well as Fidel Castro. He was widely seen as a friendly voice by conservatives, with even President Trump suggesting on social media today that Turner would be disgusted by what CNN has become.
And yet, Turner donated $1 billion to the United Nations. He married actress Jane Fonda, who is politically as far as you can get from being conservative. And he shepherded Captain Planet And The Planeteers, an animated superhero devoted to saving the environment.
But on the other side, Turner owned almost 1.1 million acres in New Mexico, or nearly 3% of the state's private land.
My biggest takeaway is that Turner always played hard - even about the smallest details.
On June 29, 1981, Turner-owned WTBS began to air shows at :05 and :35 so they could have their own logline in TV Guide. The move was informally known inside the industry as "Turner Time."
Rest in peace, Ted Turner. I didn’t always agree with you. But I never felt as if you were making moves strictly in order to increase your wealth.
Also: Dan Barrett’s newsletter Always Be Watching has a good reminder that when people talk about CNN and the legacy of Ted Turner, they shouldn’t forget the contributions of CNN co-founder 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.
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Stephen Colbert’s second (or is it third?) act
The Hollywood Reporter has an extended interview with Stephen Colbert, and while he is reluctant to rage against CBS, he does make it clear how he feels about the situation:
I am grateful for the time I’ve spent here. I will just say, as I said to Baby 18 months ago, they could not nail me to this building hard enough. But maybe everything changed after the strike, and if that’s the case, I accept that entirely. There are many people who believe there was another reason. And, as I said in the most measured tones I could muster, there is a reason why people believe that — the network had clearly already done it once by cutting that $16 million check [to the Trump administration].
Me being canceled reinforced a narrative that CBS already had a nimbus of knee-bending that they had created around themselves, because even their lawyers said there was no reason to cut the check, and then they did and gave no rationale for why they changed their minds, and then suddenly they got their broadcast license.
Causality is not the same thing as correlation, and I understand that — and not just because I learned it from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which reminded us that, yes, you smoked and you got cancer, but, you know, correlation is not causality. So maybe my cancellation was just a naturally occurring tumor that just had to be cut out of the corporation. I mean, that’s entirely possible. I would also say — and this is what feels most true to me — that two things can be true. It can be that the broadcast model is collapsing, and, while we’re at it, as long as we’re collapsing here, what if we shove this one out a window first? I mean, this lamb’s got a very cuttable throat.
Colbert has a long career ahead of him and he could likely get anything he wanted on the air somewhere. If I could wave my magic programming wand, I’d love to see him doing a documentary series about faith in the modern world. He manages to somehow be devout without losing his comedic edge or the natural instinct of every comedian to be cynical about the world.
I’m not sure that Colbert On Faith would be a huge hit. But it would be fascinating to watch.
Speaking of Stephen Colbert: Latenighter is exclusively reporting that Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver and are set to jointly appear on The Late Show this Monday, in what can only be described as a reunion of the “Strike Force Five.”
Michael Symon has a new food show…on YouTube
The backyard style culinary series Simply Symons premieres Thursday, May 8th on YouTube and the All Chewed Up Channel on LG. According to the press release:
“The 12-episode series puts Michael in control as both creator and owner, bringing his signature, no-frills approach to cooking and entertaining. Joined by his wife Liz, the Symons invite viewers into their everyday lives between the kitchen and backyard, where the menu is driven by whatever inspires them in the moment.
Filmed in Venice Beach and Sag Harbor, Simply Symons offers fans pro-level techniques, refreshed takes on favorite recipes and smart shortcuts that make cooking better. Liz keeps everything grounded and approachable while longtime family friend Olivia Annacone returns in a dual role both behind and in front of the camera - asking the questions home cooks actually have and learning right alongside the audience.
I have so many questions. Based on the trailer (which you can see here), the series is a somewhat looser version of the series Symon’s Dinners Cooking Out, which aired on the Food Network from 2020 through 2023.
I’m assuming that the Food Network opted to not do more episodes, as they continue their race to produce the smallest number of new original episodes they can get away with and still keep an audience.
I’ll be interested to see how this does. I always enjoyed his old show and this feels like a great choice to use if you’re going to test the waters of YouTube. It’s also a reminder that it can be frustrating to cover shows that are mostly available on one of the smart TV networks such as the ones on LG or Samsung.
It’s also worth noting that a number of former and current Food Network hosts have their own shows on YouTube. Bobby Flay has his sorts podcast series Bobby On The Beat and Alton Brown has a massive YouTube channel, which includes the show Alton Brown Cooks Food.
Odds & Sods
A reimagined Clifford The Big Red Dog is premiering on PBS Kids next year. Also, Super Why's Comic Book Adventures, a new animated series building on the Emmy-nominated Super Why! series and popular Super Why's Comic Book Adventures shorts, premieres Monday, October 5th on PBS Kids.
The stand-up comedy special Josh Johnson: Symphony premieres Friday, May 22nd on HBO. You can watch the trailer here.
DropoutTV raised over $2 million in ten hours for its new at-home game, Game Changer. Dropout was formerly known as CollegeHumor.
Hope Valley: 1874 has been renewed for a second season by Hallmark.
In yesterday’s newsletter, I wondered why FX and Hulu didn’t announce the premiere date for the final season of The Bear when the unexpected one-off episode Gary appeared yesterday. Today, FX announced the fifth and final season will premiere Thursday, June 25th.
HGTV is rebooting the series Crashers - this time hosted by Jonathan Knight. The series premieres Monday, June 8th and the funny thing is that while the HGTV press release announcing the show mentions his membership in New Kids On The Block, it doesn’t mention the long-running series Farmhouse Fixers, which HGTV canceled earlier this year after multiple seasons on the air.
NBC has renewed The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins for a second season. And if you haven’t watched the show yet, you’re missing out on one of the best comedies on broadcast television.
Fox orders reboot of Highway To Heaven for 2027/2028 primetime schedule
Fox has ordered a reboot of Michael Landon's Highway To Heaven, which will air during the 2027/2028 primetime season.
The series will be executive produced and showrun by Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood, Roswell)
"I’m excited by the challenge of putting a contemporary lens on this classic tale," said Jason Katims, in a statement announcing the deal. "The idea of telling a very grounded, human story about an angel feels immediately emotional to me — and fun. I love going outside my comfort zone to tell a tale about someone trying to do better as an angel than he did as a man."
Another Michael Landon series - Little House On The Prairie - is being rebooted by Netflix and that is set to premiere on Thursday, July 9th.
Michael Landon had an amazing run as actor/writer/producer. He appeared in 430 episodes of Bonanza, 186 episodes of Little House On The Prairie, and 111 episodes of Highway To Heaven.
Even his final project - Us - was written and directed by him and slated to be a series before his death. And to be honest, the synopsis sounds pretty interesting:
In 1972, Jeff Hayes was tried and convicted of killing the wife of a wealthy businessman. 18 years later, a detective reopened the case and discovers a necklace that was labeled as missing evidence and he discovers Jeff was innocent all along.
Though he is pardoned and released from prison, he finds it hard adjusting to normal life. Jeff's wife Ellen is shocked to learn that he is still alive and she is dealing with rebellious teenage son Cary. Jeff also is hired by a magazine publisher, who is actually the son of the businessman that originally framed Jeff, for a travel column and attempts to mend fences with his bitter father Jack, as well as Cary and Ellen.
What’s Coming Tonight And Tomorrow
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6TH:
Busted On Bodycam Series Premiere (Tubi)
Citadel Season Two Premiere (Prime Video)
Love Is Blind: Poland Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Other Bennet Sister Series Premiere (BritBox)
Worst Ex Ever Season Premiere (Netflix)
THURSDAY, MAY 7TH:
Jersey Shore Family Vacation Season Premiere (MTV)
Legends Series Premiere (Netflix)
M.I.A. Series Premiere (Peacock)
My Dearest Assassin (Netflix)
The Chestnut Man: Hide And Seek Season Premiere (Netflix)
The Dating App Nightmare (LMN)
The Terror: Devil In Silver (AMC+/Shudder)
USA 94: Brazil's Return To Glory (Netflix)
We Are Jeni (Investigation Discovery)