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 […]

  NBC has little enough to brag about these days, so it’s understandable that the network would want to claim victory for its breakout drama THE BLACKLIST as quickly as possible.  There’s no practical benefit in renewing a series in December for the following fall, but after last night’s extremely impressive fall finale showing, with […]

  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), […]

  AMERICAN IDOL used to be the school bully; now it cringes in the network equivalent of the assistant principal’s office.  FOX announced today that as of March 13, Idol is fleeing its Big Bang Theory competition and shifting to 9PM on Thursdays, where on March 27 (as previously announced) it will shrink to half […]

  EMPIRE:  Midseason TBD on FOX THE FACTS:  Think Nashville, but with a hip-hop beat and an A-level pedigree.  Music tycoon Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) is dying–although not just yet–and has to decide who between his two sons will inherit his giant company, causing all manner of family scheming.  Complicating things further:  his ex-wife (Taraji […]

  The midseason part of the broadcast network schedule kicks off in a few hours, and we’ve spent the past few days taking a look at ABC, CBS and NBC.  Today it’s the turn of the most critical patient in the quartet. FOX Fall Primetime 18-49 Average (through December 28):  1.58, down 17.8% from Fall […]

  UPDATED with reactions to FOX trailers, which are available here:   The FOX fall schedule is a puzzlement. FOX seems to have done little to help itself with its fall 2016 line-up, leaving two of its weakest nights unimproved, and burying one of its highest-profile projects on low-rated Friday.  The network will be more […]

  NBC was desperate to get Michael J. Fox back on its air, so much so that it ordered 22 episodes of his series before a pilot had even been produced.  But viewers had much less interest in Fox’s return, especially in what turned out to be such a pedestrian vehicle, and the show’s only […]