Tag Archives: AMC

No, Walter and Jesse Won’t Be in ‘Better Call Saul.’ But Anyone Else Could Turn Up

better call saul tca

Ever since Breaking Bad went off the air, AMC has been desperately searching for the next Breaking Bad. Now the network hopes it has found it…with their new Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul, which paneled today at winter press tour.

As I wrote at Adweek, Vince Gilligan, the creator of both Breaking Bad and its spinoff, says the sky’s the limit when it comes to Breaking Bad characters popping up on Better Call Saul — well, everyone except Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).

“Walt and Jesse don’t show up in Season 1. But everything else is on the table,” co-creator Peter Gould told reporters at today’s press event. “We want this thing to stand on its own.” (Also, as the AMC panel pointed out, Jesse Pinkman would have been in middle school during Better Call Saul’s first season.)

Before introducing the Better Call Saul panel, AMC president Charlie Collier talked about the “dramatic change” facing in the network, and why AMC is now operating in “a Live + 365 environment” (do advertisers know?).

No, Walter and Jesse Won’t Be in ‘Better Call Saul.’ But Anyone Else Could Turn Up

‘Mad Men’ Creator Hopes Finale Will Delight Fans, But Not ‘Give Them Everything They Want’

Mad Men finale

AMC is calling the upcoming Mad Men finale “The End of an Era,” and that’s not hyperbole. Today at winter press tour, creator Matt Weiner and Mad Men’s original six cast members assembled to reflect on Mad Men’s legacy, and its “surprise” conclusion.

As I wrote at Adweek, Weiner admitted he didn’t want to craft a finale that would spark fan outrage, like the How I Met Your Mother conclusion did:

“I’m trying to delight them and confound them, and not frustrate and irritate them. I don’t want them to walk away angry,” Weiner said of Mad Men viewers. But at the same time, “I don’t want to pander to them. … Sometimes, people have to be protected from what they want to see happen. You can’t just give them everything they want.”

There’s much more from the cast on how they reacted to the finale, and Weiner talks about protecting the Mad Men brand in the years to come.

‘Mad Men’ Creator Hopes Finale Will Delight Fans, But Not ‘Give Them Everything They Want’

Which Networks Made the Naughty and Nice Lists This Year?

networks naughty nice

I’ve wrapped my Best (& Worst) in 2014 week, but I have one final look back for this year: my Adweek story about which networks made Santa’s naughty and nice lists in 2014. The easiest call by far? NBC, which topped the nice list:

It was a very good year for the Peacock Network, which won the 2013-14 season in 18-49 (a 2.7 average), its first demo victory in 10 years. The network picked up where it left off this fall, where it’s once again leading the pack in 18-49 (thanks largely to Sunday Night Football and The Voice). Not even Peter Pan Live’s disappointing ratings can stall NBC’s momentum, especially with Super Bowl XLIX waiting in the wings on Feb. 1.

How did the rest of the networks fare? Take a look!

And with that, TV & Not TV will be taking a holiday hiatus for a few days (barring breaking news). But we’ll be back at the end of the week with news of an exciting TV appearance this weekend that should mark TV & Not TV’s television debut.

Until then, happy holidays!

Which Networks Made the Naughty and Nice Lists This Year?

What Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Showtime and the Rest of TV Need to Resolve to Do in 2015

2015 resolutions

It seems like just yesterday that I had written five 2014 resolutions for the TV industry. But it’s already time to look ahead to 2015, which I did today for Quartz. (First, however, I took stock of how my 2014 resolutions turned out — not too shabby!)

This year, instead of making resolutions for the entire industry to follow, I created specific ones for the industry’s major players. For example, for Hulu:

Hulu: Don’t get left in the dust by Netflix and Amazon

In 2014, Hulu made some big moves to try and stay in the race with Netflix and Amazon, including an $80 million-plus deal acquiring the rights to all seasons of South Park and ordering three new series produced by the likes of J.J. Abrams, Jason Reitman and Amy Poehler. But those new shows, and South Park, need to deliver, and make Hulu a worthy streaming competitior. Oh, and Hulu, you know how you’ve been considering cutting back the number of ads running on Hulu Plus? Do that. Immediately.

I hope my 2015 resolutions fare as well as the 2014 ones did!

 What Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Showtime and the rest of TV need to resolve to do in 2015

Cable Networks Will Save Themselves by Focusing on What They Do Best

cable networks will save themselves

Just nine months ago, USA President Chris McCumber was talking to me about his network’s push into comedy, and preaching patience. Looks like his patience has worn thin, because USA announced that it is retreating from comedy and refocusing on drama, while AMC has pulled the plug on almost its entire reality slate as it, too, opts to concentrate on what it does best. As I explained at Quartz,

Those surprising moves were in part explained by a Wall Street Journal report that the US top 40 most widely distributed cable channels in 2010—USA and AMC included—have lost an average of 3.2 million subscribers, or more than 3% of their distribution, during the last four years, as consumers have starting “shaving the cord” by opting for smaller, cheaper bundles of channels.

Intent on not being shaved out of existence, networks are refocusing on keeping their core audiences happy, rather than trying and attract new viewers. “In an environment of exploding content options for viewers,” AMC said in explaining its decision, “we have decided to make scripted programming our priority.”

Both networks damaged their core business by taking their eye off the ball, and their sudden retrenching should also be a red flag for E! and Bravo, which are both branching into scripted series for the first time.

Cable networks will save themselves by focusing on what they do best 

‘The Walking Dead’ Wakes Up and Fights Piracy by Releasing Global Versions Earlier

qz-walking-dead-wakes-up

It’s almost time for The Walking Dead’s Season 4 premiere, and unlike in previous seasons, international viewers in more than 125 different countries will be able to watch within 24 hours of the U.S. debut. As I wrote at Quartz,

Previously, the show’s international air dates lagged behind The Walking Dead’s US showings by a week. But FIC was no longer willing to sit by and watch as the show’s rabid fans pirated the latest episodes. “We want to prevent the spoilers for sure, we also want to make sure [international viewers] get the best version of the show—not some pirated version,” Fox International Channels’ chief marketing officer Liz Dolan told The Wrap. “But we also want them to get it super fast.”

Now, no country is safe!

‘The Walking Dead’ wakes up and fights piracy by releasing global versions earlier

Now That ‘Breaking Bad’ is Over, AMC Looks to Break Good with Another Show

qz-now-that-breaking-bad

After I’d recovered from last night’s riveting Breaking Bad series finale, I finished up this Quartz story about the daunting task ahead of AMC:

But despite the stellar ratings, AMC is now in the same position HBO found itself after The Sopranos finale aired back in 2007. With no other clear-cut heirs to Tony Soprano’s throne, the network stumbled for a couple years (with poorly-received shows such as John From Cincinnati, Hung and How to Make it in America) before finally bouncing back with hits such as Game of Thrones and critically-acclaimed series such as Girls, Veep, Boardwalk Empire and The Newsroom.

With Breaking Bad now completed and its other media darling, Mad Men, about to start its final season (more on that later), AMC has hit a similar run of bad luck.

I have my concerns about AMC’s “everything old is new again” approach to its programming slate. We’ll have to see if they can avoid HBO’s post-Sopranos funk.

Now that ‘Breaking Bad’ is over, AMC looks to break good with another show