The new fall TV season kicked off last night, and in recent years the first to kick off on broadcast TV was the venerable reality competition series DANCING WITH THE STARS. A hokey but immensely popular chance for B list and below “celebrities” to team with professional dancers and show off their moves, for 30 … Read more
Got a call from an old friend, we used to be real close Said he couldn’t go on the American way Closed the shop, sold the house, bought a ticket to the west coast Now he gives them a stand-up routine in L.A. Lately, I’ve been humming Billy Joel’s inspiration lyrics in my head a … Read more
With all that’s been going on in my world lately, sleep is often an aspiration and, frankly, occurs only when my body reaches a point of exhaustion where it’s impossible for me to continue thinking or moving. Fortunately, it hasn’t yet happened while I was operating a motor vehicle, but otherwise, it’s fair to say … Read more
Exactly 50 years ago tonight, two new half-hour comedies from 20th Century Fox TV that mined the IP of their theatricals debuted back-to-back to lead off their Sunday night prime time schedule. (Yes, this was before 60 MINUTES had that slot; in those days, it aired seasonally at 6 PM once the NFL season ended). … Read more
In a month where every streaming service of consequence seems to be trying to find a way to get still more of us to eschew linear TV, and in a competitive landscape already superserviced with male-appeal sci-fi fantasy, it’s unsurprising, and strategically smart, for Hulu to launch the fifth season of THE HANDMAID’S TALE this … Read more
Tonight could be a watershed moment in the history of televised sports. Amazon Prime Video will debut its Thursday Night Football package, and will have a great divisional matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, featuring outstanding young quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes squaring off having both won their 2022openers, to … Read more
I’m a huge fan of reports based on actual data that reflects actual behavior, not algorithms or “intent to view” metrics that mask as such (yeh, Parrot Analytics, that means you). So when Brandon Katz of The Wrap reported yesterday on an exhaustive study conducted by Samba TV on what and how people consume content … Read more
I had every intention of following last night’s Emmy awards telecast with the diligence of the reporter I once aspired to be. I fixed a healthy salmon salad, I settled into the recliner, and even found my way to the Peacock feed that allowed me to see the lame red carpet interviews in glorious 4K. … Read more
I’ve documented and discussed the growing indifference to awards, and especially awards shows, on several previous occasions. The Emmys have seen an especially precipitous decline in popularity and zeitgeist in recent years, perhaps self-inflicted. Not only has broadcast television been all but ignored in nominations, let alone victories, save for occasional outliers like black-ISH and … Read more
When I ran research projects for various FOX networks, I championed the need to be sure we were not only talking to representative people based on demography and level of interest, but also geography. Long before the cheat of online groups were a viable option, we’d criss-cross the country like surrepititious vagabonds, starting out in … Read more