Author Archive
 

 

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
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY’s Friday 3.31.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED

BROADCAST FINALS ABC:  Returning from a rerun week, SHARK TANK gained 0.05 to 0.44, and 20/20 ticked up to 0.33. CBS:  Back from their NCAA break, SWAT was up 0.03 to 0.40, FIRE COUNTRY was steady at 0.41, and BLUE BLOODS tic...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOXOFFICE: 10/5/12

  Liam Neeson, superstar. OPENINGS:  TAKEN 2 (20th) is on track for an opening in the high-$40Ms, which would make it the biggest weekend #1 since late July’s 2nd weekend of The Dark Knight Rises.  Since the movie ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY WEEKEND BOXOFFICE SCORECARD – 3/4/12

> Now the only question is when they announce the start of  pre-production on LORAX 2. OPENINGS:  It turned out THE LORAX (Universal) wasn’t frontloaded at all.  Quite the contrary, its 80% Saturday bump pu...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SHOWBUZZDAILY REVIEW: “Battle Los Angeles”

  Watch it at home.   The deadliest weapon unleashed in BATTLE LOS ANGELES is its barrage of war-movie cliches. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but there’s this rag-tag group of Marines, led by a hard...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

The Sked: PROMO WATCH — Update through Monday October 10

>ShowBuzzDaily’s PROMO WATCH shows that ABC’s Last Man Standing is the top priority over this new sample period, not surprising given that it premieres tonight.  Once Upon a Time is also getting its due as we h...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED NETWORK SCORECARD – 1/16/14

  American Idol‘s woes continued last night.  (So did everyone else’s.) FOX:  On a year-to-year basis, Thursday’s plunge for AMERICAN IDOL was even worse than Wednesday’s, down an awful 1.7 from last ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

ShowbuzzDaily Sundance 2022 Reviews: “Nanny,” “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” & “Resurrection”

  NANNY (no distrib):  Think Netflix’s Maid, but as a (sort of) horror movie.  Aisha (Anna Diop) is an undocumented Senegalese immigrant in New York who works as a nanny for the daughter of a well-off couple, Amy (...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: Thoughts on NBC’s Schedule (and on Our Predictions)

> NEW SHOWS in CAPS.  New Time Periods in Italics. WHAT WE LIKE.  As stated in the network press release about the new 2011/12 schedule, NBC is attempting a nice blend of stability (Tuesday, Sunday, and parts of Wedne...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Killjoys”

  KILLJOYS is, along with Dark Matter, one of the ultra-cheap scripted pieces that Syfy runs on Friday nights.  (Defiance, which airs with them, is a somewhat more ambitious enterprise.)  The grubby aesthetics of the tw...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON PREMIERE REVIEW: “Burn Notice”

BURN NOTICE – Thursday 9PM on USA   WHERE WE WERE:  On the jailhouse steps.  Uber-evil Anson Fullerton (Jere Burns), the shrink who “burned” our hero Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) and destroyed his C...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE BIJOU’S WEEKEND STUDIO SCORECARD – 12/18/11

> As schools close and vacations begin, a lot of money is about to flood into Hollywood for about 2 blissful weeks.  But not enough to make up for the rest of a doleful year. SHERLOCK HOLMES:  GAME OF SHADOWS (Warners...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Empire”

  In a season that was loaded with bad news for the broadcast networks, none may have been more distressing than the ratings trajectory of EMPIRE.  With all due respect to This Is Us, Empire was the last network show to p...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Sundance 2015 Review: “Zipper”

  The title ZIPPER suggests something wittier and more enticing than Mora Stephens’ well-made melodrama turns out to be.  If a filmmaker is determined to reexamine the familiar story of a politician who can’t...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S MONDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 4/30/12

> SMASHWatch demands to know why “Bombshell” didn’t get any Tony nominations today.  NBC:  Last night’s SMASH encapsulated its season.  The episode began with high promise (a buoyant ̶...
by Mitch Salem