Author Archive
 

 

THE SKED Pilot + 1 Review: “Those Who Kill”

  THOSE WHO KILL:  Monday 10PM on A&E Previously… on THOSE WHO KILL:  Catherine Jensen (Chloe Sevigny) is a Pittsburgh homicide detective on the serial killer beat.  She has demons in her past, and so does Tho...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

NIELSENWAR: Meanwhile, on Cable…

  ABC had a very good hour on Sunday with its successful launch of Resurrection, but that still couldn’t compare to an entire night of Oscar coverage the previous week, so the network was down by more than 50% this t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: Preliminary Sunday Ratings for True Detective, Lindsay & Cosmos

  Sunday’s numbers won’t be fully in until tomorrow, but bits of information are starting to arrive about some of last night’s event telecasts: In its simulcast airing on 9 cable networks owned by FOX, CO...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: Farewell, “Raising Hope”

  FOX issued some glad tidings on Friday with the group renewals of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mindy Project, New Girl and The Following, and today it was time for another shoe to fall.  The network announced that the one-ho...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “True Detective”

  Since the TV cop show has come of age–a process that began back in the days of Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, but has accelerated greatly in recent years–there have been repeated attempts to push the limits...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Season Finale Review: “Looking”

  Is the dullness of HBO’s LOOKING a breakthrough or a flaw?  That’s the question that’s been following the series since its premiere two months ago, and it’s been argued both ways. From the start,...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED Pilot Review: “Believe”

  BELIEVE:  Sunday 9PM on NBC (Premiere Monday 10PM on March 10) – If Nothing Else Is On… Movie wizard and newly-minted Best Director Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron is the co-creator of BELIEVE (although it was n...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Pilot Review: “Resurrection”

  RESURRECTION:  Sunday 9PM on ABC  – Potential DVR Alert The restrained tension of RESURRECTION‘s pilot may remind you of early, suburban Spielberg, and of M. Night Shyamalan before he became a punchline. ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE – 3/9/14

  OPENINGS:  Despite frontloading that led to an 8% Saturday drop, 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Warners/Legendary) is claiming a very low 30% decline on Sunday in order to report a $45.1M weekend.  We’ll see if that num...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Review: “Saturday Night Live” with Lena Dunham

  Odd and inconsistent may have been the watchwords for tonight’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE with host Lena Dunham, but even intermittent inspiration was a big improvement after last week’s grimly unfunny outing with ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOX OFFICE – 3/7/14

  OPENINGS:  300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Warners/Legendary) did well in late-night shows, raising its Friday estimate to $17.7M, which may bring its opening weekend to $43M or more.  That’s still not in a league with t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED NETWORK SCORECARD – 3/7/14

  HANNIBAL‘s appetite decreased last night. NBC:  DATELINE started the night fairly strongly at 1.5, up 0.3 from last week, and GRIMM was up 0.1 to 1.5.  But HANNIBAL crashed to 0.8, down 0.3 from last week’s...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “300: Rise Of An Empire” Takes No Prisoners

  No one expected 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Warners/Legendary) to equal the giant start of its predecessor, after 7 years and with most of the cast gone–and it won’t.  But based on preliminary numbers at Deadlin...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED Renewal Day At FOX

  FOX’s cancellation of THE X FACTOR means that it starts next fall knowing that it has 3 hours of primetime to fill.  The network isn’t going to want much more than that on its plate–for marketing reaso...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THURSDAY NIGHT BOX OFFICE: “300: Rise of An Empire” Roars Into Town

  “Fanboy” movies typically do particularly well in Thursday night runs, and it was true last night for 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Warners/Legendary), which pulled in $3.3M in screenings that began at 8PM.  That&...
by Mitch Salem