CW needed to rip up its schedule and start over, and it mostly has.     Let’s take a look night-by-night. MONDAY:  The network is reuniting two of its cornerstone soaps for the Fall, with 90210 as the lead-in for the final 11-episode season of GOSSIP GIRL.  Since CW isn’t planning to begin its […]

>DISCLAIMER: These initial impressions are based on the clips (usually 3-5 minutes) released by the networks to use in their Upfront presentations and for promos.  They’re chosen to sell the show, not to accurately represent it.  So take the reactions below with a large satchel of salt–we may well feel differently about these shows once […]

Monday night features the premiere of NBC’s temporary schedule until The Voice returns.  The Biggest Loser settles into its new night (after a preview tonight featuring the return of trainer Jillian Michaels) from 8-10 pm, followed by the premiere of new drama Deception.  ABC premieres The Bachelor directly against Biggest Loser and follows that up with a new episode of Castle.  FOX’s schedule includes […]

  FOX may be in 4th place for the season, but it has the hot hand right now, with Spring blockbuster Empire and surprise success The Last Man On Earth livening up its season.  It’s trying to build on those with an aggressive Fall schedule (new shows are in ALL CAPS, new timeslots are in […]

> A few notes: these projections are for original episodes (no repeats) aired in the 4th quarter of 2011.  Series premieres will likely be .3-.4 higher, thanks to network marketing pushes, and then tend to go down over time.  We’ll be updating the numbers after we see full pilots and also as we get a […]

  Our journey through the fall primetime schedule–and by “our,” I mean former head of NBC Scheduling Mitch Metcalf, former head of NBC Current Programming Ted Frank and myself–takes us to what may be the most competitive night of the new season:  Wednesdays.  (You can find our predictions here for Monday and Tuesday.)   Our […]

Tuesdays this fall look like another win for CBS.  Last fall, FOX battled CBS to a draw on Tuesdays, partly because New Girl started at a smash-hit pace, then CBS moved ahead in the spring.  But with Glee moving off the night to create a Tuesday block of four half-hour comedies, and with heavy new comedy competition for the […]

> THURSDAYS this Fall officially start September 22, with virtually all series debuting or returning on that night.  The main exception is The CW, with Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle premiering tonight and a few late premieres (CBS’s How to Be a Gentleman and ABC’s Private Practice on September 29 and FOX’s Bones in early […]