It's not easy being NETFLIX these days. Subscribers are leaving and big money deals have not paid off. A lot of money has been wasted.
Let's look at the high profile deals. Kenya Barris walked out on his $100 million deal with NETFLIX to move over to VIACOM when NETFLIX complained about his programs not delivering a large enough audience. He responded that he did not want to make in-your-face programming. BLACK-ISH, his most famous show, was delivering, on a good week, four million viewers with a new episode. In syndication (which includes on two basic cable networks), the show has not made much of an impact. It was a mistake for NETFLIX to pour that much money into a deal when the biggest success the creator had ever delivered did not justify the money. Shonda Rhimes, when Kenya's deal was announced, was quick to insist that her own deal with NETFLIX was even better in terms of money. She really hasn't delivered either. BRIDGERTON has yet to deliver the following GREY'S ANATOMY Has -- in fact, BRIDGERTON's numbers aren't even as good as NETFLIX's numbers for GREY'S ANATOMY streaming of repeats. She's delivered nothing like SCANDAL or HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. All she's offered was BRIDGERTON and explained that she's never very smart without ABC guiding her. How else to explain that, when she's supposed to be building a long running show, she loses Rege-Jean Page after only one season -- the main reason the show had any buzz at all. Now it's just another middling, pathetic period drama. Not exactly what NETFLIX wanted her to create.
The huge money deal that has come the closest to paying off for NETFLIX? Ryan Murphy's deal since at least he's delivered product, right? HOLLYWOOD, RATCHED and HALSTON didn't set the streaming world on fire but HALSTON did get Emmy attention which might have made up for the underwhelming response to the series if NETFLIX was just trying to garner nominations. RATCHED underwhelmed as well but also got some Emmy nominations (RATCHED got over a million views per NETFLIX however that number is primarily based upon when a person is on the main page of the site and a video starts playing to promote a show -- the number NETFLIX provided the press is not a number of how many people watched an episode). HOLLYWOOD did alright and received ten Emmy nominations. THE POLITICIANS delivered a number of viewers in its first season but tanked in season two while receiving 8 Emmy nominations. None of the shows commands the attention of any Ryan Murphy show airing on FOX or FX.
Channing Dungey should be included on huge deals. Her spectacular failure was predicted here when she signed the deal -- we also noted that the press had inflated her position at NETFLIX pretending she was the only vice president in charge of new programming. She was brought in after destroying ABC's biggest and most profitable hit (ROSEANNE). That was your first clue that you didn't want anything to do with her. An executive is not supposed to kill the network's number one program. Instead, he or she is supposed to smooth over problems and keep the hit in production. Her lies to NETFLIX included that she could "manage" (her term) Shonda Rhimes and that she had a great relationship with Kenya Barris. She did not have a great relationship with Kenya who never felt she gave his BLACK-ISH the support it needed. Her ability to 'handle' Shonda was inflated and Channing failed to earn the big salary she was getting as she was no help developing new shows and as she actually harmed some deals in the pipeline. (Name the actress she tried to get fired from a NETFLIX property to carry favor with Shonda. She didn't succeed and the producers complained loudly about Channing's interference.) Channing was fired from NETFLIX and the same press friends tried to again spin that as a success like they did when she'd earlier been fired from ABC.
Barack Obama's all about the greed. That's why he and Michelle walked away from SPOTIFY last week when the streamer refused to hand over money that the Obamas didn't and couldn't earn. So he'll stay with his outrageous NETFLIX deal as long as they pay him. But they should stop paying him. He's not delivering and his heavily promoted narration series is a failure. They are currently attempting to promote it as a hit with children -- it's not. Nor was it made for children. It never hit number one on NETFLIX's own self-reported daily top ten and, a week after it's release, it had vanished from the top ten. If they had any brains, they'd cancel the contract.
What they've done instead is cancel GRACE AND FRANKIE, the Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin sitcom. It's been at number one or number two since the last episodes from season seven dropped. The Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris program has delivered eyes and its garnered eleven Emmy nominations. The program also was one that other media followed and Jane and Lily were on multiple programs promoting the show (including CBS THIS MORNING, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE LATE LATE SHOW and ELLEN just last week).
Unlike the big money deal shows, GRACE AND FRANKIE was popular beyond new episodes. The show has a devoted streaming base at NETFLIX that continues to watch previous seasons. It is the kind of success a streamer should be building upon. Instead, they are ending the program and have announced that three seasons is enough of any show going forward. That will mean less than 50 episodes of these shows as they try to build up a reason for people to subscribe.
Do they grasp that?
People, over the last decade, have gone to NETFLIX to stream full seasons, multi-seasons, of programs such as GREY'S ANATOMY, FAMILY GUY, CHARMED, AMERICAN DAD, NIKITA . . . Those shows delivered for NETFLIX. All are gone except GREY'S ANATOMY. And NETFLIX is no longer the only streamer in town. So this notion that they can attract people who want to binge with a three season show is laughable.
GRACE AND FRANKIE wrapped up with 12 episodes (for a 16 episode, 7th season). And?
It really needed an eighth season.
The show was funnier in season seven than it's ever been. Much funnier. We're talking Lily in THE LATE SHOW funny. Jennifer Nightingale, Frankie's fake persona, was one hilarious moment after another. Around the time Frankie announced, "I'm finally living up to my bumper sticker," Lily hit a zany high that she never came down from.
Jane was also in fine form and her showing up jangling the keys Lily forgot when Lily's about to solo on a crime run recalled Jane doing the same with the late George Segal in their comedy classic FUN WITH DICK AND JANE.
Two pros delivering, that's the final season. And a meet up in the final episode with their 9 TO 5 co-star Dolly Parton. A testament to the friendship and to the ability to continue to change and grow, GRACE AND FRANKIE had a lot to impart while delivering all those laughs.
And the zany highs kept the whole thing from being maudlin because this was the final season and we all knew we working towards an ending. Frankie's psychic predicted Frankie would be dead in three months. Frankie tried to figure out how and seized upon someone she knew murdering her -- she kept Grace on the vision board even when Grace objected. There were solid moments for all the characters and June Diane Raphael, Ethan Embry, Baron Vaughn, Brooklyn Decker, Peter Cambor, Marsha Mason, Millicent Martin, Martin Sheen, Tim Bagley and Sachin Batt all ran with every moment they were provided.
Notice a name missing? Yep. Sam Waterston. He's been a problem from the start. Dropping back to our 2015 review:
More than anything else, the show needed a studio audience.
If it had one, Sam Waterston wouldn't be mincing.
The immediate reaction from the studio audience would have forced Waterston to reconfigure his character.
Did no one have the guts to tell the actor to stop it?
Did no one have the guts to tell him that he was portraying an offensive stereotype?
He's all popped-eyes, raised eyebrows and high pitched voice.
That's how he plays his gay character (Lily Tomlin's ex-husband).
It's insulting.
Martin Sheen, by contrast, doesn't feel he needs to reconfigure his voice or pop his eyes.
Watching Waterston mince it up, you're not only offended, you're also asking yourself, "Wait? No one knew he was gay?"
Because that is the premise, that Grace and Frankie have no idea their husbands are gay or having been having a 20 year affair.
Sol started out an insulting stereotype and that's how he concluded. Sam Waterston was one long offense, season after season. That he was gay was supposed to be a surprise that he hid. Not only are we not seeing that but we're also wondering how he was a high-powered lawyer in court with that voice?
Sol was an embarrassment to the very end. Over the years, we've learned to ignore him. And, as Waterston and Martin had their last scene together, we regretted it. The two were at a hotel, stepped into an elevator and, as they were about to kiss, the doors closed. Did they ever kiss?
That's the only reason we regretted ignoring the offensive Sol all these episodes, we don't remember them ever kissing romantically, but did they?
The show's gotten a lot of credit for its portrayals of women in thee their third act still being romantic and sexual beings. But what did they go for elderly gay men? Anything?
"What's tragic," insists Juno Temple as Bettye in THE OFFER about Janis Joplin's death, "is o.d.ing over a cancelled menage a trois with two other women."
That's what's being offered on PARAMOUNT+ -- a straight woman making homophobic comments. So, yeah, it does matter whether or not GRACE AND FRANKIE used their seven seasons to advance the portrayals of gay men.
And it does matter what is getting a green light.
THE OFFER got one and, as any reviewer can tell you, it didn't warrant one. It's referred to as unneeded, navel gazing at the making of PARAMOUNT's film THE GODFATHER.
And that is true but it's committing a bigger crime and what The Water Cooler Set ignores, we don't.
Sal Mineo.
Remember him? Two time Academy Award nominee (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and EXODUS). His other films include GIANT, THE OTHER WAR OF MAJOR BENSON, THE LONGEST DAY, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR?, CHEYENNE AUTUMN, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD and ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES. Sal was Sicilian.
If there's a reason to tell the story about the making of THE GODFATHER all these years later, it's to correct the past. A two-time Academy Award nominee who happened to be Sicilian was denied a role in the film. Did people not think Sal could act?
Sal's acting was not in question. Francis Ford Coppola was prepared to cast Sal until one actor had a hissy fit. PARAMOUNT was high on James Caan and wanted him for Michael but would settle for him as Sonny. What Caan would not do was work with a bi-sexual actor. He would quit, he insisted if they cast the "f*g" in the film.
He got away with that. Sal's career, his life, might have been so much different but for Caan and for PARAMOUNT rewarding Caan's homophobia.
Forty years later, they're making a mini-series about the making of THE GODFATHER and they can't even center around what everyone now knows was discriminatory and illegal hiring practices. James Caan has always been a disgusting person. He's 82 now. He's not going to live much longer. Before he dies, it would be great if the world knew what he did and held him accountable. It would be great if, unlike in the early 70s when he'd tell this story while laughing, he was forced to address what he did.
That's the only reason PARAMOUNT+ should have made the series. Instead, they've mad a dull and plodding mini-series about men that doesn't question sexism, racism or homophobia. Exactly why are we looking back decades to retell story no one needed if we're not going to right a few wrongs? And exactly why are streamers creating new content if the content doesn't reflect the world today?