Author Archive
 

 

THE SKED: “Smash” Makes It To Act 2

> SMASH, the ambitious musical drama that was intended from the start to be NBC’s new signature series (even if for some of us, it’s become a bit smudged) has officially been renewed for a 2d season. This was pretty...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: CBS Season Finales

> As the season starts to wind down, CBS adds its season finale announcements to the chorus.  Interestingly most of the network’s shows will go into hibernation before the official final week of the season: Sunday Ap...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S WEDNESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 3/21/12

>   BENT finds the welcome mat to be more of a trapdoor. NBC:  Even facing a repeat Modern Family on ABC, BENT had a catastrophic 1.0 premiere (down to 0.9 in its 2d half-hour).  See our Pilot + 1 Review.  T...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S PILOT + 1 REVIEW: “Bent”

> A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and production of episodes for the regular season:  a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may hav...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

The Sked: PROMO WATCH — Update through March 20

>The most recent Promo Watch numbers are based on prime time broadcast network programming between March 14 and March 20, with about 8 hours of programming sampled for each network over that period.  (Click “read mor...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

“The Hunger Games” and Theatre Counts (Pop Culture Apocalypose Minus 2)

> With the exception of some whose hearts are set on 12:01AM screenings tomorrow night, no one should have to complain that they weren’t able to see THE HUNGER GAMES because there weren’t any seats to be had.  ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED PILOT REPORT: PREMIERING TONIGHT – “Bent”

> Disclaimer:  Network pilots now in circulation are not necessarily in the form that will air in the Fall.  Pilots are often reedited and rescored, and in some cases even recast or reshot.  So these critiques sh...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: FOX Really, Really Hates Its “Teenage Daughter”

> FOX, reacting quickly to the decline of NEW GIRL, has just announced that it’s yanking the horribly rated I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER from the final 2 weeks of its 4-sitcom Tuesday.  Last night, Teenage Daughter cou...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED’S TUESDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 3/20/12

> FOX chants:  bring back GLEE! FOX:  The network’s 4-sitcom Tuesday is starting to look less like an unsuccessful experiment and more like a disaster.  I HATE MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER is already all-but-cancele...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED SEASON FINALE REVIEW: “The River”

> Let’s face it, “season finale” is a euphemism for what tonight’s episode of THE RIVER almost certainly was in reality:  the SS Minnow from Gilligan’s Island is more likely to make a return v...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

“The Hunger Games” and Front-Loaded Boxoffice (Pop Culture Apocalypse Minus 2)

> The most successful movie of all time, Avatar, had an opening weekend ($77M) that only ranks 38th on the list of the biggest openings.  Conversely, the #1 opening weekend of all time belongs to Harry Potter and the Death...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED’S MONDAY NETWORK SCORECARD – 3/19/12

> SMASHWatch says:  could’ve been worse. ABC:  DANCING WITH THE STARS returned to the schedule with a 3.5 that was only 2/3 of last year’s spring premiere number, and accordingly the lowest-rated premiere ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY BOXOFFICE: “John Carter” Is Not A Success – 3/18/12

> For anyone who thought the angst over JOHN CARTER‘s boxoffice returns was overstated:  Disney has issued a public statement advising that it expects the film to result in a $200M loss, which will singlehandedly pul...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

THE SKED: “Walking Dead” Devours More Ratings Records

> This morning we anticipated that the season finale of THE WALKING DEAD on AMC would outrate anything on network television last night, but that didn’t do justice to Dead‘s accomplishment.  In the finale’...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

THE SKED: FOX Season Finales

> FOX has added its season finales to the pile, which include an evening-long farewell to HOUSE.  Here’s the schedule: Tuesday April 17 9:30PM:  RAISING HOPE (Note:  after Hope‘s season finale, BREAKI...
by Mitch Salem