‘Only Murders in the Building’ and ‘Yellowstone’: a moveable feast?
Starting on Tuesday night, the first season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” will begin to air on ABC.
Meanwhile, fans of the thoroughly enjoyable murder-mystery comedy — which stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez — are eagerly awaiting word of the release date for season four on Hulu.
That reruns of a TV series will air on one platform while new episodes of that same TV series are still being produced on another platform illustrates the complexity of the television landscape.
The ABC-Hulu arrangement is an exercise in corporate synergy — Disney owns ABC and has majority ownership of Hulu — and there are few things media conglomerates like better than that.
But it’s also an acknowledgment that if they want distinctive programming and the new audiences that kind of programming can draw, big broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox need to keep an eye on streaming platforms or cable channels.
Consider “Yellowstone,’’ a present-day Western created by Taylor Sheridan and starring Kevin Costner as the flinty, sometimes ruthless patriarch of a ranching family in Montana who is battling threats to his power and his way of life.
Absorbing if sometimes preposterous, “Yellowstone” debuted six years ago on the basic cable Paramount Network and became a ratings juggernaut. Then, last September, reruns of “Yellowstone” began airing on CBS, the Paramount Network’s corporate sibling, and again drew strong viewership numbers.
“Yellowstone” is also streaming, but not on Paramount Plus. Instead, it’s on NBCUniversal’s Peacock service, which won streaming rights in 2020.
It’s key to remember that both “Only Murders in the Building” and “Yellowstone” have certain advantages not possessed by many TV shows.
Each series features big-name actors who have built up a lot of audience goodwill over many years. There are viewers who still bristle at the idea of paying for television and have not embraced streaming platforms or premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime. It stands to reason they would be more likely to tune in to the shows if they can catch up with them on “free TV.’’
“Only Murders in the Building” is the brainchild of Martin (whose cultural footprint only seems to get bigger as the years go by) and John Hoffman.
The series stars Martin, his longtime close friend Short, and Gomez as unlikely collaborators on a true-crime podcast that attempts to solve slayings that occur in their Manhattan apartment complex. (Hence the title.) The fourth season of “Only Murders in the Building” will roll out on Hulu later this year.
And “Yellowstone”? There was a lot of off-screen drama last year, with Costner and “Yellowstone” creator Sheridan reportedly embroiled in a nasty feud.
Where things stand now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is that Costner has “seemingly backed out of filming” on “Yellowstone.’’ The THR story said that sources from the production “have blamed the actor’s busy schedule.’’ (Costner is tackling a passion project, a series of Western dramas titled “Horizon: An American Saga,’’ on which he is cowriter, director, producer, and star.)
Meanwhile, according to THR, sources from Costner’s camp “have claimed Sheridan took on too many TV projects so he wasn’t focused enough on the show.”
If that weren’t enough, THR also reported that Sheridan is suing Cole Hauser, who plays hardbitten ranch hand Rip Wheeler on “Yellowstone.’’ It’s over .... coffee. The suit claims that the brand logo of Hauser’s coffee company is so similar to the brand logo of Sheridan’s coffee company that it constitutes “trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising.’’