Monday-related stories
Posted Nov 10th 2009 1:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
So last night I sat down for some laughs with the CBS Monday night sitcom lineup. It's a weekly thing I do with my spouse, a chance to get away from the computer screen and just relax for a while. Normally, I relish this time because -- for the most part -- I love 75% of the shows from eight o'clock till
CSI: Miami. (I usually empty the dishwasher during
Accidentally on Purpose, sort of half-watching it because, as I've said before, it's just not working for me.)
Well, it seemed like last night's CBS comedies went off the rails. They strained to be funny, in all the wrong ways. Here are my thoughts, show by show -- including
Accidentally (which I did watch):
Continue reading Monday's CBS sitcoms went off the rails last night
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 1:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
How happy is
Chuck Lorre this morning? I'd say on a scale of one-to-ten, he's an eleven. According to reports,
CBS wants more of its Chuck Lorre sitcoms. In particular, they're talking three years more of
Two and a Half Men and at least two for
The Big Bang Theory.
While other shows sweat out the word of renewal or cancellation, Mr. Lorre seems to be CBS's prime time player they count on the most. Okay, second-most.
Jerry Bruckheimer is numero uno with the
CSI franchises,
Without A Trace, Cold Case, Eleventh Hour and
The Amazing Race.
Continue reading CBS sticking with Men and Big Bang
Posted Nov 10th 2008 3:26PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Chuck, Reality-Free
Here at TV Squad, we often bemoan the quick cancellation of a show that deserves a chance to evolve. We've chronicled the demise of a fan favorite like
Moonlight, and empathized with our readers. There have been times when we've agreed that networks spend so much time and talent developing a show that it seems a down-right shame when the plug is pulled after a half-dozen episodes.
So, knowing all that, we have to acknowledge when a network does something right. NBC is bending over backwards to see to it that
Chuck becomes a ratings hit, to go along with its already established and growing fan base. Creator Josh Schwartz expressed his thanks to NBC for the
post- Super Bowl Chuck episode. The Super Bowl is Sunday, February 1.
"They were doing this big promotion inside of the Super Bowl and handing out 150 million 3-D glasses, so we are the beneficiaries of that. ...
Chuck seemed like the best fit for that type of thing."
Continue reading NBC really, really believes in Chuck - in 3-D
Posted Nov 1st 2008 1:27PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
I can't say I've been thrilled with some of the announced pick ups for the remainder of the season.
NBC's faith in Knight Rider, for instance, has me scratching my head. Here's one that I can get behind:
ABC has given Samantha Who a full season pick up.
The Christina Applegate single camera comedy -- which includes Jean Smart's Emmy-winning supporting performance as
Sam's alternately attentive and annoying mother -- has had a terrific sophomore season thus far.
I'm not talking about the ratings, although ABC is pleased that the show has been doing a good job holding onto the strong lead-in from
Dancing With the Stars (although this is not a scintillating edition of
Dancing). For me,
Samantha Who is just as funny as last year, but now things are getting more complicated and interesting.
Just last week, for instance, Sam was given an experimental drug to -- hopefully -- help her reclaim lost memories. Through flashback flashes we learned a lot more about Todd and Sam's relationship and how they've gotten to where they are. The episode was packed with emotion and funny bits of business, and yet in the end we were still on that precipice, waiting for Sam to remember that she loves Todd.
Continue reading ABC books a full season of Samantha Who
Posted Oct 24th 2008 10:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Reality-Free
CBS has a killer Monday night lineup. The sitcom block from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., followed by the very popular
CSI: Miami consistently delivers in the Nielsens. The only vulnerable, flexible and soft spot is 9:30, after
Two and a Half Men, before Horatio Cane and company.
The network apparently isn't sure that
Worst Week has earned that coveted spot -- even though it's doing well enough in the ratings -- or else they're wondering what they have in
Gary Unmarried.
Next Monday, Gary Unmarried will get a shot at 9:30. The pilot episode of
Gary Unmarried --
which was pretty good -- will be rerun in that cushy timeslot with the idea of getting more people to sample it.
Continue reading Gary Unmarried getting a Monday night tryout
Posted Oct 17th 2008 10:54AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Interviews, Reality-Free
The new TV season has produced at least one breakout star for sure -- Kyle Bornheimer. On
Worst Week, CBS's new entry in its solid sitcom block on Monday nights, Bornheimer has made his mark and the show is proving a ratings hit.
Kyle's every guy, not too bright, essentially sweet character on
Worst Week, Sam Briggs, fits him like a glove. It's his ability to deliver the physical comedy as well as the self-deprecating lines with a knowing smile that has made him endearing.
Kyle Bornheimer has one of those really recognizable faces. You might remember having seen him in
Jericho or
Breaking Bad or
The Unit. He's been kicking around for the past few years, searching for a role that would give him a chance to shine. That's what he's found in
Worst Week.
Continue reading Quick Chat with Kyle Bornheimer of Worst Week
Posted Nov 2nd 2007 5:15PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, WGA Strike
Earlier today,
Anna reported that the leaders of Writers Guild of America were to decide when to begin their strike against the studios and networks. Well, that decision has been made, and, as many speculated,
the writers will definitely walk out on Monday.As you might expect, the impact of the strike will be seen immediately on the late night talk shows. Jon Stewart mentioned
on last night's The Daily Show that he didn't think there was going to be a new episode on Monday because of the strike and he was right; since there is no backlog on those late-night shows, they'll all be in reruns starting on Monday. Hopefully the strike won't drag on to the point where we run out of new episodes of scripted shows, but this matter of revenues from alternative delivery methods (DVDs, online, iTunes, etc.) is a sticky one that's not going to be settled easily. How long do
you think the strike is going to last? Let me know in the comments.
Posted Jan 14th 2007 1:32PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, ABC, Industry, Dancing With The Stars, TCA Press Tour
Hey, folks. I'm in Pasadena, at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. Thanks to Kevin Kelly for doing Friday's session as I was flying in from New Jersey. After a night's sleep and a tour of "beautiful" Hollywood (including a stop at legendary hot dog haven
Pink's, where I waited for an hour in 45 degree cold to get a chili dog. Yes, I'm one of those guys), I'm refreshed and ready to go.
Anyway, today was the first of the broadcast network presentations, and we started with an announcement: the new season of
Dancing with the Stars will be start on Monday, March 19th. Why Monday instead of the previous season's Tuesday timeslot? Two words, according to network president Steve McPherson:
American Idol.Continue reading Dancing with the Stars to return on March 19 - TCA Report
Posted Nov 14th 2006 8:45PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, NBC, Programming, Friday Night Lights
The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that NBC execs plan to move
Friday Night Lights to Sunday nights once the NFL season is over. The move is a strategic one-- to keep
FNL out of the line of fire of Fox's unstoppable
American Idol, which begins airing on Tuesday nights in mid-January. Last week, NBC ordered up
a full season of
FNL, which gets an average of 6.7 million viewers each Tuesday night.
This schedule change is reportedly one of many, as the New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter now both say that NBC is planning a major schedule overhaul for January (
NYT says the new schedule will be announced this week). Also slated to move is
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which currently festers at 10 pm on Monday nights.
Posted Oct 5th 2006 7:24PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Everybody Hates Chris, The CW
In a move that's a bit of a head scratcher, The CW has decided to flip-flop its Sunday and Monday night schedules. That means the oddly paired
7th Heaven and
Runaway will be on Sundays, while
Everybody Hates Chris,
All of Us,
Girlfriends and
The Game will move to Monday nights. The switcharoo puts The CW's comedy block up against CBS' Monday night comedy block, which includes
How I Met Your Mother and
The New Adventures of Old Christine. The schedule change begins Monday, Oct. 9 for the comedies and Sunday, Oct. 15th for the dramas.
Posted May 13th 2006 1:21PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Industry, Programming
President Bush has asked the networks for some time on Monday night at 8pm for his immigration speech, so the networks are going to have to change things around a bit.
- NBC will shorten Deal Or No Deal to 90 minutes.
- FOX will show all of Prison Break and 24 after Bush's speech.
ABC (Oprah's
Legend's Ball special and the
Grey's Anatomy season finale) and CBS (comedy lineup and
CSI: Miami) won't announce their plans until Monday.
[via
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