First Slice 9-27-16: Networks love Atlanta

100-plus TV shows produced here in the past decade

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>> Howard Dean ain’t the only one who thinks Donald Trump was coked up at last night’s debate. Either way, it didn’t work. Despite having a lower bar than Hillary Clinton to eek out a win, most pundits are giving the first of three presidential debates to the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile, Trump’s loose-canon approach hurt him more than it hurt her: He inadvertently bragged about not paying taxes while discussing the economy, he took credit for making President Obama reveal his birth certificate during talk of America’s racial divide, and he sniffed so much that viewers were left to wonder whether he had a cold or a coke habit — both of which could be a bad sign for the Republican nominee’s #stamina.

>> “I was placed in situations that weren’t really the right situations for me,” Atlanta native Dwight Howard says as the start of his first season as an Atlanta Hawk comes closer. “But all that stuff, the only thing it did was mold me for the opportunity that I have now. All the good stuff and bad stuff, all the hardships I had to endure, all that stuff it really just made me a better person.”

>> “Atlanta” may be an instant hit but it’s not alone. Rodney Ho at the AJC has charted the 19 networks that have produced three or more shows in Georgia since he started covering TV in 2008. It’s an insane list that proves a lot of what we already know: Atlanta has been home to a heap of reality shows, like more than we know, and yes, Tyler Perry is a multi-network boss. BET takes the top spot with 16 shows, including nearly all of its scripted TV. But the range is also wide, from broadcast networks NBC, CBS, and Fox to cable channels OWN, Lifetime, and Sundance. 

>> OK, it’s early yet, but the Falcon’s offense has sportswriters singing a different tune about the team after last night’s 45-32 win over rivals the New Orleans Saints.

>> And Beyonce got Atlanta in Formation last night for a sold-out show at the Georgia Dome, six months after her last pit-stop in the Peach State. Aside from serving up plenty of fresh-squeezed Lemonade she included an ode to fallen Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo by working a bit of his hit “Dey Know” into her “I’m a Diva” routine. 






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