Tag / Magnum P.I.

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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.

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NBC Upfronts

NBC announced their new fall schedule yesterday, one which they hope is strike-proof, between reality programming and shows that were renewed early to keep them in production prior to the strike.  The week gets off to a familiar start with The Voice returning for another round on Mondays, followed by The Irrational, starring Jessie L. Martin as the latest behavioral science expert who uses his skills to help governments, law enforcement, and corporations.  Tuesday leads off with the week’s sole comedy block, with the Night Court sequel followed by Extended Family, starring Jon Cryer and Abigail Spencer as divorced parents who continue to raise their kids in the family home.  That is followed by another hour of The Voice and the rebooted Quantum Leap.

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.  Found, starring Shanola Hampton as a public relations specialist who helps keep the spotlight on missing children, caps of the night.  The Wall kicks things off on Friday, followed by two hours of Dateline NBC.  Sunday remains filled with the NFL.

Law & Order: Organized Crime moves to midseason for its fourth season as a new show runner comes onboard.  La Brea will return for a shortened third and final season, as will the second half of Magnum PI‘s fifth season.  On the comedy side, the George Lopez comedy Lopez vs. Lopez, will be back for a second season while the futures of Young Rock , American Auto, and Grand Crew are up in the air.  A second season of Password is also expected, though it is dependent on the resolution of the writer’s strike.  New shows for midseason include The Americas, with Tom Hanks narrating a look at the “wonders, secrets and fragilities of the Americas – Earth’s largest landmass and the only one to stretch between both poles,” Deal or No Deal Island, which pits teams against each other and the banker to win lots of money, and an untitled America’s Got Talent spinoff series.

Shows gone from our sets include The Blacklist, New Amsterdam, and possibly others.

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CBS Upfronts

Things are going to be drama-heavy on CBS this fall, with comedies appearing on only two nights and no new comedies picked up for the schedule.  The week starts with a stable Monday, with the comedy block of The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola followed by two entries in the NCIS franchise: the OG and NCIS: Hawaii.  Tuesday also stays the same, with Dick Wolf’s FBI running all night.

Wednesday goes all reality, with Survivor and The Amazing Race followed by The Real Love Boat, a dating show patterned on the 70s classic.  Thursday has another hour-long comedy block, with Young Sheldon and Ghosts, followed by So Help Me Todd, a new legal drama starring Marcia Gay Harden and Skyler Astin, and CSI: Vegas.  Friday starts with S.W.A.T., followed by Fire Country, starring Max Thieriot and inspired by his life growing up in California’s fire country.  The 32nd season of Blue Bloods finishes off the night.  Sunday kicks off with 60 Minutes, followed by The Equalizer, East New York, a new police drama, and NCIS: Los Angeles.

On tap for midseason are reality shows Superfan, Lingo, the returning Tough as Nails, and Secret Celebrity Renovation.

Gone and never to be seen again are Bull, United States of Al, B Positive, Magnum P.I., Good Sam, and How We Roll.

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CBS Upfront

Everything old is new this season at CBS, which brings 3 new entries from its collection of established procedural franchises along with 1 new comedy to the air this fall.  The week starts a comedy block of The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola, followed by 2 entries in the NCIS franchise: the OG, moving from its Tuesday timeslot for the first time in 18 years, and NCIS: Hawaii, where Vanessa Lachey stars as the first female Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor.  Tuesday, CBS follows NBC’s playbook by turning the entire night over to Dick Wolf for his FBI franchise, with the OG leading off the night, followed by FBI: International, the new iteration that follows the elite operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s International Fly Team, and FBI: Most Wanted.

Wednesday night leads off with Survivor, followed by Tough As Nails and the new CSI: Vegas, the “sequel” to the original which brings back William Petersen, Jorja Fox, and Wallace Langham.  Thursday has another comedy block, starting with with Young Sheldon and United States of Al, followed by Ghosts, starring Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar as a duo who decide to convert a huge rundown country estate into a bed & breakfast, only to find it’s inhabited by the many spirits of deceased residents who now call it home, and B Positive. Bull finishes off the night.  Friday starts with S.W.A.T. for a month, before giving way to TBD unscripted programming, followed by Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods.  Sunday kicks off with 60 Minutes, followed by The Equalizer, NCIS: Los Angeles, and, for a month, SEAL Team before giving way to S.W.A.T.

On tap for midseason is Good Sam, starring Sophia Bush and Jason Isaacs as doctors fighting for the same position, and Smallwood, based on the life of professional bowler Tom Smallwood.

Gone and never to be seen again are All Rise, MacGuyver, NCIS: New Orleans, Mom, and The Unicorn.  Evil and SEAL Team will be moving to Paramount+.

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March Sadness

With the corona virus wiping out the NCAA tournament that was supposed to go into full action today, someone posted the above TV show theme song bracket.  Since the world is coming to an end, I figured why not play along and see what the top TV theme song (at least from these selections) is.

Barney Miller (#1) vs. Amen (#16)
This one isn’t even close.  The bassline from the Barney Miller theme is a classic and easily surpasses the faux-gospel tune that introduced Amen.

Cheers (#9) vs. Harper Valley PTA (#8)
I’m surprised that the Cheers theme, known pretty much by everyone, is ranked this low.  I’m not too familiar with the Harper Valley PTA theme (listening to it now, it sounds vaguely familiar), so I’ll go with the classic 8-9 upset and go with Cheers.

Roc (#5) vs. The Jeffersons (#12)
What the what?  I don’t get this matchup at all.  Movin’ On Up, performed by the recently departed Ja’net DuBois, was a rollicking good time that introduced The Jeffersons for 11 seasons.  The Roc theme just doesn’t match up.  It pains me to even call this an upset.

Facts of Life (#4) vs. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (#13)
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have…..  In West Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground is where I spent most of my days….  This is a tough one.  You really can’t go wrong with either one.  I even have two versions of both of them in my iTunes library.  So, I leave it up to said library and, since Fresh Prince has the most listens, that gets the nod.

Golden Girls (#3) vs. Magnum P.I. (#14)
OK, if I can be honest for a moment, my initial reaction was that I didn’t even know the Magnum theme.  A quick trip to YouTube later and I realize that of course I do and it is pretty iconic.  That said, there was no doubt in my mind that I knew the Golden Girls theme, so that has to get the nod.

Dukes of Hazzard (#6) vs. Knight Rider (#11)
At first blush, this is a slam dunk in favor of Waylon Jennings and the Duke boys.  But there’s something about the Knight Rider theme that just screams 80s.  I guess I have to go with my gut, though, and stick with the country stylings from Hazzard County.

Happy Days (#7) vs. Greatest American Hero (#10)
I don’t know how this one is even a contest.  Happy Days has a pretty good theme song for a long running, hit show.  Greatest American Hero cannot claim to be the show Happy Days was, but Joey Scarbury provided a classic love ballad for its theme song that easily wins this battle.

A Different World (#2) vs. WKRP in Cincinnati (#15)
Both are nearly perfect examples of their time.  I probably enjoy WKRP more, but I’m willing to concede that A Different World is the better song.

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CBS Upfronts

Everything old is new this season at CBS, which will have 5 reboots on the air this fall.  The week starts with 3 new shows on Monday night: The Neighborhood, about a white family from Michigan that moves to LA and ends up with Cedric the Entertainer as their neighbor, Happy Together, starring Damon Wayans Jr. and Amber Stevens West as a happily married couple who begin to reconnect with their younger, cooler selves, and Magnum P.I., a modern take on the classic show with Jay Hernandez taking on Tom Selleck’s role.  Bull moves from Tuesday to close out the night.

FBI, starring Missy Peregrym and Jeremy Sisto, is sandwiched between two editions of NCIS on Tuesdays.  Wednesday night stays exactly the same.  Thursday, freed from the NFL, stays mostly the same, with The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, and Mom, followed by a rebooted Murphy Brown and season two of S.W.A.T.  Friday stays exactly the same.  Sunday adds God Friended Me, about an atheist that gets a friend request from God on social media.

On tap for midseason, along side returning favorites Elementary, Instinct, Man With A Plan, and Life, are The Code, which taps the underrepresented area of legal law, The Red Line, about 3 Chicago families dealing with loss, and Fam, a comedy about a woman whose perfect life is thrown asunder when her sister moves in.

Gone and never to be seen again are 9JKL, Kevin Can Wait, Living Biblically, Me, Myself, & I, Scorpion, Superior Donuts, Wisdom Of The Crowd, and Zoo.