Fall Pilots

PREMIERING TONIGHT – THE SKED SERIES PREMIERE REVIEW: CW’s “Reign”

Posted October 17, 2013 by Mitch Salem

  Read All Our Fall Pilot Reports here. REIGN:  Thursday 9PM on CW – Potential DVR Alert The CW is often–and rightly–considered a network of very limited ambitions, with just two modes of operation:  rom-com soap and supernatural soap.  But its new REIGN, while well fortified with suds, is as big a swing for the […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15 Trailer Review: NBC’s “A To Z”

Posted May 11, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  A TO Z:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC THE FACTS:  The title refers to Andrew (Ben Feldman) and Zelda (Cristin Milioti), who both work at an online dating company, and who, since this is a rom-com, are of course fated for each other.  The series creator is Ben Queen, whose first series this is, and […]

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2014-15 TV Season

THE SKED Fall Pilot Report: NBC’s “State of Affairs”

Posted August 11, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  STATE OF AFFAIRS:  Monday 10PM on NBC starting November 17 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Star and Executive Producer Katherine Heigl, who developed the series for herself and pitched it to all the networks, hoping to spark a bidding war (which never really happened).  Series creator and pilot director Joe Carnahan, a […]

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Fall Pilots

PREMIERING TONIGHT – THE SKED Pilot Review: “Enlisted”

Posted January 10, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  ENLISTED:  Friday 9:30PM on FOX  – Change the Channel Not all goofy, barely-functional family sitcoms are alike, and although FOX has paired the new ENLISTED with Raising Hope on its Friday schedule, the two aren’t much of a match.  Raising Hope is a very smart comedy about people who aren’t necessarily rocket scientists, while […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15 Trailer Review: ABC’s “Forever”

Posted May 13, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  FOREVER:  Tuesday 10PM on ABC THE FACTS:  Dr. Henry Morgan (Ioan Gruffudd) is a brilliant New York medical examiner who can solve any murder.  Partly that’s because he has a lot of experience with death, since he himself has (temporarily) died many times–when he falls out a window, is poisoned or hit by a […]

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2014-15 TV Season

PREMIERING TONIGHT: SHOWBUZZDAILY Pilot Review – “Jane the Virgin”

Posted October 13, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  JANE THE VIRGIN:  Monday 9PM on CW – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Ugly Betty, plus the whole notion of basing US TV shows on Spanish-language series (Red Band Society and The Mysteries of Laura are two more this season), and especially Executive Producer Ben Silverman, who’s was one of those behind Betty […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: More NBC Pick-Ups

Posted May 8, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  NBC picked up a handful of shows yesterday, but that was just the first installment, as an additional trio of new shows have been announced so far today.  2 are dramas and the other a comedy, and interestingly, all hail from Warner Bros Television. DRAMAS MYSTERIES OF LAURA:  NBC wasn’t out of the Debra […]

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2014-15 TV Season

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Fearless Fall Ratings Predictions – Monday

Posted May 19, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  Last week, the glamorous part of the network “Upfronts” took place, largely for viewer and media purposes:  hordes of new shows were announced, stars were trotted out, executives madly spun this past season’s numbers so that every decline looked like a triumph, gala parties were held.  This week, however, the real Upfronts kick into […]

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