KLS talks to Soaps.com

[Midnite]

KLS tells Soaps.com that she thinks there's a good chance a new DS series will premiere soon:

Barnabas Collins Lives! Dark Shadows Leading Lady Tells All About the 2023 Reboot of the Supernatural Soap

[Mysterious Benefactor]

We should be so lucky that a streaming service will be interested enough to pick up Mark B. Perry's DS.

But I have to say that I almost fell out of my chair when KLS said that along with the talents of Mark B. Perry, this proposed version will have the advantage of not being restricted by DC to hew to the original. KLS - yes, KLS! - actually says that!!

Thanks so much for sharing the link, Midnite!    This could be quite exciting news if it pans out...

[Gerard]

But...but...but...does He-Whose-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Spoken know about this?  Doesn't his powers make such a thing impossible as he has kept all that has to do with Shark Dadows (don't want to get sued) locked in the DCP castle tower, surrounded by a moat of acid and petrified vines covered with arsenic thorns?  Wouldn't simply mentioning the remote possibility of it on this very board threaten a brutal attack of flying lawyers casting cease-and-desist spells?  Or, is it possible, that the prophesied Chosen One who shall set free all that has brought such enjoyment to the remnant fans and their progeny has appeared?

Gerard

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Actually, I think he’s busy trying to sign-up Harpers Bizarre and the Bay City Rollers for the next “My Music” special on PBS. 

[Josette]

Woohoo!!!

If that's a current picture of her, she's really looking good.  I'm concerned about the streaming service part, though.  I have Paramount + for the various Star Trek shows, but I'm not buying another!!

[Annie]

Hi guys , that was so interesting thank you Midnite for sharing the wonderful news.
Love, Anne 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

If that's a current picture of her, she's really looking good.

If you play the video part of the interview near the bottom of the article you'll see exactly what KLS looks like today.

I'm concerned about the streaming service part, though.  I have Paramount + for the various Star Trek shows, but I'm not buying another!!

If things do pan out and a streaming service picks up the Mark B. Perry DS, I will definitely be excited.    However, I won't fully rejoice until we actually get to see it. And the reason I say that is recently about six series that had completed production and we're waiting to be released learned that they were being dropped by their streaming service and weren't going to be released. In the case of some it was because the streaming service didn't succeed all that well and was going out of business - but in the case of others it was that the streaming service did an abrupt about-face and decided the shows didn't fit the newfound vision TPTB suddenly had for the service. Granted, neither circumstance happens all that often in the grand scheme of things, but they have been happening...

[Gerard]

Other than youtubetv, which my friends added me to their membership so I can watch TV show episodes I missed (I can't afford the cable DVR service - limited income and all that), I don't stream.  I'm no expert, but from what I've read about it, even though it seems that streaming is now all trendy, it really does not appeal to as many people and audiences are small, even for "hits," compared to regular TV (broadcast, cable, satellite).  While a "number one" show on HBOMax, or Netflix, or Hulu, for example, has 8,000,000 viewers tops, programs on traditional TV will commonly reach tens-of-millions and often way over 100,000,000 audience members. 

Also - and just my opinion here - the market is now saturated with streaming services, battling for people to sign up, charging anything from $4.99 a month to well over 30 bucks (there are freebies, like Pluto, where I watch DS).  My friends have tons of them - the screen on their smart TV looks like an Amish quilt with all the apps.  It adds up after awhile (some now pay more for streaming than cable or satellite).  Even my friends go as cheaply as possible.  They only sign up for, let's say Netflix, if they can get a "new member" deal for pennies on the dollar, watch their favorite shows, and when it comes time to pay the full amount, there goes the membership and the app disappears from the screen.  It really won't kill them if they don't see future episodes of The Crown and they're certainly not going to pay a gazillion dollars a month to see who's going to be cast to play Harry and Meghan's two kids.

If a new DS show actually is filmed, finished and ready for broadcast (I seriously doubt it will ever again, sorry TLATKLS) I certainly am not going to pay for some service just to watch it.  Call me a pessimist, but I'm sure very few other very dedicated DS fans will as well.  There just isn't an audience for it, at least not one to make it profitable anymore, and with the streaming services pinching every penny to stay solvent, who's going to take a risk on it?  I know this is heresy, but it's probably time to just accept that our beloved DS has run its course and just enjoy what little in any further affordable available kitsch is left, and be satisfied with reruns and cousins to share it with.  Even Star Wars and Star Trek will eventually run out of steam.  Nothing lasts forever, except memories.

Gerard

[Mysterious Benefactor]

A lot of streaming sevices don't judge their shows by how many viewers they have but rather by how many hours are watched. For instance, as of a few weeks back, these were the most watched shows on Netflix:


 1. Squid Game (season 1), a Korean survival thriller -- 1.65 billion hours.

 2. Stranger Things (season 4), a retro sci-fi series -- 1.35 billion hours.

 3. Wednesday, a coming-of-age supernatural dark comedy -- 1.24 billion hours

 4. Dahmer, a true-crime serial killer series -- 856.2 million hours.

 5. Money Heist (part 5), a Spanish-language thriller -- 792.2 million hours.

 6. Bridgerton (season 2), a period romance -- 656.3 million hours. 

 7. Bridgerton (season 1) -- 625.5 million hours.

 8. Money Heist (part 4) -- 619 million hours.

 9. Stranger Things (season 3), a retro sci-fi series -- 582.1 million hours.

10. Lucifer (season 5), a fantasy police procedural -- 569.5 million hours.

11. All of Us Are Dead, a Korean zombie thriller taking place in a high school -- 560.8 million hours.

12. The Witcher (season 1), a fantasy show -- 541 million hours.

13. Inventing Anna, a true-crime limited series about a fake socialite -- 511.9 million hours

14. Ginny & Georgia (season 2), a mother-daughter dramedy -- 504.8 million hours.

15. 13 Reasons Why (season 2), a controversial teen drama -- 496.1 million hours.

16. Ozark (season 4), a crime drama series -- 491.1 million hours.

17. The Witcher (season 2) -- 484.3 million hours.

18. 13 Reasons Why (season 1) -- 475.6 million hours

19. Maid, a limited series about a young mother fleeing abuse -- 469.1 million hours.

20. You (season 3), a psychological thriller -- 467.8 million hours.

21. You (season 2) -- 457.4 million hours.

22. Stranger Things (season 2) -- 427.4 million hours.

23. Money Heist (part 3) -- 426.4 million hours.

24. Sex Education (season 3), a British teen dramedy -- 419 million hours.

25. Ginny & Georgia (season 1), a dramedy about a young mom and kids -- 381 million hours.

26. Extraordinary Attorney Woo (season 1), a South Korean legal drama -- 402.5 million hours.
 
27. Café con Aroma de Mujer (season 1), a Colombian telenovela -- 326.9 million hours.

28. Lupin (part 1), a French heist show -- 316.8 million hours.

29. Elite (season 3), a Spanish teen drama -- 275.3 million hours.

30. Who Killed Sara? (season 1), a Mexican mystery thriller -- 266.4 million hours.

[Gerard]

Thanks, MB.  Again, I'm not familiar or savvy enough to understand how ratings "rate" nowadays.  Even though I don't understand what hours vs. viewers is, it does sound like a lot regarding hours, but I guess I just don't get what that means as opposed to how many different people watched something.  I've never seen a single Super Bowl (I watch the Puppy Bowl), but this year it had 113 million viewers (the Super Bowl, not the Puppy Bowl, and those puppies were so cute).  How that would translate into hours, I don't know and I couldn't understand the comparison.  I'm not good at algebra.  But if hours now matter more than viewers, and the telecasting powers say that means more money in their pockets, who am I to argue.  I'm not getting rich off of it.

I know I've come off as a Pessimist Pete regarding any more attempts at a further DS series.  I would love it, but I'm just Grumpy Gus lately, so I can't get my spirits in an uproar about it.  Also, and this is part of my half-empty approach as of late, when stuff migrates to streaming, that means it's the end.  Stuff goes from TV, to movies, to streaming and then off to what-happened-to and where-are-they-now articles.  Look at Star Trek.  It had five TV broadcast versions, four hits and one not so much, then left and went to the big screen for hosts of movies, some hits, others not, and critical and popular support going up and down, and finally off to streaming for the smallest viewing numbers.  There's no place left to go.  I'm sorry for being such a curmudgeon.  I'll cease and desist anymore commentary on it.

Gerard

[Uncle Roger]

Maybe I'm just cynical about this but the KLS interview just seems to be recycling the rumors that went around last year. Yes, it would be great to have a new DS but I don't know that is a real possibility. A lot of series are proposed. A few get pilot films made. Some even made it to series
But I don't believe that KLS or Ansel have any more inside information than anyone else in the industry. The streaming market as far as series goes is somewhat limited. Several services connected with DC comics have failed
And Pine Valley, the proposed sequel/reboot of All My Children ended up dead in the water. And TPTB would have a greater interest in keeping Kelly Ripa happy


 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Yeah, KLS didn't say what's changed to make her think there's a good chance of a new DS this year. True, maybe she couldn't give details. But it could be just as possible that there aren't any new developments and she's judging off of last year's rumors. Who knows? But time will tell....