BLOOD DRIVE:  Wednesday 10PM on Syfy – If Nothing Else Is On… Syfy is in the midst of a rebranding, the focal point of which seems to be a new font for its logo.  Creatively, if the premiere of BLOOD DRIVE is to be taken as a guide, the network intends its model to […]

  CLAWS:  Sunday 9PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… There’s a reason that CLAWS,  TNT’s latest foray into original programming, feels like the offspring of a multi-camera sitcom, a paycable hour and Orange Is the New Black.  The project, created by Eliot Laurence, was originally developed as a HBO half-hour, and then taken […]

  ORPHAN BLACK:  Saturday 10PM on BBCAmerica A somewhat meta line of dialogue about “consolidation” is a sign that ORPHAN BLACK has commenced its final (and 5th) season.  Series creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett (Manson is credited as writer of the season premiere, Fawcett as director) have started to move their pieces toward the […]

  I’M DYING UP HERE:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime – If Nothing Else Is On… A stand-up comic’s set, especially if the comic is a newcomer, has to make its mark immediately if the audience’s attention isn’t going to wander.  That’s a lesson that Showtime’s new dramedy series about 1970s stand-ups I’M DYING UP HERE […]

  ANIMAL KINGDOM:  Tuesday 9PM on TNT ANIMAL KINGDOM has been a key part of TNT’s rebranding as a hipper TV destination than the home of Major Crimes and The Last Ship, and tonight’s Season 2 premiere promised more of the same, with plenty of FX-level sexuality and general grittiness on display.  The key change, […]

  STILL STAR-CROSSED:  Monday 10PM on ABC – If Nothing Else Is On… The idea of a Shonda Rhimes-produced sequel to one of Shakespeare’s classics sounds like something that might air on a satirical network, but STILL STAR-CROSSED is real, albeit relegated by ABC to its summer minor leagues.  (The actual series creator/showrunner is Heather […]

  TWIN PEAKS:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime – DVR Alert (for some) Trying to recapture what it was like to watch the original premiere of TWIN PEAKS would be like attempting to duplicate the experience of seeing the first moon landing.  Twin Peaks emerged at a time when “Quality TV” meant LA Law, which won […]

  AMERICAN GODS:  Sunday 9PM on Starz – Potential DVR Alert It seems only fair to note upfront, upon the arrival of Bryan Fuller’s new Starz series AMERICAN GODS (created with Michael Green, and based on the novel by Neil Gaiman) that I was not among the congregation that worshiped Fuller’s Hannibal.  I admired the […]