Call Me Kat In The Media

[Guest]

Quote

Bialik will star as the titular Carla, a 39-year-old woman who struggles every day against society and her mother to prove that you cannot have everything you want and still be happy. That is why she spent the money her parents set aside for her wedding to open a Cat Café in Louisville, KY.

Media!

[BetterButter]

 

[WritinMan]

Oh my.

No.

[bad things are bad]

Wonder how bad this will be...and wonder why Mayim Bialik doesn't just do theater, or science, or something. It's not like she needs money. 

The ads have been offputting. 

[Door County Cherry]

I loved the original and I think the ads indicate that it might capture the same spirit so I'm curious to see how it goes and how it translates over here. 

[Deskisamess]

Is Swoozie Kurtz the only older women the studios will hire for the "mature mom" now? Mike & Molly, then Man With a Plan. 
 

She seems too old to play Mayim's mother at 76, or maybe Mayim is too old to play a 39 year old.

 

[Chaos Theory]

I came here to say this looks so epically awful i may check the pilot out.  I have a soft spot for epically awful.  

[WinnieWinkle]

On 12/9/2020 at 1:41 PM, Door County Cherry said:

I loved the original and I think the ads indicate that it might capture the same spirit so I'm curious to see how it goes and how it translates over here. 

IS this based on a Britcom?  I know books and short stories about cat cafes have been popular but didn't realize there was a TV show.

[Door County Cherry]

3 hours ago, WinnieWinkle said:

IS this based on a Britcom?  I know books and short stories about cat cafes have been popular but didn't realize there was a TV show.

It's based on the show Miranda starring Miranda Hart.  The full series is available on Hulu or IMDB (via Amazon but its free.)

She didn't have a cat cafe in that show.  She ran a joke shop. I think they changed it because they wanted something weird but weird in a different way.

[PinkRibbons]

Mayim Bialik's thoughts on the show.

[chediavolo]

I have this recorded and will watch it later. I really hope that makes sense because I love and I am beyond. And I love cats and I’m hoping they are shown a lot in the sitcom!! If last Man standing, probably the most egregious sitcom on TV today,  can last all those seasons let’s give this one a chance!!

[PinkRibbons]

 

[Aulty]

I don't know where to start with that video.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Aulty
condensed it

[Quof]

Mayim is really smart. She is also really sanctimonious.    I can't deal with any of her social media. 

[chediavolo]

On 1/3/2021 at 9:12 PM, PinkRibbons said:

Mayim Bialik's thoughts on the show.

The biggest thing I take issue with this is that she said she’s a size 6/8. Knowing I’ve gained weight also and I know what the size 6/8 fits, & she isn’t it. Be honest. 

[Quof]

2 hours ago, chediavolo said:

I know what the size 6/8 fits, & she isn’t it. Be honest. 

See, I didn't even make it through her video.   But, yeah, no to this. We all saw you on Kelly Clarkson last week, Mayim.  You're a healthy, normal size 10/12.  Own it.  

[Stats Queen]

On 1/11/2021 at 9:41 AM, Quof said:

See, I didn't even make it through her video.   But, yeah, no to this. We all saw you on Kelly Clarkson last week, Mayim.  You're a healthy, normal size 10/12.  Own it.  

And nothing wrong or abnormal about that outside of Hollywood and celebrities. She has a great figure.

[Aulty]

Mayim was on Graham Norton yesterday.

Apparently Call Me Kat will air here in the UK (Channel 4 would be my guess) later this year. Good luck with that.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Aulty

[sugarbaker design]

Season 2!

[mtlchick]

Just now, sugarbaker design said:

Season 2!

It is sort of a surprise because the live ratings were bad but apparently the DVR numbers were good enough for a renewal.  

I do think with the cast it has potential to be great.  I hope the showrunner change will help. 

[Door County Cherry]

1 hour ago, mtlchick said:

It is sort of a surprise because the live ratings were bad but apparently the DVR numbers were good enough for a renewal.  

I do think with the cast it has potential to be great.  I hope the showrunner change will help. 

I was reading Deadline and they were pretty bullish about Call Me Kat's chances and spoke about it being likely for a renewal because it was the highest rated FOX live action sitcom, I believe. Either in total viewers or the demo. (Not that FOX has many live action).  

Other prognosticators thought it was closer to 50/50 but I thought Deadline's reasoning was pretty sound. 

[CrystalBlue]

7 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Season 2!

You're kidding!  Color me surprised.  I'm gonna have to watch out of curiosity.  Curiosity killed the cat.  (But satisfaction brought it back.)

[possibilities]

More kittehs!

[PinkRibbons]

Is it weird that I feel like Mayim Bialik's Breakdown getting 1 Million Subscribers recently may have had something to do with this? Because even if the show is iffy I think it's very clear that Mayim herself has a lot of love from the public, enough to hang a show on. I know I never would have watched without her.

[Aulty]

Oh wow. Pilot season must have been a real dud.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Aulty

[Ms Lark]

You've got to be kitten me. Seriously, Mayim deserves a show that plays to her strengths, not Miranda Hart's. I love Mayim, but she's not Miranda and shouldn't have to try to be. I also love Miranda because she's Miranda! Sigh. Well, more work for Leslie Jordan and that's a very good thing.

[Harvey]

Happy about the renewal. This is their chance to get it right. The first season had many good ingredients, but poor writing. Hopefully the new showrunner will reassemble the resources that do exist in this show and make it as great as it always could have been.

[sugarbaker design]

4 hours ago, Harvey said:

Hopefully the new showrunner will reassemble the resources that do exist in this show and make it as great as it always could have been.

Yes, they could start by jettisoning half the supporting cast.  I would keep Mayim, Leslie and the French girlfriend.  I'd cast a new love interest, a best friend (a character sorely lacking in season one), a frenemy (another character sorely lacking in season one), and recast the mother as a more critical one.

Edited May 11, 2021 by sugarbaker design

[Guest]

14 hours ago, Aulty said:

Oh wow. Pilot season must have been a real dud.

Thanks to COVID it was basically nonexistent. Fox was going off of last years pilots.  

[chediavolo]

On 5/10/2021 at 3:32 PM, mtlchick said:

It is sort of a surprise because the live ratings were bad but apparently the DVR numbers were good enough for a renewal.  

I do think with the cast it has potential to be great.  I hope the showrunner change will help. 

It’s shocking.  But I am here for the cats. I hope the acting gets better Amira more interesting storylines   Maybe lose Swoozie  Kurtz. 

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Yes, they could start by jettisoning half the supporting cast.  I would keep Mayim, Leslie and the French girlfriend.  I'd cast a new love interest, a best friend (a character sorely lacking in season one), a frenemy (another character sorely lacking in season one), and recast the mother as a more critical one.

Yes, she needs a "partner in crime" like Miranda had in Stevie.  And a lovable frenemy like Tilly, the woman that said, "bear with".  Plus her mother should be more like Miranda's too.  A little more pushy and critical.  Hopefully the new show runner will help.

 

[CrystalBlue]

35 minutes ago, chediavolo said:

It’s shocking.  But I am here for the cats. I hope the acting gets better Amira more interesting storylines   Maybe lose Swoozie  Kurtz. 

I don't think they're gonna sack Swoozie.  If she wants to leave the show for whatever reason, that would be a different story.  Swoozie is a good actress; if they rewrite her character she can have lines like Miranda's Mum.

[mtlchick]

12 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Yes, they could start by jettisoning half the supporting cast.  I would keep Mayim, Leslie and the French girlfriend.  I'd cast a new love interest, a best friend (a character sorely lacking in season one), a frenemy (another character sorely lacking in season one), and recast the mother as a more critical one.

Well the “best friend” (and I use that term loosely) was Vanessa Lachey but she landed the lead on the NCIS:Hawaii spin off (stop laughing.) So there is room to get someone else that can be more of a friend/foil. Bridgitte is a great foil, but there is so much she can do because she’s a made up version of what Kat thinks she is. 

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Well the “best friend” (and I use that term loosely) was Vanessa Lachey but she landed the lead on the NCIS:Hawaii spin off (stop laughing.) So there is room to get someone else that can be more of a friend/foil. Bridgitte is a great foil, but there is so much she can do because she’s a made up version of what Kat thinks she is. 

I could see Melissa Rauch in that role, actually, but it looks like she is co-producing and acting in a sequel to "Night Court".

[Cherpumple]

12 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I could see Melissa Rauch in that role

It would be awesome if they could get Jenna von Oy, who played her best friend on Blossom. They had great chemistry!

[Door County Cherry]

14 hours ago, mtlchick said:

Well the “best friend” (and I use that term loosely) was Vanessa Lachey

I think she was a mix of the friend and frenemy characters on Miranda but perhaps embodied the role of frenemy a bit more.  The reason I say that is because how she's somewhat removed from the silliness and she and Kat don't seem to be on the same wavelength even though there is a lot of love there. 

[sugarbaker design]

1 hour ago, Door County Cherry said:

I think she was a mix of the friend and frenemy characters on Miranda but perhaps embodied the role of frenemy a bit more. 

She was definitely more of a Tilly than a Stevie.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I put Call Me Kat in the same category.  I am not convinced that this series would have been renewed if Mayim Bialik wasn't in it.  She had just come off of that long successful run on The Big Bang Theory.  There is the added benefit that Mayim and Jim Parsons (also from TBBT) are a couple of the executive producers of this series.

I'll agree with this.  It seems that who you are and who you know are bigger factors in getting renewed these days than ratings.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

I think it is more of a situation of trying to catch lighting in a bottle twice.  Hoping the audience that watched TBBT will automatically come over and start watching Call Me Kat.  Basically a built in audience.  I don't think it works that way because the characters are very different. 

Frasier worked because he played the same character on Cheers.  It wasn't Kelsey Grammer all of a sudden leaving a show and being a totally different character.  Plus on Frasier it was cast perfectly. It was very easy to believe that Frasier had that cast of characters as his family

 When Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton both starred in Back to You, that was never going to work for either one of them.  Kelsey was too tied to being Frasier and Patricia was too tied to being Debra Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond).  I think most people tuned in expecting to see Frasier and Debra, and that is not what they saw.  I think that is why it was cancelled after just seventeen episodes.  I think it is more than likely that if they hadn't been paid as much as they were paid, that Back to You would have been given more time to succeed.

I think in the examples given the shows either succeeded or didn't succeed on their own merits.  Frasier was an excellent show regardless of its origins.  I watched "Back to You" and it was a dog.  I don't think it was because the audience wasn't willing to accept the stars in new roles.  Right after that was canceled Patricia Heaton was cast on "The Middle" and that was a huge success.  No one expected her to be Debra Barone because the show was that good (and she was no Debra Barone in the role either).  I don't think it would have been any different if she was cast in that right after "Everybody Loves Raymond". 

Same thing is true for "Young Sheldon".  That show is excellent regardless of its origins.  The built-in audience only gets people curious but if the show sucks they could still lose a significant portion of the audience.  I think the creators and producers know all this, they just were too overconfident in the quality of "Call Me Kat" plus the pandemic may have contributed to its shaky start.  They may be giving it a chance to improve - I know "The Middle" was almost canceled soon after it started but was saved at the last minute and that ended up being the right decision.  We still don't know whether this is - I certainly hope it is and that the show improves.  But I'm sure the fact that the stars in question have huge drawing power and the right connections is a big factor in that decision.  "Back to You" might have been given a chance but back in its day decisions made more sense.  The ratings weren't that good, and the show failed on its own merits not because of who its stars were.  If "Call Me Kat" had happened a decade or more ago it might have been canceled too.

Personally I don't think decisions about renewals these days bear any resemblance to those even 10 years ago.  None of them makes any sense anymore and that tells me it's more about who is behind the show or what's going on behind the scenes than ratings or show quality.

[Door County Cherry]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I don't think decisions about renewals these days bear any resemblance to those even 10 years ago.  None of them makes any sense anymore and that tells me it's more about who is behind the show or what's going on behind the scenes than ratings or show quality.

They aren't the same as 10 years ago because the way people watch TV is different than 10 years ago. And the reason they don't make sense anymore is because we aren't privy to the data we were privy to 10 years ago.  In the past, we knew it was related to Nielsen ratings because that's how ad rates were set.  

Look at the press release from FOX:

Quote

The network said Monday that the series, which stars The Big Bang Theory’s Mayim Bialik, tied as the No. 1 new comedy with Young Rock season-to-date, and it is averaging 5.7 million multiplatform viewers, a 119% lift from Nielsen’s Live+Same Day numbers.

We don't get the "multi-platform" data unless FOX chooses to release it.  

The renewal is about money.  Money they're making or money they think they'll make.  

 

[Yeah No]

10 minutes ago, Door County Cherry said:

They aren't the same as 10 years ago because the way people watch TV is different than 10 years ago. And the reason they don't make sense anymore is because we aren't privy to the data we were privy to 10 years ago.  In the past, we knew it was related to Nielsen ratings because that's how ad rates were set.  

Look at the press release from FOX:

We don't get the "multi-platform" data unless FOX chooses to release it.  

The renewal is about money.  Money they're making or money they think they'll make.  

 

Yeah, I know, it's all about money and everything is a big secret these days.  We're left to speculate on why anything is aired or canceled and IMHO that sucks.  It doesn't inspire viewer trust in TPTB to be doing right by us, only their pockets and we're secondary to any of that.  You bet it didn't used to be that way.  We used to feel like at least we counted in the process.  I'm old so I remember....It's no wonder people today are so cynical and have no trust in anything anymore.  And the way things are now isn't improving the quality of TV, it's actually ruining it and their audiences are shrinking all the time.  JMHO.

[Door County Cherry]

40 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

t doesn't inspire viewer trust in TPTB to be doing right by us, only their pockets and we're secondary to any of that.

That has always been the case.  Always.  And we do count in the process.  If viewers watch a show, it makes money for the network.  If we don't, it doesn't. 

Just because we knew the numbers more once upon a time doesn't mean the overall calculus has changed. Or that we mattered more.  It was always about money or the hope to make money. 

And audiences aren't shrinking because of lack of quality or the hidden nature of TV.  They're shrinking because there are so many more options than there were when there were only three TV networks.  There's network, cable, streaming and even more streaming. Shows used to get monster numbers because that's all there was to watch.  But now, there's more opportunity to watch niche shows. Choice is going to dilute the viewing numbers.

When I was a kid, all I could watch on a Sunday afternoon was football.  But now?  I can throw on Netflix and watch Spanish language caper series.  For me?  That's a win. 

[possibilities]

After The Middle, Heaton had a show that got canceled after one season (I can't remember its name, but she played a middle aged woman who became a doctor and was a resident at the same time as people decades younger). I was surprised it didn't make it, but I guess people didn't want to see that. I actually liked it way more than Raymond (which I could never get into).

[Yeah No]

3 minutes ago, Door County Cherry said:

That has always been the case.  Always.  And we do count in the process.  If viewers watch a show, it makes money for the network.  If we don't, it doesn't. 

Just because we knew the numbers more once upon a time doesn't mean the overall calculus has changed. Or that we mattered more.  It was always about money or the hope to make money. 

And audiences aren't shrinking because of lack of quality or the hidden nature of TV.  They're shrinking because there are so many more options than there were when there were only three TV networks.  There's network, cable, streaming and even more streaming. Shows used to get monster numbers because that's all there was to watch.  But now, there's more opportunity to watch niche shows. Choice is going to dilute the viewing numbers.

When I was a kid, all I could watch on a Sunday afternoon was football.  But now?  I can throw on Netflix and watch Spanish language caper series.  For me?  That's a win. 

I don't agree with you.  Even now when a show is popular, the ratings are good no matter how many other options there are.  The major reason ratings keep going down is because the quality of the programming is going down and/or it doesn't meet the needs of its viewers.  This show is a perfect example of why that's happening.  If the shows were what people wanted to watch it would be different.  All of their supposedly "improved metrics" on how to predict success are not working, that's obvious to me.  That's because the people that used to make these decisions knew what they were doing and had better judgment with less information.  The people now have no intuitive insight into their business and thus rely on spreadsheets and numbers that only mislead them because they have no common sense. 

And yes, the process used to be more transparent and make more sense to anyone looking at it.  We didn't have to wonder why a show was canceled.  Today we are not privy to what their reasons are and that means they could be canceling shows for any number of reasons that have nothing to do with ratings.  Just because TPTB doesn't like an actor or a producer the show could be axed.  Or it could be because they don't want to spend the money on it or think it doesn't fit in with their vision for what they want on their network.  It's all about them and that might not be what's best in the big picture for their network.  They even fail on making the decisions that will make them the best money!  They have definitely gotten way too big for their britches but don't realize that they're the reason for their own failure.  And they keep it all a secret so there's absolutely no accountability for those decisions either.

When I was a kid in the '60s and '70s I lived in NYC and had more TV options than most people in the country but it was still very limited, and guess what?  My friends and I agree that we still had better TV than today.  You would think it would be the other way around, that having fewer choices meant more disappointment and more options meant you could find better choices because you have more to choose from, but our limited choices were actually better because people with common sense were curating them for us.  This IMO is a major problem with our society today, but that's another issue.  It's like going down the rabbit hole trying to find a vacuum cleaner.  Today you have many more choices than you did decades ago.  You could spend your entire weekend online studying them, reading ratings and specs and figuring out which one is best for you and still come up more confused, frustrated and empty handed because there's a fatal flaw with every one of them.  It's like that now with TV too.  We had fewer choices years ago, but the choices were better.

[Door County Cherry]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

the ratings are good no matter how many other options there are

This Is Us is considered the top scripted TV series on television.  Their finale had 5 million people tune in. TV shows in the 80s had 15-20 million viewers per episode and even more.  So ratings are "good" comparatively.  Choice and platforms has decreased the ratings of hit shows and has redefined what "good" means.  

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

My friends and I agree that we still had better TV than today.

I have a fondness for shows from my youth as well.  (80s kid here) but there was also a lot of crap that I've forgotten about when I think of the great stuff.  And there are a lot of terrific shows that would have never been made in the old broadcast system.  

[SmithW6079]

I didn't think much of this show, but I ended up watching it either on demand or through Hulu. There were parts I liked and a lot I didn't, which I hope they address or fix in season 2.

I don't buy the potential romance between Kat and Max. If they go that route, that means they'll have to get rid of her current boyfriend, which probably means he'll end up dumping her so she can be the victim that Max needs to go rescue.

I don't like that they put the two "ethnic" characters in a romance because why? Just because they're Black? I never much cared for Randi and the whole storyline of her dick of a boyfriend was just a waste. Was it just so they could set up her as Kat's roommate (presumably temporarily, given that Kat's apartment is a one-bedroom)?

I also think they vastly overestimated the appeal of Leslie Jordan. I like him -- I remember going to see one of his one-man shows many years ago off-Broadway, but a little of him goes a long way. 

I probably won't set my DVR for the show, but when it comes back, I'll probably watch it. Not the most ringing endorsement. :-)

 

[Door County Cherry]

Call Me Cat was the #4 new scripted show in the demo out of ALL new shows so maybe this would help explain why it was renewed. 

https://www.spoilertv.com/2020/10/how-are-your-shows-doing-compared-to.html

 

[sugarbaker design]

New show runner announced.

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, sugarbaker design said:

New show runner announced.

Apparently she worked on Mom, and I liked Mom, so maybe that's a good omen. The two shows seem very different, though. Not sure about how much of a change they're planning on.

[Cherpumple]

I'll still give the second season a chance, but I'm less than thrilled that a producer of Two and Half Men is going to be the showrunner. I hated that show with a passion.