FRESH OFF THE BOAT:  Midseason TBD on ABC THE FACTS:  Based on the memoir of chef Eddie Huang, it’s the story of a Chinese-American family that moves from Washington, where there’s a thriving Asian community, to Orlando, Florida, where there isn’t one.  The focal point is young Eddie, but the heavy lifting comes from […]

  CONSTANTINE:  Friday 10PM on NBC starting October 24 – If Nothing Else is On… (but also Incomplete) PLAYERS:  DC Comics.  Series creators Daniel Cerrone (a showrunner, although not creator, of Dexter) and David S. Goyer (of DaVinci’s Demons and the Dark Knight movies).  Pilot director Neil Marshall, who’s best known for directing the “Blackwater” episode […]

  THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA:  Wednesday 8PM on NBC THE FACTS:  Laura Diamond (Debra Messing) is an NYPD homicide detective who also has to juggle her responsibilities to her young twin sons and her issues with her estranged cop husband (Josh Lucas).  The series creator is Jeff Rake, a veteran writer/producer (everything from The Practice […]

  We’re continuing with our 18-49 ratings predictions for the fall 2014 TV season.  As before, these predictions cover September 22 (the official start of the new season ) through December 7, and our views on the new series are based on looks at the trailers released last week.  We’ve already surveyed the fall’s Big […]

  Other Nielsenwar Network Report Cards:  FOX, NBC Most improved. Full Season To Date (thru May 3) 18-49 Rating Average:  1.61 (#3), down 1.9% from last season Season Grade:  B+ What Happened: Sunday:  Once Upon A Time had a strong Frozen-fueled Fall, but lagged in its Spring cycle, and if that trend continues, it could […]

  Come February, Thursday nights are going to feature an old-fashioned broadcast network slugfest, as ABC’s announcement that Scandal is moving to 9PM will put it squarely in the path of NBC’s The Blacklist when that series moves at midseason–may the best crazy plot twist-laden melodrama win.  The Scandal move is part of ABC’s new […]

  MADAM SECRETARY:  Sunday 8PM on CBS  – Potential DVR Alert PLAYERS:  Series creator Barbara Hall, a veteran of everything from Northern Exposure to Joan of Arcadia (which she created), and Army Wives to Homeland.  Star Tea Leoni, and an A-list supporting cast that includes Keith Carradine, Tim Daly, Bebe Neuwirth and Zeljko Ivanek.  Pilot […]

  NBC has perfected the art of releasing bits of information each day throughout pre-Upfront week, and today’s nuggets introduced a trio of additional new sitcoms.  It appears that at least 2 of these will be given small midseason runs of 6 episodes to see if they catch anyone’s fancy before potentially expanding. MISSION CONTROL:  […]