True Blood and Silicon Valley: Edited Episodes to Air on TBS and TNT
The changes at Warner Bros. Discovery are not over.
Variety reported Thursday that HBO original series True Blood and Silicon Valley are headed to basic cable.
Both series, which have wrapped their runs, will be edited for ad breaks and content.
However, both shows will retain a TV-MA rating.
It’s unclear how much will be trimmed from the episodes, but it is expected to be similar to the way The Sopranos and Sex and the City were edited in the past.
Both shows will launch out of NBA All-Star game coverage over the weekend, with Silicon Valley on TBS and True Blood on TNT.
After that, True Blood will be seen Mondays at 10 P on TNT, with Silicon Valley airing Sundays at 10 PM on TBS.
It’s undoubtedly a different turn of events for both cable channels after Warner Bros. Discovery effectively gutted their live-action scripted offerings.
Then again, Warner Bros. Discovery has a vast library of content that can be utilized to get more eyes.
It’s possible the aim is to get people invested in these shows on basic cable in hopes that new viewers will sign up for HBO and/or HBO Max to watch the shows in their entirety.
However, given the lack of notice and promotion, it’s hard to imagine many being invested in this move.
But they are getting decent launching pads out of NBA coverage, so time will tell what becomes of this so-called experiment.
“We have an enviable arsenal of networks and assets which gives us flexibility and allows us to put our impressive content library to work on platforms where it can attract new audiences,” Kathleen Finch, chairman, and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Discovery’s U.S. Networks Group, told Variety of the move.
“On any given night 30% of the available cable audience is watching one of our networks — on average that’s more than 86 million viewers a week — so our ability to move content around and promote to and engage that huge audience strengthens our hand in an evolving business.”
True Blood aired for seven seasons from 2008-14 and was one of the premium cabler’s most popular series.
It was still pulling in solid numbers by the end of its run.
As a result, a reboot is planned and has been in the works for over two years.
Silicon Valley, meanwhile, lasted six seasons and aired from 2014-19.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
