Saltbox TV, Streaming Service For Seniors, Intros Talent Series Featuring Ed Asner
Saltbox TV, a streaming service designed for seniors, has created a talent series, Silver Stars. Saltbox TV’s spokesperson, Ed Asner of Mary Tyler Moore and Lou Grant promoted the new series. He said, “The show is shining a spotlight on people like me, who love what they do and want to share it with the world.”
The talent series is inspired by the many other talent shows on TV, such as America's Got Talent. Silver Stars focuses on the skills and gifts older adults have. Adults over the age of 65 are eligible to show off their talents and try to make it on the show.
Patty Carver and Jerry Goehring co-founded Saltbox TV. “We’re trying to make Saltbox a destination for this community to go where they can find the kind of entertainment that they enjoy,” Carver said exclusively to Variety. “We dismiss older adults here, but it’s not like that in other countries. These are vibrant adults who still have a lot to offer.”
“What we discovered is there’s a lot of ageism in Hollywood and ageism in the arts,” says Goehring. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s the country’s largest demographic and they have the most expendable income, but there’s not a lot of programming for them. We want to change that.”
“These performers want to continue to create and tell stories,” says Goehring. “They want to work and no one is giving them the chance. We want to celebrate older people. They have been quarantined for a long time and we want to show that they aren’t forgotten. I can’t lobby Washington, I can’t change the world, but I can create entertainment.”
Silver Stars is just one of the streaming service’s series in the works. Three scripted series and one unscripted series are currently being produced. This is the first in-house programming on the streaming service, but the library is already filled with shows and movies.
Per the press release, “Silver Stars hopefuls can submit a 60-second video for the opportunity of a lifetime. Three to five performers will be chosen by Asner and Saltbox TV’s Executive Team to travel from their hometowns for a week-long rehearsal process with a Broadway creative team – culminating in a ‘one-night-only’ live performance to be filmed and premiered on Saltbox TV.”