TV Talk at TCA: ‘Space Race’ profiles Black astronauts; Peak TV peaks
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PASADENA, Calif. — “The Space Race: The Untold Story of the First Black Astronauts” (9 p.m. Monday, National Geographic Channel; next day on Hulu, Disney+) profiles NASA legends past and present, including Ed Dwight, who had a successful military career before he was recruited to an Air Force training program in 1961 from which NASA selected early astronauts.
His initial response to the invitation? No way.
“These guys were a bunch of nuts and you’ll never fit in because it’s a club,” he thought. “They’ll never let you in that club.”
Only after Dwight’s mother encouraged him to step up to help “the condition of the race” did he apply. But it wasn’t easy. Dwight said an instructor was against his inclusion from the start.
“He finally got to the Black/white issue by telling me, ‘I got 150 white boys on this list that are all better than you are and they should be here and you should give your seat up,’” Dwight recalled Thursday during National Geographic Channel’s portion of the Television Critics Association winter 2024 press tour. “Of course, my response was, ‘If these white guys are so much better than I am, every street in Edwards Air Force Base is named after a dead test pilot and they all happen to be white.’ And again, that kind of rattled him.”
Dwight was never selected to be a NASA astronaut.
Racist attitudes toward Black astronauts weren’t confined to the ‘60s. Leland Melvin, who flew space shuttle missions in 2008 and 2009, recalled the cab ride to his 1998 interview to become a NASA astronaut.
“[The cab driver] said, ‘Well, you can’t be an astronaut.’ I’m like, ‘Why cant I be an astronaut?’ He said, ‘Well, you weren’t in the military.’ I’m like, ‘Well, do you know that two-thirds of the astronauts are non-military?’ I said, “What is your answer now?’ He said, ‘Well, um, you, um, well, uh, maybe,’” Melvin recalled. “People were still saying that you don’t have the qualities and the capabilities to be an astronaut. That’s why this movie is so important to let people see that the man sitting beside Ed Dwight [who was Victor Glover, a current NASA astronaut] is going to the moon next year, so kids can see what is possible. Ed rightfully set the foundation for all of us, for Guy Bluford, Charlie Bolden, for all of these people to have an opportunity to fly in space in spite of what the cab driver was saying that I could do or could not do.”
In addition to “The Space Race,” National Geographic Channel is making “Sally,” a feature-length documentary about Sally Ride, America’s first woman astronaut.
Peak TV peaks
FX chairman John Landgraf originally predicted “Peak TV” – the continuing growth in the number of original scripted series across broadcast, cable and streaming – would come to an end in 2018 or 2019. It went longer but Peak TV finally peaked.
According to FX’s research department, there were 516 original scripted series in 2023, down 14% from 600 series in 2022.
“We can finally say adios to Peak TV,” said Landgraf, who’s celebrating his 20th anniversary at FX, a rare duration for a TV executive. “The industry shift and draw-down of product was likely underway before the strikes shuttered all production.”
Year-to-date, FX research said originals scripted shows are down 31% at this point in 2024 compared to the same five-week period in 2023.
“I do not have a good sense of where this will level out,” Landgraf said Friday during FX’s portion of the Televisions Critics Association winter 2024 press tour, but he does expect 2024 will see additional year-to-year declines of scripted originals relative to 2023, likely due to a hangover effect of the 2023 actors’ and writers’ strikes and media company retrenchment as they prioritize profits over subscriber growth. “I welcome the advent of a sustainable scripted TV business built primarily on streaming.”
“The Bear” will be back on FX for its third season in June and Landgraf said he did not expect “Reservation Dogs” would end after just three seasons.
“[‘Reservation Dogs’ creator] Sterlin Harjo surprised us and said he’d written the perfect ending,” Landgraf said. “We had planned to go at least five seasons. But he had the courage to say, ‘This story is finished,’ and we respected that.”
Regarding this year’s final, sixth season of “What We Do in the Shadows,” Landgraf said the show “came to a natural conclusion” but he does have concerns about a dearth of modern series that run enough seasons and enough episodes each season to have a deep library.
“Holding peoples’ attention is very difficult,” Landgraf said, noting that shows with many episodes is “what people want from TV. When you look at the actual hours of consumption – they’re ‘Friends,’ ‘The Office,’ deep library shows. There’s a reason why when ‘Suits’ goes on streaming it gets billions of hours of consumption. That’s a kind of television people really love.”
He blamed “the radically increased cost of making TV” – network dramas that once cost $2.5 million an hour now cost closer to $4 million with some cable/streaming series costing close to $20 million per hour – as a reason for series with shorter episode counts each season and shorter overall runs.
“Shows start at such an expensive rate,” Landgraf said, noting that FX’s “The Shield” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” were originally produced at a lower price point that allowed FX to renew a series even if initial ratings were not through the roof. “That gets harder to do when something is super-expensive.”
Landgraf said “Fargo” writer Noah Hawley’s “Alien” prequel series will resume production in Thailand in a few weeks and will premiere on FX in 2025.
Channel surfing
In addition to Sunday’s “Puppy Bowl” and “Great American Rescue Bowl,” TBS will premiere the Sarah Silverman-hosted “Stupid Pet Tricks” just before the Super Bowl at 5 p.m. Sunday on TBS. … Disney aims to launch a stand-alone streaming version of cable’s ESPN by fall 2025. … “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version),” including five songs not seen in theaters, will stream on Disney+ on March 15.
Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen is attending the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Follow Rob on Threads, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. You can reach him at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.