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 – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season, with the offerings that I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Similar to Gotham, I still have the final 4 episodes from last season sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Unlike Gotham, I am looking forward to doing so.

The show continues to deliver the funny.

The Flash – The end of season 2 seemingly rewrote the entire timeline of the first two years of the show, so who knows what we will get as season 3 kicks off.

The first half of the season dealt with the fallback from Barry changing the timeline.  Hopefully the second half moves on from that to get back to what made the show entertaining.

7:30

New Girl – The quirky comedy returns for its 6th season, with some changes in the relationship statuses amongst the roommates causing issues.

The show is still entertaining, but it is starting to show its age a bit.

9:00

This Is Us – To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what this show is about.  But, I’ve seen some good things online and it has a few stars I like, so I might give it a chance.

A highly manipulative look at family dynamics that somehow manages to entertain.  This easily fills the Parenthood hole in the TV schedule.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season 4 moves back an hour and, following the events of Captain America: Civil War, has yet another new status quo.  Oh, and Ghost Rider is slated to show up.

The show motors on, introducing LMDs to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now let’s look at the new shows premiering in the spring on Tuesdays:

Bones – The veteran show returns for a final season on FOX.

 

2016 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look at the new fall season, here are the offerings that I may find myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Similar to Gotham, I still have the final 4 episodes from last season sitting on the DVR waiting to be watched.  Unlike Gotham, I am looking forward to doing so.

The Flash – The end of season 2 seemingly rewrote the entire timeline of the first two years of the show, so who knows what we will get as season 3 kicks off.

7:30

New Girl – The quirky comedy returns for its 6th season, with some changes in the relationship statuses amongst the roommates causing issues.

9:00

This Is Us – To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what this show is about.  But, I’ve seen some good things online and it has a few stars I like, so I might give it a chance.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season 4 moves back an hour and, following the events of Captain America: Civil War, has yet another new status quo.  Oh, and Ghost Rider is slated to show up.

Changes On The Dial

wgn9For the first time since 1995, WGN will be an independent television station this fall after announcing that they were not renewing their contract with the CW.  Starting September 1, CW programming will move to WPWR, owned by Fox.  WGN was the flagship station when the WB network launched in 1995 and became Chicago’s CW affiliate when the WB merged with UPN in 2006.

What does this mean for viewers?  Initially, not much, beyond some schedule stability.  CW programming won’t have to compete with live sporting events on WGN anymore and WGN won’t have to farm out a certain number of its sporting events to other stations.  So no more Saturday night episodes of The Flash and more White Sox and Cubs games back on WGN.  Long term?  Well, I’ve already seen one article calling for the return of The Bozo Show.  I guess anything is possible.

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.

Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look back at my thoughts on the new fall season with the offerings I found myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Muppets – ABC brings a new version of the Muppets to television, this time as a work place comedy.  Basically, The Office but with Kermit.

Possibly the new show I was looking forward to the most, but it suffered from tone issues.  A new showrunner is taking over, so hopefully things will more resemble the Muppets everyone knows and loves.

The Flash – A surprisingly fun adaptation of the DC superhero.  The first season was very satisfying and I hope for more of the same.

Still a lot of fun, though the Flash’s secret identity is one of the worst kept secrets in Central City.

8:00

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Another new status quo, following the end of last season and the events of the latest Avengers movie, as we head in to season 3.

More of the same from the fine folks at Mutant Enemy and Marvel.

Scream Queens – Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis team for this horror comedy, hopefully in the vein of the Scream films, from FOX.  I’m certainly willing to give it a shot to impress.

I lasted a few weeks, but once the show came back after the World Series, the schedule got busy and I had to drop it.

iZombie – The zombie comedy, which was a midseason surprise last spring, returns for a full season.  I have a lot of faith in EP Rob Thomas, so I’m looking for good things.

A surprisingly enjoyable procedural from the people who brought us Veronica Mars.

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2015 New Fall Season – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1Continuing our look at the new fall season, here are the offerings that I may find myself interested in for Tuesdays.

7:00

The Muppets – ABC brings a new version of the Muppets to television, this time as a work place comedy.  Basically, The Office but with Kermit.

The Flash – A surprisingly fun adaptation of the DC superhero.  The first season was very satisfying and I hope for more of the same.

8:00

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Another new status quo, following the end of last season and the events of the latest Avengers movie, as we head in to season 3.

Scream Queens – Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis team for this horror comedy, hopefully in the vein of the Scream films, from FOX.  I’m certainly willing to give it a shot to impress.

iZombie – The zombie comedy, which was a midseason surprise last spring, returns for a full season.  I have a lot of faith in EP Rob Thomas, so I’m looking for good things. Continue reading →

2015 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 – For the second year in a row, 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.

SupergirlOnce The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, the latest DC superhero show, from the fine folks who brought us Arrow and The Flash,  takes over, bringing Superman’s cousin to the small screen.  The early presentations that I saw look interesting, so I’m going to give this a shot.

Gotham – After a slow start, the first season kicked into a higher gear as the police and mob of Gotham faced off against one another.  I’m hoping for more improvement in season 2.

7:30

Life In Pieces – I’m not sure about this show, but the cast has a few people worth checking out, so I’ll give it a shot.

8:00

Jane The Virgin – One of the surprise hits of last season, I’m a little concerned about how they will continue the story now that the baby has arrived.  Similar to Ugly Betty, I fear that I will quickly tire of the show in its second season.

9:00 Continue reading →

The CW Upfronts

legends-of-tomorrow-faceboo_1We finish up our look at the upfronts with the CW, which has slowly moved themselves away from the home of the teenage drama to super hero central.  Come next spring, 4 out of the network’s 10 weekly hours will be devoted to shows based on DC comic books.

Monday adds Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the only new show on the fall schedule, to join Jane The Virgin in a comedy block.  Tuesdays and Wednesday remain unchanged, with The Flash leading in to iZombie, followed by Arrow and yet another season of Supernatural.  Thursdays have been turned over to vampires, and Friday remains a dumping ground.

Midseason will bring DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow, the spin-off of The Flash and Arrow, featuring a super team made up of powered folks that had previously appeared on the other 2 shows.

Midseason Review – Tuesdays

old-tv-set1We continue our look back at my expectations for the fall television season, and today we are focusing on Tuesdays.

7:00

Selfie – I love Karen Gillan and am quite fond of John Cho, but put them together in this loose adaptation of Pygmalion and, at least based on the pilot, you get a steaming pile of something or other.  I will give this a chance to improve due to the talents involved, but I don’t hold out a great deal of hope.

Well, the show was quickly pulled off the air and cancelled.  Hopefully, Karen Gillan returns to our television screens quickly, in something worthy of her talents.

The Flash – Spinning off from Arrow comes this latest forray from the CW in to the world of DC superheroes.  Hopefully it follows more from Arrow‘s example than Smallville‘s.

I don’t know if this has been the best new show of the season, but it has certainly been the most fun.  It has a sense of joy that neither Smallville nor Arrow had before it that brings a bit of levity to the DC television universe.

7:30

Manhattan Love Story – I’m not too sold on giving this new show, about the romance beteen two nuerotic New Yorkers, a shot.  But, I’m willing to try anything once.

Well, some show had to be the first one cancelled this season, which is about the only thing this show accomplished.

8:00

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The show, which greatly improved following the events of Captain America: Winter Soldier, returns for a second season at a later timeslot and with a new status quo.

The battle between SHIELD and Hydra continues in a much improved show from one year ago.

Supernatural – For some reason that nobody can particularly understand, the show returns for its 10th season.  The show has been adrift for quite some time now and last season really started to drag.  I’m willing to keep watching, but I don’t know for how much longer.

Due to timeslot conflicts, I had to record this on a different TV.  To date, I’ve watched maybe 3 episodes of the new season and I’m not in much of a hurry to watch the rest.

Marry Me – Casey Wilson reunites with the creator of Happy Endings, who also happens to be her husband, for this new comedy.  Happy Endings was a tremendous show that ended way too early, so I will give this a shot and hope that it rekindles some of that magic.

This also needed to be recorded on a different TV due to timeslot conflicts.  I haven’t watched much of it, but I have enjoyed what I’ve seen.  It does seem to scratch, at least a little bit, that Happy Endings itch.

New Girl – The group returns for season 4, and less couples than we have seen in year’s past.  Hopefully, the funny keeps coming.

I think the problem is that they have too many characters that they don’t really know what to do with.

Continue reading →