Starting this very weekend both TRUE BLOOD and SILICON VALLEY return to the screen, but not on HBO or even a FAST channel. WBD cable channels TBS and TNT pick up edited versions of the shows in what the company is calling an experiment. To be honest, upon hearing this, I quickly went over to HBO Max to make sure both shows were still curated there in case I ever want to watch both great series again in their unedited and intended form. I guess the plan is to stimulate interest in viewers to some WBD intellectual property across its platforms. I guess it makes sense, if it is the only way some viewers will ever get around to seeing HBO content. But is it solid HBO content if it has been diluted down to something less than what was originally created and aired? That’s up to the individua viewer to decide.
Both shows will immediately follow NBA All-Star game coverage Saturday, February 18. After that, TRUE BLOOD will be seen on Mondays at 10:00 PM on TNT, with SILICON VALLEY airing Sundays at 10 PM on TBS. They will play with whatever editing they need done plus added commercial breaks. Again, it’s an experiment. It is unclear, though, whether all 80 episodes of Alan Ball’s horror drama or all 53 episodes of Mike Judge’s comedy series will get to air. If it is just an experiment to see if viewers will take the bait, and cable viewers don’t settle in for them then you know Zaslav would yank them back off in a heartbeat.
Do note that this is not the first time HBO content has been on basic cable. THE SOPRANOS had a run on A & E and SEX AND THE CITY played on TBS years ago and INSECURE is about to get a replay on OWN. Now it is TRUE BLOOD and SILICON VALLEY’S turn but man, I just don’t know how every steamy moment from TRUE BLOOD are going to play out or “Optimal Tip-to-Tip Efficiency” from SILICON VALLEY for that matter. I’ll stick to the original versions thank you, but what about you?
This content was originally published here.
