Post Mortem – Jane The Virgin

After 5 seasons, the remake of the Venezuelan telenovela wrapped up its run last summer with more twists and turns and, finally, a wedding.

It will be interesting to see what comes next for the show’s stars.  Gina Rodriguez has tried to cross over into films, but with mixed results, and she has seemed to put her foot in her mouth numerous times when speaking publicly on social issues.  We’ll see what the future holds.

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.

Midseason Review – Wednesdays

old-tv-set1We are on the back half of our look back at the offerings for the new fall season.  Here’s what Wednesdays had on tap for the fall.

7:00

Riverdale – The sexy version of the Archie comics returns for its third season, assuming I ever catch up on the end of the second.

Well, I haven’t caught up yet.

8:00

Modern Family – The comedy, entering its tenth season, is really starting to show its age.  It’s still fun, but the plots are starting to get a little out there.

Looks like we are starting to wind down, with the show renewed for an 11th and final season earlier this month.

SEAL Team – David Boreanaz returns for a second season of the procedural, after their deployment to the Middle East.

This really isn’t a good show.

9:00

Criminal Minds – Season 14 of the show picks up where last season ended, with Reid and Penelope captured.

Another mainstay on its way out, after being renewed earlier this month for a shortened 15th and final season.

And now the new entry coming later this spring:

Jane The Virgin – The final season wraps up the telenovela.

The CW Upfronts

With more shows than spots on the schedule, the CW has finally decided to expand to a 6th night of programming for the first time in 9 years.  Monday gets a brand new look, with Legends of Tomorrow followed by Arrow.  Tuesday remains the same, with the Flash and Black Lightning offering up the second straight night of a double dose of the DC universe.  All American, about a high school football player who moves from Compton to Beverly Hills, follows Riverdale on Wednesdays.

Supernatural returns to Thursday for its 40th season, and will be followed by Legacies, about the next generation of supernatural beings at The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted.  Friday has Dynasty and the final season of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.  The Sunday night offerings are Supergirl and a new version of Charmed, without any of the Halliwell sisters.

The final seasons of Jane The Virgin and iZombie, along with The 100, are on the bench for mid-season.  New shows on tap are In The Dark, about a blind woman trying to get by in the world, and Roswell, New Mexico, a reboot of the former WB and UPN series.

Lost to the sands of time are Hooten & The Lady, Life SentenceThe Originals, Reign, and Valor.

Midseason Review – Fridays

old-tv-set1We finish up our look back at the fall season with Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

Blindspot – A 2 year time jump gives the third year show a soft reboot as it moves to the deadzone of Friday nights.

I don’t know how much of a future this show has.

Once Upon A Time – For some unknown reason, the show returns for its 7th season minus 6 cast members.

I still don’t understand the rationale for continuing the show.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – An eighth season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, loses Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park from the main cast.

More of the same.

Jane The Virgin – The telenovela returns for its fourth season with a surprising move to Friday nights.

The quality is still there.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise was surprisingly entertaining in its first season.  We shall see if they can keep it up for another year.

I didn’t make it back for this season.

Marvel’s Inhumans – With the rights to the X-Men tied up by FOX, Marvel has tried to make the Inhumans their new go-to team, both in the comics and now on television.  Early reviews show that this will not be a winning formula.

I made it through one painful episode.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for an eighth season.

More of the same again.

2017 New Fall Season – Fridays

old-tv-set1Our final look at the new fall season gives us Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

Blindspot – A 2 year time jump gives the third year show a soft reboot as it moves to the deadzone of Friday nights.

Once Upon A Time – For some unknown reason, the show returns for its 7th season minus 6 cast members.

8:00

Hawaii Five-0 – An eighth season of the show that doesn’t really impress, but doesn’t really disappoint, loses Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park from the main cast.

Jane The Virgin – The telenovela returns for its fourth season with a surprising move to Friday nights.

The Exorcist – FOX’s reboot of the movie franchise was surprisingly entertaining in its first season.  We shall see if they can keep it up for another year.

Marvel’s Inhumans – With the rights to the X-Men tied up by FOX, Marvel has tried to make the Inhumans their new go-to team, both in the comics and now on television.  Early reviews show that this will not be a winning formula.

9:00

Blue Bloods – The first family of the NYPD returns for an eighth season.

The CW Upfronts

With the least number of spots to fill in their weekly lineup, the CW has added only 2 new shows to their fall slate.  Supergirl returns on Monday, where it will be followed by Valor, a drama about a military team sharing a secret after a botched mission in Somalia.  Tuesday remains the same, with the Flash and Legends of Tomorrow offering up a double dose of the DC universe.  Riverdale moves to Wednesdays, where it will be followed by a re-booted Dynasty.  Supernatural returns to Thursday for its 40th season, and will be followed by Arrow.  Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane The Virgin reunite on Fridays.

iZombie will return at mid-season, along with Black Lightning, yet another show from DC, and Life Sentence, starring former Pretty Little Liar Lucy Hale.

Lost to the sands of time are The Vampire Diaries, Reign, No Tomorrow, and Frequency.

Midseason Review – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring..

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

I’ll save my comments for Thursday.

Supergirl – Despite a successful first season, CBS jettisoned the show and now the second season will air on The CW.

Moving to The CW seems to be working out for Supergirl.  So far we’ve seen appearances from Superman, Maggie Sawyer, and the Flash.

Gotham – I still have the last 9 episodes of season 2 sitting on the DVR, so things don’t look that great for my continued interest in Gotham this year.  But, you never know.

The backlog has grown to include those 9 season 2 episodes and all of season 3 to date.  I need to make a decision soon as to whether or not to cut bait.

7:30

Man With A Plan – Matt LeBlanc returns to network television in this comedy about a contractor who takes more responsibility at home after his wife returns to work.  It should be worth at least a shot.

One episode of this piece of garbage was more than enough.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – At this time last year, I was worried that this show would be a one-season wonder and that I would tire of the telenovela aspect of the show.  Those worries turned out to be unfounded, as the show continued to be a solid, entertaining watch.  I’m expecting more of the same this year.

My expectations have been met, as I continue to enjoy the now mistitled show.

2 Broke Girls – A 6th season for this crass show that has never been as good as it should be, given the talents of the leads.

This year has been more of the same.  It’s a shame to waste the talents of the two likeable leads on such a mess of a show.

9:00 Continue reading →

2016 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1It is time once again to dive in to the new fall lineups for the television season that kicks into gear tonight. We start this year, thanks to last night’s Emmy Awards, with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new potentials.

7:00

The Big Bang Theory – Once again, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL.  The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.

Supergirl – Despite a successful first season, CBS jettisoned the show and now the second season will air on The CW.

Gotham – I still have the last 9 episodes of season 2 sitting on the DVR, so things don’t look that great for my continued interest in Gotham this year.  But, you never know.

7:30

Man With A Plan – Matt LeBlanc returns to network television in this comedy about a contractor who takes more responsibility at home after his wife returns to work.  It should be worth at least a shot.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – At this time last year, I was worried that this show would be a one-season wonder and that I would tire of the telenovela aspect of the show.  Those worries turned out to be unfounded, as the show continued to be a solid, entertaining watch.  I’m expecting more of the same this year.

2 Broke Girls – A 6th season for this crass show that has never been as good as it should be, given the talents of the leads.

9:00 Continue reading →

The CW Upfronts

Supergirl-CBSThe CW has gone all-in on the comic book adaptation front, with 6 series planned for next season based on properties that originated in the comics world.  They get things started on Monday, where Supergirl lands the same timeslot it enjoyed last year on CBS, followed by returning hit Jane The Virgin.  The Flash remains on Tuesday, leading in to No Tomorrow, a romantic comedy with an apocalyptic twist.

Arrow stays in its usual Wednesday slot, followed by Frequency, an adaptation of the old Dennis Quaid film starring Peyton List.  Legends of Tomorrow remains on Thursdays, followed by the 235th season of Supernatural, where the Winchester brothers investigate the deal with the devil struck to keep this show on the air.  Returning shows Vampire Diaries and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend move to the dead zone that is Friday nights.

iZombie moves to mid-season, along with Riverdale, an adaptation of the Archie comics.