Tag / The Blacklist

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NBC Upfronts

the_blacklist_-_keyartThanks to Sunday Night Football and the Winter Olympics, NBC is finishing this season as the number 1 network in the coveted 18-49 demographic.  Without the Olympics, things will not be as easy in the fall, so the network did some major upgrades, dropping poor performers like Community and Revolution and bringing in new shows starring the likes of Katherine Heigl, Debra Messing, and Kate Walsh.

The Blacklist, the one breakout scripted hit from last fall for NBC, returns to Mondays for the fall, before moving to Thursdays in the February after getting the post-Super Bowl slot.  It will be replaced by State of Affairs, Heigl’s return to television as a CIA analyst who advises the president.  Casey Wilson and Ken Marino team up for the new comedy Marry Me, slated for Tuesdays.

NBC looks to have abandoned the Must See TV concept on Thursday, replacing the first hour of comedy with a new season of The Biggest Loser.  Two new comedies, Bad Judge, starring Kate Walsh, and A to Z, featuring the charming Cristin Milioti, follow it, at least until The Blacklist moves in the spring.  Parenthood will return for an abbreviated 13 episode final season.  Fridays see a new adaptation of DC’s Constantine, one that will hopefully make everyone forget about the Keanu Reeves film.

Not on the schedule yet are the final season of Parks and Recreation and a third season of Hannibal, plus new shows including Mr. Robinson, starring Craig Robinson as a musician forced to work as a substitute teacher, One Big Happy, a comedy starring Elisha Cuthbert as a gay woman who decides to have a baby with her best friend, right before he falls for a new woman, Emerald City, a miniseries re-imagining characters from The Wizard of Oz, and, of course, the previously announced Heroes Reborn.

There doesn’t appear to be much that I will be watching on NBC in the fall, and even less once Parenthood comes to an end.  I may end up trying some of the new shows, and hopefully they will be worth the effort.

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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

How I Met Your Mother – Entering its 9th and final season, the show finally introduced the titular mother in last spring’s finale.  This entire season will take place over the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding, but should have some flashbacks and flashforwards involving the mother.

The show has worked best this season when the mother has been involved, which, sadly, hasn’t been too often.  The plan is for it to air without reruns through the series finale in March.

Bones – Also returning for its 9th season, Bonesstarts the year on Mondays but is scheduled to move to Fridays after the World Series.  Replacing it on Mondays will be

Well, FOX finally pulled the trigger and actually moved Bones to Fridays.  Not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.  It seems to just keep chugging along.

Almost Human – Brought to us by some of the good folks responsible for Fringe, I’ll give this a shot, assuming it ever does show up on Mondays.

We’re 9 episodes into the season and I’m still not sure what to make of this one.  More often than not, I find myself falling asleep during the show, which I guess doesn’t bode well for it.

8:00

2 Broke Girls – Entering its 3rd season, it is time to accept that this show is not going to change.  It will continue to feature two talented leads and surround them with base racial stereotypes and humor aimed towards the lowest common denominator.  To this point, the charm of the leads has been enough to overcome bad things about the show.  At some point, though, that is bound to change.

The status quo got shaken up a bit, first with the addition of the cupcake window at the back of the diner and then with the addition of the baking school. Continue reading →

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2013 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1

Day 2 of our look at the new fall television season brings us to Mondays.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – Entering its 9th and final season, the show finally introduced the titular mother in last spring’s finale.  This entire season will take place over the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding, but should have some flashbacks and flashforwards involving the mother.

Bones – Also returning for its 9th season, Bones starts the year on Mondays but is scheduled to move to Fridays after the World Series.  Replacing it on Mondays will be

Almost Human – Brought to us by some of the good folks responsible for Fringe, I’ll give this a shot, assuming it ever does show up on Mondays.

8:00

2 Broke Girls – Entering its 3rd season, it is time to accept that this show is not going to change.  It will continue to feature two talented leads and surround them with base racial stereotypes and humor aimed towards the lowest common denominator.  To this point, the charm of the leads has been enough to overcome bad things about the show.  At some point, though, that is bound to change.

Sleepy Hollow – The new show takes Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman and brings them from the Revolutionary War to the present day.  I was not very impressed with the pilot, but I’ll give it a few weeks to see if it improves.

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