It wasn’t all that long ago when daytime television was considered a top priority for new program development and marketing by networks and local stations alike. When Oprah Winfrey took the world by storm when her local Chicago talk show went national in 1986, far eclipsing the success of similar rollouts of the past like … Read more
An old friend of mine, now a very successful TV producer, has been really busy of late, heavily into production of a reboot of the sitcom FRASIER. You may have heard of it; the first news of the revival occurred more than a year ago, but there have been a few delays with some rethinking … Read more
It was yet another slow and, frankly, lonely day, one that I’d hoped would have been shared with friends watching the NFL conference championships, but those two damn pesky realities, lack of money and lack of healthy football-loving people willing to have someone over, got in the way. So I wound up scrolling for something … Read more
I noticed that many of my fellow game show fans were more than a bit distracted last night, and I learned exactly how important and crucial an event called The Royal Rumble is to them. You probably know much more about it, which was described to me as a kickoff event involving 30 challengers jockeying … Read more
MEMO TO: THE HONORABLE JAMES COMER (R-KY) FROM: STEVE LEBLANG, MEDIA GURU RE: DIRECTV/NEWSMAX Dear Mr. Comer, Seems like you woke up yesterday in a bit of a kerfluffle, what with all of this consternation and concern from some of your constituents, colleagues and idols over this whole crisis regarding the “deplatforming” of Newsmax by … Read more
I have a confession. For a quarter century, I’ve had the hugest crush on Natasha Lyonne. Ever since I saw her as a rebellious teenager who earned kudos for her earthy performance as a recently relocated teen who downsizes with her dad Alan Arkin into a modest 10-unit apartment complex in the unsung indie comedy … Read more
I admit I’m sometimes late to parties, so by the time I discovered the phrase that serves as today’s entry’s clickbait it was a bit passe. But as the person who introduced it to me would use the opportunity to reproduce extremely flattering photos of themselves from their modeling days (happy birthday, name withheld, BTW), … Read more
I grew up in a far different era of TV journalism, one where people actually reported news and commentary generally came from prepared speeches awkwardly read by management, particularly at local stations. That’s because an overwhelming majority of news presenters were trusted figures, many with decades of experience which at the time went back to … Read more
In the chilly pre-dawn hours in Beverly Hills earlier today, the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were announced. Judging by the number of alerts I received while I worked my paying job, I suspect a lot of people still care. I’m just not sure I’m have as much in common with them these days … Read more
There probably isn’t anyone who has watched TV in the last three decades that isn’t at least familiar with this phrase: “In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories”. But … Read more