Television – Brianne Larson

Playing the hand you’re dealt

Ever feel like your brain is in a rut? Ok, glad to hear it. Let’s play cards sometime.

Picture me: 14-year-old Bri, sitting at the kitchen counter top. Big bowl of ice cream. TV turned on to some secondary ESPN channel featuring the World Series of Poker.

It’s the big boys table. It’s poker on TV!

Growing up, I played Texas Hold’em for fun. Getting the chips out at family reunions was always a blast, and you’d learn something from the game every time, win or lose. Naturally, I amped up the dedication and started watching poker on television every day after school. It’s what you do when you really want to learn!

TV is your best teacher.

I look at life a bit differently now being in my upper twenties. I remember my 14-year-old self, not really knowing what the future would hold. I mean, why worry? Bowl of ice cream + TV means life is great! But now that I’ve got some young professional experience under my belt, I know that I have to treat life with the hand I’ve been dealt, and make the most of it.

See, poker is part playing the hand you’re dealt, but also part the game you want to play. Life is the same way, only your brain chooses how you want to live it.

Chronic pain issues and many sleepless nights have served me some boiling hot soup from my mid-teens to present day. Back then, I wouldn’t have known that it was just the beginning of a really odd life journey. Because chronic pain is really weird. Only you know how you feel, and let me tell you, lower back pain is a fighter.

“Have you ever tried chirotherapy?” – every person who hears I have low back pain.

Oh boy.

I’ve filled in these pain diagram charts more times than I can count. They’re really fun. But something that I never factored into all my pain was my brain. My soup bowl has been overflowing with all the “X’s”, slashes and dashes, and my brain has been holding it all in like a champ.

Lately, the champ status has been sinking as my brain has been a chirpy little bird reminding me how much it sucks. I know that it’s just the hand I’ve been dealt here in life. It’s a weird hand, that keeps me at the ready with Advil, ice packs, pain patches, special cushions…all the things. So I’ve got to play it the best I can. And you know what? I’m gonna keep playing!

I just needed some Wisten Kriig

Sometimes you just gotta hand it to what you know. And what I know, is that Kristen Wiig is the most amazing of all.

Those who know me well know how much idolize Kristen and her abilities. Her characters and voices. Her silliness. Her smarts.

I’ve seen Bridesmaids more than I can even begin to count. I’ve lost track. (Sorry, I’m a fast moving Millennial and I will not be stopped!) In fact, at times I was watching the movie almost continuously. As in, I had the movie downloaded to my phone, tablet and laptop, as well as on blu-ray and DVD. I would watch it at home, waiting for class, at the gym, at the airport… I couldn’t get enough! Slash it was during a time when wireless passwords weren’t as loosey goosey at public places. And Netflix streaming wasn’t quite up to par! But, hold up. IT’S MY FAVORITE MOVIE.

Anyway, last weekend Kristen hosted SNL for the second time. The last time she hosted was in 2013, two years after Bridesmaids came out. And something occurred to me as I sat there and laughed and smiled throughout each sketch.

I’m smiling. No teeth, full force smile. From something I love.

It was good. I mean, I get smiles every day from my dogs, and of course, my Joshy. But, I needed those smiles from Kristen. They were long overdue smiles that I was craving like a chip and dip. I’ve realized, lately, how much I’m using my energy on things that really aren’t making an impact. It might be work, it might be people. It might also be me not doing enough. As my mom always says, “Use your energy for good” and “Don’t waste your energy.” Amy Poehler could not have said it better: “I am tired of being tired and talking about how tired I am.” I feel you, girl.

A Delight

Anyway, watching the SNL cast interact with Kristen is a true delight (the opposite of a crap, for my UX web people out there, wink wink). I could watch Cecily and Kristen argue in southern accents every week. Let’s just make that a recurring QVC sketch, ok? “On QVC on QVC!”

If you’re wasting your energy, get more of whatever is your delight. For me, that’s some Wiig.

Emmys snubs that I just can’t get over. Cannot.

Snub

/snəb/

Verb

rebuff, ignore, or spurn disdainfully.
check the movement of (a horse or boat), especially by a rope wound around a post.

-Google

There are some things in life that make us cough with bad taste. Forget the horses, boats, and ropes around posts here. I’m talking about AWARD-WINNING people snubs.

The Emmy’s are a celebration of television. Winning an Emmy recognizes excellent performance in the television industry. There are multiple ceremonies throughout the year with the daytime and primetime awards being the most mentioned.

The winners of the various Emmy awards are all very deserving. Don’t get me wrong here. But there are a couple snubs that need to be made into public service announcements and small advertisements on your high-def monitor. And I’ll do that right now.

Steve Carell never won an Emmy for his performance of Michael Scott on The Office. Upon reading this (or if this serves as a friendly albeit unfortunate reminder), I bet you’re getting a lot of uncontrollable thoughts in your head, and possibly four or five swear words. Shhh. Keep it to yourself.

And another:

Amy Poehler still has not won an Emmy for playing Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation. And let me tell you folks, the show starts its last season in 2015. Time to get the gear and get this taken care of!

Questions: How could this be? Why could this be?

First off, let me say that The Office did win five Emmy awards. Carell was nominated six times but never took home the golden-winged woman.

Amy Poehler has been nominated five times for her performance on Parks and Rec and two times as supporting actress on Saturday Night Live. What’s maybe more crazy here is that Parks and Rec has also not won a single Emmy. Only nominated. Never a bride.

These are two programs that I strongly support, and their lead ponchos did not/have not gotten the one award that is solely for TV. It’s mind-boggling. So I wish I knew what the deal was.

Rainn Wilson had a pretty famous tweet:

The world of TV should be ashamed of itself that Steve Carell never won an Emmy for Michael Gary Scott. Goodnight.

— RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) September 19, 2011

TG for the Golden Globes. The Globes have been the saving grace for both of these shows. Both Carell and Poehler have picked up a prestigious globe award, and we must thank God for that.

Goodnight is right.

Image via zimbio.com

Saturday Night Live has a buddy. And it’s social media.

Saturday Night Live’s 39^th season (2013-2014) was one of fresh talent. Why so fresh? There were a lot of spots to fill. Lots of key players decided to carry-on the season prior (Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudekis) as well as a couple fan favorites settling their leave the season prior to that (Kristen Wiig (!!!) and Andy Samberg).

Now, I know this was a big deal for you. Because those people really enhanced your decision whether or not to tune-in to the program each week. Especially Wiig. She was what they call “uncanny” and “very good.”

Could the show survive without all that talent?! Stay with me here!

Let’s think about how people watch TV today. People today watch a lot of TV, but the actual tube itself may not be the top device of choice.

Consider this: the idea of your TV as the “first screen” and all other screens as “second” or “third” is dead. A report from eMarketer says the first screen is whichever one you are looking at, and then all others fall into succeeding order.

This puts a twist on the idea of our “second screen culture.” Traditionally, or tradigitally, we have viewed smaller screens as the second screen, such as a mobile phone or tablet. But viewing time on those devices keeps going up, and will only continue to increase. So we must change our thought process.

TV shows today need to play nice for the social TV crowd.

A growing population makes their digital identity known by talking about TV content via social media. You could definitely put me in this group. It’s a culture shift that puts those with FOMO (fear of missing out) into a sweat storm. Don’t make me sweat! This means Sunday through Saturday, 2-4-7, people need to know what all the haps are on every single device they own. If these people are true brand advocates, they will share / like / retweet / favorite / +1 / reblog / pin / (man this is exhausting) content they enjoy and want others to experience joy with also. Social currency is a thing and face-to-face just doesn’t cut it anymore!

So for a TV show like SNL that seems to go through a trust barrier at the start of each season, a multi-device, web-friendly video content social strategy is one of those “no question” practices.

Even though it’s the off-season right now, I have to say, I love what Saturday Night Live has been doing on social media for the TV crowd. Let me explain why.

Video content on social media

Saturday Night Live is big just one day of the week: on Saturday night. It’s unlike other primetime shows that air Monday-Friday or on Sundays. Saturday is a unique day. Do you usually have plans Saturday night? Do I usually have plans Saturday night? Here’s my answer: Yeah, sometimes I do.

So if a lot of people aren’t going to tune-in for the live show at 11:30 PM/10:30 CST on the National Broadcasting Company network, SNL has to be on the ball. This means posting videos of their content right away for the Sunday crowd ready to catch-up on what they missed the night before.

SNL does this well, in addition to posting content leading up to the show each week. This is where the social TV audience is going to need their fix in order to keep engagement spirits high.

The show teasers always get me excited, like this one featuring Lena Dunham and Kate McKinnon. Spots like this are very important in order for the audience to connect with SNL throughout the week, not just on Saturday nights. I particularly like SNL’s backstage series. The videos are tailored for the YouTube club we all hold a membership to these days. The backstage videos are put into subcategories like #AskSNL and Follow Friday. I love these vids.

All of this continuous posting of content, and opportunity to share with our beloveds, keeps our undercarriages fired up for Saturday. Without an active social presence for the younger digitally-centered audience, I think SNL would fall flat these days. Each cast member has a backstory, and if you are eager enough to search, you’ll be surprised how funny and smart they are. SNL’s social media strategy lets us see the cast on a deeper level and get to know them as people. We also get to know the writers and producers – jobs that sometimes go unnoticed.

Go follow SNL’s Instagram account

On a final thought, SNL’s Instagram account is quite awesome. My favorite part of following nbcsnl on Instagram is seeing all of the behind-the-scenes photos and videos. Especially the photos of writers’ night and the table read-thrus. The plates of food (and I mean PLATES OF FOOD) on the table during the read-thru are interesting just on their own. Whoever is in charge of ordering all that food is going places in life.

View this post on Instagram

Final read-thru of the season! #SNL

A post shared by Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) on May 14, 2014 at 6:05pm PDT

My new life goal is to make my way into that room some day. And stare at the food. And sneak some into my pocket. And maybe tell a joke.

Anyway, SNL – keep up with the videos and behind-the-scenes content. Es muy bueno.

Stop slicing bread. The Maya Rudolph Show is here.

Monday, May 19, 2014, The Maya Rudolph Show premiered on NBC. Of course, critics were indeed very critical of every component of the show, being that it had a lot to live up to from variety shows back in the 70s. Ratings weren’t as great as they could have been, so the question remains whether a variety show is what us Americans really want these days.

Ok. But remember. IT’S MAYA RUDOLPH. THE INCREDIBLY TALENTED MAYA RUDOPLH.

The show captured the corny song and dance numbers, slipped in some funny (and raunchy) jokes, and did what any variety show is meant to do: entertain the audience.

Now I can’t say I am a variety show expert. That was all a bit before my time. However, I understand the variety show flow – and how it’s surely challenging to keep the audience laughing throughout the entire hour.

That’s why Rudolph leading the pack is smart.

Rudolph brings to the variety show years of entertaining experience from her days on SNL. She can sing, dance and improvise. Sean Hayes, Andy Samberg and Fred Armisen joined her on stage—three amigos I was very happy to see. I loved the SNL-esque sketches. I would definitely watch the show just to feel like I’m getting a second dose of SNL on a weekday before 10:30 pm CST. And if you’re a fan of Hayes, then this was having your cake, eating it, and licking the plate.

And don’t forget about Kristen Bell. She delighted us with her voice in a musical number about a sequel for Frozen. Bell was also in a sketch where Rudolph and Armisen had voices like GPS systems. This was perfect.

The Maya Rudolph Show has its work cut out for it. The demo watching this type of programming today likely didn’t get a lot of exposure to variety shows back in the day (me included). There hasn’t been a true variety show success in many years, however plenty of attempts (Wayne Brady, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, and the Osbournes come to mind). And when you put Rudolph, Hayes, Samberg and Armisen together, the bar for funny gets set really high.

But I do think this could work. Jimmy Fallon has been living it up in the late evenings for years now, and in some ways his show is just like a variety show. It’s always featuring goofy sketches and musical numbers. Hollywood Game Night is also just a fun program, where celebrities get together to play games and make us laugh. Being outrageously silly is becoming the new norm of sketch comedy. All on NBC.

I say, let Rudolph find her focus. Let’s get another episode scheduled. I need more. Just imagine what we’re going to get when Kristen Wiig sashays in…

Click to watch the episode.

Image courtesy NBC

Why I never gave up on the TV show Parks and Rec.

You know, because it almost got cancelled…multiple times.

I’ve always been in Parks and Recreation’s corner. Ready with the water bottle and rag for blood. I remember this one time in college (circa 2009) when I was taking a TV production management class. The professor was discussing new TV shows and making predictions on which ones would stick around. He was not too keen on the newbie Parks and Rec.

First off, that is an offense, because Amy Poehler. Second, did he not realize the geniuses behind the show, Greg Daniels and Michael Schur? Come on, sir.

But just because Amy Poehler was in the cast, along with many other super funny and good looking people, didn’t mean the show was guaranteed to be successful. I know, I know.

In fact, Parks and Rec saw a lot of struggle with its ratings and viewership numbers most seasons.

A decline in Thursday night comedy for NBC can be attributed to Parks and Rec’s continual low ratings. But overall, Parks and Rec just did not do well when compared to the lineup of other programming. By the end of the third season, the show had an average rating of 5.1 million households, being the 116^th ranked network series for 2010-11. Thank you Wikipedia.

So, why the struggle?

Any new TV show’s first season is always the trial run. Think of it like the beginning of any new relationship, whether romantic or casual for dining out on sandwiches and side salads. I think it’s great when producers listen and respond to audience feedback. Sometimes characters need alterations. For Parks and Rec, the audience thought that Leslie Knope seemed too ditsy. I would agree with that.

Her ditsy-ness made the similarity with The Office all too alike. Leslie Knope wasn’t supposed to be another Michael Scott. The show was already very comparable to The Office because of its mockumentary style. But as Poehler said, “…We had to prove we weren’t a spinoff. We had to prove Leslie wasn’t trying to be Michael Scott. And that this wasn’t ‘Saturday Night Live.’ We had to prove all that.”

But here’s the thing: there were/are a lot of dedicated people behind this show. And despite all of the difficulties faced, they have persevered. Earlier this year, Poehler won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. And at the even more recent American Comedy Awards (if you missed it, you missed out!) Poehler took home Outstanding Comedy Actress and the show won Outstanding Comedy Series.

So, here are my reasons for always being loyal to Parks and Recreation:

Amy Poehler. No question.

Guest star appearances. A star-studded cast is an excellent thing. And star-studded guest stars are also excellent things. Parks and Rec has had many of these. Shows with “not hot” ratings can benefit from featuring guest stars. Some of my favorites:

Megan Mullally as Tammy 2
Ben Schwartz as Jean-Ralphio
Mo Collins as Joan Callamezzo
Jay Jackson as Perd Hapley
Louis C.K. as Officer Dave Sanderson
Kristen Bell as Ingrid de Forest
Paula Pell as Ron Swanson’s mother
And many, many, many, many more

The show is hilarious. There are so many good quotable lines from the script. And the writers aren’t afraid to take chances. Really, what have they go to lose?

The cast is full of talented, funny people. Nick Offerman is also a highly skilled carpenter.
You can tell the cast loves what they do. Just look up some videos of them at PaleyFest. Then imagine being on set with everyone. What a dream job. You’d laugh every day, sweat so hard from laughing, and then take a nice shower to rinse off.

Despite negativity with poor ratings, the show basically got better and better as seasons went on. I know of other shows where the opposite happened. Then you can’t wait for it to be over.

Honestly, I could come up with 100 reasons for liking the show. I’m just so happy that it didn’t get the boot years ago. Mike Schur announced that the next season will be Parks and Rec’s last. While I’m not happy about this, I totally get it. Poehler is super busy anyways. She’ll be producing and acting in many shows coming up, so I’m not too worried. Next up: please someone give her a late night talk show.

Image courtesy emertainmentmonthly.com, Wikipedia, nerdjoyblog.blogspot.com, the-hedgepig.blogspot.com

What does it take to get me hooked to your TV pilot?

I love TV. And I still love watching scheduled television programming on an actual TV. Does that make me weird? Oh absolutely! When I hear about new TV shows that are set to debut, I get really excited.

The TV pilot is the first glimpse into a new series. It’s what network execs use to determine the likelihood of success for a new TV show. If the network likes what it sees, we get to see the pilot too, and usually an order of first season episodes.

As I’ve analyzed TV over the years—for educational requirements and sport—I’ve come to find that good writing is key. Mix that with the people—on camera and off—and the production components and promotional elements, and you’ve got a complicated equation of what will make it and what gets the cut. Remember, some shows don’t even get to showcase episodes beyond the pilot.

I occasionally get critical in my assessments, so here is my list on getting me hooked to your TV pilot:

Don’t feature a cast of entirely new faces. A big name star needs to be part of the foundation.

Somebody in the cast has to be well known – and let’s hope it’s the main character. I’ve seen shows where the cast doesn’t feature any names with equity. It just doesn’t work. If that famous actor is known for his/her work on another program, the role needs to have a clear distinction from the previous job.

A love interest needs to be intertwined in the midst of all the action.

Three words: Jim and Pam.

It doesn’t need to be the focus of the show. Just there to reassure us that everybody is human and has feelings, too.

Promotion – I need to feel some heat before this thing airs.

A consistent marketing schedule needs to take place leading up to the premiere of the show. Don’t be afraid to mix it up from traditional media. That leads into my next item:

Twitter is your new best friend.

Twitter is officially the social network of the second screen. Knowing that the actors, producers, writers and crew care about the show, and seeing their tweets, makes me want to tune in. Don’t discount the value that social media can have for your show’s big premiere.

Introduce me to the characters and don’t get too complicated on the plot just yet.

Cast chemistry is essential to a successful television program. Rushing the plot won’t get you anywhere in the pilot. Your audience can only focus on so much. Just assume they are using at least two other technological devices while tuning into your program.

Don’t let weaknesses show in the pilot.

Worried the show might get cancelled? Don’t let it show in your pilot. I like shows that move ahead with the assumption that season 2 is a given. Whatever the faults may be of that show, push another strength (ahem writing) to the limit. Prove that the series has longevity. As a viewer, I want to return to my couch at the same time every week to watch the latest episode. I am that type of viewer. I just need reassurance that it’s worth my time and attention. With that said, leave me wanting more at the end of the pilot. Like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff with a hanger in my hand.

And finally…

Good writing and producing.

These are the anchors that you want made of steel. And if Amy Poehler or Tina Fey is producing the show, you have my heart.