Hannibal doesn’t have much of an appetite.   NBC:  The positive spin on HANNIBAL‘s 1.6 debut is that it’s better than NBC has done in that awful timeslot in roughly a year, and a considerable boost from its lead-in.  Nevertheless, a 1.6, mired in last place for the hour, is hardly anything to celebrate, […]

  Roger Ebert, after enduring cancer with extraordinary fortitude for over a decade, passed away today.  Ebert was one of the smartest, hardest-working and most passionate film critics of his generation, and almost certainly the most famous.  Although he was devoted to criticism expressed in writing–both in newspapers (and books) and, later in his career, […]

  A solid start for ABC’s new sitcom. ABC:  The night’s new configuration worked out well, at least for now.  THE MIDDLE was up 0.2 to 2.0 (still 15% below its season average), while SUBURGATORY, although slightly down at 1.8 from last week’s 9:30PM airing, was a few ticks above the numbers that THE NEIGHBORS […]

The box office is starting to stabilize after a rough first quarter of the year.  This weekend’s top 12 films should total about $120 million, within 3% of the same weekend in recent years and the second weekend in a row to buck the strong downward trend most of the winter. Opening at a slightly […]

  The critical consensus on this season of JUSTIFIED–including here–was that it was excellent, perhaps the best of the series so far.  Viewers, though, seemed less enthused, as last night’s season finale had just a 0.7 rating in 18-49s, down almost 45% from the Season 4 premiere (and down 30% from the Season 3 finale).  […]

  Well, as TONIGHT SHOW transitions go, this one was relatively painless (so far).  NBC announced today what’s been an open secret for weeks:  in Spring 2014 (specific date TBD), after what’s sure to be an extensive promotional launch during the 2014 Winter Olympics, possession of the Tonight Show desk will pass from Jay Leno […]

  Essentially, right now you could air a reading of the US budget after The Voice and do some kind of number. NBC:  THE VOICE continued on its merry way, up 0.2 from last Tuesday’s installment to 4.3.  The first half of THE NEW NORMAL‘s season finale got the plum lead-in and rose 0.6 from […]

Tuesday network ratings versus the same night last year. Original episode track for Tuesday broadcast programs.