Tag / CW

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Another One Bites The Dust

Little more than a year after the death of former co-star Michelle Trachtenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon died Friday at his San Francisco home at the age of 54.  Brendon, who had suffered public struggles with alcohol and drug abuse and mental illness, revealed in 2023 that he had suffered a heart attack and had been diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.  His death is believed to have been due to natural causes.

Brendon made his first mark in the entertainment industry as Xander Harris on Buffy, starring for the show’s seven season run between the WB and the CW.  He failed to find long term success following the show’s end, starring in the adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s memoir Kitchen Confidential, which lasted four episodes, and scoring notable guest appearances on Criminal Minds and Private Practice.

It has been a rough week for Buffy fans, with Brendon’s death coming on the heels of the news that Hulu was passing on the pilot for the planned sequel series from director Chloe Zhao and original star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

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Midseason Review – Thursdays

We are on the back half of our look back at the offerings for the new fall season. Thursday night is traditionally the busiest night of the week for my television viewing habits, but not this year. Here’s what was on the slate for this season.

7:00

9-1-1 – Returning for its ninth season, and its third on ABC, although without star Peter Krause.

I’m not saying that sending two of the characters on a space adventure for the first three episodes of the season was a jump the shark moment, but I’m also not saying it wasn’t.

8:00

9-1-1: Nashville – Another spinoff, moving the franchise to Tennessee.

This isn’t clicking for me.  It doesn’t have the heart of the original.

9:00

Elsbeth – The The Good Wife spinoff returns for its third season, but I still have to watch the second one.

I’ve stopped recording this one but may circle back one day on streaming.

Grey’s Anatomy – The medical drama enters its 22nd season with the follow-up on last season’s explosion.

What can I say after 21+ seasons?  The show is what it is at this point.

And now the new entries:

Scrabble – The game show returns to The CW with a new host: Craig Ferguson.

Trivial Pursuit – LeVar Burton returns for a second go-around of the board game-based quiz show.

 

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The CW Upfronts

It’s another year of upheaval at The CW, as new owners Nexstar continues to cut new fiction programming in favor of re-airing existing content from other markets and live sports (or “sports”).  Monday has an all-new look, with two hours of game shows based on board games.  Trivial Pursuit, hosted by LeVar Burton, kicks off the night, followed by Scrabble, hosted by Raven-Symoné.  Tuesday’s programming is devoted to the network debut of WWE NXT.

The Canadian production Sullivan’s Crossing returns for its second season to kick off Wednesday nights, followed by Joan, an import from the UK starring Sophie Turner as a notorious jewel thief and which only runs six episodes.   Thursday’s start with the fourth and final season of Superman & Lois, followed by The Librarians: The Next Chapter, centering on a librarian from the past who finds himself stuck in the present.  Friday will have back-to-back episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway? followed by season two of Inside the NFL.  Saturday and Sunday will feature sports and/or movies.

Waiting in the wings for midseason are Good Cop/Bad Cop, a dramedy about a brother and sister detective team starring Leighton Meester, and Sherlock & Daughter, where the famous detective is forced to team up with an American girl who may be his daughter.  All American: Homecoming is expected to return next summer.

The fates of All American, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Sight Unseen, Walker, and Wild Cards are undecided at this point.  Gone and probably forgotten are FBoy Island and its female-skewing spinoff, Lovers and Liars.

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2023: The Year In Television

With less and less good productions airing on network and cable and moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of television watching. Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer. Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 23 seasons of shows I streamed on eight different platforms this year.

Black Mirror Season Six (Netflix)
The British anthology returns with a five-episode season that started strong, with one of the best episodes of the show’s run, but ended poorly.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 16 (Paramount+)
The BAU returns, minus a few key resources, to hunt down the most prolific serial killer they’ve ever faced.

Daisy Jones & The Six (Amazon Prime)
Based on the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, it is the tale of how a garage band from Pittsburgh morphed into the biggest band in the world, and then how it all blew up.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Seasons 6-7 (Netflix)
The Legends see their travels through time and space come to an end.

Dead to Me Season Three (Netflix)
Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini return for one last go-around.

Doctor Who Specials (Disney+)
David Tennant returns and helps Ncuti Gatwa usher in a new era for Doctor Who.

The Flash Season Nine (Netflix)
The show, and the CW’s Arrowverse, winds down with one final go-around.

The Flight Attendant Season Two (HBO Max)
Kaley Cuoco returns for another go-around as the alcoholic flight attendant who also works for the CIA.

Ginny & Georgia Seasons 1-2 (Netflix)
Imagine Gilmore Girls if Lorelai came from nothing and was somewhat amoral and Rory was bi-racial.

How I Met Your Father Season 2 (Hulu)
The second and final season leaves us hanging as to who the father would have been.

The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple TV+)
Jennifer Garner stars in the adaptation of the Laura Dave novel. Continue reading →

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Post Mortem – The Flash

Premiering on The CW on October 7, 2014, The Flash ran for nine seasons and, alongside its progenitor Arrow, built what would become known as the Arrowverse, which included at least six different DC-based programs and multiple crossovers, providing at least 36 seasons of programming for the network.  However, with new owners on board looking to make a quick buck, the end of The Flash looks to be the end of the Arrowverse as well.

At this point, I have not seen most of the abbreviated ninth and final season, which ended earlier this week.  Ever since the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, I’ve been catching up once the season hit Netflix, which I’m sure I will do here as well.  Whatever the actors move on to next, I’m sure I will be willing to give it a chance.  Which is more than I can say for what is coming next on The CW.

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The CW Upfronts

It’s another year of change at The CW, which was sold to Nexstar and is cutting programming costs in a bid for more profitability.  Monday starts off with All American, the only returning scripted show, followed by 61st Street., starring Courtney B. Vance and previously airing on AMC.  Tuesday is all “new” comedy night, with three imported Canadian series, Son of a Critch, Run the Burbs, and Children Ruin Everything, followed by Everyone Else Burns, a British comedy.

Canada provides more content for Wednesday night, with Sullivan’s Crossing, starring Chad Michael Murray, followed by The Spencer Sisters, starring Lea Thompson.  Thursdays goes all-reality, with two episodes of the Nikki Glaser-helmed FBoy Island, recently dumped by HBO Max.  Friday remains the same, with Penn & Teller: Fool Us followed by an hour of Whose Line Is It Anyway?  Saturday goes back-to-back with two episodes each of Masters of Illusion and World’s Funniest Animals.  The Sunday night offering is I Am, a collection of documentary features.

Waiting in the wings for midseason are the fourth season of Walker and FGirl Island, which, ok.  Whatever.

Lost to the sands of time are DC’s Stargirl, The Flash, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Walker Independence, and The Winchesters.  The fates of Superman & Lois and Gotham Knights are undecided at this point.

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Midseason Review – Wednesdays

We have reached the halfway point of our look back at my thoughts on the offerings for the new fall season.  Here’s what Wednesdays had on tap for the fall.

7:00

The Conners – Another go-around with this reboot, which has somehow made it to five seasons.

You know, it isn’t bad, but it’s not really good either?  I wonder who really watches this outside of Gen X folks reliving their childhood?

8:30

Home Economics – Topher Grace and company return for their third season.

The show wrapped up its third season last week and is still entertaining.

And now the new entries:

The Flash – The CW stalwart returns for its ninth and final season.

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Post Mortem – Legends Of Tomorrow

After seven seasons, the weird little corner of the CW’s Arrowverse known as DC’s Legends of Tomorrow was cancelled in April.  Originally meant as a starring vehicle for Arthur Darvill, the show quickly outgrew its original premise and embraced its weirdness.  With approximately 22 main characters coming and going over the seven years, the show was always able to move characters in and out as the story required, or as the wants of the cast required.  I honestly doubt we ever see a show quite like this survive for as long again.

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The CW Upfronts

It’s a year of change at The CW, which has reduced the number of series it will air this upcoming season in anticipation of being sold.  Monday stays the same with the returning All American followed by its spinoff All American: Homecoming.  Tuesday is all new, with the Supernatural prequel The Winchesters leading off the night followed by Professionals, an international collaboration starring Tom Welling and Brendan Fraser.

Stargirl moves from summer to the fall to anchor Wednesday night, followed by Kung Fu.  Walker continues to lead-off on Thursdays followed by a new spinoff, Walker Independence.  Friday and Saturday remain reality-heavy, with Penn & Teller: Fool Us followed by an hour of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and then Magic With The Stars followed by a double dose of World’s Funniest Animals.  The Sunday night offerings are Family Law, starring Jewel Staite as a highly-paid personal injury lawyer, and Coroner.

Waiting in the wings for midseason are the final seasons of Riverdale and The Flash, along with Nancy Drew, Superman & Lois, and new shows Gotham Knights, where Bruce Wayne’s son is charged with murdering Batman, and Recipe For Disaster, a reality cooking show.

Lost to the sands of time are DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Batwoman, 4400, Charmed, Dynasty, In The Dark, Naomi, Roswell, New Mexico, and Legacies.