TV shows end for any number of reasons.
Jerry Seinfeld wrapped his eponymous show hoping to go out on top. Better Call Saul had a definite end point because it couldn’t overlap with the show that inspired the prequel, Breaking Bad.
ABC allegedly wrapped Last Man Standing because it planned to end comedy programming on Friday nights.
The vast majority of shows fade to black for a simple reason. Low ratings.
Yet major media outlets refused to acknowledge the obvious while reporting TBS’s cancellation of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.
The weekly series, arguably the angriest and most partisan show of its kind, won’t be returning in the Fall. In fact, TBS isn’t allowing Bee to say goodbye to her viewers or share some final episodes.
The series is currently on break and will not return.
The show, according to ShowbuzzDaily.com, routinely came in dead last in the late night ratings heap. Yet TBS renewed Full Frontal last year, ignoring how poorly it performs with audiences.
The following outlets reported on Full Frontal’s cancellation without so much as hinting that ratings could be to blame.
- Variety
- Deadline
- The Washington Post
- The Los Angeles Times
- Vulture
- The Hollywood Reporter
- The Associated Press
- Indiewire
- Rolling Stone
Think that’s an accident?
Reporters assembled a few different rationales for the cancellation. TBS is reducing its original programming, Variety explained.
But TBS has been cutting back on scripted series, with shows such as Chad and The Last O.G. scrapped in recent weeks.
Would TBS cut back on a ratings winner? Of course not.
THR attempts the same spin.
The number of original series on TBS, TNT and TruTV had been declining before WarnerMedia and Discovery merged, but the process has accelerated since then.
TV reporters aren’t dumb. They understand the nuances of the industry and what essential elements make a show soar. They’ve been ignoring “Full Frontal’s” ratings for some time now.
Covering up the problem now, though, is liberal media bias at its most corrupt.
Bee was a loud, proud and vicious progressive voice. Her show wasn’t funny, although comedy wasn’t the prime directive. Bee and co. pushed abortion rights, gun control and other issues dear to her liberal heart.
Fine. Good. Have at it.
When that approach can’t draw viewers, though, reporters should be telling their readers just that.
They didn’t.
Mediaite was one of the few outlets to mention Full Frontal’s ratings woes. The rest buried the information.
Liberal media bias, which exploded during the Trump years, similarly flavors Hollywood coverage. And if reporters will cover up something like this, just imagine how they handle vital matters of state.
Let’s give left-leaning journalist Glenn Greenwald the final word:
[Cross-posted from Hollywood in Toto.]
