What To Watch On TV: Girls Run The Weekend With 'Girls5eva' And 'The Girls On The Bus'

So you’re scrolling your favorite streamer, completely unsure what show to watch, right? It can feel like an endless void.

Let us be your guide.

Each week on AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news show, we're joined by television critics who help parse through the biggest releases and tell us what's worth a binge.

Vulture’s Jen Chaney and Deadline’s Dominic Patten joined to discuss their top picks. This week, girls are running the TV world.

Girls5eva

A '90s era one-hit wonder girl band is resurrected after a rapper samples their song. Now they’re booking gigs and attempting the biggest comeback in pop history. Grammy Award-winning musician Sara Bareilles stars as one of the group members along with Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Paula Pell.

When & where: The series began as a Peacock original, but Netflix swooped in and picked it up, adding the first two seasons plus a brand new season three on the platform. All episodes are available now.

The Girls on the Bus

Another iconic girl group of ... journalists? Yes, and it’s loosely inspired by co-creator and journalist Amy Chozick’s memoir Chasing Hillary. The series follows four female journalists with very different backgrounds as they travel with politicians and compete for the latest scoop.

When & where: The first two episodes are available on Max. New episodes release every Thursday.

Listen to the conversation

Check out more picks from our critics this week, including Quiet On Set on Max, Manhunt on Apple TV+ and Apples Never Fall on Peacock.

TV Talk extra: Why we don’t see many new shows on cable TV channels anymore

Most cable network channels have experienced significant declines in viewership thanks to the advent of streaming platforms. You’ve probably noticed that major networks are relying on reruns and reality TV instead of new shows, which usually head to exclusive streaming catalogs. Is new programming declining due to the audience loss or vice versa?

We talked with Eric Deggans, NPR TV critic and media analyst at NPR, and Doug Herzog, a former executive at Viacom who oversaw MTV, Comedy Central and other channels, about what they think has driven the slow demise of cable television. Here are their main takeaways:

• Young people have stopped watching traditional TV networks. They’re watching on their phone or other devices. Less viewers means less money for original programming.
  
• Many channels are pivoting to content that features things viewers can’t get as easily on streaming.
  
• Sports (maybe more specifically, football) are one of the keys in keeping broadcast networks alive.
  
• There are some cable channels that have a good amount of original programming including the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and AMC.
  
• Cable TV still generates more revenue from advertising – what happens to the industry when all the viewers are on streaming where there’s less of that money?