And to end the week, The CW and its fare for teens and tweens.
What's Cancelled? The most notable cancellation was for The Carrie Diaries, though not unexpected. Also cut was The Tomorrow People, which I think punches the netlet's ticket for trying to adapt a British series and failing.
Starting this Fall
Monday - Starts off with the relocated vampire spin-off The Originals and is followed by new show Jane the Virgin, in which a Hispanic woman who is saving herself for marriage is accidentally inseminated during a doctor's visit and is now carrying the baby of the "reformed playboy" who owns the hotel where Jane works. This sounds like a slightly edgy Lifetime movie more than an actual series. I'm also not sure how these two shows go together.
Tuesday - The Flash fulfills the show based on a comic book quota that's in place this year. With this and Arrow in place, you get the sense that the CW may be to DC what ABC has become for Marvel. This is followed by Supernatural.
Wednesday - Arrow leads into The 100. And while it may be a little on the nose, would it be better to have the two comic book shows on the same night and The 100 paired with Supernatural?
Thursday - The Vampire Diaries lead into Reign. OK, new plan, pair Reign with The 100 for a night about past and future Earth.
Friday - A new and encore episode of Whose Line is it Anyway?leads into yet another season of America's Next Top Model. J Alexander returns, which may be the only reason to tune in.
Saturday and Sunday - local programming, which is still the best idea the network ever had.
And then at midseason
Hart of Dixie returns - maybe she's the one who accidentally knocked up Jane? - as does Beauty and the Beast, and two new shows are available:
iZombie is also based on a comic book, in which a teenage girl tries to balance a normal life with being a zombie. She's passing as human (calling her undead look goth) and has a job with access to fresh brains (coroner's office). Now if she can just find a date for prom!
The Messengers- some sort of pulse knocks out a group of people, who awaken with superpowers and some sort of mystical connection to each other. This may also be the start of the events in Revelation that lead to the Rapture. Somehow, Tim Kring is not involved.
Outlook
The CW is gonna CW. As much as the network talks about being inclusive of more viewers, this is still a lineup that skews young, if not so obviously female anymore. It's a good thing they have a solid lineup of returning shows, as anything that isn't The Flash sounds a little dodgy.
Showing posts with label The CW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The CW. Show all posts
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
Up Fronts, Rated
OK, I usually rank the up fronts right after they're done, but haven't felt compelled this year as no one blew me away with their excellence/crapulence. Still, might as well get it over with.
5. Fox. To be honest, I'm finding it hard to make distinct differences between everyone who isn't CBS. Fox has at least one show I'm interested in checking out (Brooklyn Nine Nine), but most of the new shows don't do much for me. They've also dedicated 1.5 nights a week to The X-Factor and American Idol, neither of which are doing the network any favors. More info on the return of 24 could have moved Fox out of the basement.
4. The CW. As with everything related to the netlet, this is kind of on the curve. I think their new shows (and programming in general) is aimed at the people they want, but that sort of focus doesn't really lead to growth.
3. ABC. They'd be lower if it wasn't for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And I'm not even a comic book fanboy. Also concerned that Monday might finally show signs of aging.
2. NBC. I'm a little surprised they're here, as I wasn't particularly overwhelmed with their new shows. Maybe I'm just sending them good vibes for renewing Community and Hannibal. And really, if I were to rewrite this a couple of hours from now I might have a completely different lineup here.
1. CBS. I'm not over the moon with their new shows, but the combination of known talent and strong returning shows puts them in the best position to succeed.
So there it is, for what it's worth.
5. Fox. To be honest, I'm finding it hard to make distinct differences between everyone who isn't CBS. Fox has at least one show I'm interested in checking out (Brooklyn Nine Nine), but most of the new shows don't do much for me. They've also dedicated 1.5 nights a week to The X-Factor and American Idol, neither of which are doing the network any favors. More info on the return of 24 could have moved Fox out of the basement.
4. The CW. As with everything related to the netlet, this is kind of on the curve. I think their new shows (and programming in general) is aimed at the people they want, but that sort of focus doesn't really lead to growth.
3. ABC. They'd be lower if it wasn't for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And I'm not even a comic book fanboy. Also concerned that Monday might finally show signs of aging.
2. NBC. I'm a little surprised they're here, as I wasn't particularly overwhelmed with their new shows. Maybe I'm just sending them good vibes for renewing Community and Hannibal. And really, if I were to rewrite this a couple of hours from now I might have a completely different lineup here.
1. CBS. I'm not over the moon with their new shows, but the combination of known talent and strong returning shows puts them in the best position to succeed.
So there it is, for what it's worth.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Upfronts; The CW
Last but not least (except for ratings) is The CW, which has become the traditional cap to network upfronts. Hey, whatever gets you out to JFK or Newark on time.
Who Stays? Who Goes?
No surprises here, as the notable cuts - 90210, Gossip Girl, Cult and Emily Owens M.D. were either expected to end or were dropped from the schedule early on. Supernatural is back for a ninth season - no word on it being a final season. Nikita, though, will be back at some point to wrap things up over six episodes.
What's Coming?
Monday - Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast move to Monday, the younger female option to Dancing With the Stars and Castle on ABC.
Tuesday - Opens with The Originals, which follows the original vampire family as its patriarch tries to uncover a plot to destroy him that may involve other family members. It's a spin-off of Vampire Diaries, as you might imagine. It's followed by a relocated Supernatural.
Wednesday - Arrow stays here to open the night, followed by The Tomorrow People, an adaptation of a British show about genetically-advanced teens who develop powers like telekinesis, transportation, and so on. Sounds like a younger version of Heroes, but hopefully without the dopey and melodramatic opening voice overs.
Thursday - Starts with The Vampire Diaries and ends with Reign, which follows a teenaged Mary, Queen of Scots, as she travels with her ladies in waiting to France to see the prince she's been arranged to marry. I never quite thought of The CW as a home for period drama, but a little Tudors-lite bodice ripping may be a nice change of pace.
Friday - The Carrie Diaries move here and gets paired with America's Next Top Model. I'm less surprised by the pairing than the night, but looking at the numbers The Carrie Diaries never quite caught on, so Friday it is, though I'd imagine the target demo for the show will be at the mall (time to count the DVR viewers!).
No specific date is given for the 20th cycle of ANTM, but I'm seeing summer 2013 everywhere, so I'm assuming it'll run into the fall. Same judges, etc. as the last time, but the models will include men for the first time. It's a nice wrinkle, though I wonder if they should have interspersed regular and themed cycles to goose ratings and not create an expectation for themed cycles (this being the fourth one in a row).
Kicking around for mid-season are Star Crossed (a teen-centered aliens openly live on Earth drama that's reminiscent of Alien Nation and District 9), The 100 (a group of juvenile delinquents is sent from a space station to repopulate a nuclear disaster-ravaged Earth), and The CW's annual horrific attempt at a reality show, Famous in 12 (an everyday family has 12 weeks to become famous, or at least CW-level famous).
The Verdict?
I suppose The CW has met their goal of bringing in new programming that will appeal to its desired demo of younger females. How wrong can you go with more vampires and young princesses? Friday is worrisome, but Friday is the one night where having slightly lower ratings is expected. I don't think any of the new shows will be the next Gossip Girl, but I don't think they'll be the next Emily Owens, either.
Who Stays? Who Goes?
No surprises here, as the notable cuts - 90210, Gossip Girl, Cult and Emily Owens M.D. were either expected to end or were dropped from the schedule early on. Supernatural is back for a ninth season - no word on it being a final season. Nikita, though, will be back at some point to wrap things up over six episodes.
What's Coming?
Monday - Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast move to Monday, the younger female option to Dancing With the Stars and Castle on ABC.
Tuesday - Opens with The Originals, which follows the original vampire family as its patriarch tries to uncover a plot to destroy him that may involve other family members. It's a spin-off of Vampire Diaries, as you might imagine. It's followed by a relocated Supernatural.
Wednesday - Arrow stays here to open the night, followed by The Tomorrow People, an adaptation of a British show about genetically-advanced teens who develop powers like telekinesis, transportation, and so on. Sounds like a younger version of Heroes, but hopefully without the dopey and melodramatic opening voice overs.
Thursday - Starts with The Vampire Diaries and ends with Reign, which follows a teenaged Mary, Queen of Scots, as she travels with her ladies in waiting to France to see the prince she's been arranged to marry. I never quite thought of The CW as a home for period drama, but a little Tudors-lite bodice ripping may be a nice change of pace.
Friday - The Carrie Diaries move here and gets paired with America's Next Top Model. I'm less surprised by the pairing than the night, but looking at the numbers The Carrie Diaries never quite caught on, so Friday it is, though I'd imagine the target demo for the show will be at the mall (time to count the DVR viewers!).
No specific date is given for the 20th cycle of ANTM, but I'm seeing summer 2013 everywhere, so I'm assuming it'll run into the fall. Same judges, etc. as the last time, but the models will include men for the first time. It's a nice wrinkle, though I wonder if they should have interspersed regular and themed cycles to goose ratings and not create an expectation for themed cycles (this being the fourth one in a row).
Kicking around for mid-season are Star Crossed (a teen-centered aliens openly live on Earth drama that's reminiscent of Alien Nation and District 9), The 100 (a group of juvenile delinquents is sent from a space station to repopulate a nuclear disaster-ravaged Earth), and The CW's annual horrific attempt at a reality show, Famous in 12 (an everyday family has 12 weeks to become famous, or at least CW-level famous).
The Verdict?
I suppose The CW has met their goal of bringing in new programming that will appeal to its desired demo of younger females. How wrong can you go with more vampires and young princesses? Friday is worrisome, but Friday is the one night where having slightly lower ratings is expected. I don't think any of the new shows will be the next Gossip Girl, but I don't think they'll be the next Emily Owens, either.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Upfronts: The CW
The last netlet standing has announced their 2012-13 schedule, and it's pretty much what you'd expect from an outfit that targets teens and tweens.
What's back? What's not? Outside of the shows that were cancelled early in their runs, the two noteworthy cancellations were The Secret Circle and Ringer. Neither was especially surprising, though I thought Ringer might pick up a second season. Shows that have done worse were renewed.
What's New? Three new shows for the fall, two midseason debuts, and a fair amount of shuffling:
Monday sees 90210 move to 8 pm, with the final season of Gossip Girl following. Once that show wraps, we'll get The Carrie Diaries, aka Teen Sex and the City, which is about Carrie Bradshaw growing up in the 1980s. Looking forward to the Very Special Episode about her first herpes scare.
Tuesday goes medical with Hart of Dixie at a new day and time, followed by the new show Emily Owens, M.D., which sounds like Grey's Anatomy: The New Class. Honestly, it's about a new intern at a hospital who learns that it's pretty much like high school all over again. So it's Grey's without the angst. Snore.
Wednesday leads with Arrow, a drama about the Green Arrow. Well timed given the success of The Avengers, not sure if the archery guy is the best one to spin into a TV show. That's followed by Supernatural, which seems like a nice fit. Thought this might be the last season but apparently not, no talk of it that I could find.
Thursday returns The Vampire Diaries and follows it with a reboot of Beauty and the Beast. I suppose it's been long enough since the CBS version to give it another shot, and maybe nostalgic moms will watch with their daughters. It's not the worst idea the network's ever had.
Friday starts with a relocated America's Next Top Model, which to me seems like a vote of no confidence between the flagging ratings and the cutting loose of Nigel Barker, J. Alexander, and Jay Manuel. After that it's Nikita, which did reasonably well on Fridays this past season (by CW standards for Friday). I don't know if they're a natural pair, but I'm happy to see that the network isn't trying to put more model-related programming on to play off of ANTM.
Saturday and Sunday continue as nights for the local affiliates to program, probably the smartest thing The CW has ever done.
Elsewhere at midseason you already know about The Carrie Diaries. The other show waiting in the wings is Cult, which is about a journalist whose brother claims that a TV show (also called Cult) is trying to hurt him. When the brother goes missing the journalist goes into action, and finds a production assistant on the show who is willing to help him uncover the darker side of the show and its rabid fans.
Summing up, I suppose it's a good thing that The CW has created thematic elements to each night, and that they're reasonably distinct (with the exception of Friday, whose theme seems to be "we need to put these shows someplace"). I do think that Tuesday may be a repetitive - the main difference in them seems to be that one is set at a hospital - but Monday's stew of gossip and sex seems to work for them, so maybe I'm making something out of this that isn't there. Anyway, nothing I'm really excited about but a seeming decent offering for the network's core viewers.
What's back? What's not? Outside of the shows that were cancelled early in their runs, the two noteworthy cancellations were The Secret Circle and Ringer. Neither was especially surprising, though I thought Ringer might pick up a second season. Shows that have done worse were renewed.
What's New? Three new shows for the fall, two midseason debuts, and a fair amount of shuffling:
Monday sees 90210 move to 8 pm, with the final season of Gossip Girl following. Once that show wraps, we'll get The Carrie Diaries, aka Teen Sex and the City, which is about Carrie Bradshaw growing up in the 1980s. Looking forward to the Very Special Episode about her first herpes scare.
Tuesday goes medical with Hart of Dixie at a new day and time, followed by the new show Emily Owens, M.D., which sounds like Grey's Anatomy: The New Class. Honestly, it's about a new intern at a hospital who learns that it's pretty much like high school all over again. So it's Grey's without the angst. Snore.
Wednesday leads with Arrow, a drama about the Green Arrow. Well timed given the success of The Avengers, not sure if the archery guy is the best one to spin into a TV show. That's followed by Supernatural, which seems like a nice fit. Thought this might be the last season but apparently not, no talk of it that I could find.
Thursday returns The Vampire Diaries and follows it with a reboot of Beauty and the Beast. I suppose it's been long enough since the CBS version to give it another shot, and maybe nostalgic moms will watch with their daughters. It's not the worst idea the network's ever had.
Friday starts with a relocated America's Next Top Model, which to me seems like a vote of no confidence between the flagging ratings and the cutting loose of Nigel Barker, J. Alexander, and Jay Manuel. After that it's Nikita, which did reasonably well on Fridays this past season (by CW standards for Friday). I don't know if they're a natural pair, but I'm happy to see that the network isn't trying to put more model-related programming on to play off of ANTM.
Saturday and Sunday continue as nights for the local affiliates to program, probably the smartest thing The CW has ever done.
Elsewhere at midseason you already know about The Carrie Diaries. The other show waiting in the wings is Cult, which is about a journalist whose brother claims that a TV show (also called Cult) is trying to hurt him. When the brother goes missing the journalist goes into action, and finds a production assistant on the show who is willing to help him uncover the darker side of the show and its rabid fans.
Summing up, I suppose it's a good thing that The CW has created thematic elements to each night, and that they're reasonably distinct (with the exception of Friday, whose theme seems to be "we need to put these shows someplace"). I do think that Tuesday may be a repetitive - the main difference in them seems to be that one is set at a hospital - but Monday's stew of gossip and sex seems to work for them, so maybe I'm making something out of this that isn't there. Anyway, nothing I'm really excited about but a seeming decent offering for the network's core viewers.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Upfronts: The CW
And last but, well, least, The CW.
Returning Shows - No real surprises, other than Nikita getting renewed and moved to Friday. Other stuff has shifted by an hour but stayed on the same day. One Tree Hill returns in the spring for what seems to be its 28th season.
New Shows:
Monday - Gossip Girl moves up an hour and will be followed by Hart of Dixie, named to bring in all those tween pun enthusiasts. Rachel Bilson stars as a new doctor whose plans to become a surgeon fall through, so she takes a job with a doctor in Alabama. She gets down there only to learn that the guy who hired her died, but he left half his practice to her in his will. The other half goes to the town's other doctor, who doesn't like the competition. Turns out his daughter doesn't care for competition, either, as the young doctor finds an ally in the daughter's fiance.
Not sure if this is more Doc Hollywood or Sweet Home Alabama. Either way, this isn't the worst show the network is trotting out next season.
Tuesday - Sarah Michelle Gellar returns (well, sort of, as she was on The WB and UPN but not the merged network) in Ringer. Here she plays Bridget, a woman who is the sole witness to a professional hit. Fearing for her life, she runs and reconnects with her estranged twin sister, and when the sister mysteriously disappears, Bridget adopts her sister's persona - only to learn that her life is no bed of roses, either.
I suppose this could work, though I can't help but think of Lone Star with its one person/two lives set-up. Though I guess that's a nice low bar to clear as a measure of success.
Wednesday - Going back to the last comment I made about Hart of Dixie, this night features what looks like the clear loser of the new shows, H8R, and it's not just because its name is in textspeak. The premise of the show is that celebrities will meet some of their greatest detractors and work to turn them into fans (or at least have them stop being haters). I'm assuming the celebrities will be CW-type personalities that you've likely not heard of if you're over 23.
Mario Lopez hosts, probably wishing he could go back to Pet Star.
Thursday - Secret Circle brings us witches to follow vampires, which I guess makes a certain amount of sense. A girl loses her mother in a fire and is taken in by her grandmother. The girl learns that her new town (where her mom grew up) is actually inhabited by witches, and her return will allow them to form a new circle. As she discovers her powers, she learns that there are other forces at play in town, and that her mother's death may not have been accidental. Regardless of this mumbo jumbo, I suspect that as long as the teen boys on the show are sullen and shirtless, the show will do OK.
No new shows on Friday, and of course no programming at all on the weekend.
Two new shows for mid-season. The first is Re-Modeled, The CW's millionth attempt to launch another fashion-themed show to go with ANTM. Some fashion guy is working to pull smaller modeling agencies together so that they don't get screwed (by whom I don't know, the larger agencies?), and in the process the models themselves get greater control of their careers and health (through a mechanism not yet explained). Whatever.
The other show, The Frame, is some sort of Big Brother rip-off where pairs of contestants are put into some sort of restricted living space (the "frame") and only interact with other pairs remotely. The description says the contestants have "dynamic personalities," which to my mind sounds like they'll all be braying jackasses.
Returning Shows - No real surprises, other than Nikita getting renewed and moved to Friday. Other stuff has shifted by an hour but stayed on the same day. One Tree Hill returns in the spring for what seems to be its 28th season.
New Shows:
Monday - Gossip Girl moves up an hour and will be followed by Hart of Dixie, named to bring in all those tween pun enthusiasts. Rachel Bilson stars as a new doctor whose plans to become a surgeon fall through, so she takes a job with a doctor in Alabama. She gets down there only to learn that the guy who hired her died, but he left half his practice to her in his will. The other half goes to the town's other doctor, who doesn't like the competition. Turns out his daughter doesn't care for competition, either, as the young doctor finds an ally in the daughter's fiance.
Not sure if this is more Doc Hollywood or Sweet Home Alabama. Either way, this isn't the worst show the network is trotting out next season.
Tuesday - Sarah Michelle Gellar returns (well, sort of, as she was on The WB and UPN but not the merged network) in Ringer. Here she plays Bridget, a woman who is the sole witness to a professional hit. Fearing for her life, she runs and reconnects with her estranged twin sister, and when the sister mysteriously disappears, Bridget adopts her sister's persona - only to learn that her life is no bed of roses, either.
I suppose this could work, though I can't help but think of Lone Star with its one person/two lives set-up. Though I guess that's a nice low bar to clear as a measure of success.
Wednesday - Going back to the last comment I made about Hart of Dixie, this night features what looks like the clear loser of the new shows, H8R, and it's not just because its name is in textspeak. The premise of the show is that celebrities will meet some of their greatest detractors and work to turn them into fans (or at least have them stop being haters). I'm assuming the celebrities will be CW-type personalities that you've likely not heard of if you're over 23.
Mario Lopez hosts, probably wishing he could go back to Pet Star.
Thursday - Secret Circle brings us witches to follow vampires, which I guess makes a certain amount of sense. A girl loses her mother in a fire and is taken in by her grandmother. The girl learns that her new town (where her mom grew up) is actually inhabited by witches, and her return will allow them to form a new circle. As she discovers her powers, she learns that there are other forces at play in town, and that her mother's death may not have been accidental. Regardless of this mumbo jumbo, I suspect that as long as the teen boys on the show are sullen and shirtless, the show will do OK.
No new shows on Friday, and of course no programming at all on the weekend.
Two new shows for mid-season. The first is Re-Modeled, The CW's millionth attempt to launch another fashion-themed show to go with ANTM. Some fashion guy is working to pull smaller modeling agencies together so that they don't get screwed (by whom I don't know, the larger agencies?), and in the process the models themselves get greater control of their careers and health (through a mechanism not yet explained). Whatever.
The other show, The Frame, is some sort of Big Brother rip-off where pairs of contestants are put into some sort of restricted living space (the "frame") and only interact with other pairs remotely. The description says the contestants have "dynamic personalities," which to my mind sounds like they'll all be braying jackasses.
Friday, May 13, 2011
On the Bubble: The CW
Last but not least, the network formerly known as The WB and UPN:
Saved: Hellcats, One Tree Hill
I'm on the fence with Hellcats, whose performance didn't set any records, but which the network may still see as being their chance to tap into the Glee crowd, just with backflips instead of singing. And One Tree Hill is established enough now that it would get chance to have a set final season.
Gone:: Nikita, Plain Jane, Shedding for the Wedding
Nikita never quite clicked, maybe because it's not obviously targeted for 12 year old girls. I can honestly say I've never heard of Plain Jane (apparently because it aired last summer), while Shedding for the Wedding had some incredibly low ratings, even by The CW standards. All toast.
Saved: Hellcats, One Tree Hill
I'm on the fence with Hellcats, whose performance didn't set any records, but which the network may still see as being their chance to tap into the Glee crowd, just with backflips instead of singing. And One Tree Hill is established enough now that it would get chance to have a set final season.
Gone:: Nikita, Plain Jane, Shedding for the Wedding
Nikita never quite clicked, maybe because it's not obviously targeted for 12 year old girls. I can honestly say I've never heard of Plain Jane (apparently because it aired last summer), while Shedding for the Wedding had some incredibly low ratings, even by The CW standards. All toast.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Last Shall Be Last?
I was just looking over the schedule for next week's upfronts, and was surprised to see that The CW gets a day to itself. Granted, it's the morning of the last day (Thursday, I suppose to give everyone an extra half day to schmooze), but I find it odd that NBC and Fox have to double up on the first day. Then again, The CW might just pass NBC if they don't have Sunday Night Football to shore up their ratings, so perhaps a day to themselves is justified, even if it's just to announce that they're putting vampires on five nights a week.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Upfronts: The CW
For a network focused on pulling in the youngest viewers, there are a surprising number of aging shows on the CW lineup for next season. Only two new shows for next season, helped by the network sticking to its plan to program weeknights only.
What's gone - Melrose Place would be the most notable cut, given how the network pushed for the show to match the same relative success as 90210. Casting Ashlee Simpson may not have been such a great idea, in retrosepct. The Beautiful Life, the network's latest attempt to translate the success of America's Next Top Model into episodic TV, also got the hook. Among the others, I only stop to note that I never knew there was a show called Blonde Charity Mafia. The name alone cried for cancellation.
Day by Day -
Monday: 90210 moves over to partner with Gossip Girl, which seems like a good idea. Why have one hour of backbiting rich kids when you can have two?
Tuesday: One Tree Hill moves in with adoption drama Life Unexpected. Which is fine, I guess.
Wednesday: America's Next Top Model continues, and will lead in to Hellcats, which follows a pre-law student at a Memphis university who,after losing financial aid, parlays her youth gymnastics experience into a spot on the school's cheerleading team, leading the usual backstabbing and Bring it On-type shenanigans. I think.
Thursday: The Vampire Diaries leads in to Nikita, a show about a woman who was recruited to become a spy and assassin as a teen, and who had now turned against those that trained her, an outfit known as Division. Meanwhile, they keep turning out teenaged spies, one of whom is beginning to see why Nikita decided to turn. This should sound familiar, it being the basis, more or less, for two feature films and a previous TV series.
Friday: Brings Smallville and Supernatural together, in a sensible pairing, even if Smallville seems like it's been around since 1994. This is supposedly the show's last season, which seems at least one season too late. I can't say I'm thrilled about the network playing the usual game of sticking its sci-fi/fantasy type series on Friday nights, but if the network really does skew younger it may not be a bad move, as most of the fans should be too young to go out to bars.
I can't say this is the worst lineup the CW could have come up with, though they may be trading stability for some of their younger viewers. That also may not be the worst thing if they can bring in a few more viewers in their 20s. Still, I don't see them threatening NBC any time soon.
What's gone - Melrose Place would be the most notable cut, given how the network pushed for the show to match the same relative success as 90210. Casting Ashlee Simpson may not have been such a great idea, in retrosepct. The Beautiful Life, the network's latest attempt to translate the success of America's Next Top Model into episodic TV, also got the hook. Among the others, I only stop to note that I never knew there was a show called Blonde Charity Mafia. The name alone cried for cancellation.
Day by Day -
Monday: 90210 moves over to partner with Gossip Girl, which seems like a good idea. Why have one hour of backbiting rich kids when you can have two?
Tuesday: One Tree Hill moves in with adoption drama Life Unexpected. Which is fine, I guess.
Wednesday: America's Next Top Model continues, and will lead in to Hellcats, which follows a pre-law student at a Memphis university who,after losing financial aid, parlays her youth gymnastics experience into a spot on the school's cheerleading team, leading the usual backstabbing and Bring it On-type shenanigans. I think.
Thursday: The Vampire Diaries leads in to Nikita, a show about a woman who was recruited to become a spy and assassin as a teen, and who had now turned against those that trained her, an outfit known as Division. Meanwhile, they keep turning out teenaged spies, one of whom is beginning to see why Nikita decided to turn. This should sound familiar, it being the basis, more or less, for two feature films and a previous TV series.
Friday: Brings Smallville and Supernatural together, in a sensible pairing, even if Smallville seems like it's been around since 1994. This is supposedly the show's last season, which seems at least one season too late. I can't say I'm thrilled about the network playing the usual game of sticking its sci-fi/fantasy type series on Friday nights, but if the network really does skew younger it may not be a bad move, as most of the fans should be too young to go out to bars.
I can't say this is the worst lineup the CW could have come up with, though they may be trading stability for some of their younger viewers. That also may not be the worst thing if they can bring in a few more viewers in their 20s. Still, I don't see them threatening NBC any time soon.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Back From Hiatus
With the new TV season heading towards the halfway mark, it seemed like an appropriate time to write my first entry on the new season. Why wade in when everything is new and confusing?
It turns out that we've picked up very few new shows, which isn't particularly surprising given the number of shows we're already struggling to watch in something resembling a timely fashion. Of all the new shows, we're watching Glee (based on the pilot preview in the spring, smart move there), FlashForward, V (technically we're not watching it yet, but we're taping episodes), and Community (which the wife has bailed on but I still watch).
I'm not addicted to any of them, but I do like each of them in their own way. I'm a little irritated that both Glee and FlashForward are going away until the spring, but that does give us some catch up time with the DVR.
We never sampled the ABC's new lineup of Wednesday sitcoms, probably to our detriment given how well they've been recieved (excepting Hank, of course). We've also never ventured into Jay Leno's new show, but we didn't watch his old one, either.
I am finding that my interest in three returning shows has waned considerably. I'm at the point where I'm not even recording Heroes, and while I plan to catch up through on demand or online viewing, I could see it not happening. I really don't like any of the directions the show is taking this season. I'm feeling more obligated than interested in Desperate Housewives and America's Next Top Model, but still watch both. Model in particular is a sad case, in that it's gotten very tired but is unlikely to get a makeover of its own (or canceled, even). I miss the days where the models drank (though it's easy enough to relive them given the reruns that are cropping up on various channels).
The only other thing to note is that I did manage to watch the most recent season of Mad Men in roughly the same period in which it aired. I have to say it was pretty depressing until the last episode. Hearing Lane Pryce wish Saint John Powell a Happy Christmas after getting fired was a welcome laugh after a season of watching the Draper marriage crumble.
So that's where things more or less stand now. More later, hopefully before May.
It turns out that we've picked up very few new shows, which isn't particularly surprising given the number of shows we're already struggling to watch in something resembling a timely fashion. Of all the new shows, we're watching Glee (based on the pilot preview in the spring, smart move there), FlashForward, V (technically we're not watching it yet, but we're taping episodes), and Community (which the wife has bailed on but I still watch).
I'm not addicted to any of them, but I do like each of them in their own way. I'm a little irritated that both Glee and FlashForward are going away until the spring, but that does give us some catch up time with the DVR.
We never sampled the ABC's new lineup of Wednesday sitcoms, probably to our detriment given how well they've been recieved (excepting Hank, of course). We've also never ventured into Jay Leno's new show, but we didn't watch his old one, either.
I am finding that my interest in three returning shows has waned considerably. I'm at the point where I'm not even recording Heroes, and while I plan to catch up through on demand or online viewing, I could see it not happening. I really don't like any of the directions the show is taking this season. I'm feeling more obligated than interested in Desperate Housewives and America's Next Top Model, but still watch both. Model in particular is a sad case, in that it's gotten very tired but is unlikely to get a makeover of its own (or canceled, even). I miss the days where the models drank (though it's easy enough to relive them given the reruns that are cropping up on various channels).
The only other thing to note is that I did manage to watch the most recent season of Mad Men in roughly the same period in which it aired. I have to say it was pretty depressing until the last episode. Hearing Lane Pryce wish Saint John Powell a Happy Christmas after getting fired was a welcome laugh after a season of watching the Draper marriage crumble.
So that's where things more or less stand now. More later, hopefully before May.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
2009-10 Season; Friday
There are a couple of notable changes on this second-least watched night of TV.
ABC - They probably have the biggest one, as Ugly Betty moves over from Thursday to anchor a night stuck between Supernanny and 20/20. There's two schools of thought on the move. The first is that Betty is being banished to Friday due to ratings that have been sagging over time and are now more appropriate to Friday nights. The other, as espoused by ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson, is that they can use Thursday and the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice pairing to help Flash Forward debut strong and build an audience.
I tend to fall in the former camp. Betty has seen its ratings diminish, and a declining show is least likely to survive on ultra-competitive Thursday nights. If it manages to bring its current fan base to Friday, the show would be a qualified hit. I don't know if Betty will boost the evening as a whole - I don't expect the intersection of Betty and 20/20 viewerships to be that great - but it has to be an improvement over Wife Swap, doesn't it?
CBS - Will continue to dominate Fridays thanks to The Ghost Whisperer and Numbers, which are now flanking Medium, picked up from NBC's scrap pile. Medium is kind of in a similar position to Ugly Betty in regards to bringing fans over (with the added difficulty of a new network to boot), but where it's going to a well-established night of programming it'll have more of a cushion, I'd think. It should also be less risky than bringing in a new show.
Fox - Opens the night with Brothers, a sitcom about a former NFL player who moves home to help his brother, whose restaurant is struggling, but then may wind up home for good if his mom has her way. What makes this interesting is that the show starts actual former NFL player Michael Strahan, who has plenty of charisma but hasn't acted much outside of Subway commercials. The cast includes Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, CCH Pounder and Carl Weathers, which should help to even things out if Strahan is a little uneven.
Brothers is paired with Til Death, which was off the air for most of this past season. It'll return in the summer on Sundays before moving to Fridays in the fall.
Perhaps the biggest surprise from Fox was the return of Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's drama about sexy secret agents who have their memories erased after each job. There wasn't much hope for the show when it premiered, but apparently Fox still feels bad about axing Firefly and is making amends here. If nothing else, it's the perfect capper to a strange night of TV.
NBC - If you were wondering if anyone actually tries to win the 49 and over demographic, this night may be your proof. It opens with Law & Order, now in its 20th season of ripping stories from the headlines. It's followed by Southland, the LA cop drama that was a surprise pick-up. It ends with Leno. If any night is AARP-approved, it's this one.
The CW - Limps into Friday with Smallville - it's still on! - and reruns of America's Next Top Model. For this they cancelled Everybody Hates Chris. It's official: The CW is the suckiest bunch of sucks to ever suck.
ABC - They probably have the biggest one, as Ugly Betty moves over from Thursday to anchor a night stuck between Supernanny and 20/20. There's two schools of thought on the move. The first is that Betty is being banished to Friday due to ratings that have been sagging over time and are now more appropriate to Friday nights. The other, as espoused by ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson, is that they can use Thursday and the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice pairing to help Flash Forward debut strong and build an audience.
I tend to fall in the former camp. Betty has seen its ratings diminish, and a declining show is least likely to survive on ultra-competitive Thursday nights. If it manages to bring its current fan base to Friday, the show would be a qualified hit. I don't know if Betty will boost the evening as a whole - I don't expect the intersection of Betty and 20/20 viewerships to be that great - but it has to be an improvement over Wife Swap, doesn't it?
CBS - Will continue to dominate Fridays thanks to The Ghost Whisperer and Numbers, which are now flanking Medium, picked up from NBC's scrap pile. Medium is kind of in a similar position to Ugly Betty in regards to bringing fans over (with the added difficulty of a new network to boot), but where it's going to a well-established night of programming it'll have more of a cushion, I'd think. It should also be less risky than bringing in a new show.
Fox - Opens the night with Brothers, a sitcom about a former NFL player who moves home to help his brother, whose restaurant is struggling, but then may wind up home for good if his mom has her way. What makes this interesting is that the show starts actual former NFL player Michael Strahan, who has plenty of charisma but hasn't acted much outside of Subway commercials. The cast includes Darryl "Chill" Mitchell, CCH Pounder and Carl Weathers, which should help to even things out if Strahan is a little uneven.
Brothers is paired with Til Death, which was off the air for most of this past season. It'll return in the summer on Sundays before moving to Fridays in the fall.
Perhaps the biggest surprise from Fox was the return of Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's drama about sexy secret agents who have their memories erased after each job. There wasn't much hope for the show when it premiered, but apparently Fox still feels bad about axing Firefly and is making amends here. If nothing else, it's the perfect capper to a strange night of TV.
NBC - If you were wondering if anyone actually tries to win the 49 and over demographic, this night may be your proof. It opens with Law & Order, now in its 20th season of ripping stories from the headlines. It's followed by Southland, the LA cop drama that was a surprise pick-up. It ends with Leno. If any night is AARP-approved, it's this one.
The CW - Limps into Friday with Smallville - it's still on! - and reruns of America's Next Top Model. For this they cancelled Everybody Hates Chris. It's official: The CW is the suckiest bunch of sucks to ever suck.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
2009-10 Season: Thursday
Easily the night with the best programming across the board.
ABC - They've decided to break up their female-friendly night of programming by moving Ugly Betty and replacing it with Flash Forward. This high-concept drama takes place in the aftermath of every person in the world blacking out for two minutes and 17 seconds, during which time they get a glimpse of their future.
Does this sound like something that would go with relationship dramas? Not particularly, which makes me worry for this intriguing show. Shorts ads for it did run during Lost this past season, and it seems like those two shows would air together. And perhaps they will - assuming Flash Forward survives.
CBS - Returns with Survivor and CSI, and moves The Mentalist over to create a very strong night, likely their strongest of the week.
Fox - Pairs Bones with Fringe, which doesn't seem like an obvious paring but doesn't sound disastrous. There's also an interesting comparison to ABC, given that these shows have female leads but don't center around their loves lives. It'll be interesting to see if Bones - which is popular but not exactly a ratings-grabber - can boost Fringe, which fared OK in its inaugural season.
The CW - Opens the evening with The Vampire Diaries, which seeks to make hay off the Twilight craze, which seems like smart move but I don't know if the die-hards are going to cotton to a rip-off. It's paired with Supernatural, which makes sense. This could wind up being a decent night for the former Frog.
ABC - They've decided to break up their female-friendly night of programming by moving Ugly Betty and replacing it with Flash Forward. This high-concept drama takes place in the aftermath of every person in the world blacking out for two minutes and 17 seconds, during which time they get a glimpse of their future.
Does this sound like something that would go with relationship dramas? Not particularly, which makes me worry for this intriguing show. Shorts ads for it did run during Lost this past season, and it seems like those two shows would air together. And perhaps they will - assuming Flash Forward survives.
CBS - Returns with Survivor and CSI, and moves The Mentalist over to create a very strong night, likely their strongest of the week.
Fox - Pairs Bones with Fringe, which doesn't seem like an obvious paring but doesn't sound disastrous. There's also an interesting comparison to ABC, given that these shows have female leads but don't center around their loves lives. It'll be interesting to see if Bones - which is popular but not exactly a ratings-grabber - can boost Fringe, which fared OK in its inaugural season.
The CW - Opens the evening with The Vampire Diaries, which seeks to make hay off the Twilight craze, which seems like smart move but I don't know if the die-hards are going to cotton to a rip-off. It's paired with Supernatural, which makes sense. This could wind up being a decent night for the former Frog.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
2009-10 Season: Wednesday
Remember when I said Tuesday was the night you could skip out and not miss anything on TV? Well, Wednesday isn't much better.
ABC - Throws an entire night of new shows at us, five of their total of eight new shows for the season. Four are sitcoms:
ABC - Throws an entire night of new shows at us, five of their total of eight new shows for the season. Four are sitcoms:
- Hank, starring Kelsey Grammer as an ex-tycoon looking to make his way back to the top;
- The Middle, a Roseann ripoff starring Patricia Heaton;
- The Modern Family, a documentary-style show about the different styles of families out there and how they operate and interact, starring Ed O'Neill;
- and Cougar Town, starring Courtney Cox as a newly-divorced mom getting back into dating.
ABC apparently showed the entire pilot of The Modern Family during its upfront, and at least one critic (Aaron Barnhart of TV Barn and the Kansas City Star) reported that it was pretty well-recieved. That's a good thing, as based on ABC's press releases they all sound like they were generated by the Sitcom9000.
The network ends the night with Eastwick, a drama based on the movie The Witches of Eastwick. Sadly, this is not the only show on Wednesday based on a 20+ year old movie.
Really, a pretty thin night for ABC, but it's probably enough to keep them in third place until they cancel some stuff and bring back Lost.
CBS - Will battle for first place for the night, starting with The New Adventures of Old Christine and Gary Unmarried, moving to Criminal Minds at 9 and finishing with CSI: New York. Solid night all the way around.
Fox - Opens with results shows (So You Think You Can Dance or American Idol) followed by one of two new shows. The first is Glee, the high-school dramedy that aired its pilot earlier this month to good reviews. The oddity is the other show, Human Target, which stars Mark Valley as a man whose job is to get close to potential targets of violence so he can become the target in order to save lives. I don't quite understand how this fits in with a night otherwise dedicated to singing and dancing.
NBC - Starts the night with the other show based on an ancient movie, Parenthood. This is the second go-round in trying to make this into a TV series, and I don't know why it will do any better now. It will move aside in the spring for Mercy, a medical show that's Grey's Anatomy from a nurse's perspective. Had NBC been thinking they'd have combined this with Trauma so they only had one Grey's ripoff on the schedule. That or they'd have scheduled them for the same night and time so that one runs into the other. Viewers may not even notice that they are different shows.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent follows at 9 and Leno wraps things at 10.
The CW - Gives us the next cycle of America's Next Top Model, and follows the unscripted show about model with a scripted one, The Beautiful Life. I wouldn't expect much from it, except that the cast has something for everyone - Elle Macpherson, The OC's Mischa Barton and High School Musical's Corbin Bleu are all in the ensemble. So this may actually work, or at least work as well as anything on The CW does.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
2009-10 Season: Tuesday
After looking at the tentative schedule, if you were looking for a night to do errands or otherwise not be in front of your TV, this might be the night.
ABC - Wraps the results show for Dancing With the Stars around two new shows. The early one, Shark Tank, is an Americanized version of BBC America's Dragon's Den, as entrepraneurs present their ideas to a panel of five self-made millionaires in the hopes that they'll provide seed capital. Sounds find in concept, and hopefully the producers here will remember how NBC failed to turn Last Restaurant Standing into a success with Chopping Block.
On the other end is The Forgotten, which sees a group of amateur sleuths work to put names to unidentified murder victims, with the hope that an ID will help lead to an arrest. Reiko Ayelsworth, best known for playing Michelle Dessler on 24, is part of the cast. This may be enough of a twist on the police procedural to work, and having Jerry Bruckheimer involved should help, too.
In the spring, the first two hours will change to a show to be named later (I'm hoping it's the V remake, which sounds atrocious on principle) and a sitcom block of Scrubs and Better Off Ted. Both are somewhat surprising additions to the schedule. Scrubs got a proper send-off, and will now apparently toil on without Zach Braff. The surprise for me with Better Off Ted returning is that ABC managed to keep the right midseason sitcom, as they could have brought back In the Motherhood.
To my eyes, ABC has the best line-up for the night, which is depressing as I really don't feel compelled to watch any of these shows.
CBS - Looks to replicate the success of spinning off CSI into different locations by giving us NCIS: Los Angeles in the 9 pm slot, airing after the original NCIS. I don't know if that's such a great thing, though I suppose it's a way to build an audience with current NCIS viewers who may potentially follow the show to another night later in the season. The new show stars Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, though once I hear the name "Chris O'Donnell" I start to look for the remote. I'd be surprised if this brings in enough viewers to make the cancellation of The Unit look like a smart move, though I may be underestimating the loyalty of the average NCIS viewer.
The 10 pm spot is filled by The Good Wife, the latest show to cast Juliana Marguiles as a lawyer. In this show, though, her character returns to practice more than decade after leaving to be a full-time mom, forced to pick things up again after a public sex and corruption scandal lands her husband in jail. The cast looks solid, as it includes Chris Noth, Josh Charles and Christine Baranski. If it's done well, this would be the best pick for the 10 pm slot for the night.
Fox - Will bank on reality for the night, with So You Think You Can Dance? in the fall and American Idol in the spring. I can't imagine they'll go a full two hours for Dance each week, especially with an hour-long results show the next night. Then again, Fox does like to milk hours with reality performance programming, so I'm sure they'll find a way to fill the time.
In the spring, AI will share the night with Past Life, about a pair of "detectives" who determine if your current problems are being caused by who you were in a past life. Um, no.
NBC - Dedicates pretty much their entire non-Leno programming in the evening to The Biggest Loser. In the spring, they'll cut the show to 90 minutes and add 100 Questions, the sitcom about the woman who has a wacky romantic anecdone for each of the 100 questions on a dating service survey. I guess it fits with the expected Loser demographic, but I can't help but have visions of quick-cancelled shows like The Ex-List and Emily's Reasons Why Not floating in my head. They'd have been better off snagging Samantha Who? off of ABC's discard pile.
The night ends with Leno at 10. Get used to that.
The CW - Brings back 90210 and adds to it a new version of Melrose Place. Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro return from the original, and Ashlee Simpson appears as one of the young, new tenants. If only the network did three hours of programming a night, we'd be guaranteed a revival of Models, Inc. next season. Oh, to dream...
ABC - Wraps the results show for Dancing With the Stars around two new shows. The early one, Shark Tank, is an Americanized version of BBC America's Dragon's Den, as entrepraneurs present their ideas to a panel of five self-made millionaires in the hopes that they'll provide seed capital. Sounds find in concept, and hopefully the producers here will remember how NBC failed to turn Last Restaurant Standing into a success with Chopping Block.
On the other end is The Forgotten, which sees a group of amateur sleuths work to put names to unidentified murder victims, with the hope that an ID will help lead to an arrest. Reiko Ayelsworth, best known for playing Michelle Dessler on 24, is part of the cast. This may be enough of a twist on the police procedural to work, and having Jerry Bruckheimer involved should help, too.
In the spring, the first two hours will change to a show to be named later (I'm hoping it's the V remake, which sounds atrocious on principle) and a sitcom block of Scrubs and Better Off Ted. Both are somewhat surprising additions to the schedule. Scrubs got a proper send-off, and will now apparently toil on without Zach Braff. The surprise for me with Better Off Ted returning is that ABC managed to keep the right midseason sitcom, as they could have brought back In the Motherhood.
To my eyes, ABC has the best line-up for the night, which is depressing as I really don't feel compelled to watch any of these shows.
CBS - Looks to replicate the success of spinning off CSI into different locations by giving us NCIS: Los Angeles in the 9 pm slot, airing after the original NCIS. I don't know if that's such a great thing, though I suppose it's a way to build an audience with current NCIS viewers who may potentially follow the show to another night later in the season. The new show stars Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J, though once I hear the name "Chris O'Donnell" I start to look for the remote. I'd be surprised if this brings in enough viewers to make the cancellation of The Unit look like a smart move, though I may be underestimating the loyalty of the average NCIS viewer.
The 10 pm spot is filled by The Good Wife, the latest show to cast Juliana Marguiles as a lawyer. In this show, though, her character returns to practice more than decade after leaving to be a full-time mom, forced to pick things up again after a public sex and corruption scandal lands her husband in jail. The cast looks solid, as it includes Chris Noth, Josh Charles and Christine Baranski. If it's done well, this would be the best pick for the 10 pm slot for the night.
Fox - Will bank on reality for the night, with So You Think You Can Dance? in the fall and American Idol in the spring. I can't imagine they'll go a full two hours for Dance each week, especially with an hour-long results show the next night. Then again, Fox does like to milk hours with reality performance programming, so I'm sure they'll find a way to fill the time.
In the spring, AI will share the night with Past Life, about a pair of "detectives" who determine if your current problems are being caused by who you were in a past life. Um, no.
NBC - Dedicates pretty much their entire non-Leno programming in the evening to The Biggest Loser. In the spring, they'll cut the show to 90 minutes and add 100 Questions, the sitcom about the woman who has a wacky romantic anecdone for each of the 100 questions on a dating service survey. I guess it fits with the expected Loser demographic, but I can't help but have visions of quick-cancelled shows like The Ex-List and Emily's Reasons Why Not floating in my head. They'd have been better off snagging Samantha Who? off of ABC's discard pile.
The night ends with Leno at 10. Get used to that.
The CW - Brings back 90210 and adds to it a new version of Melrose Place. Laura Leighton and Thomas Calabro return from the original, and Ashlee Simpson appears as one of the young, new tenants. If only the network did three hours of programming a night, we'd be guaranteed a revival of Models, Inc. next season. Oh, to dream...
Monday, May 25, 2009
2009-10 Season: Monday
Monday offers up our first taste of split-season goodness, as three of the five networks have separate schedules for fall 2009 and spring 2010.
ABC - Will stick to the reality that's been successful on Monday, with a new installment of Dancing With the Stars in 2009 and The Bachelor in 2010. Backstopping both at 10 pm is Castle, the Bones meets Murder, She Wrote drama that one assumes will follow in the footsteps of mid-season premiers like Eli Stone and October Road and not make it past next season.
CBS - Keeps How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory and puts Accidentally on Purpose in the 8:30 slot. The show stars Jenna Elfman as a woman who gets pregnant after a one-night stand and decides to keep both the baby and the father, a younger guy whose immaturity makes Elfman's character think she has two children to raise. There are various friends and family members who offer her help and advice, as well as an ex-boyfriend (played by Grant Show) to keep things interesting. Sounds OK (though I assume it depends on how much you like Jenna Elfman), and it should last the season at least protected by the other sitcoms.
CSI: Miami rounds out the evening at 10.
Fox - Splits the season, with House in the 8 pm hour, with the 9 pm hour split between Lie to Me in the fall and 24 in the spring. Seems like a solid night for Fox, assuming they can get Lie to Me to build a bit.
NBC - The Peacock opens the season with Heroes at 8 and first-responder drama Trauma at 9. I don't quite think these shows go together all that well, but if Heroes couldn't mesh with the now-departed Medium I suppose it may not make that much difference.
In 2010, we start Mondays with Chuck, a surprise renewal given that the show wasn't mentioned during NBC's "infront" presentation earlier in the month. It pairs with Day One, the show about life after a massive infrastructure failure. I don't know if these shows go together all that well either. With both Heroes and Chuck firmly on the fence as far as ratings go, there's a real chance that all four could get axed at the end of the season if things don't go well.
And then there's the grand Jay Leno experiment, which sees him on at 10 pm every weeknight. I don't know if this is much of a risk, as Leno has a built-in fan base and (I assume) the show has production costs similar to reality programming, making it easier to turn a profit. It may also bring back fans who would watch The Tonight Show if it were on earlier. Probably not the most coveted viewers, but any viewers are welcome in this economy. Still, I'd be very surprised if it won the time slot on Mondays.
The CW - Gives us Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. The former should keep doing well with its expected target audience, while One Tree Hill seems a little vulnerable with the loss of a couple of its stars. Still, this is probably their strongest night.
ABC - Will stick to the reality that's been successful on Monday, with a new installment of Dancing With the Stars in 2009 and The Bachelor in 2010. Backstopping both at 10 pm is Castle, the Bones meets Murder, She Wrote drama that one assumes will follow in the footsteps of mid-season premiers like Eli Stone and October Road and not make it past next season.
CBS - Keeps How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory and puts Accidentally on Purpose in the 8:30 slot. The show stars Jenna Elfman as a woman who gets pregnant after a one-night stand and decides to keep both the baby and the father, a younger guy whose immaturity makes Elfman's character think she has two children to raise. There are various friends and family members who offer her help and advice, as well as an ex-boyfriend (played by Grant Show) to keep things interesting. Sounds OK (though I assume it depends on how much you like Jenna Elfman), and it should last the season at least protected by the other sitcoms.
CSI: Miami rounds out the evening at 10.
Fox - Splits the season, with House in the 8 pm hour, with the 9 pm hour split between Lie to Me in the fall and 24 in the spring. Seems like a solid night for Fox, assuming they can get Lie to Me to build a bit.
NBC - The Peacock opens the season with Heroes at 8 and first-responder drama Trauma at 9. I don't quite think these shows go together all that well, but if Heroes couldn't mesh with the now-departed Medium I suppose it may not make that much difference.
In 2010, we start Mondays with Chuck, a surprise renewal given that the show wasn't mentioned during NBC's "infront" presentation earlier in the month. It pairs with Day One, the show about life after a massive infrastructure failure. I don't know if these shows go together all that well either. With both Heroes and Chuck firmly on the fence as far as ratings go, there's a real chance that all four could get axed at the end of the season if things don't go well.
And then there's the grand Jay Leno experiment, which sees him on at 10 pm every weeknight. I don't know if this is much of a risk, as Leno has a built-in fan base and (I assume) the show has production costs similar to reality programming, making it easier to turn a profit. It may also bring back fans who would watch The Tonight Show if it were on earlier. Probably not the most coveted viewers, but any viewers are welcome in this economy. Still, I'd be very surprised if it won the time slot on Mondays.
The CW - Gives us Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. The former should keep doing well with its expected target audience, while One Tree Hill seems a little vulnerable with the loss of a couple of its stars. Still, this is probably their strongest night.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
2009-10 Season: Sunday
OK, I missed the upfront presentations this week (as the four of you who still read this know, the wife and I had a baby last week, and as expected all of our schedules are out of whack). Instead, I'm going to look night by night at next season's schedule and mock the networks that way. All of this is based on the schedule grid posted over at The Futon Critic. We start with Sunday.
ABC - stands pat with a lineup of America's Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
CBS - Returns 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race and Cold Case. They add in Three Rivers, a medical drama focused on an organ transplant team. There's a fair amount of Grey's Anatomy in this one, from the young female resident trying to live up to a legendary parent to the womanizing surgeon. It's going to air opposite Desperate Housewives, which seems like a bad idea.
NBC - has football for the first half of the season, and for the second half goes reality with Dateline NBC, yet another edition of The Apprentice, and something called The Marriage Ref, which sees celebs provide advice and guidance on marriage for non-famous couples. Because if there's any group of people known for rock-solid marriages, it's celebrities. Really, I have no idea why anyone would tune in to NBC once Sunday Night Football wraps for the year. And on that note, I would like to request a new version of the theme song. I'm getting a little sick of Faith Hill.
Fox - Finally gives us The Cleveland Show, the long-awaited spin-off of The Family Guy that features Cleveland Brown moving back to his hometown in Virginia to reuinite with his high school sweetheart. It can't be worse than American Dad, can it?
In 2010 Fox will add the live-action Sons of Tucson, the story of three boys who hire some guy they met at a sporting goods store to pose as their dad because their actual dad has gone to prison. I find this oddly intriguing, even though it doesn't really entice me to watch.
The CW- gave Sunday nights back to their affiliates, which is probably for the best as they've never been able to program the night correctly. Though I wouldn't have objected to them keeping the night in order to save Everybody Hates Chris. But more on that later.
ABC - stands pat with a lineup of America's Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
CBS - Returns 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race and Cold Case. They add in Three Rivers, a medical drama focused on an organ transplant team. There's a fair amount of Grey's Anatomy in this one, from the young female resident trying to live up to a legendary parent to the womanizing surgeon. It's going to air opposite Desperate Housewives, which seems like a bad idea.
NBC - has football for the first half of the season, and for the second half goes reality with Dateline NBC, yet another edition of The Apprentice, and something called The Marriage Ref, which sees celebs provide advice and guidance on marriage for non-famous couples. Because if there's any group of people known for rock-solid marriages, it's celebrities. Really, I have no idea why anyone would tune in to NBC once Sunday Night Football wraps for the year. And on that note, I would like to request a new version of the theme song. I'm getting a little sick of Faith Hill.
Fox - Finally gives us The Cleveland Show, the long-awaited spin-off of The Family Guy that features Cleveland Brown moving back to his hometown in Virginia to reuinite with his high school sweetheart. It can't be worse than American Dad, can it?
In 2010 Fox will add the live-action Sons of Tucson, the story of three boys who hire some guy they met at a sporting goods store to pose as their dad because their actual dad has gone to prison. I find this oddly intriguing, even though it doesn't really entice me to watch.
The CW- gave Sunday nights back to their affiliates, which is probably for the best as they've never been able to program the night correctly. Though I wouldn't have objected to them keeping the night in order to save Everybody Hates Chris. But more on that later.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Upfronts: The CW
A few changes to report on at the WBUPN, most of which will not concern you unless you are under 25, deeply into fashion, or a media business nerd.
What's out? - Girlfriends is the oldest show to get the hook, while Beauty and the Geek gets the hook at least one season too late. Aliens in America is also toast, a bit of a strike casualty I think. Then there are all the generically-named shows like CW Now and Online Nation that no one could tell apart.
What's back? - Among last year's new shows, Gossip Girl and Reaper managed to stick, with the latter coming back in midseason. Gossip Girl will team with One Tree Hill on Monday, Smallville and Supernatural will hold down Thursday, while Everybody Hates Chris and The Game are banished to Friday.
What's new? - Tuesday brings one of the more talked about shows with 90210, a return to the teens of West Beverly Hills High, hopefully with actors whose ages are closer to 20 than 30. Jennie Garth will have a recurring role, the only link to the original. It's paired with Surviving the Filthy Rich, the story of an Ivy-educated journalist who gets fired and becomes the tutor/nanny for a rich family's girls. It's based on some chick lit book I've never heard of, which isn't a shock as I'm not exactly in the genre's target demo.
Wednesday will pair America's Next Top Model with Stylista, another Tyra Banks reality show which lands on the other side of the camera as it seeks to find an up and coming editor for Elle.
Sunday's lineup will no longer be reruns (Friday gets an encore of ANTM, though), but instead will feature shows from Media Rights Capital, an independent producer of movies, TV and new media content. The announcement pushed the idea that this allows the CW to focus on weeknights, with an emphasis on Friday as an important night for "retailers and marketers with a weekend product push." Friday night seems a little late to push things for the weekend, but I'll allow them their spin. I'm sure the CW's inability to program Sunday in the past has nothing to do with this.
Prognosis? - Great, if you're a 14 year old girl. 90210 may intially bring in some parents who remember the original, but I'm not sure there'll be enough nostalgia to keep them around. Thursday and Friday seem like the nights with the most potential for a diverse audience, but I don't think they can compete on either night (though Friday is pretty much a wash for everyone). I don't expect this lineup will see the CW break out of netlet status, but it's going to really work for the CW's core viewers.
What's out? - Girlfriends is the oldest show to get the hook, while Beauty and the Geek gets the hook at least one season too late. Aliens in America is also toast, a bit of a strike casualty I think. Then there are all the generically-named shows like CW Now and Online Nation that no one could tell apart.
What's back? - Among last year's new shows, Gossip Girl and Reaper managed to stick, with the latter coming back in midseason. Gossip Girl will team with One Tree Hill on Monday, Smallville and Supernatural will hold down Thursday, while Everybody Hates Chris and The Game are banished to Friday.
What's new? - Tuesday brings one of the more talked about shows with 90210, a return to the teens of West Beverly Hills High, hopefully with actors whose ages are closer to 20 than 30. Jennie Garth will have a recurring role, the only link to the original. It's paired with Surviving the Filthy Rich, the story of an Ivy-educated journalist who gets fired and becomes the tutor/nanny for a rich family's girls. It's based on some chick lit book I've never heard of, which isn't a shock as I'm not exactly in the genre's target demo.
Wednesday will pair America's Next Top Model with Stylista, another Tyra Banks reality show which lands on the other side of the camera as it seeks to find an up and coming editor for Elle.
Sunday's lineup will no longer be reruns (Friday gets an encore of ANTM, though), but instead will feature shows from Media Rights Capital, an independent producer of movies, TV and new media content. The announcement pushed the idea that this allows the CW to focus on weeknights, with an emphasis on Friday as an important night for "retailers and marketers with a weekend product push." Friday night seems a little late to push things for the weekend, but I'll allow them their spin. I'm sure the CW's inability to program Sunday in the past has nothing to do with this.
Prognosis? - Great, if you're a 14 year old girl. 90210 may intially bring in some parents who remember the original, but I'm not sure there'll be enough nostalgia to keep them around. Thursday and Friday seem like the nights with the most potential for a diverse audience, but I don't think they can compete on either night (though Friday is pretty much a wash for everyone). I don't expect this lineup will see the CW break out of netlet status, but it's going to really work for the CW's core viewers.
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