Tag / Zachary Quinto

by admin

NBC Upfronts

For the first time in 23 years, the NBA is returning to NBC and that was the focus of their new fall schedule, released on Monday.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by Brilliant Minds, the sophomore medical drama starring Zachary Quinto.  Tuesday will start off in September with a second installment of The Voice followed by On Brand with Jimmy Fallon, an unscripted series where the boorish Tonight Show host staffs a premier marketing agency with “the most creative, clever and competitive go-getters he can find.”  When the NBA season begins in October, it will take over the night.

Wednesday and Thursday continue to be dominated by Dick Wolf franchises, with his three Chicago series running back-to-back-to-back on Wednesday and the two original entries in his Law & Order franchise the following night.  Thursday wraps up with another season of The Hunting Party.  On Brand with Jimmy Fallon will continue on Friday, followed by a two-hour block of Dateline.  The weekend is dominated by football, with the Big Ten or Notre Dame on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday.

Come November, things will shift again.  The two-hour Monday edition of The Voice will be shrunk to one hour to make room for the displaced Tuesday comedy block, which will be anchored by sophomore hit St. Denis Medical.  The Friday comedy block with also return, with fellow sophomore Happy’s Place back to lead off the night.  At this point, the second half of both hours is undetermined.

On the bench, NBC has three comedies and one nature documentary series. The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins reunites Tracy Morgan with Executive Producer Tina Fey in a comedy where a disgraced former football player is on a mission to rehabilitate his image.  Stumble is from Jeff and Liz Astrof.  The final comedy is an untitled community center project from Sierra Teller Ornelas. In Surviving Earth, viewers will go back in time to see how life not only survived cataclysmic events but thrived.

Shows gone from our television sets include Found, The Irrational, Suits LA, Night Court and Lopez vs Lopez.

by admin

NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule last week, one in which they add three new shows to the lineup.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by Brilliant Minds, a new medical drama starring Zachary Quinto.  Tuesday starts with new mockumentary-style comedy St. Denis Medical, starring Wendi McLendon-Covey and David Alan Grier, followed by a third season of the new Night Court.  A second installment of The Voice followed by season two of The Irrational, closes out the night.

Wednesday and Thursday continue to be dominated by Dick Wolf franchises, with his three Chicago series running back-to-back-to-back on Wednesday and the two original entries in his Law & Order franchise the following night.  Thursday wraps up with a second season of Found.  A second comedy block leads off Friday night, with Happy’s Place, led by Reba McEntire, followed by Lopez vs. Lopez.  Two hours of Dateline NBC wrap up the night.  Sunday remains filled with the NFL.

For midseason, NBC has The Americas, a ten-part nature series narrated by Tom Hanks which has been in the works since 2020.  Also waiting in reserve are The Hunting Party, a crime drama starring Melisssa Roxborough, the returning Deal or No Deal Island, and a new competition series titled Destination X.  Still under consideration are Suits: LA, a spinoff to the old USA show which has become a streaming juggernaut, and Grosse Point Garden Society, from the producers of Good Girls.

Shows gone from our sets include Extended Family, La Brea, Magnum P.I., and Quantum Leap.  Law & Order: Organized Crime moves to Peacock.

by jim

Save The Cheerleader, Save The Network?

Heroes-WallpaperIn the fall of 2006, NBC launched a new show about a group of people with special powers that were destined to come together to save the world.  The show was a ratings hit for the network, but poor storytelling quickly eroded any support for the show and it limped through four seasons before being cancelled.  Yesterday, NBC announced that it was bringing Heroes back in 2015 as an event mini-series, similar to FOX’s plans for 24 this summer.

The difference, of course, is that there were people looking for 24 to return, at least in movie form.  Nobody was expecting, or even hoping for, Heroes to return.  Any goodwill the series had from a strong first season had been burned away by the messes that followed for the next three that led to its cancellation in the first place.

The announcement gave no indication of who, if anyone, from the original cast would be involved in this reboot.  I can’t even remember where any of the characters were left off, so I can’t even speculate on who would possibly be involved.  One would imagine the Zachary Quinto and Hayden Panettiere, the two breakout stars, would have little interest in returning, given their current commitments.

I can’t imagine a world where this gambit turns out well for NBC.  The network has seemingly turned its back on developing original content and has instead devoted itself to dusting off old properties in the hopes that familiarity will be enough to draw an audience.  That strategy didn’t work for Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, or Ironside.  We’ll have to wait until next summer to see if it pans out for Heroes.

by jim

2013 Emmy Awards – Reality and Movies

With the Emmy Awards scheduled for Sunday night, here’s day two of my predictions for the awards, today focusing on reality shows and made for TV movies.  I most likely have seen not seen most of these, so I will likely not have an informed decision, but when has that ever stopped me.

Outstanding Reality Show Host

Ryan Seacrest, American Idol

Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers

Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway

Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance

Anthony Bourdain, The Taste

Tom Bergeron won this last year, and that seems like as good a reason as any for him to win it again.

Outstanding Reality Show Competition

The Amazing Race

Dancing With the Stars

Project Runway

So You Think You Can Dance

Top Chef

The Voice

I think The Amazing Race has won this every year its been on the air.  I see no reason for that streak to end now.

Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series

The Colbert Report

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Real Time With Bill Maher

Saturday Night Live

Another perennial winner should continue to bring home the big prize, although I wonder if Jon Stewart’s extended absence this summer will hurt the show in the voter’s minds.

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