TV Talk: ‘Friends’ cast reunites; May sweeps local news ratings released

HBO Max and media hype over the long-in-the-works “Friends” reunion would make more sense if it was the cast of the one-time NBC hit reuniting to reprise their classic characters, but this is not that.

The “Friends” reunion, streaming on HBO Max, is just the actors as themselves reminiscing about making the 1994-2004 series, something that a decade ago would have just been a sweeps month episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Granted, in some ways “Friends: The Reunion” is more robust than an Oprah cast reunion — it takes place partially on the rebuilt “Friends” set — but this nostalgia- fest, with a pretty standard group interview conducted with kid gloves by James Corden (“The Late Late Show”), doesn’t probe very deeply. When Matthew Perry mentions his unhealthy craving for audience approval, the reunion glides on by it. I learned more new “Friends” trivia from reading coverage of this reunion than from the special itself.

Still, it’s warm and perfectly pitched to the sitcom’s legion of fans. “Friends: The Reunion” is at its best when the camera captures the cast in more candid moments — seeing the set rebuilt for the first time, playing a trivia game. Sure, they’re actors but Matt LeBlanc, in particular, tends to say whatever’s on his mind, including reminding Courteney Cox of the time she wrote her lines on a table and he erased them just before the taping.

Interviews with the show’s creators — David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Kevin Bright — provide context on making the series, and one segment even includes clips from a Matthew Perry failed pilot (“LAX 2194”) and a Jennifer Aniston failed series (“Muddling Through”).

(HBO Max insists this next bit be preceded by a “spoiler alert” but honestly, come on!)

Highlights of the 104-minute special include Lady Gaga dueting with Lisa Kudrow on “Smelly Cat” and David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston admitting they had crushes on each other in the show’s first season. My only personal addition to that discourse: I was on the “Friends” set for a day or two in early 1995 doing research for a book and I saw Aniston looking distraught and maybe even teary about something while confiding in a co-star (can’t remember now if it was Cox or Kudrow). Perhaps what I saw had something to do with romantic strife, although judging by the amount of tissues Aniston goes through in “Friends: The Reunion,” not necessarily.

The CW’s fall lineup

Although some shows are moving to new nights (“Riverdale” to Tuesday, “Batwoman” to Wednesday, “Nancy Drew” to Friday), The CW will only add one new scripted series this fall and two reality shows:

“Legends of the Hidden Temple” (8 p.m. Sunday, WPCW-TV): Adult remake of the Nickelodeon competition series.

“Killer Camp” (9 p.m. Sunday): American version of the British murder-mystery import.

“4400” (9 p.m. Monday, WPCW- TV): Remake of the 2004-07 USA sci-fi series about 4,400 people who vanished only to suddenly return.

In addition, The CW has three specials on tap for the fourth quarter, two animated programs (“The Scooby-Doo Reunion Special,” “Beebo Saves Christmas”) and a live-action movie, “The Waltons’ Homecoming,” a remake of the 1971 TV movie that launched the 1972-81 CBS series. This new iteration stars Bellamy Young (“Scandal”) and Logan Troyer (teenage Kevin on “This is Us”) and will be narrated by original “Waltons” star Richard Thomas.

May sweeps ratings

No surprise here, but year-to-year local news ratings for May sweeps were down in almost every time period in household and demographic ratings (exceptions: WPXI flat at 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. in households; WPXI up at 6 a.m., KDKA up at 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., WTAE flat at 6 a.m. in the age 25-54 demo). That’s the difference between early days of a pandemic when people are staying more on top of the news and a year into a pandemic as people get vaccinated.

Ratings released Thursday by Nielsen include both household ratings that reflect a measure of overall popularity and demographic ratings that are used to set ad rates.

In households, KDKA was first at 12, 5 and 11 p.m. WPXI was tied for first at 5 a.m. with WTAE and first at 4 p.m. WTAE was first at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In the demo, KDKA ranked first in all weekday news time periods with the exceptions of 5 and 6 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., where WPXI came in first.

Kept/canceled/extended

Netflix renewed “Firefly Lane” for a second season to air in 2022.

TBS renewed comedy “Chad” for a second season; HBO will bring back “A Black Lady Sketch Show” for a third round.

CNN renewed “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” for a second season.

Adult Swim will produce movies based on series “Metalocalypse,” “The Venture Bros.” and “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” for DVD distribution before their premieres on HBO Max.

Streaming service Peacock ordered a third “Psych” movie, “Psych 3: This is Gus.”

NBC’s latest live musical will be “Annie Live!” airing later this year.

Netflix ordered a “Bridgerton” prequel series about young Queen Charlotte.

Channel surfing

2016 Point Park University grad Mason Alexander Park, previously cast in Netflix’s live-action “Cowboy Bebop,” has also landed the part of Desire in Netflix’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s DC Comic Book series “The Sandman.” … This fall, Syfy will premiere a series version of “Day of the Dead,” an ode to George A. Romero’s zombie films. … This year’s Daytime Emmys (8 p.m. June 25, CBS) are being split up in an odd way so that some children’s TV nominations are part of the adult daytime Emmys, released Tuesday, and some are part of the Children’s Daytime Emmys (nominations out June 28). In the former category, Fred Rogers Productions snagged nods for “Odd Squad” in lighting (against the likes of Ellen DeGeneres’ and Kelly Clarkson’s daytime talk shows), art direction and costume design. … FRP promoted Suzanne Masri to vice president of marketing, communications and engagement and Brittany Smith to director of community engagement. The company hired Christina Gorski as associate director of marketing. … Murrysville native Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, told staff he intends to stay with the company into 2022 when the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery is expected to close.