Channel Flipping: Survivor Chaos, Vanderpump Delays, and More
Checking in with a few shows and news items in the second edition of Channel Flipping.
The end-of-the-semester schedule hasn’t been kind to me or my TV watching. But I have some brief thoughts on a few items. It’s time for the second edition of Channel Flipping. (Read previous editions here).
Survivor 46 is a bad, beautiful mess
Recent seasons of the reality competition GOAT have been as unmemorable as the new, number-based season titles. Survivor 46 does not have that problem. While the show occasionally struggles to fill the extended 90-minute episode running time, the chaotic energy of 46’s cast keeps delivering. The season started with a guy arguing that “several” literally means “seven” and by now he (long eliminated) seems like an average weirdo among this group. Players like Q, Venus, and Liz have traded time in the spotlight for their upper-tier levels of delusion and ego-centrism, initially peaking with Q’s bizarre failed self-elimination attempt two episodes ago and somehow hitting a second apex with Liz’s hunger- and frustration-induced outburst centered on an Applebee’s branded segment.
On the one hand, big personalities and mayhem distract from strategic gameplay. Seven contestants remain and, at best, the show wants us to think that three of them (Kenzie, Maria, and Charlie) are “good” at Survivor. But all three of those players have elected not to eliminate the three chaotic players under the logic of making big moves. Kenzie pushed to vote out her closest ally Tiffany in last week’s episode, got cold feet about it in this one, and then looked silly when a majority took her idea anyway. Drop that list of good players to two.
On the other hand, my frustration with recent seasons stems from boring—if I’m being kind, under-edited—players making it to the end and winning. Players on 46 have the chance to do the funniest thing in letting the chaos trio make it to the Final Tribal Council. A Q, Venus, Liz endgame would be the deeply stupid conclusion this deeply stupid season deserves.
Vanderpump’s break illustrates the limits of ‘real’ reality TV
TMZ reported this week that Vanderpump Rules would not begin shooting this summer on its typical schedule, allegedly in part due to the stress of jumping back into production once “Scandoval” broke in spring 2023. Executive producer Alex Baskin also told IndieWire’s Toolkit podcast that the spectacle surrounding Scandovol created additional production challenges for the eleventh season.
The Scandovol fallout makes for good reality television, but it also displays some of the pitfalls of people dealing with genuine life events within their typically “real” production environment. Cast members have been stuck in a sad, frustrating rut of inaction and circular conversations, which makes sense in the context of an imploding friend group but doesn’t always make for compelling television. It seems like it doesn’t make for a great production environment either.
This is not what I meant, RE: Disney Plus channels
A few weeks ago, I waxed poetically about the end of Showtime and cable’s brand era. The fine folks at Disney read my nostalgic post and offered a peace offering in the form of “channels.” Heard of those? According to The Information, Disney+ will soon offer 24/7 streaming channels based on big company properties like Marvel and Star Wars. Disney+ is not the first streamer to explore themed streaming channels, but it makes business sense for all companies looking to embed even more advertising into their platforms.
This news spawned more than a few headlines about media conglomerates reconstructing cable in the streaming ecosystem. But throwing together some existing library content in a “live” stream doesn’t fairly compensate for a real curated brand identity. All the Star Wars things together on a loop? What will they think of next?
The NBA’s broadcasting rights drama
To be a modern NBA fan online is to spend more time worrying about the league’s television broadcasting rights deal than watching playoff games. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Comcast/NBC is angling to be the third (after Disney and Amazon) partner in the NBA’s new TV deal, pushing out TNT, the league’s long-time partner.
No matter who the third (or fourth) partner is, the NBA is likely to double its licensing fee on the deal. This is an unsurprising development in an era where Comcast paid millions for the rights to stream one NFL playoff game. Whether the return on the investment is worth it, media conglomerates and advertisers have decided that live sports are the only way to keep equally wobbly cable packages and streaming platforms afloat.
Still, it’s bizarre to see so much focus on this deal in various NBA fan circles, not for what it means for what methods we’ll need to watch the games but more for what it says about The State of the NBA. Too many NBA media people fancy themselves as business journalists and thought leaders—the corporatization and financialization brain rot ruined Hollywood coverage long before this—and that has trickled down to the audience. The NBA’s TV broadcasting rights or live ratings will never touch those of the NFL, and that’s fine. Don’t let the spreadsheets distract you from the fact that the Indiana Pacers just put the old and mad Milwaukee Bucks down for a nice, long nap.
This is TV Plus, a newsletter about television written by Cory Barker, a media studies professor and veteran blogger. Readers can expect dispatches on industry trends, overlooked shows, and historical antecedents to current events.
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