TV Execs Fear Re-Runs Due to Actor-Writer Strike, But Trump's Re-Runs Proved Popular With Viewers
For weeks now, television executives have been saying that unless the writers and actors strike is settled before September viewers might be subjected to re-runs of previous shows.
For one sector of the television audience re-runs are popular and welcome. Those are, of course, the viewers of the political cable shows who make sports fanatics seem normal. And it is because of the continuing unhinged actions of former President Donald Trump that made re-runs what is today – the saga favored by lovers and haters of a criminally-indicted, twice impeached individual who has been successfully sued for sexual assault and running a fake university.
Ever since Donald Trump declared that he was running for the presidency in 2015 his actions have resulted in re- runs of his greatest or lowest hits, depending on your viewpoint.
Viewers of Fox News shows, hosted by the departed Tucker Carlson and the still present Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others on the right-wing propaganda network, tune in to hear similar commentary hour-after-hour. The words of various commentators on the network might change, but the plots of the programs never do. If you are interested in listening to “new oldies” or see how plagiarizing ones’ own comments are done day-after-day Fox host’s shows give a Master Class in doing so.
Viewers who prefer left-wing re-runs tune into MSNBC, where commentators like Andrea Mitchell, Nicole Wallace, Stephanie Ruhle, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell, cater to the anti-Trump viewership.
Wolf Blitzer leads the contingent of providing re-runs on CNN, even though the network presents itself as a breaking news station. When Jim Acosta covered Donald Trump, his give-and-take q and a sessions with the president provided the best viewing of any political programming. Mr. Acosta is now anchor of a daily news show and no other reporter at CNN has been able to mimic his aggressive reporting style. With Acosta off the Trump beat, the re-runs on CNN look older than old.
All three major cable networks also have contributors who read from the same script every day. But at least the majority of them have a legitimate background in the subjects being discussed, unlike most cable TV political show hosts who get their gigs because they are good talkers, not because of their expertise in the subjects being discussed.
No wonder cable viewership is down. Why should a person pay several thousand dollars a year for re-runs?
Sadly, not all re-runs are on cable television. ABC’s “The View” has essentially been using the same script for more than a quarter of the century. And in less than a year hosts and commentators of NBCUniversal’s telecast of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games will reprise their biennial script and act as if the Olympics was the best thing to happen since the creation of our planet.
After years of watching what is essentially the same voices voicing the same commentary on cable political shows since 2015, and on some broadcasts for years prior to the Trump re-run shows, TV executives have nothing to worry about -- viewers are already conditioned to accept old TV re-runs as new programming.
And the credit for getting viewers attuned to relish re-runs is a former president who has been criminally-indicted and twice-impeached – Donald Trump.
With Mr. Trump as the star, and his dialogue never-changing, only minimal editing is needed to make the “old” look “new.” Example: The former president was indicted once again on August 1 -- “new,” but "old." Only the date of the latest indictment was needed to refresh the script and sets that resemble court rooms in Florida, Washington, D.C., New York and probably Georgia, a pittance compared to the costs of producing an entirely new series created by actors, directors, producers, and other personnel needed to craft "new" television shows that mostly are take-offs or spin-offs of "old" ones.
TV executives should be indebted to Mr. Trump for conditioning viewers to accept re-runs. The least they could do is offer him a new TV show.
My suggestion is a show with a circus theme, with the criminally indicted former president playing a desperate clown who is attempting to avoid jail time.
Yes, the sets might be different: One day a political rally, the next day a court room, but the scripts always have the same ending –a lying Donald Trump playing the victim and being criminally-indicted.
