Currently TBD on the FOX schedule is US & THEM, an adaptation of the well-liked British comedy Gavin & Stacey.  It stars the also well-liked Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel as co-workers from different branches of the same company who finally meet and have to overcome the challenge of their wildly eccentric parents and […]

  Fridays aren’t the most exciting night on the broadcast network schedule, but there are some interesting changes coming next fall.  We’re following our predictions for Monday,  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with a look at what Fridays have in store.  These projections cover the September 22-December 7 period, before holiday reruns and specials kick in, […]

  CBS was, for the most part, very CBS in its choice of new series for next season, with a pair of spin-offs, some additional procedurals, one retread sitcom and another that fits right into the network’s multi-camera family comedy sweet spot.  The biggest surprise was the omission, at least for now, of How I […]

  NBC’s formal Upfront presentation isn’t until tomorrow, but the network has already released both its Fall and Midseason 2013-14 schedules.  Let’s dig right in. FALL MONDAY:  8PM:     THE VOICE 10PM:  THE BLACKLIST Unsurprisingly, the showcase post-VOICE drama spot has gone to the network’s most-hyped new 1-hour, THE BLACKLIST with James Spader.  If this is […]

  The CBS featurette for its new Monday 8:30PM comedy WE ARE MEN is at great pains to suggest that the cast–Chris Smith, Tony Shalhoub, Jerry O’Connell and Kal Penn, as divorcees who live in the same residential hotel–has as much fun together behind the camera as in front of it.  The bigger question is […]

  Another sitcom for NBC’s new “we wouldn’t be edgy if you begged us” Thursday night comedy line-up, as Sean Hayes returns to what’s now “Might-Watch TV” with SEAN SAVES THE WORLD.  Well, let’s give Sean this much:  as gay family sitcoms go, it looks better than The New Normal.  And Hayes seems to have […]

  Over the past few days, in the lead-up to the gala Upfront ceremonies that will begin with NBC’s presentation to advertisers and the world on Monday morning, there’s been a steady stream of announcements and leaks about which broadcast network shows are being cancelled, renewed or picked-up to series.  For decades, that news was […]

  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 […]