TV Shows - General Discussion

[florduh]

The Studios refused to even negotiate prior to the strike and have shown no interest since. They're hoping they can starve the writers out.

This scene from Barry, based on an actual experience from one of the writers, will give you a good idea of what kind of people run these studios.

Keep in mind, scumbags like Zaslav have no real interest in making "good" TV or movies. They'd be content allowing ChatGPT to remix previous intellectual property created by human writers into barely watchable trash.

What are you gonna do instead? Talk to your family? Read a book?

If you doubt me, see what Zaslov did to HBO. He took a name synonymous with Top Tier TV... and just yeeted it. Now it's "Max". To me, it looks like a little wink to the audience. The era of quality entertainment is over. You disgusting little piggies will have to eat whatever slop we serve for $9.99 $15.99 per month.

I hope I'm wrong. But with the end of Succession coinciding with the end of HBO and the WGA strike...I feel like there are dark times ahead in entertainment.

 

[Shit Snacks]

The Studios refused to even negotiate prior to the strike and have shown no interest since. They're hoping they can starve the writers out.

This scene from Barry, based on an actual experience from one of the writers, will give you a good idea of what kind of people run these studios.

Keep in mind, scumbags like Zaslav have no real interest in making "good" TV or movies. They'd be content allowing ChatGPT to remix previous intellectual property created by human writers into barely watchable trash.

What are you gonna do instead? Talk to your family? Read a book?

If you doubt me, see what Zaslov did to HBO. He took a name synonymous with Top Tier TV... and just yeeted it. Now it's "Max". To me, it looks like a little wink to the audience. The era of quality entertainment is over. You disgusting little piggies will have to eat whatever slop we serve for $9.99 $15.99 per month.

I hope I'm wrong. But with the end of Succession coinciding with the end of HBO and the WGA strike...I feel like there are dark times ahead in entertainment.

Haha fuck the algorithm!! That was great

Yeah he is the most hated man in the city right now, HBO is still a thing, they folded the max team back into the HBO team, who are still run by a respected executive creative and has the premium channel separate...

Zas is trying to bundle in the reality TV, like see how they originally tried to change everything distinguishing directors etc to only creator credit so people would not be able to distinguish between scripted and unscripted television... After the immediate outcry they claimed it was a mistake but no they just got caught ruining the company further at the expense of the creatives who make the products, I can't imagine why anyone would work with WB now, ruined.

Meanwhile other companies are doing the tax write-off thing, locking stuff in the vault, Disney joined WB and AMC, plenty of stuff gone from Hulu and D+ now, I was able to watch Y: the last man before it vanished (it was all right, but they botched some things and this was their third attempt at the series and it was barely a blip, most new shows die, but it feels much worse on streaming now)

 

[joupotu]

Please link current news about Maddow quitting? Haven't heard about that...
I see Ray announced in March that she would retire, not exactly quitting abruptly...

I don't get why you keep relating to the end of the world, this is a TV thread!

I'm sorry, i can't find a thing about Maddow retiring, sorry. Maybe i got
her Rachel mixed up with Ray's Rachel name.

As to the end of the world, I just think those at the top will head to their
islands when the time is nigh, and that they'd know better about when that
time is than the rest of us. But hey, i dunno shit, i just spew a lotta shit. Can
we say shit in here? Best just to ignore me. I've been so fucking depressed
lately it's not even funny, so that's a big part of my being so careless about
what i post. Thanks for commenting anyway. Helped to clear my bad post
about Maddow up. I couldn't find a thing about her retiring, dunno where I
got that, was it from TV? Not the web, i know that much. Must've confused
the two Rachels, maybe.

They'd be content allowing ChatGPT to remix previous intellectual property created by human writers into barely watchable trash.

That's exactly right. FOr the last few years with streaming, I kind of knew that that would be the end of any
quality TV, unless you plunk down a couple hundie extra for all the "Pluses" to stream. I watched TV go from
3 channels over the air waves to cable, where again they did all they could do to get everybody to move to
cable, and now the same thing's happening with streaming.

The strike last time lasted 100 days, this time, i doubt it'll ever be resolved, and like you say, they'll cut the
humanness out by using WriterChat GPT and not have to pay anybody, and we'll sure lose any humanity left.

 

[florduh]

Well with Vice President Selina Meyers calling for a SAG strike, maybe the studios will be forced to the negotiating table.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Talks Possible SAG-AFTRA Strike, Says More Actors Should Be Able to ‘Make a Living Wage’

Julia Louis-Dreyfus spoke to Variety at the premiere of her latest film, "You Hurt My Feelings."

variety.com

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, Urging Members To Authorize A Strike, Says “Acting Careers Are At Stake”

Saying that “acting careers are at stake,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher has sent an audio message to the guild’s members urging them to vote “Yes” for strike authorization. The guild’s often fractious national board voted unanimously last week to recommend that members authorize a strike in...

deadline.com

 

[joupotu]

So, actors are gonna strike too? I thot it was only the writer's guild. I'm w/Julia on a strike,
“You bet your fucking ass," she says. Doesn't remove the fact that the money don't care,
because ChatGPT is gonna take over, is cheap, and it doesn't strike or join unions. This world's totally
fucked, communication/entertainmet-wise. And heck that's about the only thing keeping us
from the scandal-sheeted, Fox News totalitarian state that Rupert Murdoch wants. All the
dummies and lamers won't even recognize that machines are writing their comedy, their
late-night monologues, movie scripts, etc. They'd be the same times who think Fox News
is real news and not part and parcel of the end of democracy in the USA.

I can see AI ChatGPT-CGI Kimmel/Colbert/Meyers/Fallon, and people will say, "They look great after they
returned to their shows from the strike." That is, IF they return, which I still do not believe they
will. Won't need to make an AI ChatGPT-CGI Gutfeld, because he'll work for less, and he's what
most ameriKKKans want, along with they all want their Tucker Carlson back too. The Kimmel Show
taken over w/new host, Tucker Carlson. Guess i'll have to miss that show. I love me some Kimmel, btw.

 

[florduh]

The official poster for the last episode of Succession ever is a banger..... marred by Zaslov's dumb "Max" boondoggle icon at the bottom.

 

[letter never sent]

The official poster for the last episode of Succession ever is a banger..... marred by Zaslov's dumb "Max" boondoggle icon at the bottom.

Man, end of an era tonight with this finale (plus Barry). I can’t wait.

 

[florduh]

Man, end of an era tonight with this finale (plus Barry). I can’t wait.

I don't watch them but Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Ted Lasso also end this week. That's a lot of premium TV ending at the same time. In the middle of a production stoppage too.

I, and I mean this sincerely, should've pre-grieved. Succession is one of my favorite shows ever. While I knew this was the last season, I never found myself counting down the final episodes.

This season has been top tier. But you can't necessarily tell if the show is ending, or will go on for another 4 years. So it's been easy to live in denial. Now...it's kind of hitting me. No Succession Sunday next Sunday. No Succession Sunday...ever again? What a bummer.

My quasi-Succession replacement was Severance. But production on season 2 has obviously stopped.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Succession is fine but I don't consider it the second coming of anything or anything lol Yeah there are always many good shows and always ending, new ones beginning but it can be tougher now... I am a bit behind on those going at my own pace because it's just too much TV, planning out when to watch what and deciding is so tough haha Barry is well done, I really enjoy the world of Maisel though and can see rewatching for the vibe

 

[florduh]

Succession is fine but I don't consider it the second coming of anything or anything lol

Maybe not the second coming. But I think it was the highest quality show on TV at the time. Top tier acting, writing, soundtrack, cinematography. It was also one of those shows that captured our current moment, as late stage capitalism decays around us.

Also, for a Shakespearean tragedy...I got more belly laughs out of that show than most comedies these days.

I had this feeling even before all the Hollywood labor actions but... I think we hit "Peak TV" at some point over the past few years. Now, we're probably on the downslope. It's gonna be all algorithms and taste clusters going forward.

I hope I'm wrong. There are obviously still talented people out there capable of making bangers. But the direction studios want to go with writers...treating them as Uber Drivers for content...it seems like a recipe for like a decade of mid TV.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Maybe not the second coming. But I think it was the highest quality show on TV at the time. Top tier acting, writing, soundtrack, cinematography. It was also one of those shows that captured our current moment, as late stage capitalism decays around us.

Also, for a Shakespearean tragedy...I got more belly laughs out of that show than most comedies these days.

I had this feeling even before all the Hollywood labor actions but... I think we hit "Peak TV" at some point over the past few years. Now, we're probably on the downslope. It's gonna be all algorithms and taste clusters going forward.

I hope I'm wrong. There are obviously still talented people out there capable of making bangers. But the direction studios want to go with writers...treating them as Uber Drivers for content...it seems like a recipe for like a decade of mid TV.

Yeah I consume the entire landscape to a degree and follow everything to an extent that I often don't consider shows like this to be my favorites, even though in the past I might have even with appointment TV there are certain ones but yeah it's always up and down and certain things under the radar, often the more people talk about something the less interesting it can become lol certainly engaging and quality program I just don't know that I would call it the highest level personally (not sure what I could either)

 

[florduh]

Yeah I consume the entire landscape to a degree and follow everything to an extent that I often don't consider shows like this to be my favorites, even though in the past I might have even with appointment TV there are certain ones but yeah it's always up and down and certain things under the radar, often the more people talk about something the less interesting it can become lol certainly engaging and quality program I just don't know that I would call it the highest level personally (not sure what I could either)

LOL, yeah Succession got a ton of hype. IMO, mostly deserved. But it can be annoying.

Personally, I don't consume a wide variety of TV. I have a simple rule:

I try a lot of shows. But you got like one episode to grab me. I only want to watch bangers. Otherwise, I could just as well play a video game. Or get violently high and lay down with an audiobook. Stop frying my retinas or an hour or so.

This probably means I'm missing out on some bangers I haven't given a chance. The good news is, if the strikes cause a long content winter, I got plenty in my backlog to weather it!

 

[letter never sent]

@florduh I def agree Succession is the best show on TV at the moment. I'm a bit of an HBO snob though.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Yeah that's exactly my point haha I don't like how so many just watch HBO or Netflix, but I have a sense of everything that is on, and I kind of curate my own personal network so for me I like a lot of variety regardless and can put up with different degrees of qualities but a lot of it is also levels of art and story with character though I am personally very into world building as well and there's not necessarily a consistent pattern per se

 

[EarthworldTim]

Look, all of you can keep gushing about succession and how it's the best show on television but are you sure about that?

Season 3 of I Think You Should Leave is less than 24 hours away.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Season 3 of I Think You Should Leave is less than 24 hours away.

Fucking finally (Don't swear! Oh my god what forum have you seen that has swearing on it... Don't come over by me!)

The water doesn't stink, you're choking to death... Cannot wait

 

[Ramahs]

Succession...
I trailed off after the first couple of episodes of season 3.
I got so sick of seeing garbage people being worse garbage people, then feeling bad because they weren't worse garbage people than some other garbage person...then the next season begins with being more garbage people, then feeling bad because someone else was worse of a garbage person then they were being because it's a competition to garbage people to see who can put on the biggest shitty garbage person display of garbage, then rinse and repeat, repeat, repeat...and then a third season starts, and I'm just so tired that Im just dreaming of beating in the heads of all these people with a hammer on their front lawns.

 

[florduh]

I got so sick of seeing garbage people being worse garbage people

To me, that was the point of the show. This is a world run by, mostly incompetent, garbage people. Even the "winners" in this society are miserable. And watching garbage people tripping over their dicks is entertaining.

Yes, the show makes you empathize with the garbage people a bit. But you at least understand the show better than some super fans. At the end of the day, you should want to beat all their heads in with a hammer.

The super fans who are upset that their favorite character didn't "win" in the end are ridiculous. I saw people unironically saying "first HBO did this to me with Khaleesi, now they did it with Kendall/Shiv!"

I got news for you... Khaleesi, like everyone in Succession, was a piece of shit. She spent the entire show wanting to be the dictator of a country she's never set foot in. She wasn't supposed to have a happy ending.

 

[Shit Snacks]

the point of the show. This is a world run by, mostly incompetent, garbage people.

Veep lol

 

[EarthworldTim]

To me, that was the point of the show. This is a world run by, mostly incompetent, garbage people

Precisely why I never jumped on board with this show during the pandemic when I had time, didn't feel right for the morale.

You know what does feel right? A show about redemption!!!

 

[joupotu]

I got so sick of seeing garbage people being worse garbage people, then feeling bad because they weren't worse garbage people than some other garbage person...then the next season begins with being more garbage people,...

...ad nauseum.

I kept hearing about Succession, but thot it's like Rupert and Fox News, which might be named "Secession", so why bother viewing what i've already tolerated in real life.

 

[florduh]

Veep lol

Exactly! LOL. There were no sympathetic characters in Veep either. I miss that show.

You what does feel right? A show about redemption!!!

Ok, you guys convinced me. That dude is hilarious.

I kept hearing about Succession, but thot it's like Rupert and Fox News, so why bother viewing what i've already tolerated in real life.

In real life you don't get to see the Murdoch Family constantly get kicked in the balls over and over again. It's satisfying.

I think Succession scratches a similar itch as The Boys. Both entertaining critiques of a civilization in decline. But I think you have to be pretty cynical to really enjoy them. My crotchety ass is grinning ear to ear after every episode.

 

[Ramahs]

I kept hearing about Succession, but thot it's like Rupert and Fox News

I assumed that is who the show is about, is it not?

 

[joupotu]

 

[Shit Snacks]

I assumed that is who the show is about, is it not?

The show is fictional... Inspired by the likes of Murdoch and Redstone, but entirely loose