No name has more cachet at CBS than Chuck Lorre’s.  He’s given the network The Big Bang Theory, 2 1/2 Men and Mike & Molly, and hopes are high that his MOM, taking over the Monday 9:30PM timeslot this fall, can join those at the top of the ratings heap.  The network’s behind-the-scenes featurette, […]

  Here’s another of CBS’s “behind-the-scenes” blurbs, this time about the thriller HOSTAGES, which will occupy the Monday 10PM slot during the fall (to be replaced by Intelligence) at midseason. All the piece does is establish the show’s premise, which is that Toni Collette plays a Washington surgeon scheduled to operate on the President, and […]

  CBS–because it’s CBS–doesn’t release trailers for its new series, but instead provides 3-4 minute behind-the-scenes featurettes.  These are about as informative as the puff pieces you’d find as an “extra” on a Hollywood DVD, and they’re even less reliable as a predictor of series quality than a real trailer would be.  So take them […]

  Here it is, your Fall 2013 network TV schedule.  Watch this space, because next week we’ll be bringing you night-by-night ratings predictions of which shows will win their hours and which are likely to perish.  But for now, peruse the below and figure out what you plan to watch, DVR or ignore starting in […]

  With May sweeps/Upfront week ratings like last night’s, you have to feel sorry for the network Ad Sales departments. FOX:  A night of premieres and finales caused no excitement.  SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE premiered with a 1.9, down half a point from last year’s debut.  The season finales of NEW GIRL and […]

  By CBS standards, the network is making a large number of moves with its 2013-14 schedule.  Changes are in store for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday–including finally pulling the trigger on a 4-sitcom Thursday.  Let’s run through it. MONDAY 8PM:          HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER 8:30PM:     WE ARE MEN 9PM:          2 BROKE GIRLS 9:30PM:     […]

  Kyle Killen’s Lone Star and Awake were two of the most ambitious network series of recent years–and two of the most resounding flops.  He has to be hoping that his third time (and third network) is the charm, with ABC’s TBD midseason series MIND GAMES.  It features Steve Zahn and Christian Slater as brothers […]

  Another TBD for ABC’s midseason:  the high-concept comedy MIXOLOGY.  The entire season takes place in a single night, at a bar where 10 single people are looking for love (or a close substitute), which–if things don’t go well–has the potential of feeling like one long night.  Think of it as a sitcom 24, but […]