The Television Critics Association Press Tour — during which networks, streamers and executives preview the TV ahead — reconvened in-person in Pasadena for the first time in about three years for an abbreviated session that lasted about two weeks (roughly a week less than usual). So, yes, TCA wasn’t immune to being transformed by the pandemic like the rest of the industry and world, but it’s still a good indicator of where TV stands today.
There appeared to be fewer journalists in attendance. For those that were there, N95 masks were required at all times in the ballroom. The after-panel scrums with participants were gone, and there are fewer one-on-one interviews and junkets. The shorter duration of the event is probably more the result of a pre-pandemic reckoning where streamers like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video began pulling out in 2017 to manage costs and do their own junkets. The pandemic only added to that a virtual option that’s proven to be a pretty efficient way for networks to knock out press interviews. And the after-party events were much more scaled down — less stars and execs roaming around, more journalists looking for them.
Those who weren’t in attendance this go-around included Warner Bros. Discovery properties, including HBO Max; Starz; Fox; CBS; the recently acquired CW, and Paramount’s Showtime (though a few may return for the more popular summer TCA session).
Nevertheless, themes always emerge and notable moments happen at TCA. Here are the major takeaways from the Winter session and portend the TV ahead.
The latest from Landgraf
Ever since 2015, the industry has been looking forward to hearing from FX chief John Landgraf talk about the state of television at TCA. That year, he coined the phrase “peak TV,” referring to the oversaturated TV market dominated by scripted series. While the executive has since joked about his predictions being premature or incorrect, he’s remained forward-focused in the rapidly changing environment now beset with the streaming bubble’s burst, which includes (among other things), show cancellations and reversals, layoffs and a natural decline in series orders following record numbers.
During the 2023 Winter TCAs, Landgraf reaffirmed his belief that scripted show orders will begin to decline as early as this year. Last year saw a record of nearly 600 such series, which the veteran exec characterized as unsustainable and “cause for concern” for diverse programming ushered in during the streaming era.
“The industry as a whole is going through this reckoning where it’s realizing that it can’t simplify as much as it thought it could,” Landgraf told journalists. “It has to have a certain amount of dimensionality and complexity. We’re just in this middle inning period of radical transformation from the pre-internet area to the post-internet era. And we’re in the really bumpy part of that transition.” — Natalie Oganesyan
Reboots, revivals and remakes
A tale as old as Hollywood itself: the remake, reboot, reimagining or whatever term you want to use to describe a piece of media based on preexisting IP in the TV or film world. At this year’s TCAs, such programming saw center stage with the highly anticipated Paramount+ reimagining of “Fatal Attraction,” starring Lizzy Kaplan and Joshua Jackson; ABC’s “The Company You Keep,” based on the Korean format “My Fellow Citizens!”; the second season of “How I Met Your Father,” which is both a spinoff and reboot of sorts; NBC’s revival of “Night Court” and “Magnum P.I.,” which the network saved after cancellation by CBS.
These don’t include the other series based on IP, including book adaptations (Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things” or ABC’s “Not Dead Yet”), journalism series (the Onyx Collective’s “The 1619 Project”) and graphic novels (Disney+’s “American Born Chinese” or Paramount+’s “School Spirits”).
With previous adaptations or already existing iterations of the source material, networks, studios and streamers can somewhat count on a guaranteed audience to tap in, thanks to nostalgia or familiarity with a plot or characters. It can also help draw in new viewers, who are primed to search for the original, which may further benefit the platform in the case of Paramount (the distributor of the original “Fatal Attraction” and which houses the film on platforms Paramount+ and Showtime). — Natalie Oganesyan
Lots of spies among us
Adventurous story plots, risky love affairs and exotic locations combined with a dangerous mission are all of the elements that continue to call back viewers to the tantalizing spy genre. And it’s evident in the successful spy-centered films and TV shows seen today, including Netflix’s “The Recruit, which locked in the No.1 spot on the streamer’s Top 10 list before being bumped off by “Emily in Paris.” So, of course, Hollywood had to do some more.
At the winter TCAs spy and private government agency-centered series kept popping up, which included “Magnum P.I.” (NBCU), “A Spy Among Friends” (MGM+), “The Company You Keep” (ABC/Freeform) and “Will Trent” (ABC/Freeform).
“Magnum P.I.,” which was saved by NBC after being canceled by CBS, is in its fifth season. It’s inspired by the ’80s crime series of the same name and stars Jay Hernandez as the ex-Navy SEAL turned smooth-talking private investigator, Thomas Magnum.
The show, showrunner and executive producer Eric Guggeinheim told TCA attendees that the network transition has been “kind of seamless.” “It’s such a rare thing for something like this to happen,” Guggeinheim explained. “We so appreciate the opportunity that we’ve been given here. We came back from the dead and that’s a special thing.”
“The Company You Keep” stars three-time Emmy-nominated actor Milo Ventimiglia and is based on the Korean format “My Fellow Citizens!” The ABC thriller-drama, which has been in the works for two years, follows Charlie (Ventimiglia), a charming and clever conman who seeks to leave his family business in the past, and in doing so, ends up crossing paths with undercover CIA agent Emma (Catherine Haena Kim). During the Television Critics Association 2023 Winter Press Tour, Ventimiglia mentioned the production brought 90% of the “This Is Us” crew to “The Company You Keep.”
“Shorthand, the expertise, the level that which I think ‘This Is Us’ operated, from a production standpoint, we carried it over to ours and everybody folded together and everyone works well together,” the actor said. “Production has been a lot of fun.”
Another highlight came in the form of a cute and cuddly chihuahua, whose real name is Bluebell, but plays Betty on ABC’s “Will Trent.” Bluebell joined the series cast on stage, which included star Ramon Rodriguez, who plays Will, a guy who had a hard time growing up as an orphan in Atlanta, but now has the highest security clearance possible. — Raquel “Rocky” Harris and Lucas Manfredi
More Franchises
In addition to reboots and remakes, franchise content was front and center at TCA, with examples including “Star Trek: Picard” at Paramount+, “The Walking Dead: Dead City” and Anne Rice’s “Mayfair Witches” at AMC, “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” Season 2 at Disney+ and “Secrets of the Elephants” at National Geographic. “Avatar: The Way of Water” director James Cameron also made a surprise appearance at TCA, announcing “Secrets of Bees” and “Secrets of Penguins” at National Geographic.
Unlike completely original content, franchises offer streamers the benefit of having existing, built-in audiences who are willing to follow that content wherever it goes and the ability tap into that intellectual property for an almost endless well of ideas for movies and TV series.
For example, while “Star Trek: Picard” is entering its third and final season, creator Alex Kurtzman and star Patrick Stewart signaled to TCA attendees that it could potentially continue down the road.
“Anything is possible,” Kurtzman said. “If a show blows the doors off the place, as we’re certainly hoping it will, and we’re very, very proud of Season 3, who knows?”
Stewart added that he’d be open for more story as long as the show can “maintain the work that we did on Seasons 1, 2 and 3.” “There is still enormous potential for narrative in what we’ve been doing, and there are doors left open, still,” he said. “We didn’t close all of them.”
Outside of TCA, recent successful franchise-based content has included HBO’s television adaptation of the critically acclaimed video game “The Last of Us” — which has seen its premiere episode surpass 10 million viewers in the span of two days, including 4.7 million in its first day alone; the “Game of Thrones” spinoff “House of the Dragon,” and Netflix’s “Wednesday.” — Lucas Manfredi
A push for POC-led shows
TCA was jam-packed with shows that feature predominantly people of color-led casts.
The slate of Black, Brown and AAPI-led shows included “Snowfall” (FX), “Dear Mama” (FX), “American Born Chinese” (Disney+/Disney/Branded), “The Crossover” (Disney+/Disney Branded), “The 1619 Project” (Hulu/Onyx Collective), “UnPrisoned” (Hulu/Onyx Collective), “Grand Crew” (NBC), “Free Chol Soo Lee” (PBS), “Southern Storytellers” (PBS), “The Big Door Prize” (Apple TV+) “Swagger” (Apple TV+) and “Truth Be Told” (Apple TV+).
PBS gave attendees an up-close performance by the cast of “Black Broadway: A Proud History, a Limitless Future.” On top of POC-centered shows being present at TCA, Hollywood’s need for more diverse stories and more AAPI, Black, Brown talent was also a topic of discussion.
“We’re absolutely making progress,” Yvette Lee Bowser — who has produced several hit shows, including “Living Single,” “A Different World” and “Dear White People” — said during a panel discussion for Hulu and Onyx Collective’s new dramedy “UnPrisoned” on the 2023 Water TCA Press Tour. Even in children’s animation, meeting the needs for representation is a goal for networks like PBS.
“The most important thing was to frame that culture and inclusion is at the backbone of how we designed these characters,” said Dr. Kareem Edouard, creative producer for PBS’ “Work It Out Wombats.” “Primarily looking at how young people, particular in this day-and-age, are looking for opportunities to see themselves to be a part of their entertainment process, but also making it very clear that animals are not a proxy for race and culture. Even the names of our characters, we make very intention opportunities to have discussions around race and culture.”
Edouard continued: “This is the show that I would have loved as a young Kareem. To have a character named Malik would’ve done me a real solid in the ‘80s.”
There’s a direct correlation between more diversity on-screen and an increase in TV viewership, and speaks to the ever-growing need for diverse representation in the TV and film industry, According to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report for 2021, ratings as well as social media engagement for most racial groups, including white audiences, saw an uptick for shows that had casts that were 31% POC. The same goes for viewership among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, which saw a rise when a series featured a predominately POC cast. — Raquel “Rocky” Harris
