We’ve reached the broadcast networks’ Upfront Week… which used to be a lot more central to our television lives than it is now.  Ratings everywhere are down, and there’s no reason to think they’ve hit bottom, which has caused seismic changes in the ways networks make scheduling decisions.  Among other things, with revenues from on-air […]

  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 […]

  THE FLASH:  Tuesday 8PM on CW starting October 7 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Series Creators/Executive Producers Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Geoff Johns, the first 2 of whom are also creators of Arrow, from which this Flash is a spin-off (he was introduced in an Arrow arc, and Stephen Amell makes […]

  Read All Our Fall Pilot Reports here and Midseason Pilot Reports here. BETRAYAL:  Sunday 10PM on ABC  – If Nothing Else Is On… BETRAYAL is certainly on brand for ABC.  Its pilot, just like the one for Revenge two seasons ago, starts by flash-forwarding to a shooting, and the action that follows takes us […]

  Conservative CBS is making lots of changes next fall. UPDATED with reactions to trailers, which are available here.     No network preaches the “Everything is just fine in broadcast TV” scripture louder than CBS, but the fact is that its biggest hits (The Big Bang Theory, NCIS, Survivor) are aging, and the network […]

  THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC (airing tonight at 9PM) – If Nothing Else Is On… Behind its feel-good star and tone, THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW is–even more than most TV shows–as much a business proposition as it is a piece of entertainment, so let’s start with that.  In a […]

  MARRY ME:  Tuesday 9PM on NBC THE FACTS:  Happy Endings creator David Caspe reunites with Casey Wilson, one of that show’s stars, for a rom-com that pairs her with Ken Marino, as a longtime couple who finally get engaged. WHAT’S IT SAYING:  The NBC quirky single-camera rom-com brand is in good hands:  Happy Endings […]

  The Upfronts are officially here, more troubled than ever thanks to the ever-declining ratings at the broadcast networks.  (This Variety article does a good job of laying out the ways in which business considerations are altering what shows are put on the air.)  NBC is in the best position of the broadcasters, thanks to […]