Ask Matt: ‘Chad’s Vanishing Act and the Future of Scripted Cable
Welcome to the Q&A with TV critic — also known to some TV fans as their “TV therapist” — Matt Roush, who’ll try to address whatever you love, loathe, are confused or frustrated or thrilled by in today’s vast TV landscape. (We know background music is too loud, but there’s always closed-captioning.)
One caution: This is a spoiler-free zone, so we won’t be addressing upcoming storylines here unless it’s already common knowledge. Please send your questions and comments to [email protected] (or use the form at the end of the column) and follow me on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush). Look for Ask Matt columns on many Tuesdays and some Fridays.
Has Anyone Seen Chad?
Question: I had watched the TBS comedy Chad and was looking forward to the new season. I kept seeing promos for the show that it was supposed to come back in July, but when I look through the guide on my TV for upcoming airings, it doesn’t show up. What happened to this show? — Michael
Matt Roush: This is one of the most extreme cases of corporate cold feet I can remember. Following the merger of Discovery and Warner Bros. into the new Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate, a move to rid the Turner-branded networks (TBS and TNT) of most if not all of their scripted content went into effect. (TBS just canceled Full Frontal with Samantha Bee this week as well, so now I’m really upset!) A second season of the offbeat comedy Chad, starring Nasim Pedrad as an awkward Persian-American teen boy, had first been announced for spring, then July, then on the scheduled date of its premiere on July 11, it was announced TBS had canceled the show and was seeking a new home for it. (Seems like Chad would be a good fit for HBO Max, just saying.) Even for those of us who feel we’ve seen it all, this twist was unexpected in its sense of finality. The new Discovery bosses are serious about this. Which leads naturally to the next question.
What’s the Future for Scripted Shows on Basic Cable?
Question: My question is simple: Will most of cable turn into a graveyard for repeats, reality, and wrestling? It seems that this is mostly what is being produced there anymore, with the possible exception right now of AMC and FX, although a lot of their original shows are also going directly to AMC+ or Hulu respectively. How long before all of it goes there? Look at USA, for example, which once had great shows such as Suits, White Collar and Burn Notice, but now actually sucks. Finally, what TBS did with Chad — canceling it on the day it was to premiere its second season — was disgusting. — JV
Matt Roush: A simple question, are you kidding? This is a complex matter that involves issues of branding, of corporate juggling of assets, all reflecting a paradigm shift from mass-market cable distribution to the myriad niches of the streaming universe. We’re living through the transition right now, so it’s hard to predict where it all is heading. But for now, the bottom line is that with few exceptions, the original scripted programming we had become accustomed to seeing on networks like USA, TNT, TBS, and assorted others are being diverted to their companies’ streaming platforms. (Many Peacock shows feel like they’d have been right at home on USA.) As I also realized while watching the scenic legs of the Tour de France play out on USA‑the new de facto home for much sports programming that once played on the now-defunct NBCSN — USA’s brand identity is now beyond muddy. Is it a sports network? A dumping ground for overexposed reality celebrities? (As previously discussed, I can’t fathom why the convicted Chrisleys are still on the air.) And I’m at a loss to understand why some FX shows air on the main network and others (mostly new titles) go straight to Hulu. That’s the context. The simple answer to your question is: Yes.
A One-Time Moon Shot
Comment: I guess this is more rant than question, but in case you weren’t aware yet: Moonhaven’s pilot ran on AMC one week behind its debut on AMC+. Per listings, AMC was then going to continue showing the series on delay, but shortly after we set up to record the season on our DVR it vanished, with a check online confirming that it’ll now be on AMC+ exclusively. I know that series jumping from broadcast or cable to a streaming outlet from one season to the next happens, as does the yanking of episodes from air even in this climate if a series underperforms. This feels like a new kind of bait and switch, however. Maybe we’ll get to binge it with a free trial in a couple of months and sure, it wasn’t necessarily in contention for our favorite new series, but as impressed as I was by AMC’s Dark Winds is how disappointed I am on principle with this maneuver. Not the way to court new customers. — Rafael B
Matt Roush: I was not aware that AMC had aired the Moonhaven pilot (for me, a dud, but that’s not the issue) on its linear channel, and when I checked back through my press and programming releases, there’s no sign this sci-fi drama was ever intended as anything but an AMC+ exclusive. Even so, a one-time airing of a streaming show — such as Paramount has done with shows like 1883 and Mayor of Kingstown before their exclusive run on the streamer, or CBS recently did with the Season 2 premiere of Blood & Treasure — can’t help but come off like an aggravating tease, especially for those unwilling or unable to subscribe to the sparkling new platforms.
From Streaming to Networks, a Summer Strategy?
Question: I’ve been watching the first season of Leverage: Redemption, originally released as a streaming show, on the ION channel. Do you think there’s any chance of other streaming shows eventually being shown on network TV or cable? For example, why doesn’t NBC or USA air some shows from Peacock, especially now during the summer when there’s not a lot of new programming? I understand that they wouldn’t want to air something that was recently released on streaming in order to attract users to the streaming service, but wouldn’t (for instance) airing an episode of Dr. Death from last year be better than airing a rerun of a random episode of Chicago Med/Fire/PD? I think it would bring more eyeballs to a streaming show and entice people to sign up for the streaming service in order to see the new season. — Michael
Matt Roush: It’s probably more complicated than it would seem to repurpose streaming shows for broadcast, cable, or syndication play. We’re talking about contracts and pay scales and possible exclusivity windows — none of this is an area I know much about — but I wouldn’t be surprised someday to see certain kinds of streaming shows find their way to linear TV for a replay — and a juicy miniseries like Dr. Death is a good example (as I’ve said before, back in the day this would have been a smash on USA). Some procedurals and sitcoms appear to repeat well enough to justify staying on in the summer, which otherwise has evolved into a depressing canvas for an unending series of reality competitions and game shows. I’d certainly welcome some variety from the streaming world, especially considering how many shows get buried because of the constant churn of new product. But this year, that’s obviously not what the programmers had in mind.
Bull Without Bull?
Question: I would like to know if CBS has thought about retooling Bull into a series that they could call TAC or something similar and would bring back Geneva Carr to run it? She created the software and could definitely run the program without Bull if she had the current staff. Christopher Jackson and the lawyer who represented Bull in the “Confidence Man” episode (played by Sharon Washington) could be a formidable legal presence. The premise of the series could still be presented successfully. There are very few good shows anymore that have intriguing plot lines, shows that are mentally stimulating. I miss Castle and The Mentalist. Why can’t we have more shows like that? Good writing, good ensembles, good acting, doesn’t really seem like it should be that difficult. I hope you will be able to tell me there is something in the works at CBS to keep the TAC Team going. — Diana
Matt Roush: I wish I could, but as far as I can tell, Bull without Bull — or more to the point, without an established CBS star like Michael Weatherly — is a non-starter. The TAC Team premise is a solid basis for a procedural drama and worked well for six seasons, but essentially, this was always a star vehicle. And when the star decided it was time to leave, that was the end of the story.
The Custodian Goes Full Time
Question: Can you explain why I’m seeing news that William Stanford Davis has been promoted to a series regular on Abbott Elementary? Obviously, this is not a complaint. He is hilarious as the school’s custodian, Mr. Johnson, and the show is lucky to have him. I’m only confused because he has been there since the beginning. I thought he already was a series regular in the first place. — Jake
Matt Roush: This is more a contractual issue, the difference being that you’ll see Davis’s name in the credits at the top of the show along with the rest of Abbott’s wonderful ensemble instead of zipping by at the end at the bottom of the screen along with other guest stars or recurring players. This really is a promotion, and it has been reported that this is his first time in a long career as a character actor of being made an official series regular. Hats off to Mr. Johnson!
And Finally …
Question: Regarding TV Insider’s list of “90 Best Shows of the ’90s,” is it pure coincidence that what I assume from your rave reviews of it at the time to have been your favorite show of the decade, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ended up at #1? — Hal
Matt Roush: Not a coincidence, more like great hive minds thinking alike. This was a democratic process in which staffers from TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine were all consulted to make their picks, and when the list was weighted by how often and how high a show from a master list appeared, that’s how they got ranked. For Buffy to upstage hall-of-famers like Seinfeld, The X-Files, Friends, and ER just shows you how influential the series was for a generation of TV fans. (I feel my greatest triumph on that list was the inclusion of a two-season wonder from 1991-93, ABC’s post-WWII drama Homefront, a personal favorite that featured the first major TV role for Kyle Chandler. It may have only ranked 89, but at least it made the cut.)
That’s all for now. We can’t do this without your participation, so please keep sending questions and comments about TV to [email protected] or shoot me a line on Twitter (@TVGMMattRoush), and you can also submit questions via the handy form below. (Please include a first name with your question.)
