The Television Critics Association winter press tour is, generally speaking, a great way to learn about new and returning TV series, interview showrunners and actors, and preview upcoming shows. But, as it has with everything else, the COVID pandemic has rewritten the rules for how the press tour happens.
For example, in January 2020, TV reporters and critics, as per tradition, gathered at a hotel in Los Angeles to hear from creators and actors, and ask questions about why their shows are worth viewers’ time.
But, just as the summer 2020 tour went virtual, so has the 2021 winter tour. Instead of packing into a hotel ballroom for two-plus straight weeks, reporters have spent weeks logging into Zoom sessions, listening to creators and actors try to persuade reporters why their shows are worth viewers’ time.
Is it the same? Absolutely not. For one thing, we’re mostly not hearing from network and streaming service executives, whose big-picture sessions often yield the most news. Without in-person sessions, we can’t run up onstage after panels are over, to ask hyper-local questions that would come off as narrow and self-indulgent during the public question-and-answer sessions that are designed to address other topics.
And, as anybody who’s been forced to communicate via video conference knows, these sessions don’t always run smoothly. Tech foul-ups, frozen screens, random sounds of pets and kids in the background, and other distractions interfere with communicating.
And of course, there’s the always delightful confusion: Do I need to use another browser? Where are the photos? Do I have to reboot my computer to join a session? Can you hear me? How come I can’t hear anything? And so on.
But even with the call drops and barking dogs, the virtual TCA winter press tour has served up tidbits about what to expect in these strange times, when TV production has been halted, paused or slowed because of pandemic-mandated safety protocols. Here are some highlights from the 2021 virtual TV press tour:
Coming to grips with the past: After 2020, it’s no surprise that this year is bringing a new awareness of America’s history of racial injustice. Among the most horrifying examples of that is the so-called Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, when an angry mob of whites torched the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, an area known as “Black Wall Street.” The destruction, violence and killing has for decades been covered up, and for many, their first awareness of this racist atrocity came from watching it recreated in the HBO series, “Watchmen.”
For the 100th anniversary of the massacre, several networks are planning documentaries intended to bring even more of the disgraceful history to light. PBS, for example, will air a documentary called “Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten.” The program is scheduled to premiere Monday, May 31, which will mark 100 years since the massacre, which happened from May 31 to June 1st in 1921.
The History Channel also announced a partnership with documentary veteran Stanley Nelson and NBA veteran Russell Westbrook, which will explore how the “Black Wall Street” community came to be, and the brutal massacre that ended it. “Tulsa Burning” is expected to premiere on the History channel sometime this spring.
A new ABC News primetime news magazine, “Soul of a Nation,” which is designed to focus on many aspects of Black life in America, will also look at the Tulsa Massacre, though a specific date for that broadcast wasn’t announced. “Soul of a Nation” debuted March 2 on ABC.
On a brighter note: Grim though the news has been, the networks and streaming services are also trying to put a smile on viewers’ faces. For example, ABC has “Pooch Perfect,” in which Rebel Wilson becomes the latest actor to turn into a reality competition host. In the series (which sounds a lot like HBO Max’s “Haute Dog”), competitors will see who can style their dog to win contests called “The Immunity Puppertunity” and the “Ultimutt Challenge.”
Expect cute -- and extremely patient -- canines, and some colorful contestants. The panel discussion for the show included Wilson talking about her family’s history as dog-show professionals.
“My great-great grandmother started The Beagle Club of Australia,” Wilson said. She spent childhood weekends attending dog shows, and “my family’s business was a little yellow caravan that we traveled all around Australia in, to different dog shows. And we’d sell dog-grooming products mainly to all of the dog show-ers. So, dogs have just been such a huge part of my life…I was personally a junior handler.”
Joining in the canine love was “Pooch Perfect” judge Lisa Vanderpump, late of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” and fellow judges Jorge Bendersky and Callie Harris. “Pooch Perfect” premieres Tuesday, March 30 on ABC.
OK, back to the glum stuff: After an extended pause, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is returning to Hulu for its fourth season on April 28. Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s novel, the series has kept telling its admittedly depressing story of June (Elisabeth Moss), and her fight for freedom against an oppressive society.
The new season delivers on what previous seasons have been building toward, according to Bruce Miller, an executive producer and showrunner.
“I think we set up a lot of things, but we are making progress,” Miller said. “And I think that’s very satisfying. It is something that has to do with COVID, and the pandemic, and life is short, and all of that kind of stuff. But I think, in this season, we weren’t waiting around.”
It was time for (bleep) to happen, Miller said, “and we tried to make (bleep) happen.” Those developments make Miller think, he said, “there’s a lot of life left in this story. I certainly am fascinated by what happens in ‘The Testaments” (Atwood’s 2019 sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale”), and that’s going to be part of our future.”
Executive producer Warren Littlefield said, “This year, in some ways, it’s about patience rewarded. We’ve planted seeds for several years about this uprising, and hot spot in Chicago, and that the forces in Gilead really can’t keep it under control.”
In Season 4, Littlefield said, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is leaving “our world,” adding, “in Season 4, we have no home base…We are nomadic. We are following June’s passion, her drive, her relentless pursuit for change, and that takes us, like, everywhere. We are out on the road.”
Moss, who is also an executive producer, said, “A lot of our story tends to resonate with people, and feel relevant, because those themes are never going to be something that is not relevant.”
Goodbye to “Shrill”: The Portland-filmed comedy has found fans who appreciate its level-headed, but empathetic, portrayal of Annie (Aidy Bryant), a writer working for an alternative newsweekly, and those in her orbit. But, sadly, when “Shrill” returns for its third season May 7 on Hulu, that will be the final one.
In a discussion, Bryant, and her fellow executive producers Ali Rushfield and Lindy West -- whose book served as the inspiration for the series -- reflected on “Shrill,” and the show reaching its end.
Bryant, who plays broad-strokes sketch comedy characters on “Saturday Night Live,” said “Shrill” stood out because she, West and Rushfield all “wanted to make a fat character that was young and vibrant and had a sexual life, and a really full life. That was always something we were setting out to do.”
Asked about “Shrill” coming to a close, Bryant said, she was “sad that the show is ending. I love working with Ali and Lindy, and our cast and crew in Portland have been such a transformational experience to me. So that part, I’m incredibly sad about. But I also am so proud of what we’ve made, and it feels like a really nice beginning, middle, and an end to me. So that piece of it feels really nice.”
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
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Trends, stars, barking dogs: The TV winter 2021 press tour goes virtual - OregonLive
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