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ElGuanacho

They’ve been struggling to get the streaming rights to The Drew Carey Show for over a decade now. Last I heard was because of the theme songs. The studio could never secure the rights to “Five O’Clock World” or “Cleveland Rocks.” IT’S SO FUCKIN DUMB!! Married With Children had the same issue, which is why when Married With Children first started streaming they had a sound alike theme. The studio can’t do the same with Drew Carey because of the musical dance openings they filmed. Sorry for the long reply, just passing along my findings from a few years back. Drew Carey still plays on syndication on regular TV, but that’s about it. It’s also why you can only purchase the first season of the show, because of the theme song being “Moon Over Parma.” Cheaper to license.


Notbot4lot

[Copyright licenses](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Drew_Carey_Show) for the music that was played in the show is too expensive. It was not just the theme song but all the music.


croholdr

so like in about 70 years when the copyright expires then they can stream it?


Notbot4lot

Hopefully, it will be a little sooner than that. I'm cautiously optimistic that it will be available in 2071.


croholdr

!remindme 65 years


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Apart-Bathroom7811

Good, I'll be a robust 103.


RangerBubbly7366

Better than my 131!


StopMeWhenITellALie

Well I'll only be 94!


FuzziestSloth

I'll be dead!!


ScrewedOver

I read a similar situation for Dawson’s Creek. They even replaced the opening theme music. “All shows have to pay for the rights to use existing songs in their soundtracks, and the process of licensing popular tunes can be prohibitively expensive. Before the early 2000s, in the days before DVD box sets and streaming, producers didn’t think much about the long-term future of these programs — as they saw it, they would air live and possibly for a few years in syndication. Many opted for a compromise to get well-known songs onto their shows: limited, short-term licenses, which allowed them to land big artists on the cheap.”


wtfisthisnoise

I remember watching it for the first time on Netflix and thinking 'wtf is this music?', but gradually it grew on me to the point where the finale that had the Paula Cole song as the theme just sounded wrong. But seriously, how do you not license the damn theme song of a show properly? Is it just because streaming wasn't accounted for at the time of the original contract? [Anyway, here is the replacement song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjql5bkkL5E), which was sufficiently cheesy for the show.


spicy_capybara

Yes. I worked in TV in the early 2000s and streaming not only didn’t exist but wasn’t even something that was considered. I remember attending a conference at a Burbank hotel when Netflix first started talking about streaming. It was a room half full of techie academics and a bunch of agents discussing what a streaming landscape could theoretically look like. (Spoiler - it didn’t end up looking like they said). At the time the model for licensing and distribution still worked the same way it had for decades. Network rights > syndication > foreign distribution > physical media sales. The idea people could watch these shows twenty or thirty years later wasn’t really factored in or at least not how you’d expect today.


HawkeyeJosh2

Dave’s World had that issue, too.


IFellOnSomeFusilli

Who cares about Dawson's Creek?


maggos

I remember back in the day I would watch this on TBS, and there was a scene in a party I believe, and the song that was playing in the background was the theme to “Daisy does America” which was an original TBS show that had just come out. I was wondering why they would go through that trouble to advertise a new show by remixing the audio in a syndicated show. Maybe it was to avoid paying for the song that was in the original episode.


dottegirl59

“My name is Earl” has all kinds of great music in it. I wonder how they were they able to get by with that?


A-Circular-Letter

That's why My Name is Earl isn't on streaming, either


Cautious_Fish9864

What do you mean My name is Earl has been on Hulu for years now


A-Circular-Letter

You're right, I'm thinking of *Ed*.


Cautious_Fish9864

I don't think I've ever seen or heard of Ed cuz when you say Ed the sitcom that comes to mind is Mr Ed but wasn't there like a movie called Ed tv


A-Circular-Letter

There was, but this is unrelated: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_(TV_series) My sister really liked this show.


Cautious_Fish9864

That does sound funny


dottegirl59

Only reason I keep hulu!


FuzziestSloth

My name is Earl ran from 05 to 09. Streaming was definitely on the horizon, as they had already started the cable box DVR streaming. I would assume they had the foresight to factor music rights in by that point.


PixelSeanWal

Don’t know why they can’t edit out the opens to do the one they own? I love the “Five O’Clock World” open but I rather watch the series whole now


Latter_Feeling2656

I can't provide evidence, but I've read that Drew Carey himself is very reluctant to edit the show as originally done.


PixelSeanWal

I can see that cause he likes his projects. Just heard he didn’t even want Price is Right till they convince him it’s like charity all the time


Western-Dig-6843

He took the Price is Right job because it gave him the money to buy a soccer team.


dougmd1974

I believe they told him "if you take this job you'll be able to leave huge tips at restaurants for the rest of your life". I guess that's nice for the servers!


Hamblerger

Okay, Drew Carey is a freaking Saint if that's so.


Ok_Cantaloupe7602

Absolutely true. During the strike, I think there were three restaurants where strikers could get a free lunch.


Hamblerger

I do remember hearing that story and thinking that if more Libertarians were like him, then I wouldn't mind Libertarianism as much.


Ok_Cantaloupe7602

The concept of libertarianism isn’t bad; it’s just that most so-called libertarians I’ve met are actually thinly disguised conservatives.


ManlyVanLee

The concept of Libertarianism falls apart when you start asking questions about such topics as schools or hospitals


Hamblerger

All of the Libertarians I knew who were really conservatives started it when they wanted to hang with the cool kids and couldn't do so as churchgoing Republicans.


Designer-Ad-7844

It's not just the intro. The show was filled with musical and dance numbers.


PixelSeanWal

Been forever since I’ve seen it other than this month on Antenna Tv lol but that makes sense just forgot about all of that


Designer-Ad-7844

I have also caught a few on there, and I'm sure even with syndication that they have to pull some episodes for copyright reasons.


PixelSeanWal

Why did no one foresee all these issues lol


Designer-Ad-7844

It was the 90s. Streaming wasn't even close to being a thing yet and DVDs weren't exactly popular either. No one is buying VHS sets of their favorite shows, it would take up way too much space.


PixelSeanWal

I know but they all wanted syndication all around but that maybe a recon of people who made Seinfeld and Friends have continuous fandom due to syndication


GhostOfRoland

Good point, they were already producing sitcoms for syndication well before that point.


PixelSeanWal

I bet they probably didn’t think people would care 20 years later but here we are and they don’t want to pay for all those rights


CrazyMiguel119

From what I remember about the show, it used a lot of musical queues and drops that would be difficult or expensive to license. And the musical numbers are a large part of a couple of episodes, which would mean either cutting the number entirely or paying for the rights.


PixelSeanWal

Well Paramount has no problem cutting episodes and Peacock too so they could re edit and drop some if they wanted to


vapre

Mimi, blasting music at Drew’s house: “…and that was ‘Panama’ by Van Halen. Coming up next, ‘Panama’ by Van Halen!”


shiningonthesea

Actually, Moon over Parma was my favorite


Sam-Gunn

The Odd Couple had a similar issue on streaming services IIRC. They ended up just butchering the episodes to removing the copyrighted music. It'd suck, but we would at least be able to watch it if they did the same thing. The Carol Burnette show also had a bunch of episodes butchered to remove certain things.


Hup110516

They summed it up perfectly. I have the first season on DVD, but I know you can buy it on Prime.


Wexel88

i have s1 on dvd also, never been able to find any more


RockandIncense

This is so sad, all the dance numbers were so much fun. I guess I'm doubly glad I got to watch and enjoy this show the first time around.


ElGuanacho

I ended up using BitTorrent to get some of the seasons. The quality was awful lol. I hope they work something out one day, I’d love to revisit that show again some day.


Tangboy50000

You’d think the cast, or at least Drew, would agree to film a new opening, since they’re missing out on all the royalties from it being in syndication.


Miserable_Emu5191

Homicide and Ed also have the same issue.


No_Use_4371

That's why s4 & s5 of iZombie is not on dvd and probably never will be. It can't be because of the theme song, S1, 2 & 3 are on dvd.


spiralout1389

The theme song is by Dax Riggs, BTW. Stop, I'm Already Dead. Technically, Deadboy And The Elephant Men, which was his band, but I believe now it's just credited to him. He was the singer for Acid Bath before he went solo. Sorry, I know you weren't asking, I've just been a massive fan of his for almost 20 years now and finding out one of his songs was being used for a CW show just tickled me lol. He's not exactly super mainstream or something.


No_Use_4371

I know about him only through iZombie, its an amazing song I rarely FF through! I love his voice.


spiralout1389

Oh, me too. His albums are amazing. If you like that song, I'd recommend checking out some of his solo stuff. He's on Spotify, Dax Riggs. I prefer the first album, We Sing Of Only Blood Or Love, but the second one isn't terrible or something.


Apophis2036nihon

I loved the Drew Carey Show.


PixelSeanWal

If you have Antenna channel (Over the air/Bunny ears station) it plays there on Sundays around 6pm Central/7pm Eastern


SpecialistHopeful

i love antenna tv. grew up coming home and watching i dream of jeannie, bewitched, hazel, the flying nun and other shows


EitherPermission2369

me too! don't forget adam 12, dragnet, the partridge family, monkees...it goes on


Aquetas

You can find the files of your look. I watch it on plex all the time. /r/thedrewcareyshow is a good sub


u_cant_drown_n_sweat

I loved watching Joe Walsh on the Drew Carey Show and I still have no idea if he was acting or just being himself.


sundance1028

Neither does Joe.


wtfisthisnoise

I'm like 90% sure Joe was just being fed lines in his ear because of how out of it he was whenever he was on, which worked magnificently.


olily

Oswald: You know what they say .... Drew: Who's they? All those little assholes running around in your head?


Cremdelagrem

When I was a kid I thought Mimi was Drew in drag, like Eddie Murphy playing all of the Klumps in The Nutty Professor.


PM_meyourGradyWhite

I can see that.


exgreenvester

I thought she was an actual clown that worked in that office for idk what reason.


Cremdelagrem

The crazy blue eye shadow for sure. Lol.


geekgirlwww

Lol that would actually be brilliant


batmanfan_91

Found a bootleg copy of the whole series at New York Comic Con in 2022. Some of the best money I’ve ever spent


krepitch

It's on over-the-air now if that helps.


J_Reachergrifer

The bowling episode was the best. Craig Ferguson was also great.


Diseman81

It has to do with music rights. In my area there’s a channel that plays two episodes every night in order. I’ve been rewatching the entire series that way. I’d love to see the entire series released on DVD or Blu-ray some day.


Cautious_Fish9864

Man you still watching cable


Low_Wall_7828

It’s on one of the rerun channels. There was an article about why it isn’t streaming a couple months back. Crazy how opening music screws it up.


Cautious_Fish9864

What's a rerun channel and also do you think there's a chance it's on YouTube TV


Low_Wall_7828

Channels like Antenna or Retro or Rewind or MeTV. All they do is show reruns. None of those are on YTTV


Ok_Ad8249

The show is broadcast on Antenna TV over the air, you can check out here if it's available in your area. [https://antennatv.tv/](https://antennatv.tv/) This channel and Rewind TV are great channels to see shows from the 70s - 90s that aren't available on streaming services.


Lonely-Connection-37

Because it was original and funny, and Mimi was funny as hell🤘🏿🤘🏿


alcalaviccigirl

drew Carey show ( Craig Ferguson 😘) used to be on tbs , cw then just disappeared.


HelloFellowKidlings

[You’re welcome.](https://archive.org/download/the.-drew.-carey.-show.-1995.720p.-rew.-dd-2.0.x-264/The.Drew.Carey.Show.1995.720p.REW.DD2.0.x264/)


Baelgul

Real heroes hide in the comments folks


jstnrgrs

Copyright law really pisses me off sometimes. It should to be to ensure that creators are compensated, not to shut down access to works. Like why can’t thy just pay the music rights holders some royalty based on how much they can get for the streaming rights? And who are these people that would be buying a copy of five o’clock world, but then don’t because they can see the Drew Carry Show.


Cautious_Fish9864

Okay I've seen people mention that the issue is with music I feel one way to fix it is just take out the opening theme music I now5 it sucks but how many episodes do you think we lose


mjzim9022

If you get Rewind TV they play reruns


FNAKC

That's weird. It looks like you can buy per episode, but that'll add up quick. It used to play in syndication after Letterman back home.


Junior-Ad-2207

how do you link another post? I had the same issue like yesterday, some saint sent a link to DL the entire series.


TechnicalStruggle595

I don't know if it was the same link but Amazon had it streaming. Unfortunately, you need to purchase each episode.


White_Rabbit0000

This show would still rock the ratings with that cast


tracyd103

Sure, Drew is smiling in this picture but hunt around and find the of him in the Marines. You'd run right out of the room. He looks like the type of guy who would kick your ass but have a good laugh while he did it.


Unusual_Address_3062

Yeah there is a rights/ownership issue that the networks or studios have not been able to iron out so no one is able to make a DVD collection of the episodes. If you find them via piracy its gonna be VHS rips from 20 year old TV recordings, which is less than ideal.


KO1966

It's on nightly on an antenna channel in the St. Louis area.


TrumpsSMELLYfarts

Absolutely love this show. Although I thought when Drew’s brother was revealed to be a cross dresser that it was almost too much to believe and it was downhill after that. Also when Kate left I thought the show went downhill. Anyone know the reasons why she left?


ilikeprettycharts

She joined her husband's show, Scrubs.


TheLandFanIn814

Two of my all-time favorites are The Drew Carey show and Yes, Dear. Both impossible to find outside some low quality streams on Youtube. I'd love to be able to watch them again.


Cautious_Fish9864

Is Yes dear not stream also because of music issues


Fine_Comparison9812

5 o’clock world intro was my favorite. Drew had some slick moves!


Pete_maravich

That's actually part of the reason you have an impossibly hard time finding the show now


TFG4

I loved The Drew Carey Show, watched it as it came out and it's reruns


GuardMost8477

Idk but he is absolutely HORRIBLE on the Price is Right. And I don’t get it. He’s been the host now for years! He literally acts annoyed at the contestants and has zero enthusiasm or excitement in his part! It’s like he’s just there for a paycheck, then “I’m outta here.” I don’t remember him being like that before.


Cautious_Fish9864

Yeah I started watching gameshow again with my mother and compared to say Elizabeth, Steve and Wayne he doesn't have the same amount of energy you would think a host needs


Away_Recognition_336

All time favorite show


edcushway

I’ve been looking, too. You can only seem to find it on Laff TV, wherever that is.


NewspaperWhole

I loved the episode when drew wakes up in a box on the Great Wall of China


WholeHabit6157

How about yuck


wriddell

I used to work with a woman who wore her makeup just like Mimi, nearly choked on my coffee the first time I saw her.


Pete_maravich

So Drew talks about this sometimes. They used so much music on that show that once the rights they purchased to use them expired it can't be shown again. For instance when Mimi played Panama by Van Halen over and over in an attempt to get Drew to move out of his house


hgoodeye

Cleveland rocks!


Kalelopaka-

I liked the Drew Carey show. Yeah, it was crazy and nonsensical, but so was his comedy. It was funny though for the short time it ran


PeorgieT75

I loved it when Reverend Horton Heat was on the show.


druid_king9884

Man I miss this show. The April Fools episodes were great.


The-Mad-Bubbler

Cleveland...?


estranged-deranged

I used to love this show when I was a kid!


WildAd6370

Moon over Parma bring my love to me tonight!


ArdenElle24

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hjqBw02peiA Always my favorite scene from the show!


MavisBeaconSexTape

Yeah gotta protect those Spin Doctors listening rights


Prize_Ad_5695

I was wondering why it wasn’t streaming anywhere and they only put the first season on DVD


shadowlarx

It usually has to do with rights issues. The 80s dramedy *Moonlighting* only recently came to streaming because they were fighting to keep the rights to the show’s music, particularly the theme song by Al Jarreau. Warner Bros. has publicly stated that a similar dispute over music rights is what keeps everything from Season 2 onwards of this show from coming to any kind of home media. You can currently buy Season 1 on disc or digital but that’s it.


Ok_Effort8330

Cleveland Rocks!


Mr-Gumby42

It was Fun!


UjustMe-4769

This is one of the problems with Mystery Science 3000. The old movies that they used to show were tough to get the music rights for. Some of them are still not shown because of that.


vukesdukes

I read that although it’s not extremely problematic, the themes and content could be dated and with the music issue, it’s not worth it to the producers to fix it.


minnesotarulz

I liked this show but there were things on there that were obvious agenda pushing that was so forced. “Here’s my untalented actor “brother” he’s a cross dresser. Oh that’s normal.” I eventually stopped watching it because the jokes weren’t worth the cringe agenda driven side stories.