There was only one thing people were buzzing about regarding CBS All Access in 2018. Star Trek Discovery. As far as I’m concerned the show deserved the acclaim it got from fans and critics alike. But when I saw that the show would be adding Spock to the cast and that CBS All Access was also working on a Captain Picard show starring Patrick Stewart I could not help but ask a pointed question. Is CBS All Access too reliant on Star Trek?
The online entity offers a few major benefits for customers. Original exclusive programming and access to live CBS broadcasts from local affiliates (provided that the streaming service has a deal worked out with the given affiliate in ones area). The big name in original programming so far though has been the new Star Trek series set in the original Trek timeline. The Good Wife Sequel “The Good Fight” very much faded into the background as far as buzz and mentions after the new Sci-Fi show hit the scenes.
CBS All Access has quietly started rolling out new content for the streaming service built on a traditional weekly episode rollout with some titles that push content possibly a little further than would be allowed on normal broadcast TV. This includes Strange Angel, a historically based story about Jack Parsons, a rocket enthusiast who was also some what of an occultist. Not being a broadcast show will likely give CBS more range to tell the lurid side of the story in greater detail.
Another entry is the gritty Tell Me A Story. The new series is built around the iconography of classic stories, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel. The story also promises to be dramatic and dark with murder and violence highlighted in its trailers. While the story may sound like a CBS take on Once Upon A Time it appears to be anything but a contemporary telling of old fairy tales.
Such entries along with the New Twighlight Zone series may help CBS have more to say for itself when it comes time to promote the overall offering. Otherwise it will face the possibility of people signing up for the service simply to binge one show at the end of a season run and be done with it. The success of other new entries will be important as CBS continues to look for more viewers willing to pay nearly as much as Hulus $7.99 price tag.
