Why We Need to Know What’s Failing
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This week I’m rejoined by The Entertainment Strategy Guy to talk about his two-part series on streaming flops (TV shows here; movies here). If hits pay for the misses, and we know what the hits are, shouldn’t we know what the misses are as well in order to make fewer of them? We discuss his methodology and then examine one buzzy title, Hijack, to see if it’s a hit or a flop and how to think about those terms. We also discuss why sports documentaries tend to underperform and why most mid-to-large-budget movies should either be released theatrically or not made at all. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend!
Why We Need to Know What’s Failing
I haven't listened to this yet but I can tell you that I wish the makers of content would stop with the action and super hero crap. It's extraordinarily boring. How about some regular people stories, films and television programs that are relatable? But, hey, that's just me looking up at the sky yelling at the clouds.
Sonny - I listened to this podcast with real interest, discovering that my wife and I are not even considered in the demographics worth discussing. As an 82 retired couple who are increasingly limited in our mobility, TV, especially streaming TV, these days has become the most important stimulator in our lives. Our interests often lean towards watching EPL soccer and mystery shows, most often Brithish ones on Acorn, BritBox, and PBS. We also have a wide interest in US politics. We've become less interested, as we age and the vibe has changed, too, in American professional sports, having completely given up football, although we do watch the Red Sox play baseball. At this moment, we're up at 5:00 AM, not unusual, to watch the finals of the World Cup from Australia.
I was surprised that the largest discussion concerned shows you watch or movies you attend with your kids, not having had a kid of the right age for about 45 years. Nevertheless, I found your discussion of Hijack particularly interesting, since it was a show we had, somehow, dropped despite how much we like Edris Elba as an actor. Many, err MOST, of the shows you mentioned were ones I had never even heard of, despite studying pretty hard to decide what shows to watch.
Finally, I thought I'd send you a copy of the spreadsheet I keep in order to keep the shows we watch under control. The I'm sending is the "live" one, although I keep a finished/discarded one, too. I hope you find it interesting:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oAsau4laZ6P4UPMiSUzCY6Crb8xFQdw_JxhgC4rlZ0w/edit#gid=0
I've really come to enjoy your show and your columns. - Ted Lehmann