There’s no getting around it–these are challenging times. Just ask any member of the Secret Service or any legal immigrant or pet owner in Springfield, Ohio. Or anyone who thinks those subjects deserve equal time in our minds. Thankfully, we are also starting to get a trickle of new seasons of original series at the … Read more
The surest sign that some sense of normalcy has returned to broadcast television was the premiere of an honest-to-goodness, never-before executed (well, at least in North America) scripted drama in the month of September. That honor went to ABC’s HIGH POTENTIAL, which had the challenge of counterprogramming an umpteeth rerun of FBI: MOST WANTED and … Read more
Amdist all of the more immediate noise and issues surrounding DIRECTV over the past couple of weeks that ultimately culminated in Saturday’s cease-fire in their war with Disney mere minutes ahead of a second consecutive Saturday without COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMEDAY (more significantly, mere hours ahead of Dana Walden’s personal victory lap not being able to … Read more
It was already going to be an historic Emmy night for FX, and a most deserved one at that. Its epic dramatic series SHOGUN had already made history last week by winning no less than 14 Creative Arts trophies, establishing an all-time record for wins in a single year, and as THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Patrick … Read more
Just before a second Saturday where the possibility of disenfranchised college football fans suddenly becoming more tech-savvy by necessity unfolded, this relief of a press release from my one-time client hit my inbox: DIRECTV and The Walt Disney Company today announced an agreement in principle that provides greater choice, value, and flexibility to their mutual … Read more
Just about a quarter-century ago, when Peter Liguori laid out his vision for the FX network during the meeting that eventually resulted in my joining his team, he described his burning desire in two words: “free HBO”. Liguori had some idea what he was talking about; after all, he was a key part of their … Read more
NOTE: This musing also appears today on our sister site, www.TheDoubleOvertime.com. Please visit it regularly for extended coverage of all things sports. I am unapolgetically a huge fan of Kelly Kahl’s, and not just because he ultimately rose farther than just about anyone else who once called research his calling, ultimately becoming the president of … Read more
Apparently last week was a slow enough news cycle for Nielsen and the few remaining organizations that still value what they might have to offer to have created both the opportunity for and this resulting story authored by MediaPost veteran Joe Mandese: If the race for the White House was one of Donald Trump’s reality … Read more
It’s a pretty big day in TV Land, and no, I’m not talking about the fact that Urkel is back hosting a game show, THE FLIP SIDE, for the first time since the long-forgotten Syfy effort of 2012-13, TOTAL BLACKOUT. I do know many of my readers are actually paying attention to that as well … Read more
It’s been a quarter-century since we first were introduced to “waste management” executive Tony Soprano and more than a decade since the brilliant albeit tortured soul that brought him to life, James Gandolfini, left this mortal coil at the far too young age of 51. Which, depending upon how you chose to interpret the last … Read more