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 […]
ABOUT A BOY: Tuesday 9PM on NBC (Preview Tonight at 11:05PM) – If Nothing Else is On… ABOUT A BOY, which NBC will preview tonight at the close of Olympics coverage ahead of its regular timeslot premiere on Tuesday, has a daunting pedigree. It’s based on the excellent 2002 Paul Weitz/Chris Weitz feature film […]
AMERICAN CRIME: Sunday 9PM Midseason on ABC THE FACTS: John Ridley, this year’s Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar winner for 12 Years A Slave, has written a serialized crime drama very specifically about race, in which a Latino teen is arrested for the murder of the son of Timothy Hutton and Felicity Huffman. WHAT IT’S […]
CW will continue to be DC Comics (and Greg Berlanti) TV. For a network that only ordered three new shows (two of them for fall), CW has made quite a few changes in its new schedule, with DC Comics properties anchoring 4 nights of the week (and veteran Vampire Diaries the 5th) for stability, but […]
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 […]
INTELLIGENCE: Preview Tonight at 9PM, then Monday 10PM on CBS starting January 13 – If Nothing Else Is On… Gabriel Black (Josh Holloway), the hero of CBS’s midseason entry INTELLIGENCE, follows in the TV footsteps of Chuck and the autistic character from Alphas by having a brain directly wired into all electronic signals in […]
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 […]
Everyone knows that the shine of a post-Olympics “preview” berth doesn’t last long–just ask 2012’s Go On and Animal Practice. But it’s at least supposed to provide a new show with a strong sampling. Ironically, last night’s WINTER OLYMPICS ratings were so disastrous (2.6 in preliminary numbers–see Mitch Metcalf’s Skedball post for details) that ABOUT A […]