With the need to replace The Colbert Report now that its host will be leaving for network pastures when his contract expires at the end of 2014, and knowing that since that show is built entirely around Stephen Colbert’s particular character, the new series would necessarily be very different, Comedy Central had a very […]

  STALKER:  Wednesday 10PM on CBS THE FACTS:  From the grisly mind of The Following‘s Kevin Williamson, a procedural about an LAPD squad that specializes in tracking down dangerous stalkers.  Maggie Q runs the unit, and Dylan McDermott is the cocky new arrival from New York who immediately gets on her wrong side; both of […]

  The broadcast networks aren’t what they used to be, and likely will never be again.  They’re collectively on a train that’s moving in the wrong direction, because the lion’s share of their revenues are based on the number of people who watch the commercials contained in their shows within a short time after initial […]

  SELFIE:  Tuesday 8PM on ABC starting September 30 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  George Bernard Shaw.  (And Lerner & Loewe, whose My Fair Lady made Pygmalion into a fixture of pop culture.)  Series creator Emily Kapnek, of Suburgatory.  Stars John Cho and Karen Gillan.  Pilot director Julie Anne Robinson.  Warner Bros. Television. […]

  NBC has struck first in releasing the dates of its fall premieres.  Most of its new shows will launch during the official Premiere Week starting Monday September 22, but there are a few exceptions (new series are in ALL CAPS): Sunday Sept 7:  NFL Sunday Night Football Thursday Sept 11:  The Biggest Loser Monday […]

  The midseason part of the broadcast network schedule kicks off in a few hours, and we’ve spent the past few days taking a look at ABC, CBS and NBC.  Today it’s the turn of the most critical patient in the quartet. FOX Fall Primetime 18-49 Average (through December 28):  1.58, down 17.8% from Fall […]

  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 […]

  HIEROGLYPH:  Midseason TBD on FOX THE FACTS:  Ancient Egyptian fantasy-adventure, given a direct-to-series order by FOX.  The series creator is Travis Beacham, a screenwriter of Pacific Rim and the remake of Clash of the Titans, and let’s pretend that’s something to boast about. WHAT IT’S SAYING:  There will be mystery, magic, palace intrigue and […]