CBS Upfronts

We wrap up our looks at the network upfronts with CBS, who released their entire 2024-2025 plans.  The week starts with Monday’s familiar comedy block, starting with The Neighborhood followed by Poppa’s House, a new comedy starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr.  That is followed by two entries in the NCIS franchise: the OG and the new NCIS: Origins, a prequel narrated by Mark Harmon.  Tuesday remains the same, with different iterations of Dick Wolf’s FBI running all night.

Wednesday continues as all reality, with extra-long episodes of Survivor followed by The Summit, a new show featuring a team of strangers trying to climb a remote mountain in New Zealand.  Thursday has another hour-long comedy block, with Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage taking over for its parent series Young Sheldon, followed by the returning Ghosts.  A new version of Matlock, starring Kathy Bates, follows, and the night finishes with a second installment of Elsbeth.  Friday remains the same, starting with S.W.A.T., followed by Fire Country and the final season of Blue Bloods.  Sunday kicks off with 60 Minutes, followed by Tracker, The Equalizer, and re-runs to protect against football overruns.

On tap for midseason on Wednesdays are game shows The Price is Right At Night, Raid the Cage, and an updated version of Hollywood Squares, featuring Drew Barrymore as the iconic middle square. NCIS: Sydney is on tap to replace Blue Bloods after it wraps up its run in the fall.  Once football is over, Sunday re-runs will be replaced by Watson, a present day take on the literary character who returns to his medical career following the death of his partner Sherlock Holmes.  Not slotted, but still planned for midseason, is the latest installment of The Amazing Race.

Gone and never to be seen again are Bob Hearts Abishola, CSI: Vegas, NCIS: Hawaii, So Help Me Todd, and Young Sheldon.

You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the five actors that have starred in exactly 16 movies that I have seen, an increase of three from 3 years ago.

Drew Barrymore

One of the most prolific actors on my radar in the 1990s and 2000s, she has disappeared since, with the most recent of her films that I’ve seen, Music And Lyrics, coming in 2008.

Cameron Diaz

I first encountered Cameron Diaz back in 1996, when I saw her in a little indie film called The Last Supper.  She managed to get two films on my list in four different years, most recently in 2010.  She has mostly retired from acting, which explains why 2010’s Knight and Day, which I saw in 2019, remains the last film of hers I’ve seen.

Brad Pitt

In 1994, I saw a little film called Kalifornia, which introduced me to Brad Pitt.  While he would become a mega-star over the next few years, I was a bit of a late comer to his films.  Other than watching A River Runs Through It in 1997 during the Sports in Literature class I took during my last semester of college, it was 2000 before I saw another Pitt film.  Making up for lost time, I plowed through three films in 2000.  He had a four-year streak between in 2010 and 2013, then entered a dry spell that ended in 2020, when he reappeared with two films.  His most recent appearance was in 2022, thanks to that year’s Bullet Train.

Natalie Portman

The first starring roles of Natalie Portman’s that I saw were in 2001, when I watched a double feature of Where The Heart Is and Anywhere But Here.  Her appearances in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Thor franchise have accounted for over 31% of her overall total.  2011 was a big Portman year for me, as I saw a whopping four of her films.  My last experience with her work came in 2022, when she returned to the MCU with Thor: Love and Thunder.

Will Smith

Will Smith’s transition from rapper to TV star to movie star began with 1995’s Bad Boys.  The following two year, he cemented himself as a huge star with the double feature of Independence Day and Men In Black.  The Bad Boys and Men In Black franchises have made up over 37% of his total movies that I’ve seen.  My most recent exposure to his work came in 2020, when I saw both 2019’s Gemini Man and 2020’s Bad Boys For Life.

You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we continue with the 2 actors that have starred in 16 movies that I have seen, down 1 from 3 years ago.

Drew Barrymore

The most recent of her films that I’ve seen is still Music And Lyrics, which I saw in 2008.

Cameron Diaz

I first encountered Cameron Diaz back in 1996, when I saw her in a little indie film called The Last Supper.  She managed to get 2 films on my list in 4 different years, most recently in 2010.  She has not been acting much in recent years, leading to a 4 year break between films before I saw her again in 2019, though that was 2010’s Knight And Day.

You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we look at the 3 actors that have starred in 16 movies that I have seen, down 1 from 3 years ago.

Drew Barrymore

The most recent of her films that I’ve seen is still Music And Lyrics, which I saw in 2008.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Returning to the role that made him famous, Schwarzenegger moved up one spot thanks to 2015’s Terminator Genisys, which I saw in 2016.

Sylvester Stallone

Returning to the role that made him famous, Stallone moved up one spot thanks to 2015’s Creed, which I saw in 2016.

You Ought To Be In (16) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we look at the 4 actors that have starred in 16 movies that I have seen.

Drew Barrymore

Like most of America, Drew Barrymore first entered my consciousness as the precocious little girl from E.T., but it was another decade before she had a starring role that I saw, 1992’s Poison Ivy.  In the year’s since, she has had two separate runs of 4 years, first from 1998-2001 and again from 2003-2006.  3 years saw me seeing two of her films, most recently in 2004.  The most recent of her films that I’ve seen was Music And Lyrics, which I saw in 2008.

Tom Cruise

Top Gun was likely my first introduction to Tom Cruise’s starring roles.  2000 was a big year for his films, as I saw 4 of them, the only time I’ve seen more than one.  I took a 5 year break from his films after seeing War Of The Worlds in 2007.  The last film of his that I’ve seen was Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2012.

Kirsten Dunst

The first Kirsten Dunst starring vehicle that I saw was Small Soldiers, which I saw in 1999.  That started a 4 year run where I saw 9 of her films, including 4 in 2000 alone.  After a one year break, I returned to her films in 2004 with both Mona Lisa Smile and the first Spider-Man.  Besides 2000, there are 5 other years where I’ve seen multiple Dunst films, most recently in 2007.  In fact, the only years that I’ve seen only one of her films were 1999, the first time I saw one, and 2011, which was the last time I saw her in All Good Things.

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