The TV Critics Association’s Winter TV Press Tour was slated to start promptly at noon Wednesday at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. East coast correspondents were assured they could fly in that morning and not miss anything.
But then Netflix decided late in the game to have their own presentation. Why not? They’ve produced some of the best new shows of the last couple of years with “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” and forced people to consider streaming services alongside broadcast and television TV.
Starting things early and shaking things up is what Netflix is all about, so they came in with a morning session where chief content officer Ted Sarandos announced a number of premiere dates for full seasons of upcoming shows.
Chief among them is Tina Fey’s “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” which was developed for NBC but shifted to Netflix, where the broadcast network thought it would be a better fit. Its entire season will be available March 6.
What Sarandos called “the Netflix version of a family drama,” “Bloodline” will stream beginning April 10. Netflix’ Marvel series “Daredevil” with Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio starts April 10. And Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin star in the comedy “Grace and Frankie” on May 8.
In addition, their Dreamworks kids’ series, “Puss N’ Boots” begins Jan. 16; “Ever After High” Feb. 6. Season two of “Mako Mermaids” drops on Feb. 13.
Netflix started to get attention when it started up shows that had been canceled, such as “Arrested Development.” They continued that tradition by picking up the canceled western “Longmire.”
Netflix is also producing a new Pee-wee Herman movie with Judd Apatow.
But Sarandos said he didn’t know if one of its longest running original series, “Lilyhammer,” will be back for a fourth season.