‘GLOW’ really shines on Netflix
Ever since FX CEO John Landgraf started talking about the notion of too much good TV — circa 2014, a year before he coined the term “peak TV” — it’s been a guessing game as to whether his latter prediction of the peak TV bubble bursting would come true, and if so, when?
It’s starting to look like 2017 might be the year.
First, we’ve seen the demise of at least two networks that carried original scripted programming, Pivot, which shuttered entirely in late 2016, and now WGN America, which canceled filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Outsiders” and critical hit “Underground” upon its sale to Sinclair Broadcast Group — which has no interest in bankrolling expensive drama series.
In addition, A&E — never able to find a suitable companion series to “Bates Motel” (including filmed-in-Pittsburgh flop “Those Who Kill”) — announced plans to abandon pricey scripted programming in favor of cheaper reality fare.
And then there are the recent decisions by Netflix, which began behaving like any other network as opposed to the special, sacrosanct savior of all things that are good about TV, with the back-to-back cancellations of “The Get Down” and “Sense 8.” Both were expensive series to produce and eventually, it turns out, cost does matter if enough people are not watching, even if Netflix won’t release data showing what those numbers are.
And so Netflix has feet of clay, just like every other content producer. Just like HBO, AMC, FX and NBC, Netflix will win some and lose some (see Netflix’s canceled-after-two seasons “Marco Polo” for a good idea of what creative disappointment on Netflix looks like).
No matter, Netflix will continue to churn out new series, including the filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Mindhunter,” debuting in October.
And Netflix may just have a hit on its hands with the terrific half-hour “GLOW” debuting today from its “Orange Is the New Black” executive producer Jenji Kohan.
Created and written by Liz Flahive (“Nurse Jackie”) and Carly Mensch (“OITNB”), “GLOW” is set in the 1980s and follows the fictional stars of the actual low-budget TV show “GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling,” which ran for four
seasons from 1986-89. And while the series makes most excellent use of its 1985 setting — from wardrobe to music — the show’s storytelling and format will be familiar to anyone who’s viewed even a handful of episodes of “OITNB.”
“GLOW” features a multiethnic cast of women from disparate walks of life brought together in the pressure cooker “GLOW” ring by the show’s creator, Sam (Marc Maron). Format-wise, it’s not that different from the women in “OITNB” who are brought together at Litchfield Correctional Institute.
The focus is again on the characters, their backgrounds and motivations. Actress Alison Brie (“Community,” “Mad Men”) stars in her most un-Alison-Brie-like role ever. She barely resembles herself or sounds like herself playing Ruth Wilder, an out-of-work actress desperate for work.
The show’s darkly comedic opening scene features Ruth at an audition where she gets a rude awakening about roles for women on TV in the 1980s. She commiserates about the experience with her friend Debbie (Betty Gilpin, “Nurse Jackie”), who left a primetime soap to start a family.
Before “GLOW,” Ruth’s life is a mess in general. She has to ask her parents for money to pay the rent. She has an affair with a married man (Rich Sommer, “Mad Men”) and in a last-act twist, Ruth finds herself sinking even lower in shame, regret and misery.
So, no, “GLOW” is not a laugh-out-loud comedy, but it is often funny, from its pitch-perfect opening scene to the potential for back stories on all the women who make the cut for “GLOW” and the relationships among them that are sure to develop.
‘Downward Dog’ book
Pittsburgh’s Animal MediaGroup, producers of ABC comedy “Downward Dog,” has published a book spinoff from the series, “Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku From a Very Serious Dog” ($13.95), written by series cocreator Samm Hodges, who also voices the dog, Martin, on the show and his brother, Phinehas Hodges, who also is on the writing staff of the ABC series. The book is illustrated by Kris Boban, an animator/illustrator at Animal Inc.
The book of poems, dedicated to Sadie (the dog who played Martin in the original web series that inspired the ABC sitcom), is presented as though written by Martin, who also contributes a foreword. “Very Serious Haiku” is available nationwide at Barnes & Noble stores and on Amazon.
The two last episodes of “Downward Dog” season one air at 10 and 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. A decision on the show’s fate is expected by the end of the month as the actors’ contracts will expire. I’m cautiously optimistic that the show will be renewed.
TCA Awards nominations
Pittsburgh-set “This Is Us,” which will return for its second season Sept. 26, received four nominations in the Television Critics Association Awards, tying FX’s “Atlanta” and Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” for series with the most nominations.
“This Is Us” was nominated in the categories of individual achievement in drama (Sterling K. Brown), new program, drama and program of the year.
Pittsburgh-based The Fred Rogers Co. had two nominees in the youth programming category: “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” which won the award last year, and “Odd Squad.”
For a full list of TCA Awards nominations visit the Tuned In Journal blog at http://communityvoices.arts-entertainment-living/ tuned-in.
Kept/canceled
Netflix renewed “Bill Nye Saves the World” for a second season.
CBS renewed its entire daytime lineup for 2017-18, including a three-year pickup of “The Young and the Restless” and an additional two years of “The Price Is Right.”
National Geographic Channel already renewed its scripted anthology “Genius” for a second season and now we know who the focus will be in the second go-around: painter Pablo Picasso.
Channel surfing
“Star Trek: Discovery” debuts at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 24 on CBS and then shifts to streaming service CBS All Access for the remainder of its episodes, similar to the launch pattern for “The Good Fight.” The 15-episode first season of “Discovery” will air in two halves, Sept. 24-Nov. 5 and then return in 2018 for the balance of episodes. … From the ashes of the defunct Universal HD the Olympic Channel will rise when it launches July 15 on Comcast Channel 822. It also will be available on Verizon, DirecTVand DISH Network.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “Kevin Can Wait,” “The Tunnel” and Kristine Sorensen. This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on TCA Awards nominations and PBS’s “The Story of China.” Read online-only TV content at http://communityvoices.post-gazette.com/ arts-entertainment-living/ tuned-in.
Tuned In podcast has the week off.