Let’s talk: Join USA TODAY’s TV-centric group text chat for a 90 day test

There’s too much TV out there to watch, let alone talk about. But we can certainly try. 

Live-tweeting your favorite TV shows can be fun, but with most of us watching on streaming on our time, you never know when you can safely spoil. Plus, social media is increasingly cluttered.  So maybe the better way is the simpler way. 

Rather than downloading apps, dodging bots or wading through your friends’ curated version of their best selves, what if you could just text back and forth with me, USA TODAY’s TV Critic and recovering “Game of Thrones” expert, on TV things, observations and inside intel?

Over the next 90 days, USA TODAY is testing group-text chats between me and some of our most engaged fans and readers (including you!).

Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY TV critic (Photo: Jack Gruber/USA TODAY)

In this chat, you’ll get inside access to the TV series I cover (“Stranger Things”! “Westworld”! “The Bachelorette”! Anything that’s good!) and my time hanging with celebrities in Los Angeles (I’m very cool). But you also can tell me what great series I’m missing, or what streaming service you really think is worth subscribing to. Maybe I’ll end up writing stories or asking producers and actors questions based on your feedback. Anything is possible. But mostly, I just love talking all things television.

Here’s what you need to know about our group chat, and how you can join. 

Is this really free? What’s the catch?

No catch — it’s a test, and we’re trying to gauge interest in whether this could be a premium way to support our work. We’re hoping readers like you will like this service enough to offer another way to back quality news and reviews. The only thing we ask in exchange: Fill out a few surveys about the test over the next few months so we know if you like what we’re doing and what could make it better.

Will other people see my number?

No. When you respond to the group text thread, it just goes to me. I might respond to you individually, or “quote” part of your message back to the group thread, but that’ll come from my number, not yours. Nobody else on the group chat will ever see your contact information.

What are you going to do with my number?

Junk texts are the absolute worst, and tricking people into sharing phone numbers is a terrible business model. It’s simple: We’ll never give or sell your number to a third party. We won’t abuse it internally. When you opt in, you’ll only get a few messages from us per day in this group chat. You can opt out at any time. At the end of this test, we’ll send you one last follow-up note to let you know if we’re moving forward with it. No ongoing texts, no purchases, no credit cards needed.

To opt into the group chat, enter your number below, confirm it on your phone, and we’re connected. Help us test out new ways of connecting with readers, and hopefully we’ll have some fun along the way.

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