Streaming Services: Power Rankings Summer 2023, and What's Up With Paramount+

[Snarf Zagyg]

I hate-watched Wheel of Time the first season, typically laying on the couch on a Sunday morning, but life's too short to bother with that again, unless news comes out that Rosamund Pike has pulled off a violent coup and had the showrunner, writers, directors, cinematographers, costumers and art directors all killed and replaced with her own people.

SCENE: Staff meeting, somewhere in an underground bunker in Washington state excavated by Jeff Bezos.

Rosamund Pike: Thank you all so much for coming to this meeting to discuss the next season of Wheel of Time.

Showrunner: No worries! We just want to build on the success of last season. Nice buffet you have there. Anyway ... was there a reason you wanted all the staff for the show? I mean, did you need all the writers, and the directors, and cinematographers, and even the costume and set people?

Rosamund: I just want to make sure we were all on the same page. My page.

Showrunner: Okay. I hear you. That's some interesting music you have playing. Love this turkey sandwich Rosamund. So ... it's weird, isn't that music from Game of Thrones? Anyway, I'd love to hear some of your suggestions, sure I might be incorporate one or two of them in the next season. I swear I've heard that music before somewhere....

Rosamund: It's called Rains of Castamere.

Showrunner: Cool cool. So, as you were saying. Hey, is there some reason you had security lock the doors ....

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The scenes she was in generally looked different than the rest of the show, so I assume she was already exercising some control once she saw that the default was going to be pretty mediocre. We'll see if she made any moves between seasons -- she likely has the clout to do so.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The scenes she was in generally looked different than the rest of the show, so I assume she was already exercising some control once she saw that the default was going to be pretty mediocre. We'll see if she made any moves between seasons -- she likely has the clout to do so.

Maybe! Hopefully.

I don't know the shooting schedule (and I'm too lazy to look it up), but it is going to face two problems. One common to all shows, one common to Prime shows.

The first is that we just don't know what is going to happen, and when, given that we are likely looking at a double strike. In addition, given the reports that the actors and writers both have demands that the studios aren't interested in hearing, and reports that the studios want this to go into the fall to crush the unions, this could get lengthy and ugly.

The second is that apparently the powers that be at Amazon (CEO Andy Jassy) have not been happy with the price to performance ratio at Prime, and have demanded detailed budget and cost breakdowns of their biggest show from Jen Salke so they can understand where the $7 billion dollars is going, especially given that Amazon is already cutting budgets and shedding 27,000 jobs.

Which means that when it comes back, even if she has full control, the show might not have the budget it once did.

(Bonus fun fact that I just learned- apparently, after the devastating recent reports, Amazon limited all the viewership data of its own shows ... that its own employees were allowed to view ... so even higher-up Amazon employee don't know how the shows are performing; this is in addition to hiding negative user reviews of ROP on its platform in order to avoid scaring off potential viewers.)

 

[MarkB]

Weird to see people saying that Rings of Power wasn't much talked about. When it was released it seemed like it was the only thing people talked about around here. Two major threads, and discussions that continued well after the final episode had been shown.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Which means that when it comes back, even if she has full control, the show might not have the budget it once did.

A lot of the show's problems aren't necessarily ones that require money to solve.

Put the cameras in different spots.

Replace the idiot nephews on the staff with someone better at their job at the same salary.

Don't iron and wash everyone's costumes and looking like they just came off the rack at Fantasy Old Navy.

The show shouldn't look worse and have clunkier scripts than Xena did 25 years ago. It can still run lean and mean and probably should.

 

[Zardnaar]

SCENE: Staff meeting, somewhere in an underground bunker in Washington state excavated by Jeff Bezos.

Rosamund Pike: Thank you all so much for coming to this meeting to discuss the next season of Wheel of Time.

Showrunner: No worries! We just want to build on the success of last season. Nice buffet you have there. Anyway ... was there a reason you wanted all the staff for the show? I mean, did you need all the writers, and the directors, and cinematographers, and even the costume and set people?

Rosamund: I just want to make sure we were all on the same page. My page.

Showrunner: Okay. I hear you. That's some interesting music you have playing. Love this turkey sandwich Rosamund. So ... it's weird, isn't that music from Game of Thrones? Anyway, I'd love to hear some of your suggestions, sure I might be incorporate one or two of them in the next season. I swear I've heard that music before somewhere....

Rosamund: It's called Rains of Castamere.

Showrunner: Cool cool. So, as you were saying. Hey, is there some reason you had security lock the doors ....

Lol this is the Admiral Daala approach from Star Wars legends

 

[Zardnaar]

which is why I'm behind the union 100% on this.......

Apparently the other strikes they're not even talking.

They're trying to starve them out apparently. By October people will be running out of money and looking at losing their house.

 

[Zaukrie]

Apparently the other strikes they're not even talking.

They're trying to starve them out apparently. By October people will be running out of money and looking at losing their house.

I can't comment any further on this, because it is ENworld .....

 

[Zaukrie]

The actors left no doubt that this strike is not a small thing....that blurb by Drescher. Wow.

 

[Zardnaar]

I can't comment any further on this, because it is ENworld .....

This guy is often on point with behind the scenes stuff.