CONSTANTINE:  Friday 10PM on NBC THE FACTS:  John Constantine (Matt Ryan) has the ability to see demons and spirits hidden from the outside world and the ability to defeat them; unfortunately, he’s also been damned to hell for actions in his past.  Trying to redeem himself, he sets out to protect Liv (Lucy Griffiths), […]

  Just a day after NBC announced the end of its Thursday Must-See-TV block of comedies, FOX is breaking up its Animation Domination Sundays with a pair of live-action sitcoms.  There are plenty of changes to the FOX line-up on the way, and here’s a quick breakdown: MONDAY:  Matching the new Batman prequel GOTHAM with […]

  It was a dull week for the broadcast networks, with little variation from the week before.  CBS had the advantage, thanks to the series finale of How I Met Your Mother, giving it a 2.16 average in 18-49s for the week (5 nights same day finals, 2 nights overnights), up 0.08.  ABC followed with […]

  The network averages for last week are significant because they represent a full week of sweeps programming, which means reruns were at a minimum and some stunting (although not a tremendous amount of it: a Chicago Fire/PD crossover here, the IHeartRadio Music Awards there) boosted the numbers.  In other words, barring really big events […]

  ABC, unlike all the other networks, didn’t renew all its sure-thing returning shows weeks ago, so it had a lot to announce today.  Most of these aren’t surprising, but the following series will be back next season:  SCANDAL, GREY’S ANATOMY, MODERN FAMILY, ONCE UPON A TIME, RESURRECTION, REVENGE, CASTLE, AGENTS OF SHIELD, THE GOLDBERGS, […]

  WAYWARD PINES:  Midseason TBD on FOX THE FACTS:  M. Night Shyamalan is the marquee producer of this neo-Twin Peaks-ian limited series.  (He also directed the pilot.)  It concerns Secret Service agent Ethan Burke, who travels to the small, strange town of Wayward Pines in search of two missing agents.  The people he encounters there […]

  Once again, CW demonstrated that it operates under different economics than the other broadcast networks.  Much of its revenue comes from episodes streamed online via Netflix and Hulu, which makes sometimes puny on-air ratings acceptable.  Also, virtually everything it airs is produced by one of its in-house studios, Warner Bros Television or CBS Television […]

    BLACK-ISH:  Wednesday 9:30PM on ABC THE FACTS:  Anthony Anderson plays the head of an African-American family that lives a prosperous life in a mostly white neighborhood, and he tries to hold onto some part of his culture even though his assimilated kids, wife and father mostly couldn’t care less.  The series creator is […]