Can Tucker Carlson Spinoff From the MAGA Cinematic Universe?
In the immediate aftermath of Tucker Carlson's firing there were some rumblings about him challenging Fox News but I have a hard time seeing it.
Monday morning those of us that are very much into politics and media were floored when we saw that Tucker Carlson has “parted ways” with Fox News. Other people, people that aren’t into the ins and outs of politics and media, just went about their days. In some ways I do envy them, but I’m not one of them. Instead I was with everybody else wanting to know what exactly happened.
There have been a few tidbits ranging from the fact that he allegedly created a hostile work place to evidently frequently using inappropriate language (I’m skeptical this would hurt his standing at Fox) to the revelations via the Dominion lawsuit that he had harsh criticism for his bosses at Fox News. That last point strikes me as the most probable and I think Tucker will have trouble spinning off from the MAGA Cinematic Universe.
My theory is that Fox News is to their anchors what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to the actors within it. Actors that play characters within the MCU are seen by hundreds of millions of people. Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie are Captain America. Brie Larson is Captain Marvel. Chris Hemsworth is Thor. Their faces are on lunch boxes, action figures, t-shirts, etc. People know them. Still, can any of them open a film to numbers that the MCU does?
I’m not saying these actors aren’t doing well for themselves. It’s just that none of their movies are opening nearly as high as the ones they’ve made within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I suppose I could make the case that Chris Hemsworth putting up huge viewing numbers for Extraction or Tom Holland doing a respectable $401.7 million for Uncharted means that they can open films…or draw eyeballs to it. Still, those weren’t MCU numbers.
The draw to the MCU isn’t the actors, it’s the characters and the MCU itself.
Many of the people that have left Fox News have been in a similar situation. Bill O’Reilly was fired from Fox News in 2017 after sexual harassment claims. For a time O’Reilly was Mr. Fox News and had an enviable perch in Fox News Primetime. Yet, he still got the axe and Tucker Carlson moved into his slot. What has O’Reilly been doing since then? Well, not filling stadiums during his 2021 tour with Donald Trump.
Or take a look at Megyn Kelly who also left Fox News in 20171. She tried to make the move over to NBC News but her Fox News viewers didn’t follow. She eventually left NBC News as well. Where is she now? The fact that this question is one of the autofill suggestions on Google should tell you that a lot of people don’t know.
My theory is that the Fox News sun doesn’t shine on their personalities when they leave the network. They might try to launch a competitor, go to another network, or launch a digital media endeavor, but they don’t fly as high as they did with the Murdoch wind beneath their wings. Even legit journalists Chris Wallace hasn’t been able to get nearly the views he got on Fox News.
It seems like Tucker Carlson might have forgot that Fox News is the brand, not Tucker Carlson. He was bringing in millions of viewers every night, but those were Fox News viewers. They were there before him and my bet is that they will likely be there after hime.
Now, I suspect there have been overtures from all types to get Tucker Carlson to work with them. Maybe he will be the exception to the rule. Still, it’s hard work to rebuild your audience somewhere else. I suspect that no matter what Tucker does or where he goes that the views he gets will pale in comparison by the person who will be replacing him on Fox News.
I’m not saying there is equivalence between Carlson, O’Reilly, or Kelly. Megyn Kelly was the target of Trump and dealt with the toxic elements of the Roger Ailes version of Fox News.