BACKSTROM:  Midseason TBD on FOX THE FACTS:  Rainn Wilson plays your basic difficult-but-brilliant homicide detective in a procedural based on a series of Swedish mystery novels, adapted for television by Hart Hanson, the creator of Bones.  Backstrom is grumpy and dismissive of his colleagues, and unhealthy in his eating, drinking and general living habits, […]

  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 […]

  GOTHAM:  Monday 8PM on FOX THE FACTS:  The hero of this Batman prequel is the pre-Commissioner Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), who with his partner (Donal Logue) will attempt to clean Gotham City of a mob boss (Jada Pinkett Smith) and other villains.  Along the way, he’ll interact with the young versions of not […]

  MULANEY:  Sunday 9:30PM on FOX THE FACTS:  John Mulaney, in real life a stand-up comic and TV comedy writer (most notably on SNL, where his biggest claim to fame may be co-creating Bill Hader’s Stefon character), plays one in the sitcom he created for himself, too.  His TV show boss is Martin Short, and […]

  GRACEPOINT:  Thursday 9PM on FOX THE FACTS:  David Tennant repeats his role as the lead detective in a US adaptation of the hit British miniseries Broadchurch, about the murder of a child in a small seaside town and what the investigation reveals about the inhabitants.  He’s joined by Anna Gunn in what had been […]

  NETWORK UPDATE:  HANNIBAL provided a reminder of how low its license fee must be by falling even further in final numbers to 0.7.  Both the original and rerun episodes of WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY fell 0.1, while 20/20 gained 0.1 from the early numbers. FRIDAY CABLE:  Once again, all that really registered was […]

The ratings below are household ratings from the 56 television markets with local Nielsen meters for Saturday May 10 and Sunday May 11, 2014. The 56 markets (out of 210 total) cover about 70% of the US television population.   NBA: Playoffs 4.3 rating ABC 8:15 pm Saturday Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets Game 3 […]

  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 […]