STATE OF AFFAIRS:  Monday 10PM on NBC (starting November 17) THE FACTS:  Katherine Heigl is the CIA agent in charge of putting together the President’s (Alfre Woodard) daily list of the nation’s Top 10 threats.  She’s also the quasi-widow of the President’s son, who was killed in an apparent terrorist attack overseas.  Except, guess […]

  Read All Our Fall Pilot Reports here. MOM:  Monday 9:30PM on CBS starting Sept. 23 – Worth A Look The Chuck Lorre sitcom machine is a major reason that CBS is the most successful of the Big Four networks.  The Big Bang Theory is the biggest scripted hit on broadcast television, and while 2 […]

  MANHATTAN LOVE STORY:  Tuesday 8:30PM on ABC THE FACTS:  Boy (Jake McDorman) meets girl (Analeigh Tipton), but here’s the gimmick:  we hear all of the couple’s hidden thoughts throughout.  The series creator is Jeff Lowell, whose sitcom writing/producing career goes back to Cybill and Spin City. WHAT IT’S SAYING:  He’s cute, she’s cute, and […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

  GRACEPOINT:  Thursday 9PM on FOX starting October 2 – Potential DVR Alert PLAYERS:  Broadchurch, the wildly successful limited (and now continuing) British TV series, of which Gracepoint is a remake.  Broadchurch returnees, including series creator Chris Chibnall, director James Strong and star David Tennant.  A cast surrounding Tennant that includes Anna Gunn, Nick Nolte, […]

  BROOKLYN NINE-NINE:  Tuesday 8:30PM on FOX – Potential DVR Alert BROOKLYN NINE-NINE is the kind of sitcom that can go very right or extremely wrong:  an ensemble about kooky homicide detectives, anchored by former SNL-er Andy Samberg.  Happily, series creators Michael Schur and Dan Goor, both veterans of Parks & Recreation (Schur is its co-creator as […]

  UTOPIA:  Tuesday 8PM and Friday 9PM on FOX THE FACTS:  Based on a Dutch format and produced by unscripted specialist John de Mol, UTOPIA is a reality show that puts 15 people into an isolated area for an entire year and forces them to make up their own rules for their new “civilization.”  Viewers […]