Author Archive
 

 

THE SKED: “The Americans” Get New Visas

  THE AMERICANS rebounded a bit in the ratings last night, rising to a 0.8 after 2 weeks of declines, but even if it had just held steady, FX would probably have awarded it a Season 2 renewal any time now.  As it is, the ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/20/13

Another night with little for the networks to cheer about. ABC:  The first 90 minutes of the night provided some good news, as THE MIDDLE rebounded a bit from last week’s low to 2.2 (up 0.3), THE NEIGHBORS was up 0.2 to ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Necessary Roughness”

  Professional sports are so central to American culture, and so particularly critical to the television business, that it’s surprising the area had been largely ignored as the locale of a series until USA’s NE...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

OSCARS MINUS 4: A Toss-Up and a (Probable) Lock

  Almost anyone could win Best Supporting Actor this year.  All of the nominees delivered acclaimed performances in highly-praised films, and all are previous winners, so none of them would necessarily take precedence as ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S TUESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/19/13

No good news for anyone last night. ABC:  It was never clear why ABC renewed BODY OF PROOF, which had marginal ratings last season (reportedly foreign sales played a part, as the network’s in-house studio produces the sh...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

OSCARS MINUS 5: The Sure Thing That Is, and The One That Isn’t

  The voting has just closed for this year’s Academy Awards, and here at Oscar Central, we are ready to make the following call: Daniel Day-Lewis is going to win the Best Actor Oscar for Lincoln. I know, way out on a...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: The Sun Doesn’t Set On “Downton Abbey”

  Viewership for the Season 3 finale of DOWNTON ABBEY wasn’t hurt at all (and may have been helped a bit) by the fact that its “surprise” death had been out there in the internet ether since the show aire...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

PREMIERING TONIGHT – THE SKED’S PILOT REPORT: CW’s “Cult”

  CULT:  Tuesday 9PM on CW – Change the Channel CW has had little good news this season apart from the arrival of Arrow, and it’s not helping itself by deciding to launch the new thriller CULT just as FOX has ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S MONDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/18/13

A good night for those seeking true love and serial killings. FOX:  A big sigh of relief was breathed at FOX as THE FOLLOWING bounced back to 2.8, up 0.4 from last week (and the episode ended with a cliffhanger that should kee...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

OSCARS MINUS 6: The “Argo”-ness of It All

  So, is it over? It certainly feels over.  Voting for the Academy Awards ends tomorrow, and last night’s win at the Writers Guild for Best Adapted Screenplay cemented Argo’s astonishing streak of victories ov...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S SUNDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 2/17/13

It’s been so long since there’s been a stable Sunday, what with preemptions and competition from football playoffs, the Super Bowl, the Golden Globes, and the Grammys (with the Oscars still to come), that it’s...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “Downton Abbey”

  The gap between British and US airings of DOWNTON ABBEY gives rise to some dislocations.  The series airs each fall in England, but PBS holds it for January-February because it doesn’t want to compete with the sta...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE WEEKEND BOXOFFICE – 2/17/13

  OPENINGS:   A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (20th) pulled ahead of the competition on Saturday, and should have a $38M 5-day opening.  (However, its Sunday projection is on the optimistic side, so it’s possible the number...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED REVIEW: “Saturday Night Live” with Christoph Waltz

  You would have thought that if there was one SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE host who’d escape the cliche of a musical monologue, it would be Christoph Waltz, but you’d be wrong.  “Smile, Damn It, Smile” was...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

BEHIND THE FRIDAY BOXOFFICE – 2/15/13

  Even if Die Hard takes the weekend, it’s running on fumes. OPENINGS:  A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (20th) cost at least triple the budget of SAFE HAVEN (Relativity), and had a more expensive marketing campaign as well.�...
by Mitch Salem