Discovery Channel, a network built largely on science and using large explosions to bust myths, has recently shifted its focus to a genre of programming one could safely describe as “fake shark shows and snake stunts.” There was the Megalodon “documentary” from Shark Week 2013 that resulted in the network getting a thorough tongue-lashing from everyone from late-night comics to furious Facebook moms; there was this summer’s Shark of Darkness: The Wrath of Submarine, which was presented as real (or at least possibly real) despite being based on an urban legend created by tabloid journalists in the 1970s; and just last month there was Eaten Alive, the much-hyped primetime ***event*** in which a man kinda sorta put part of himself inside a snake’s mouth.
All of which brings us to this: Discovery’s new president, Rich Ross, spoke to television critics at the TCAs yesterday, and he stated pretty clearly that the days of malarkey and misleading specials have come to an end.
“I don’t think it’s actually right for Discovery Channel,” said Ross, the former CEO of Shine America, when asked about the [Megalodon film]. “And it’s [a type of programming] that I think in some ways has run its course. I don’t think you’ll be sitting with me here next year asking me a question about something I put on—whether a series or a special—where that’s the dilemma. They’ve done very well, many of them, but it’s not something that’s right for us … if something [has been previously ordered], it’s probably still coming. But I’m telling you where I am and how I feel moving forward.” [EW]
He also gave this quote, which is (a) hilarious and (b) something we should definitely get more executives — television and otherwise — to go on the record about at the beginning of their tenure.
Pressed if Discovery will make a follow-up to Eaten Alive, Ross said: “I don’t believe you’ll see a person being eaten by a snake during my time here.”
“I don’t believe you’ll see a person being eaten by a snake during my time here.”
Seems like a reasonable place to start.
