THE BORGIAS:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime Showtime must have a great co-production deal on THE BORGIAS.  Despite what is evidently a handsome budget–certainly far more expensive than what shows like House of Lies or even Homeland cost to produce–the series barely makes a ripple in the ratings, last year managing an 18-49 rating of […]

  NURSE JACKIE:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime NURSE JACKIE had a strong, dramatic season last year that may have been its best.  But the ratings weren’t anything to speak of (a 0.2-0.3 in 18-49s, and fewer than a million total viewers), and series co-creator/showrunners Liz Brixius and Linda Wallem left the show rather messily (from […]

  VEEP:  Sunday 10PM on HBO You wouldn’t expect Armando Iannucci’s VEEP to change much from season to season, and you’d largely be right.  Notwithstanding its four-letter words and bustling cinema verite screwball style, Veep is the most conventional of HBO’s comedies, a workplace sitcom about a group of mostly officious idiots that happens to […]

  It took 84 minutes before SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE aired a single franchise sketch tonight.  That’s 84 minutes of non-stop, uninterrupted originality from the writing staff, working without the nets of familiar characters or predetermined catchphrases.  If that’s not a record, it had to be close.  (And even though the last sketch of the night […]

  DA VINCI’S DEMONS:  Friday 9PM on Starz – If Nothing Else Is On… Starz has been searching for a signature original series it can call its own, especially now that Homeland has brought Showtime, arguably, into parity with HBO.  The Spartacus franchise was successful, but so heavy in sex and gore that it crossed […]

  HANNIBAL:  Thursday 10PM on NBC A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may have had their own turnover) give plenty of notes, helpful and […]

  GO ON is a genuine bubble show–not just in its ratings (which are strong when it has The Voice as a lead-in and barely acceptable when it doesn’t), but in its quality.  The series wobbles from episode to episode and even between storylines in a single episode, sometimes smart and charming and equally often […]

  HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE):  Wednesday 9:30PM on ABC A lot can happen between the creation of a TV pilot in the spring and the production of episodes for the regular season: a writing/producing team is hired, audience focus groups weigh in, networks and studios (which may […]