Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump

Interesting, odd, funny....

The characters are interesting, and then you get the owner with his Trump stupidity, so with the station still going strong almost a year later, does he admit that for an educated person, that he was so ignorant spouting off he would need to close because Biden won?

As Episode 1 ("Our Top Story") of "Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump" (2021 release; 6 episodes of about 25 min. Each) opens, we are introduced to Vern, the owner and CEO of an independent TV station in Pahrump, a good 60 miles west of Las Vegas. Vern started the station in 1997 from scratch, and now runs it with his wife Ronda, who is the VP, bookkeeper and jack-of-all-trades. Others include Deanna, the long-time news anchor., reporter in the field and also jack-pf-all-trades. Vern announces a major development: to increase potential and much needed revenue increases, he wants to install a bigger antenna to allow the station to also be seen in Vegas. Episode 2 ("Quitting Season") focuses on the seemingly never-ending turnover of staff. And then on top of it all, COVID-19 strikes...

Couple of comments: I had seen the trailer for this series several times in recent weeks. Not once did it occur to me that this was for real, as it looked to me from seeing the trailer to be a whimsical comedy about a fictitious small TV station. So imagine my surprise when Episode 1 opens with "HBO Documentary Film Presents". Wait, what, this is a documentary? Holy crap, it is! And while it still comes across quite whimsical, there are some underlying tensions that are bound to come to the forefront. One such tension is the contrast between Vern (who is a strong Republican support, if not Tumpist), and both Ronda and Deanna (who both loathe Fox New and all that it entails). Episode 3 is titled "Pahrump Gets Trumped" so I guess we'll find out soon enough.

"Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump" premiered on HBO earlier this week, and Episodes 1 and 2 are now available on HBO On Demand, HBO Max, Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. Once I got over my surprise that this was an actual documentary series, I quite enjoyed the first 2 episodes. The remaining 4 episodes will air on the next couple of Mondays at 9 pm Eastern. Looking forward to it. If you are in the mood for a behind the curtains look of running a small TV station, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

UPDATE I've now seen all 6 episodes. It is a delightful documentary. Watch the despair of hard-core Trump supporter (and station owner) Vern after the election, with a doom prospect of his station, only to find out that business is growing in the Vegas market. I'd love to see a second season of this.

As a former news anchor I had to watch this. It's so bad it's funny, these people don't have a clue about what news is or how to present it. It's rather amusing.

This docu-series showcases a love towards Journalism and the News for the small town folk. I find it fascinating with this caster being an independent company and truly informing their local community.

I like that it's not main stream news. It's the "Casual Professional News" if you will.

And by Lord Jesus, it's 100% real. The trailer almost made it seem it was a satire/scripted kind of show. (which I personally can't stand) I'm liberated that it's not. Lol.

They also do a great shop showing the humanity with everyone. It makes you emphasize with them. I think that's what I love about it most.

I happen to be visiting Vegas for a week and I don't know how I will live with myself if I don't visit this town that is only an hour away. I don't know if I'll be making fun of it or respecting it to high heaven, Hell, it'll probably be both. But I'll sure damn be taking a picture in front of the building. Lol.

Some might think this show is a spoof. I assure you, it's not! I am very familiar with Pahrump and this production thus far has nailed it. It's a VERY quirky town to put it mildly. Every time I visit friends there I just shake my head and wonder why here? Can't wait for the next episode, lol.