Author Archives: Jason Lynch

‘Phineas and Ferb’ Pilot Disney’s Premier Voyage into ‘Star Wars’

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phineas ferb star wars

When you have two young kids, you’re subjected to a lot of awful children’s TV shows. But there are a few diamonds in the rough: a very limited number of programs that are even more entertaining to parents than they are to kids. And Disney’s Phineas and Ferb is at the top of that list. On the heels of last summer’s successful Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, the show’s creators, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, have taken on an even more ambitious crossover: Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars.

While I was in L.A. for TCA summer tour, the pair invited me to their offices (which, not surprisingly, is packed with super-cool Phineas and Ferb swag), where I talked to them for this Daily Beast profile. Among many other things, they explained how they pull off that rare feat of appealing to both parents and kids:

That’s because Povenmire and Marsh emulated the Chuck Jones formula of layering their shows with jokes that viewers will appreciate even more as they grow older. “When we watched them again in high school and college, you catch all these other levels of humor,” says Povenmire. “To me, that’s the best thing. The kids who are watching Phineas today will see it again with their kids someday, and they’ll get a whole other level of jokes that they didn’t get before.”

Adds Marsh, “We tell the guys, ‘You’re not writing kid jokes. Write funny jokes.’ You can never go wrong betting on the kids being smarter than everybody gives them credit for. Never. If we just did jokes that went over the kid’s heads, that would be a problem, but trust me, the next one we tell is going to be stupid. We’re going to follow it with a song called, ‘Squirrels in My Pants.’ You can guarantee that following the joke about existentialist trading cards will be a classic piece of slapstick.” Povenmire interjects, “Kids love jokes about Nietzsche. They eat that stuff up.”

Povenmire and Marsh also talked how Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars is “perfectly accurate” with the events of the original Star Wars (which unfold in the background), the future of Phineas and Ferb and which Disney-owned property they hope to tackle next.

‘Phineas and Ferb’ Pilot Disney’s Premier Voyage into ‘Star Wars’

The Five Ways American TV Has Changed Forever

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five ways american TV has changed

That’s a wrap on TCA summer press tour, which means that it’s time for one last story before I leave L.A.: a roundup of noteworthy developments from press tour, which reveal several new truths about the TV industry. Chief among them: Nothing is a ratings guarantee — except football.

Somewhere in the vicinity of 100 shows were paneled at press tour, but as CBS president and CEO Les Moonves pointed out, “When you come back next year, not all of them are still going to be on the air. Even ours. However, this is a sure thing.” He was referring to Thursday Night Football, which is moving to CBS for the first eight weeks of the NFL season (after which it will return to NFL Network, where it has aired since 2006).

As NFL commissioner Roger Goodell noted, “Sunday Night Football is now the number one franchise in all of television. Not just in sports, but in all of television.” Sunday Night Football was indeed the top-rated show on TV last season, averaging 21.5 million viewers. CBS and Fox’s Sunday afternoon broadcasts draw a similarly-sized audience, while ESPN’s Monday Night Football averaged 13.7 million viewers. And the Super Bowl is always the most-watched program each year, with a record 112.2 million viewers tuning in last February. As such, Goodell expects that Thursday Night Football will be “the biggest thing” to happen on TV this season.

There’s lots more about 3D TV, 4K TV, Hulu, Amazon, binge-watching, late-night and series based on comic books. Take a look; now that press tour is over, I’m going to sleep for several days!

The five ways American TV has changed forever 

Here’s How the New Simpsons App Will Change Your Life

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simpsons app change your life

Best. App. Ever. That’s the early consensus from most of us at TCA summer press tour as FX unveiled Simpsons World, which will allow fans to stream all 552 episodes of The Simpsons, and much, much more.

While John Landgraf had previewed Simpsons World for me earlier this year, this was everyone’s first look at it — and it did not disappoint. At Quartz, I listed five reasons why Simpsons World will change your life — and one reason it might not. Among the five: instant access to every Simpsons episode and clip ever.

Until now, there has never been a way to (legally) stream previous Simpsons seasons. FXX is kicking off its Simpsons run by airing each episode (and The Simpsons Movie) chronologically in a 12-day, round-the-clock marathon. Yet every episode will be available instantly at all times on “Simpsons World,” regardless of which episodes are currently airing on FXX. “Having a space where all of the episodes can be available simultaneously is key,” said FX Networks CEO John Landgraf. (The Simpsons Movie will be available “intermittently,” said FX’s COO and president of program strategy Chuck Saftler.)

Viewers can browse episodes chronologically through each season, and Saftler said he is also working on acquiring the original Simpsons shorts that aired during Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show back in the late ’80s. There will also be a randomizer function that allows you to “spin the bottle and get any episode you want,” said Stephanie Gibbons, president of marketing and on-air promotions, who demoed “Simpsons World” for reporters.

I cannot stress enough how impressive Simpsons World is. This thing looks like a slum dunk.

Here’s how the new Simpsons app will change your life

‘Squawk Alley’: Next Act for Netflix

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I returned to CNBC today (the video of my first appearance, several months earlier, was not posted online) to make an appearance on Squawk Alley, where I discussed Netflix’s upcoming shows, its Emmy nominations and what’s next. Here’s a clip from my segment:

I made this appearance just a few hours after taking a redeye back from L.A. (where I left press tour), and was going on about 90 minutes sleep. Thankfully I made it through the segment without nodding off!

Next Act for Netflix

Charts: How We Watch TV Now

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how we watch tv now

Hundreds of reporters have assembled at TCA summer press tour, but as far as I’m aware, I’m the only one who wrote a detailed story about the fascinating panel with CBS, FX, Fox and Showtime’s research gurus, who talked about how audiences actually watch TV now.

“We’re in a new era of television,” said David Poltrack, chief research officer for CBS, noting that weekly TV viewing has increased 2% over the last three years, from 35 hours and 36 minutes to 37 hours and 50 minutes. “This is a golden era of television content, and the public is embracing television and engaging with television in a way that they never did before, because it is so much good programming.”

While I usually try to summarize my stories a bit here, there’s so much terrific information throughout the piece about delayed viewing lifts and multi-platform audiences that I urge you to read the whole thing yourself.

Charts: How we watch TV now

Why So Many TV Shows Peak in Season 3

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I had a feeling this story would have legs: The Atlantic has picked up my Quartz story on why so many TV shows peak by their third season. I really loved writing this piece and am so thrilled that it’s getting such a big response.

Why So Many TV Shows Peak in Season 3

Why Most TV Shows Peak by Their Third Season

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why most tv shows peak

You just never know where I great story idea is going to come from. While doing a Brooklyn Nine-Nine set visit at TCA summer press tour, I spoke with executive producer Mike Schur, who had some interesting thoughts on why most shows peak by their second or third season. I turned that into this Quartz story.

“Everyone’s favorite seasons of shows are seasons two and three, because you’ve had a year to get to know them, and then you’re still in the honeymoon period where you go, ‘This is great!’” Mike Schur, the creator and executive producer of the Fox comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, explains to Quartz. “And then after season three, everyone starts to go, ‘Eh, that show’s not as interesting as it was anymore.’ And it’s like, ‘Well you’ve been watching it for three years.’”

The night before, I’d spoken with Modern Family creator Steve Levitan, who is on the other side of that peak and is now dealing with a blacklash as it enters Season 6. Put those two interviews together, and you have one of my favorite TCA summer press tour stories yet!

Why most TV shows peak by their third season

‘NCIS’ is Taking Over the World—and New Orleans

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NCIS taking over world

NCIS was recently named the most-watched drama in the world. Now the show is moving on to the next phrase of its global dominance, with the new CBS spinoff, NCIS: New Orleans, which the creative team discussed at TCA summer press tour. As I wrote at Quartz, while other networks might scoff at NCIS, CBS is laughing all the way to the bank:

“Our competitors may call it old-skewing. We call it a billion dollar franchise,” CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler said, adding that she is always looking to see if one of her shows can “expand to the global dominance of an NCIS. That is the Holy Grail.”

While the first NCIS spinoff, NCIS: Los Angeles, is almost as big a hit as the original, NCIS: New Orleans star Scott Bakula knows that success isn’t guaranteed: “We have to earn our place. It’s not a given.”

‘NCIS’ is taking over the world—and New Orleans

Three Decades After ‘The Cosby Show,’ Families of Color are Back on Network Television

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three decades cosby show

Three decades after The Cosby Show, the broadcast networks are finally making sitcoms again that more accurately represent and reflect the diverse makeup of their audiences. At Quartz, I wrote about new fall sitcoms Black-ish and Cristela, as well as midseason comedy Fresh Off the Boat.

In doing so, the network is finally beginning to correct the embarrassing dearth of sitcoms featuring non-white families. “If you look at shows now that seem to lack diversity, they actually seem dated, because America doesn’t look like that anymore,” ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour. “People want to see voices that reflect the America that they know. … That’s not so much diversity as authenticity.”

As just as Cosby Show did 30 years ago, these three shows focus on themes that viewers of all ethnicities can easily connect with. “We love having a diverse slate, but we think these shows are deeply relatable. [When I watch them], I am one of those families,” said Lee, who admits that the new shows will hopefully appeal to international audiences as well. “We have a chance to resonate in the US and beyond. But make no bones about it, these are American stories, all of them.”

It also helps that Black-ish is terrific, and one of fall’s best new comedies. ABC’s Lee, who is leading the charge towards presenting diverse families, knows that he and his peers still have a long way to go to close the gap. But these shows represent a very promising start.

Three decades after ‘The Cosby Show,’ families of color are back on network television