User blog:Paul.rea/Teen Wolf News 050317

Teen Wolf New 050317

New Cody Christian Interview
Cody Christian chatted with Hollywood Life this week and offered up a few interesting new details of his Teen Wolf life.

According to the actor, Theo was never expected to stick around as long as he has. “I was supposed to be in and out in three episodes, and that turned into two and a half years of my life.” As for Season 6b, hardcore Theo fans are apparently going to get to see the redemption story they crave. “The last 10 episodes of the show, of the series, we get to see a new side of Theo that we haven’t seen before. You get to see if it’s possible for this character to be redeemed.”

“We really kind of get to see what’s inside this dude’s heart and what kind of person he truly is. I’m really excited for that. I think it’s going to be something that the fans are going to dig to see. I’m always a fan of seeing the evil characters come to their senses …”

(Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2017/05/02/cody-christian-teen-wolf-final-season-theo-6b-spoilers/)

Will Wallace Teases Stydia
One hard and fast lesson I’ve learned covering Teen Wolf for the last six years, Don’t Tease The Stydia Fans! It appears Writer Will Wallace didn’t get the memo about that. In an interview with Pure Fandom, Wallace walked right into the “overpromising STYDIA" trap.

'''Q. So staying on the topic of 6B, I have to ask about Stydia. Will we get to see them as a legit couple?'''

'''A. It’s pretty safe to say that. We know how last season ended, so I’d say it’s pretty safe to think that we will see that happen, but again, we will have to wait and see.'''

While what he said is pretty logical and innocuous and in no way spoilery, he basically just promised Stiles and Lydia will be coupled up even though he knows STYDIA fans define that in a myriad of different (and sometimes conflicting) ways. Well done Will.

(Source: http://www.purefandom.com/2017/04/28/teen-wolf-our-chat-will-wallace/)

MTV Shuns Scripted Programming?
When the final episode airs this summer, Teen Wolf may well mark the last time MTV airs a pop culturally relevant scripted program. The cancellation of Sweet/Vicious means the less-than-relevant Shannara Chronicles and SCREAM are the only remaining scripted dramas in the network stable. It appears MTV has abandoned all efforts to compete in the burgeoning world of “peak television.”

New MTV President Chris McCarthy seems to have said as much to AdWeek recently. The publication presented what it dubbed The McCarthy Formula: “Bring back the teens and women who had fled by shifting the focus from scripted shows back to unscripted, coming-of-age themed series, and most importantly, reestablish the brand’s live bona fides.”

The takeaway there: scripted drove away viewers, scripted bad, stop doing scripted. McCarthy’s push for more live and reality shows is producing some short-term growth. Ratings for Ridiculousness, a funny video clip show, jumped 50% when they switched to a live format early this year, but there are troubling signs that this type of growth can no longer be sustained even with live programming.

<p class="MsoNormal">For someone as successful as McCarthy seems to be at turning around floundering networks (MTV2, VH1, LOGO), he appears to be ignoring the fact that the formerly reliable “live event” television audience is now starting to shrink rapidly just as viewership for traditional scripted fare did during the past five years. Take a look at the layoffs over at ESPN. Live sports programming was the last bastion of reliable television ratings, but the cracks are showing there as well.

<p class="MsoNormal">While his plan is more live and more reality, McCarthy is still paying lip service to adding more dramas like Teen Wolf to the lineup. “Scripted is still going to be important, but it needs to be uniquely us. If you can see it anywhere else, we shouldn’t be doing it.” He apparently still has a series based on War of the Worlds cooking but canceled the only show that they already own that ticks all those “uniquely us” boxes.

<p class="MsoNormal">Sweet/Vicious is bold and culturally relevant. It was the most buzzed about new teen show on TV until 13 Reasons Why hit Netflix, but wasn’t “unique” enough for McCarthy’s MTV? The fact that all that positive buzz didn’t turn into viewers seems to be behind the cancellation, but, if that’s the only reason, it shows a lack of understanding of what already-irrelevant networks like MTV need to gain traction in our multi-screen world.

<p class="MsoNormal">The most relevant shows of the past decade (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Orphan Black, The Office, The Expanse) all started out as ratings loss-leaders for their respective networks. In some cases, these buzzy shows grew larger audiences while others remained niche programming throughout their run. Regardless of their ratings, each one helped draw positive attention to the network and were signature shows, defining in the minds of viewers the level of quality they could expect, and attracting eyeballs to new network offerings in future.

<p class="MsoNormal">Teen Wolf wasn’t one of these loss-leaders - it was a hit from the start - but Sweet/Vicious was a substantial critical success and could have been MTV’s Orphan Black. The fact that they canceled their only remaining buzzworthy show strongly suggests they don’t want to be known as a serious player in scripted drama going forward.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:48px;">'MTV statement on Sweet/Vicious'' - “MTV has decided to not move forward with 'a second' season of ‘Sweet/Vicious.’ We are extremely proud of this critically acclaimed series and are deeply disappointed such an impactful show did not find a larger audience. ‘Sweet/Vicious’ was a show we loved from the start, with empowering female leads and a message we believe in. We are grateful the series started a much-needed dialogue around sexual assault, and thank the talented Jennifer Robinson, Amanda Lasher, Stacey Sher and the stellar cast, writers, and producers for creating such a timely and thought-provoking series.”'''

<p class="MsoNormal">(Sources: AdWeek http://www.adweek.com/tv-video/after-resuscitating-vh1-chris-mccarthy-is-ready-to-breath-new-life-into-mtv/  Variety http://variety.com/2017/tv/columns/sweet-vicious-canceled-by-mtv-should-live-on-1202403322/)