CW didn’t need to make a lot of changes after a successful (on its terms) season, and it hasn’t.  The network confined its fall moves to 2 nights, opting for stability the rest of the week and keeping 4 additional shows (2 new, 2 returning) for midseason use.  Here are the details: MONDAY:  This […]

  CBS has reportedly closed a deal with Warner Bros Television to renew THE BIG BANG THEORY for 3 more seasons, which (pending renegotiation of expiring cast deals) would bring the show through Season 10.  This was a no-brainer for CBS, considering that Big Bang is by far the highest-rated non-NFL programming on broadcast television, […]

  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, […]

  FOX has announced some changes to its midseason line-up, mostly affecting Tuesdays. GLEE returns to Tuesdays 8PM on February 25, after airing its last Thursday episode sometime before January 16.  It leads into a single sitcom hour of NEW GIRL/BROOKLYN NINE-NINE.  THE MINDY PROJECT takes a long break following its January 28 episode, returning […]

  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 […]

  SECRETS AND LIES:  Midseason TBD on ABC THE FACTS:  Another ABC murder soap, this one starring Ryan Phillippe as a man who finds the body of a neighbor’s child in the woods, KaDee Strickland as his wife, and Juliette Lewis as the homicide detective who thinks he’s the killer.  It’s based on an Australian […]

  NBC has pulled the plug on SEAN SAVES THE WORLD, its misbegotten Sean Hayes vehicle.  The series has aired 12 of its 14 completed episodes (a total of 18 had been ordered), and it’s not yet clear what will be replacing it on Thursdays–the network will use its upcoming Olympics break (an SNL special […]

  MARRY ME:  Tuesday 9PM on NBC THE FACTS:  Happy Endings creator David Caspe reunites with Casey Wilson, one of that show’s stars, for a rom-com that pairs her with Ken Marino, as a longtime couple who finally get engaged. WHAT’S IT SAYING:  The NBC quirky single-camera rom-com brand is in good hands:  Happy Endings […]