programming-related stories
Posted Nov 17th 2009 11:50AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
Sundays have always been a good night for CBS. It's been a good day for years, thanks to the NFL. Traditionally, the football games bleed right into prime time, which commences at seven o'clock because of
60 Minutes. Even in the days when CBS broadcast Sunday night movies, the network has done well on that night of the week.
However, the advent of the NBC
Football Night in America has put a dent in CBS's strength. Also the ABC lineup and Fox's animation domination are no slouches either. So, CBS is going to do something to bolster Sundays.
Three Rivers and Cold Case will switch time slots.
.
Continue reading CBS's Sunday flip-flop: Cold Case for Three Rivers
Posted Oct 28th 2009 10:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free
For the longest time, I've kvetched about the fact that the television industry has stopped programming for Saturday night. For years, Saturday was a great night of television. I remember
M*A*S*H and
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, not to mention guilty pleasures like
The Facts of Life and
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Even NBC's thrillogy,
The Pretender and
Profiler were fun. All those shows were Saturday night hits (some bigger than others).
Well,
I'm not alone in missing Saturday TV; Oscar-winner Barry Levinson feels the same. Levinson is also a TV producer -- he did
Homicide: Life on the Street and
The Philanthropist -- and he thinks the networks are making a big mistake by not seizing on Saturday primetime. He knows the business pretty well and he's confused by the networks' strategy.
"I don't think the answer is to retreat," he told the New York Daily News. "When you give up Saturday night, you open the door for people to go somewhere else. Basically, they're shrinking their own audience."
Continue reading Barry Levinson urges TV to take back Saturday night
Posted Oct 10th 2009 1:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Chuck, Reality-Free
When
NBC did its upfront -- it wasn't really like the other networks, because they had leaked so much information -- one of the things the powers that be decided to do was split the season into two sections. Or two official seasons. It all seemed a bit strange, and now that NBC has gotten off to such a dreadful start, things are changing. One change seems to be that
Chuck may be back before March.
Continue reading Chuck may be back sooner than we thought
Posted Jun 1st 2009 2:27PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Programming, Reality-Free
ABC has
given an air date to
Samantha Who?'s swan song. The network will begin burning off the seven remaining episodes of the show Thursdays at 8 p.m. starting June 25.
As we mentioned last week, even a
petition set up by star Christina Applegate couldn't save
Samantha Who? from the axe. It's a shame. Applegate has turned into such a magnetic and charming comedic actor. Here's hoping she gets another shot at her own show or, like Jason
already suggested, a long-running guest stint on
HIMYM or maybe
The Big Bang Theory.
ABC is also making room on its summer schedule for the final eps of
Cupid and
In the Motherhood. The sole remaining ep of
Cupid, which shared the same fate as the 1998 show it was based on, will air June 16 -- if the NBA Finals don't make it to Game 6! (That's another slap in the face from the network to
Cupid creator Rob Thomas).
In the Motherhood's final three eps will begin airing June 25 at 8:30 p.m.
Posted May 27th 2009 9:03AM by Michael Pascua
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim, Children
I know that I'm not the target demographic for a cable channel like Cartoon Network. Although I still watch
Pokemon on Saturday mornings, the last non-Adult Swim original cartoon I watched was
Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
Recently,
Cartoon Network has announced a block of programming they're calling "CN Real." I'm already upset that a show like
Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job isn't animated (don't get me started on
Delocated), but isn't getting rid of the cartoons turning the channel into just "Network"?
Continue reading Taking the Cartoon out of Cartoon Network
Posted Aug 26th 2008 10:22AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
All right, let me say this up front and without equivocation: if CBS picks up
Flashpoint and cancels
Swingtown, I'm going to be ticked off. I'm not down on
Flashpoint.
As Jane wrote, Flashpoint is a good show. No
24, but solid procedural entertainment. However, when I read that
Canada's CTV has renewed up north and sources say that CBS is close to doing the same, I immediately got my back up.
Why should
Flashpoint get a break while an interesting, quirky and outside-the-box drama like
Swingtown may not? It's disheartening to me that
CBS is searching for a cable network to take Swingtown, while a "safe" crime show like
Flashpoint doesn't have that concern.
Continue reading The chances for a Flashpoint pickup are good
Posted Jul 14th 2008 1:43PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, Ratings, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Burn Notice
Numbers don't lie -- although some people can manipulate them -- but in all the ways that matter for television, the second season debut for USA's
Burn Notice was a 100% hit. The spy caper-drama did something that brings smiles to the lips of all cable execs,
it beat first run episodes of ABC and CBS programs.
I'm generally
not a numbers person. (I freely admit that I sucked at algebra.) However, the
Burn Notice success in Nielsen ratings and key demographics -- 1.8 rating/6 share among adults 18-49 and approximately 5.4 million viewers overall -- is impressive. It built on last season's numbers considerably -- 35% in viewership.
Continue reading Burn Notice premiere sizzles in the Nielsens
Posted Mar 26th 2007 4:42PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, Celebrities
Judd Apatow, who will forever be a hero to many TV viewers who loved the too short-lived NBC series Freaks and Geeks, is saying goodbye to television. But not before one final shot with the soon-to-be-released feature film The TV Set.
The movie stars David Duchovny as a series creator who butts heads with various studio executives (including Sigourney Weaver) who just don't get what he's trying to do with his TV show. And, yes, it's a version of what Apatow and The TV Set director Jake Kasdan went through when they worked on Freaks and Geeks.
Continue reading Freaks and Geeks creator says goodbye to TV with The TV Set
Posted Jan 27th 2007 3:05PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Music and Variety, Celebrities, MTV
MTV News' Gideon Yago is bidding the network adieu to pursue "creative ventures" on the Left Coast. Yago has been one of the slightly more tolerable voices of
MTV News for the past seven years, but a screenplay sale to Focus Features has him packing his bags.
Idolator published his farewell note to his co-workers, which included this classy send-off, "I have learned a great many things during my tenure here...There is one lesson, however, that I consider far more valuable than all the others combined: our audience deserves integrity and respect. Growing up in America is a difficult, sometimes traumatic, often alienating, very strange proposition. In between trying to figure out who they are and what matters in life, there is a chorus of parents, teachers, people and pitchmen telling them what to think and what to do...please keep fighting for them and thinking of them in the fine work that you all do."
Continue reading Gideon Yago leaving MTV
Posted Nov 20th 2006 3:28PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Cable, Industry, OpEd, Watercooler Talk
According to the AP,
a study commissioned by rerun-centric network TV Land found that Baby Boomers -- still the largest segment of the population -- are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the youth-oriented programs on TV these days.
The study found that 37 percent of boomers are unhappy with what's on TV, and 80 percent of all people over 40 say that they have trouble finding shows that they can find relatable to their own lives.
Continue reading Study finds boomer backlash against youth-obsessed TV
Posted Oct 13th 2006 6:30PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, BBC
(S02E05) When I said last week that things couldn't get any worse for Andy Millman, I was clearly wrong.
The only other show I can think of that spirals so badly out of control for the lead character is
Fawlty Towers, where Basil Fawlty, a victim of his own pomposity and bizarre circumstances ends up neck-deep in catastrophe upon disaster, finalising with a conclusion that often resembles the aftermath of a small war.
And this week, it was no different for Andy, in yet another classic episode of this genius comedy from Ricky Gervais.
Continue reading Extras: Episode 5
Posted Oct 8th 2006 4:19PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, BBC
(S01E01) Apparently,
8.2million people tuned in to watch the first episode of the new BBC series of Robin Hood, but I can only suspect it had something to do with a dull England Euro 2008 soccer qualifier airing immediately before it, because there was nothing extraordinary about this latest re-telling of a classic legend (reckoned to be around the 40th variation of the Robin Hood character in film and TV since 1908), which would persuade so many people to stay tuned for almost an hour.
Sure, it had everything you would come to expect from a quality BBC prime time drama; high production values, great locations, fine acting, a decent script and Dominic Minghela (brother of Anthony) at the helm.
However, I just couldn't help but feel that I had seen it all about 40 times before. And I had.
Continue reading Robin Hood Episode One: Will You Tolerate This?
Posted Oct 5th 2006 9:34PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, News, Programming, BBC
(S02E04) It really couldn't possibly get any worse for Andy Millman. Seriously.
Following on from last week's
Down Syndrome debacle, Andy kicked-off tonight's show with a charity video appeal, only to subsequently find his entire BBC sitcom hijacked by a shamelessly self-promoting Chris Martin.
However, the Coldplay front-man's repeated attempts to hawk a forthcoming greatest hits album was really only the start of Andy's problems, as he ended up nominated for a BAFTA award and finally caught a glimpse of some of light at the end of the tunnel.
Continue reading Extras: Episode 4
Posted Sep 29th 2006 8:04PM by Martin Conaghan
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, News, Programming, BBC
(S02E01 / S02E02 / SE02E03) A few weeks ago, while I was on holiday in Florida, the second series of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's
Extras aired here in the UK, and I only managed to catch up last week with the first two episodes.
Rather than give our readers a full review of each episode to date, I thought I'd jump in at episode three, and round up the other two along the way.
When Ricky Gervais helped created the global phenomenon of
The Office, then decided to end production after just two series, few people believed he could follow up on the success with a whole new series that could be as fresh and original in its approach to postmodern comedy.
Continue reading Extras: Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3
Posted Sep 11th 2006 9:06AM by Brett Love
Filed under: Programming, OpEd
Ok, I like TV... a lot. You might even say I'm a little obsessed. When I started making up the list for this post I was reminded of the time I took a gig in Alabama. It was only two months work, but those two months were April and May. I didn't know what kind of cable access I would have while there, and you don't want to go missing shows in April and May! So I set up a crazy four VCR system so I wouldn't miss anything. There were charts, graphs, and explicit instructions. Sunday the cable box needs to be left on this channel. Tuesday you need to change tapes in VCR1 and VCR2. Wednesday change the cable box to this channel. Etc. I left the whole mess in the hands of my roomate Jen and made for the Yellowhammer state. When I returned, it was to a huge stack of television goodness. Now, here is my viewing schedule for this season.
Sunday - I'll kick of my week with
The Amazing Race at 8:00. I've forgiven them for the disaster that was the family season. At 9:00, flip to FOX and catch
Family Guy and
The War At Home. Medium takes over at 10:00. I'll be covering that one for the site this season, so it will get recorded on the computer while I watch live. VCR1 will grab
Brothers & Sisters while VCR2 tapes
Venture Bros. at 10:30.
Continue reading Brett's Fall TV Schedule
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