Author Archive
 

 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15 Trailer Review: NBC’s “State of Affairs”

  STATE OF AFFAIRS:  Monday 10PM on NBC (starting November 17) THE FACTS:  Katherine Heigl is the CIA agent in charge of putting together the President’s (Alfre Woodard) daily list of the nation’s Top 10 thre...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

Behind the Worldwide Box Office – 5/11/14

  Note:  Most of the studios are pinning extremely aggressive Sunday estimates on the hope that their movie will be a popular Mothers Day destination, so look for a potentially larger than usual set of adjustments in fina...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: “Neighbors” Takes Over Spider-Man’s Lease

  Mothers Day is a bit of a wild card this weekend, but based on preliminary numbers at Deadline, nothing on Saturday changed the way the box office is likely to play out.  NEIGHBORS (Universal) held very well, falling ju...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Review: “Saturday Night Live” with Charlize Theron

  It was 12:45AM before Charlize Theron really had a highlight to call her own on tonight’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, another instance of the show bringing on a bright talent and then not having them do very much.  Altho...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the Friday Box Office – 5/9/14

  OPENINGS:  NEIGHBORS (Universal) is a big win for all concerned, with a huge $19.6M Friday that could put it in reach of $50M for the weekend, especially if the fact that this is a rare mainstream Hollywood non-rom-com ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: Housekeeping At NBC & CBS

  The pick-ups are mostly done, so today was a time for the networks to clean up after themselves with some decisions on existing shows: NBC canceled DRACULA and remains in negotiations on PARENTHOOD, with the big issue re...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: ABC and 20th Make Their Deal: 2 Pick-Ups, “Last Man Standing” Back

  Only those involved will likely ever know the details, but ABC and 20th Century Fox Television worked out whatever they needed to, and the result was a pick-up of LAST MAN STANDING and orders for 2 additional 20th sitcom...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Neighbors” Moves In on Spider-Man

  It’s not going to be close, and it doesn’t deserve to be.  Based on preliminary numbers at Deadline and elsewhere, the much-better-than-you’d-expect NEIGHBORS (Universal) trounced THE AMAZING SPIDER-MA...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: “Nashville” Renewed

  After a bit of down-to-the-wire negotiating, ABC and Lionsgate have come to an agreement for a Season 3 renewal of NASHVILLE, although details are not yet clear, including just how many episodes have been ordered (ABC ha...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: Larry Wilmore and “The Minority Report” Will Take the “Colbert Report” Slot

  With the need to replace The Colbert Report now that its host will be leaving for network pastures when his contract expires at the end of 2014, and knowing that since that show is built entirely around Stephen Colbert&#...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: More NBC Comedies

  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 ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: CBS and Its Very CBS Pick-Ups

  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-camer...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: ABC Picks Up “Secrets & Lies,” Negotiates on “Nashville”

  One more drama for ABC:  the murder-driven soap SECRETS & LIES, which had a high-profile deal that would have required the network to pay a large penalty if it hadn’t ordered the series (it has a 10-episode or...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

NIELSENWAR 2014-15: House Cleaning at NBC and ABC

  If #6seasonsandamovie is going to happen for COMMUNITY, it won’t be at NBC, which finally fired the bullet that’s been aimed at Dan Harmon’s show seemingly every season since it went on the air.  That ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

UPDATED: THE SKED CABLE/NETWORK SCORECARD – 5/8/14

  NETWORK UPDATE:  THE BIG BANG THEORY only gained back 0.1 of the giant 0.8 it had tumbled this morning, while THE MILLERS lost the corresponding 0.1.  All of ABC’s shows went up, GREY’S ANATOMY by 0.2 and BLACK...
by Mitch Salem