A TO Z:  Thursday 9:30PM on NBC THE FACTS:  The title refers to Andrew (Ben Feldman) and Zelda (Cristin Milioti), who both work at an online dating company, and who, since this is a rom-com, are of course fated for each other.  The series creator is Ben Queen, whose first series this is, and […]

  Nothing so far today matches yesterday afternoon’s high-profile pick-ups by NBC and FOX, but there’s nevertheless some news as we approach next week’s Upfronts: FOX Amid speculation that the network will cut back on its comedy commitment next season, FOX cleared its shelves of bubble sitcoms, officially canceling DADS, ENLISTED and SURVIVING JACK.  Jack […]

  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 […]

  Welcome to Upfronts week, when the broadcast networks (or what’s left of them) announce their Fall schedules and attempt to generate billions of dollars worth of excitement from advertisers.  It’s harder than ever to authoritatively analyze the thought process that goes into a broadcaster’s cancellation, renewal and pick-up decisions, because network ad revenues directly […]

  THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA:  Wednesday 8PM on NBC THE FACTS:  Laura Diamond (Debra Messing) is an NYPD homicide detective who also has to juggle her responsibilities to her young twin sons and her issues with her estranged cop husband (Josh Lucas).  The series creator is Jeff Rake, a veteran writer/producer (everything from The Practice […]

  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 […]

  NBC has perfected the art of releasing bits of information each day throughout pre-Upfront week, and today’s nuggets introduced a trio of additional new sitcoms.  It appears that at least 2 of these will be given small midseason runs of 6 episodes to see if they catch anyone’s fancy before potentially expanding. MISSION CONTROL:  […]

  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 […]