Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week. Here’s our look back at my pre-season thoughts on what’s on the slate for this season.
7:00
The Big Bang Theory – Entering its 6th season, the show is at its ratings high point. They pick up right where last season left off, with Howard married and in space.
Ratings-wise, the show continues to grow, which is somewhat amazing for an older show. It continues to be consistently funny, despite what the haters might say.
30 Rock – Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin return for the 7th and final season. I will certainly look forward to these last 13 episodes.
The end is near for 30 Rock, and they seem to be bringing back most, if not all, of their stable of guest stars for final appearances. Last week saw appearances from Chris Parnell’s Dr. Leo Spaceman, Will Arnett’s Devin Banks, Steve Buscemi’s Lenny Wosniak, and Chloë Grace Moretz as Kaylie Hooper.
Last Resort – Early reports are that this show had the best pilot of the season, but left some doubts as to how it could continue on on a week to week basis. I’m looking forward to seeing for myself.
An intriguing premise that just didn’t find any type of viewership. ABC gave them enough notice to have episode 13 provide some sort of an ending, which we will see next week.
7:30
Up All Night – Christina Applegate and Will Arnett return in the last minute renewal from last spring. The status quo gets shaken up a bit as Ava’s show was cancelled in last week’s season premiere, putting Applegate’s Reagan and Maya Rudolph’s Ava out of work.
NBC pulled the show off the air and is completely retooling the show, moving from a single camera show to a multi-camera show shot in front of a studio audience. Ratings have not been great, so this is a last ditch effort to keep the show on the air in some fashion.
8:00
Person Of Interest – The enigmatic hit returns for its second season. Michael Emerson was not given as much to do last season as one would have hoped following Lost, but his role did pick up somewhat towards the end of the year.
I do find myself more invested in this show as time goes on.
The Office – The producers had previously announced that this season would be the show’s last. With original EP Greg Daniels returning to bring the show to its conclusion. Last week’s season premiere introduced some new, younger employees that might cause Jim and Pam to re-evaluate their lot in life.
One of the behind the scenes deals that allowed the show to return for one final season was extra time off for John Krasinski and Ed Helms to accomodate their movie shooting schedules, which has led to some silly plots, especially for Helms’ Andy.
Grey’s Anatomy – The 9th season opens a few months after the plane crash that closed out last season. There will be some cast shakeups, as Chyler Leigh is gone and Eric Dane is leaving. While not as good as it once was (and what show is after 9 years), it is still an entertaining way to pass an hour.
A new team of interns included Tina Majorino, who I have enjoyed since her time on Veronica Mars.
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NBC jumped the gun and announced many of their renewals early, including the surprise 5th season of Community. Over the weekend, they presented their full schedule. The slate includes new shows with James Spader, Blair Underwood, Mike O’Malley, Sean Hayes, and Michael J. Fox. Revolution loses its plum post-Voice slot on Mondays and will have to fend for itself leading off Wednesdays. Parenthood inherits the once-exclusive Thursday night slot held by ER, but which has become a wasteland since that show went off the air. Community starts on the bench, waiting once again for one of the new comedies to falter. No word yet on the fate of Hannibal, which is piling up on the DVR and will likely be watched only if it gets renewed.