Is Discovery+ replacing programming on cable TV?

You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: Is the Discovery+ streaming channel replacing regular programming on cable TV? On every channel I watch on TV, it is inundated with the Discovery+ boasting exclusive programming with most of the channels that are on regular cable TV. Does that mean that programs like “Ghost Adventures,” several of the programs on the Food channel and programs on HGTV will not be showing any new programming or even repeats? People who are on fixed incomes, like I am, cannot afford a new streaming service, but also do not want to lose the programs on regular cable.

A: Thanks to the heavy marketing campaign for Discovery+, the new streaming service drawing on original shows and an array of cable programs, I have received many letters from people concerned that they are losing shows from their cable, possibly entire channels.

So let’s start with the promise a top Discovery executive recently delivered: HGTV, Food, Travel and all the other channels in the Discovery family will continue to exist on cable, with new and returning programs.

At the same time, though, the parent company is very high on Discovery+. It helped add about 7 million subscribers to Discovery’s streaming portfolio by the end of February as viewers were drawn to new shows featuring Discovery stars, spin-offs of Discovery programs and repeats of older shows.

Yes, in some cases, those repeats are no longer available through services other than Discovery+, and you can expect some specific shows to migrate from cable to streaming. But this is a way that program suppliers across the board are reaching out to audiences, especially cord-cutters who no longer have cable. We’re seeing this not only with streamers like Netflix and Hulu but with brand-specific streaming services such as Peacock (from NBC), Disney+, HBO Max and more.

Q: Is the actress who plays Brenda on “Young Sheldon” the same one who played Barbra Jean on “Reba”?

A: Yes. That is the very funny Melissa Peterman.

Q: Any info on “Better Call Saul”?

A: Yes, and it’s not good for the fans of this great show. In late February, AMC boss Josh Sapan said “We still have some shifting around due to COVIDrelated production delays for our shows,” according to a report by The Wrap. “We have a fuller slate of the ‘Walking Dead’ universe shows than we’ve had in some time, with ‘The Walking Dead’ back and ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ back at full strength, and then the second season of ‘World Beyond.’ . It does look likely, at this point, that ‘Better Call Saul’ will move into the first quarter of 2022.” That could change, of course, but if it stands, almost two years will have passed between the end of the last season and the start of a new one.

Q: What happened to Lou Dobbs’ show on Fox Business? All of a sudden it was gone.

A: Fox let Dobbs go in early February, even though he hosted the most popular show on Fox Business. The network said in a statement that “plans have been in place to launch new formats as appropriate postelection, including on Fox Business. This is part of those planned changes.” It was widely speculated that Dobbs had gone too far in his support of former President Donald Trump, including what one publication called Dobbs’ “extreme and unrepentant endorsements of Mr. Trump’s false election claims.” Or he could have been sacrificed because of a bigger problem for Fox. The day before his firing, the Smartmatic voting-technology company filed a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the Fox Corp.; the suit targeted Fox’s“false claims” that “Smartmatic had fixed and rigged the 2020 election.” In addition to the company, the suit specifically named Fox stars Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo.

Q: There was a movie I saw on TV years back where Harrison Ford played a man whose wife died in a plane crash. He meets a woman who lost her husband on the same flight, and they realize the two spouses were having an affair. I would like to know the title of the movie and the name of the actress who was the grieving wife.

A: That is the 1999 film “Random Hearts,” which starred Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Do you have a question or comment about entertainment past, present and future? Write to Rich Heldenfels, P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260, or brenfels@gmail.com. Letters may be edited. Individual replies are not guaranteed.