2014-15 TV Season

THE SKED Fall Pilot Report: ABC’s “Selfie”

Posted August 16, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  SELFIE:  Tuesday 8PM on ABC starting September 30 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  George Bernard Shaw.  (And Lerner & Loewe, whose My Fair Lady made Pygmalion into a fixture of pop culture.)  Series creator Emily Kapnek, of Suburgatory.  Stars John Cho and Karen Gillan.  Pilot director Julie Anne Robinson.  Warner Bros. Television. […]

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2014-15 TV Season

THE SKED Fall Pilot Report: FOX’s “Gracepoint”

Posted August 16, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  GRACEPOINT:  Thursday 9PM on FOX starting October 2 – Potential DVR Alert PLAYERS:  Broadchurch, the wildly successful limited (and now continuing) British TV series, of which Gracepoint is a remake.  Broadchurch returnees, including series creator Chris Chibnall, director James Strong and star David Tennant.  A cast surrounding Tennant that includes Anna Gunn, Nick Nolte, […]

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Pilot Reports

THE SKED Fall Pilot Report: NBC’s “Marry Me”

Posted August 14, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  MARRY ME:  Tuesday 9PM on NBC starting October 14 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Series creator David Caspe, of the late and lamented Happy Endings.  Stars Casey Wilson and Ken Marino, but especially Wilson, because while starring in this comedy about an engaged couple, she’s engaged in real life to Caspe.  Pilot […]

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Pilot Reports

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “Legends”

Posted August 13, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  LEGENDS:  Wednesday 9PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… After serving as a home for middle-aged procedurals for years, TNT has done well with its recent run of more macho adventures like The Last Ship and Falling Skies.  Its latest entry in that genre is the spy thriller LEGENDS, based on a […]

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2014-15 TV Season

THE SKED Fall Pilot Report: NBC’s “State of Affairs”

Posted August 11, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  STATE OF AFFAIRS:  Monday 10PM on NBC starting November 17 – If Nothing Else Is On… PLAYERS:  Star and Executive Producer Katherine Heigl, who developed the series for herself and pitched it to all the networks, hoping to spark a bidding war (which never really happened).  Series creator and pilot director Joe Carnahan, a […]

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Pilot Reports

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “Outlander”

Posted August 9, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  OUTLANDER:  Saturday 9PM on Starz – If Nothing Else Is On… After an uncharacteristic stop in the urban milieu of Power, Starz returns to its comfort zone of historical drama with OUTLANDER, based on the bestselling series of books by Diana Gabaldon.  The TV version retains a distinctly romance novel tone (with a pay-cable […]

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Pilot Reports

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “The Knick”

Posted August 9, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  THE KNICK:  Friday 10PM on Cinemax – DVR Alert It’s yet another measure of where television is these days in relation to movies that Steven Soderbergh, the main figure behind Cinemax’s new historical medical drama THE KNICK, found his ambitions too big for the big screen.  Soderbergh is now “retired,” which has turned out […]

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Pilot Reports

THE SKED Series Premiere Review: “Partners”

Posted August 5, 2014 by Mitch Salem

  PARTNERS:  Monday 9PM on FX – Change the Channel Anyone who’s seen the promos on FX over the past several weeks has known what was coming:  PARTNERS is a sitcom with the charm of an IRS audit.  It’s really less a TV show than an illustrated business deal, the latest in the assembly line […]

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