Beyond the Gates: Premiere Date, Time Slot Set by CBS

[Planet Soap]

I would love to see The Talk go! I just haven't seen anything suggesting that CBS is ready to give up on it. Looks like this is the suggestion lol.

 

[SteelCity]

The Talk really does just suck! Too bad NBC hates soaps and they believe that the Today Show is their pride and glory. They could produce two new soaps for years on just the money spent on losing at least two hours of that crap. Remember how much they wasted on Megan?

[Planet Soap]

Yup. The questioning blackface controversy helped NBC exects usher Megan out before her contract was up, when they realized they wasted money.

The Today Show should just be cut to two hours. It's a shell of it's former self.  But, with syndication as dry as it is, I'd hate to see 2 more hours of local news be the alternative.

The Talk was a more friendly and non contentious alternative to The View at first. It quickly became a cookier cutter pc opinion show used to promote CBS products. "The Real" (another View copy) ended up being better. 

Edited April 1, 2024 by Planet Soap

[SteelCity]

We seriously don't need six hours of the damn Today Show. At least with Leeza the show was used to promote the soaps. Today Show is just self indulgent crap. Megan's pay alone could have produced two or more years of a new show!

[te.]

The Talk is doing badly and despite trying to revamp it with Jerry O'Connell and new producers, it's failed to raise the ratings. Even if The Gates doesn't make it to the air, that shows time on air is probably limited.

[Khan]

I agree.  When you hire Jerry O'Connell to be a co-host for your struggling talk show, you've officially run out of options.

IMO, "The Talk" has always suffered from a lack of purpose or direction.  Even before the show had officially premiered, when Sara Gilbert was pitching it to the press as "'The View' for busy moms," or whatever, I felt the show had no real reason for being on the air except to copycat "The View" and give Julie Chen more exposure.  And after about 2,000 revamps, I can safely say that even the network doesn't know at this point what the heck their show is about.

[All My Shadows]

I'm in a Facebook group that posts tons of vintage TV listings, and it never ceases to amaze me how much variety there used to be in network daytime. Even with an adequate supply of soaps and games, there was still plenty of room for primetime repeats, movies, talk shows, cartoons, local programming, etc. You would think that with 24/7 access to news via cable and the internet, surrendering time to the affiliates would offer more than what it has over the last 20-25 years.

[Faulkner]

Yeah, it never had a real raison d’etre other than they thought they had to get in the same game as a competitor. The Sara/Aisha/Sharon/Sheryl/Julie group had the best chemistry (even though the conversation often felt canned and “acted” instead of spontaneous), but, of course, it all imploded spectacularly. COVID exposed the lack of production value (The View managed to remain professional-looking while The Talk looked like a Zoom call on dial-up modems).

Trying to bring heft to the show post-George Floyd was a disaster. Seeing Elaine Welteroth try to engage in extremely ham-fisted political conversations with a panel who weren’t prepared to engage with such weighty issues was embarrassing. Had they tried to a do a light-hearted, mixed-gender panel from the start, they may have stood a chance IMO.

Anyway, other than Akbar’s fine ass, I won’t be sad to see it go.

Edited April 1, 2024 by Faulkner

[Khan]

Years ago, right after "The View" had taken off, Dick Clark (RIP) produced and hosted a talk show with an all-male panel called "The Other Half."  I don't know how long it lasted - a season, maybe? - but I learned a few lessons from that.  One lesson was that, contrary to popular belief, women really don't care what men have to say about "the issues" (because, nine times out of ten, what your average man has to say isn't really worth hearing, lol).  Another lesson was that IF you are going to produce a talk show with a male point of view, either exclusively or in tandem with a female counterpoint, then you damn well better hire a man or men with some gravitas and not just a bunch of "hot" male celebs who look great on television but who don't have the sense God gave a goose (yep, O'Connell, still looking at you).

America called her "the Chenbot" for a reason.  Of course, leave it to her to embrace that moniker and become even MORE robotic, IMO, instead of taking the [!@#$%^&*] hint, lol.

God knows, too, "The View" has also had its' share of backstage controversies over the years, but it seems like they still know how to produce efficiently most days.  "The Talk," on the other hand, always reminds me of a go-cart that just lost all its' wheels on that last banked turn.

Edited April 1, 2024 by Khan

[Khan]

The day that NBCD's decision to hire her came back to bite them was also the day I learned the TRUE definition of "schadenfreude."

[SteelCity]

Seriously! In my area there's literally almost SIX HOURS of court shows! That's just FOX! Why have they not tried to introduce a damn soap?! Maybe it's just my soap obsessed, delusional mind but, had they been up to this years ago, Fox might be the daytime soap King by now.

[j swift]

In LA, we get six hours of local news a day on multiple stations, with traffic and weather every 15 minutes.  Spoiler alert for Los Angeles, the weather is usually nice, and the traffic is always bad.

My understanding of the original pitch is that they would discuss parenting issues, and not news or pop culture, because they tape a day in advance from LA (with two shows on Wednesday).  It always inhibited their ability to seem fresh and up to date.  Also, unlike conservative politics, who would want to be cast on TV every day espousing contrarian views about how to disrespect kids through harsh child-rearing techniques? Or, risk social media cancellation for seeming overly permissive? There's just no room for debate on those topics.

Edited April 1, 2024 by j swift

[Khan]

I suspect it's because other types of shows are cheaper to produce.  But, between the trashy court shows and the trashier talk shows, there's an audience out there that's been primed for drama, lol.

Edited April 1, 2024 by Khan

[DramatistDreamer]

It’s sad how programming on network television has devolved over time. This is not exactly the same but remember weekend afternoon programming? I remember when Saturday and Sunday afternoons you might have sports like tennis and figure skating- it seemed like there was always something to watch. Then by the early 00s, many Sunday afternoons, I’d see “interstitial’ programming which usually seemed to consist of these weird Byron Allen produced filler shows.

[Khan]

For me, Saturday and Sunday afternoons were all about the first-run syndicated shows, like "Mama's Family," or "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," lol.

That was my understanding as well - and even then, I thought the concept was rather vague (as pitched) and not sustainable for a one-hour, five-day-a-week program.  At best, you could devote a segment one day a week to the latest parenting trends and topics, but making it the actual centerpiece of your show everyday?  That is BOUND to get tiresome with viewers, lol.