Tag / ABC

by jim

Post Mortem – Stumptown

A victim of the corona virus pandemic, Stumptown was originally picked up for a second season by ABC in May of 2020, but was subsequently cancelled in September when pandemic-related production delays meant a new season wouldn’t be available until April of 2021.   Based on the comic book series of the same name created by Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth, Stumptown starred Cobie Smulders as a military vet turned private eye who handles problems that the police can’t.

I would have liked to see more of Stumptown to see where they would go with the story.  It’s perplexing that other shows were able to find a way to come back earlier but, according to the reports, this one could not.  Funny that those cancellations from last summer and fall seemed to hit shows whose leads were women.  Oh well, I will look forward to whatever brings Cobie Smulders back to my television screen, hopefully sooner rather than later.

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ABC Upfronts

After a year dominated by the corona virus, ABC is taking a cautious approach this fall, with only two new series on the schedule.  The week gets off to a familiar start, with Dancing With The Stars followed by The Good Doctor on Monday nights.  Tuesday night starts with the latest version of The Bachelorette and then Queens, about four estranged women in their 40s who reunite for a chance to recapture the fame they had as a ’90s hip hop group.

Wednesday’s comedy block stays pretty much the same, with The Goldbergs, The Conners, and Home Economics returning and a new version of The Wonder Years, taking a nostalgic look at a Black middle-class family in late 60s Montgomery, Alabama.  A Million Little Things finishes of the night.  Thursdays look pretty much the same, with Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy, and then the moved-over Big Sky.  Friday kicks off with Shark Tank, followed by two hours of 20/20.  Sunday stays mostly all reality, with America’s Funniest Home Videos, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, and Supermarket Sweep, followed by The Rookie.

On the bench for mid-season are Abbott Elementary, a comedy about dedicated teachers in a failing school, Maggie, starring Rebecca Rittenhouse as a young woman trying to cope with life as a psychic, and Women of the Movement, a limited series telling the story of Mamie Till-Mobley, who, in 1955, risks her life to find justice after her son Emmett is brutally murdered in the Jim Crow South.  Returning shows for mid-season include the final installment of Black-ish.

Cancelled shows never to be seen again are American Housewife, Call Your Mother, For Life, Mixed-ish, and Rebel.

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #161-169

It’s been 4 years since we last counted down the Top 200 artists in my iTunes library.  Since my iTunes stats are still intact, across multiple PCs, iPods, iPads, and iPhones, I figured it was time to take another look at the artists that have entertained me the most based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2021.

We continue today with our next batch of 10 artists, the 2 tied for 169th place, 5 tied for 164th, and the 3 tied for 161st.  We only have 2 bands and/or performers that are newcomers to the list this week.

#169: Jason Segel
iTunes stats: 52 plays
Previous ranking: #111

A big 58 spot drop for the human star of The Muppets, who picked up only 12 additional plays for his 4 songs in my collection.

#169: Schoolhouse Rock!
iTunes stats: 52 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

A big debut for the staple of ABC Saturday mornings, after more than doubling its play total.

#164: Matthew Sweet
iTunes stats: 53 plays
Previous ranking: #185

After seeing him in concert back in 2017, I added 2 new tracks to my collection, which contributed to the 21 spot jump for the 90s star.

#164: Bloodhound Gang
iTunes stats: 53 plays
Previous ranking: #117

The band known for humorous and off-beat, satirical lyrics picked up only 16 new listens, which ended up in a 47 spot fall in the charts.

#164: Janet Jackson
iTunes stats: 53 plays
Previous ranking: N/A

A nice debut for the icon star of the late 80s and early 90s, who added 30 new plays over the last 4 years.

#164: Letters To Cleo
Continue reading →

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2020 New Fall Season – Sundays

It is time once again to dive in to the new fall lineups for the upcoming television season, despite that, due to the continued corona virus pandemic, it will not kick into high gear tomorrow night as normal. We start this year with Sunday night’s offerings, or at least we would if there was anything already on the schedule that was interesting.  The CW shows aren’t coming back until next year and the other networks, aside from ABC, who are going all in with their game show programming, don’t have anything new scheduled as of yet.

 

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Post Mortem – Bless This Mess

After debuting as a midseason replacement last April, Bless This Mess, starring Lake Bell and Dax Shepard, lasted a little over a year on ABC.  Despite the corona virus pandemic shutting down pilot season, the network decided to move forward without the comedy without announcing what will replace it on the fall schedule.

The tale of a couple adjusting to farm life in Nebraska after leaving Manhattan never really caught on, and, between the abbreviated first season and the pandemic shortened second season, managed just over a full season’s worth of episodes in its two seasons on the air.  What’s next for the series’ stars and strong supporting cast?  We’ll have to wait for the world to get back to normal to find out.

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Post Mortem – Single Parents

While it is holding off on announcing its fall lineup due to the corona virus pandemic, ABC did go ahead and cancel a couple of shows, including Single Parents.  Having just wrapped up its second season, the show centered around a found family of single parents, whose children mostly were in the same class at school.

While Taran Killam, Leighton Meester, and Brad Garrett were the names coming in to the show, Kimrie Lewis and child actors Mia and Ella Allan, who also teamed up on the dearly departed Jane The Virgin, showed their chops.  While not a great show, it was always entertaining and it’ll be missed come this fall.

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Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season, with the offerings that I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Conners – After a season of nostalgia and a season of curiosity, can the show finally stand on its own two feet? Time will tell.

To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about this show.  I mean, it’s comfortable, like an old robe, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s any good or well worth my time.

The Flash – The gang returns for their sixth season, with Heroes alum Sendhil Ramamurthy onboard as the big bad.

Now that the Flash has survived the Crisis that had been foretold since the earliest days of the series, we’ll see how things change.

7:30

Bless This Mess – After a short run in the spring, Dax Shepard and Lake Bell return for season two, hoping to keep the momentum up for a full season.

I can pretty much take or leave this one, so I guess the decision on whether or not I continue to watch falls on ABC.

8:00

Mixed-ish – Another spinoff of Black-ish, this time focusing on Bow’s adolescence growing up with a white father and a black mother.

Well, I’ve stuck with this longer than I did Grown-ish, but that’s not particularly saying anything.  I think there’s a pretty good show in there somewhere, but I’m not sure anyone, including me, knows how to get it out.

Arrow – The show returns for a short, 10 episode final season, without Emily Bett Rickards.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths is over and, while the multi-verse is safe, Oliver Queen is dead.  If I’m counting right, the show will be wrapping up its run tonight.

This Is Us – The emotionally manipulative hit is back for a fourth season, assuming I ever go back and finish the previous two.

I still haven’t watched since midway through season two.  At what point do I admit that I don’t watch the show and free up some space on the DVR?

8:30

Black-ish – While it is putting spinoffs on the air, I don’t know if moving back to the half hour timeslot is a good sign for a sitcom heading into season 6.

Some weeks, the show still seems like it’s firing on all cylinders.  Others, it seems so tired that you can see all the seams.

Now, let’s see what interesting tidbits are coming this spring:

DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow –  Coming in at the tail end of the Crisis, there will be some additional turnover this year as Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford will be leaving the show this season.

 

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Post Mortem – For The People

For The People, produced by Shonda Rhimes, was cancelled after 2 seasons on ABC.  The legal drama followed new lawyers, both prosecutors and federal public defenders, as they handle the most high-profile and high-stakes cases and their personal lives intersect.

I was initially drawn to the show by Britt Robertson and Jasmin Savoy Brown, who had impressed in previous works, but Susannah Flood stole the show.  I look forward to what she may be up to next.

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Post Mortem – Whiskey Cavalier

You would think a combination of Scott Foley, Lauren Cohan, and executive producer Bill Lawrence would produce a show worth watching, but Whiskey Cavalier was not it.  I bailed partway through the first season and ABC was not far behind, deciding against moving forward with a second season.  While Foley and Cohan certainly had chemistry, it wasn’t enough to fix everything around them.

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ABC Upfronts

After a decade of shaking up their schedule, ABC is taking a cautious approach this fall, with only three new series on the schedule.  The week gets off to a familiar start, with Dancing With The Stars followed by The Good Doctor on Monday nights.  Tuesday night is the biggest shake-up of the week, with two new shows and two returning shows in new timeslots.  The Roseanne-less The Conners returns for its second season, followed by Bless This Mess, which debuted this spring. mixed-ish, a new spinoff of black-ish, leads in to the mothership, followed by Emergence, about a police chief who takes in a young child she finds near the site of a mysterious accident

Wednesday stays pretty much the same, with The Goldbergs, Schooled, Modern Family, and Single Parents starting the night and leading into Stumptown, a new drama starring Colbie Smulders and based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth, and Justin Greenwood.  Thursdays stay exactly the same, with Grey’s Anatomy, A Million Little Things, and How To Get Away With Murder.  A revamped Friday kicks off with the re-located American Housewife, followed by Fresh Off The Boat and two hours of 20/20.  Sunday stays mostly all reality, with America’s Funniest Home Videos, Kids Say The Darndest Things, and Shark Tank, followed by The Rookie.

Agents of SHIELD will return at some point in 2020, along with returning shows Station 19 and American Idol.  Also on the bench for mid-season are The Baker and the Beauty, based on an Israeli series telling the story of the unlikely romance between a blue-collar baker and an international superstar, For Life, a prisoner-turned-lawyer serialized legal and family drama co-produced by 50 Cent, United We Fall, a multicamera comedy starring Jane Curtin and Will Sasso, and Reef Bank, an action drama bringing Poppy Montgomery back to the small screen.

Cancelled shows never to be seen again are Whiskey Cavalier, Speechless, Splitting Up Together, The Kids Are Alright, The Fix, and For The People.