Hello and welcome to a new edition of SpoilerTV`s Weekly Round Table. Joining me this week is Ellys Cartin, Cecile (CL), Jamie Coudeville, Katherine Meusey, Thomas Cori & Michele (MI). You just have to sit back enjoy the read and join the discussion in the comment section down below.
Last week it was revealed that The CW's deal with Netflix will not be renewed and its 2019/20 newbies are going to be shopped seperately Internationally. How do you see this impacting The CW? Will it be the end of the Network and mass renewals, with the Network not as eager to keep shows on board to hit syndication or do you think this is a big deal over nothing?
Ellys Cartin: Biggest takeaway here is that I will have to keep up with my CW shows weekly now, just in case they aren't available on Netflix at the end of the season. I also worry that without this guaranteed streaming home the CW will be less likely to gamble on unique shows and will become more mainstream. It also makes me sad that it could be harder for our all the awesome people not in the US to access the shows.
CL: Being one of those international viewers who watches CW shows (okay, Riverdale) on Netflix, I am worried they won't be readily available anymore. It's already a pain to find a lot of shows I want to watch without subscribing to approximately 587 streaming services (France doesn't have Hulu, and the Netflix & Prime catalogues differ from the U.S. or even UK ones). Then again, I'll admit the CW doesn't have a particularly appealing roaster for my taste, so maybe it'll be fine and ultimately, hurt them more than us. Riverdale being on Netflix after that first season allowed for a lot more people to discover it during the summer, while these new shows won't have that opportunity, and will likely suffer from it.
Jamie Coudeville: I think this will have a very negative impact on the CW's overall popularity. A lot of it's shows are as popular as they are because they have a huge international following. I know I personally only started watching Dynasty because it was on Netflix, otherwise I probably wouldn't have. So while won't impact their existing shows (since I heard their deals would stay in tact), it will definitely impact their new ones. I don't think we'll get to see the CW renew all it's shows next year like they did this time. But regardless of the loss of the Netflix deal, they wouldn't have been able to keep that up anyway. At a certain point you run out of time and space to air your shows (and money too).
Katherine Meusey: I think it will definitely make the CW look more closely at not only what they have now, but which shows they'll add going forward. Maybe fun, interesting shows will be ignored for things that might shop better in the CW's opinion, and that's sad. Adding some new shows that would be part of this season's Netflix deal might have made it easier to shop further seasons of new shows around based on their popularity. I may not like most of what the CW offers, but I know loads of others do. I thought that renewing all of their shows this year was an idiot move, but now I assume that they knew the deal was ending and wanted to get as many current shows out to an international audience as possible.
MI: I foresee this move will ultimately be more problematic for Netflix in the long run, as more and more networks are pulling their content to favor their own streaming sites. The CW will initially take a hit with international viewer playback which will affect their numbers, but eventually the new CW shows will find a home on a different channel/service that international viewers will get to follow.
With the Upfronts chaos out the way, it's all about the trailers! Which shows made the best first impression and which do you think will be first to meet the grim reaper?
Ellys Cartin: The trailers I have thought about since last week are Filthy Rich, Batwoman, Evil and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. Each of those trailers came out strong with a solid sense of what they want to be. I think the first show to fall will either be Bluff City Law or a CBS comedy that is not Carol's Second Act.
Jamie Coudeville: I haven't really been that impressed with the new shows this year. I made a pact with myself to severely limit myself on how many new shows I pick up. I decided to stick to spin-offs with a few exceptions. Which is also why I tried to stay away from most trailers. I did think that Emergence had potential (one of the few that caught my eye) but I'm gonna wait out the first season to see what reactions it gets, I'm a bit worried about their long term potential. If people really like it I may give it a go next summer.
So much of politics and key issues impact on our daily lives, yet showrunners are always incredibly nervous over allowing it to creep into their storytelling and most viewers tend to prefer it that way. Do you think showrunners have a responsibility to tackle hard hitting issues in storylines & why do viewers need shows to be sugar & sweet all the time?
Ellys Cartin: I do not think viewers need shows to be sugar and sweet all the time. I am quite certain that almost no one wants that. And I don't think any show is truly apolitical. Sometimes what a show doesn't say tells as much of a story as what it does say. There's also the important reminder that while everyone can cook not everyone should cook. A heavy-handed delivery of an important issue can be less effective or even more harmful than not addressing the issue at all. I also think that there are too many important issues that get labelled as political when that is just an incorrect way to refer to them.
Jamie Coudeville: There are so many generic shows, especially where comedies are concerned that I find it refreshing when the writers dare to try challenging and current storylines. An example of this was One Day At A Time. The challenging storylines are what made this show so great (still not over the cancellation).
Katherine Meusey: This is a hard one. As much as I yearn for happy endings due to the current political climate, I do think it's important for television to reflect some of what is going on around us. One example is when "One Day at a Time" (RIP) ran an episode focusing on Carmen, a close friend of Elena's, whose parents were deported. I think this type of story needs to be told, particularly ones that viewers might recognize in themselves or their community. But not every week and not as a "story of the week" with no follow-up and never seeing the characters again. And they don't need to be happy-happy, maybe just stories from time to time where things get a little better.
Thomas Cori: I suppose that TV is a bit of an outlet for a lot of people, and that might mean that we don't enjoy the 'stress' of our day to day lives creeping into our favorite TV series... I personally don't like when shows are too 'in your face' with trying to make a political statement though I still enjoy it when it takes the form of subtle jabs (like in Roswell New Mexico) or the occasional 'special episode'.
MI: I actually much prefer when shows tackle relevant issues in their storylines. Sometimes it's a little too obvious and unenjoyable, but I value when shows like "Grey's Anatomy" or "Law & Order: SVU" bring up real world situations and issues because they give it the attention it sometimes deserves. In recent years, I feel like we have become so inundated by news that we've all but stop paying attention to it. However, TV shows have a far reach and ability to open conversations that may otherwise not happen.
Last Sunday was Game of Thrones finally conclude. What did you make of the series finale? Did you think it was a major letdown or did the show justice, and if you could change one thing about the show, what would it be?
Ellys Cartin: The series finale episode itself hit the right notes on paper. Where every character ended up made sense. The letdown was that those moments couldn't be as emotionally satisfying as they should have been because the final two seasons were rushed. If I could change one thing, though, it would be to....oh never mind...I would change three things: 1. I wouldn't shut viewers out of Bran's head or close him off emotionally, 2. I would give Dany's evolution the proper amount of time to do her story justice, and 3. I wouldn't have had that silly Sansa vs. Arya business take up all their screen time in the 7th season.
CL: I stopped watching GoT after the quality dropped (imo anyway, so around season 3 or 4 when I just couldn't put myself through the episodes anymore) but I read the books after season 1 aired so I was still able to follow along the angry/disappointed rants from fans on Twitter and especially the memes, which were fun, so at least one good thing came out of this! As a former viewer however, I do feel bad that something that brought so much enthusiasm and passion from such a large viewership seemed to end with a whimper and not a bang. It feels like a missed opportunity, and the (alleged) reasons behind that are baffling. If I could have changed one thing that would've made me want to keep watching... well, the showrunners maybe
Jamie Coudeville: I was okay with it. My main complaint was that there was too much Jon (all season, really) and that we didn't get enough of the other characters. We all kind of knew where things where headed yet it still managed to surprise me which is good. I do think that they should've aired the penultimate and final episode back to back. It would've made the finale less anticlimactic, I think.
MI: I had a lot of mixed feelings about the finale. A friend of mine said, "It could've been worse," and honestly I feel similarly. The whole season - and especially the finale - went in such a different direction than I expected, by the time the show ended I felt satisfied it was over, but not happy with the outcomes. I'm diplomatic enough to support the hard work the writers, actors, directors, and crew endured to make the show - so I've stopped criticizing everything and just accepted it as it is. (That being said, what is west of Westeros?! I want answers!)
That's a wrap on this weeks round table. Don't forget to leave all your thoughts in the comments below and adios! Until we read again....
