‘TV’s Top 5’ Podcast: The Upfronts Wrap Edition
Welcome to the 170th episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.
Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).
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This week, Dan and I dedicate the entire episode — save for the Critic’s Corner segment, of course — to the recently concluded upfront presentations. Historically, the upfronts were a week of glitzy and star-studded presentations during which the broadcast networks pitched their fall and midseason schedules to Madison Avenue ad buyers.
This year’s affair, the first in-person gatherings since COVID-19 upended the TV industry, were far from typical as big conglomerates including Disney, Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal opted instead to pitch their sprawling portfolios with broadcast coming in largely as an afterthought.
The CW and Fox, meanwhile, opted for more traditional pitches — neither has the types of portfolios of their competitors — though there was still plenty to break down from both.
Here’s how the episode plays out, though the conversation is — as Jeph Loeb would say — all connected. (IYKYK!)
1. NBCUniversal
2. Fox
3. Disney
4. Warner Bros. Discovery/Paramount Global/The CW
5. As usual, we wrap with the Critic’s Corner. This week, he touches on HBO’s George Carlin doc, Peacock’s Angelyne and Amazon’s Night Sky.
Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or Mailbag questions you’d like addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.
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