The return of Arsenio Hall

Bethenny, The Test also make their debuts in syndication today When Arsenio Hall debuted his late-night show in syndication on January 3, 1989, consider this: Johnny Carson was still the king of late-night at NBC; David Letterman still appealed to a cult audience; CBS was about to debut Pat Sajak as a late night talk show host; and ABC and […]

Chicago stations gear up for new syndication season

What’s old is new again – from the hosts to even the programming genres It’s time to reshuffle the decks again in Chicago television as local stations prepare to usher in the 2013-14 season. You won’t see as many new daytime talkers this fall as you did in 2012 (three compared to five), but you get two new court entries […]

T Dog’s Six Pack is back

A return of a favorite… T Dog Media’s Six Pack is back! The week’s (or in this case, the summer’s) media winners and losers in a nutshell: Winners. Netflix. The investment in original programming seems to be paying off: House Of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and the newly revived Arrested Development each earned Emmy nominations, with Cards becoming the first web series to […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Jerry Springer to host Chicago Emmy Awards

– This move didn’t generate as much outrage as Ben Affleck being cast as Batman last Friday, but the day before, trash TV talk show host Jerry Springer was named as host of the Chicago Emmy Awards, set to take place on November 3 . The announcement did cause one member of the Academy board to resign, as many in […]

Bob Sirott exits WFLD-TV; Jeff Herndon enters

As expected, WFLD-TV news anchor Bob Sirott today made it official: he is leaving the Fox-owned station effective Sept. 5.  Sirott is expanding his role at WGN-AM next month as he and wife Marianne Murciano will host a midday show in a yet-to-be determined time slot. WGN made room in the schedule by moving Mike McConnell to a secondary online […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Mike McConnell moves to WGN-AM’s online feed

– In a rather unusual move, WGN-AM announced Wednesday it was shifting Mike McConnell (left) from its main terrestrial station to a secondary, online stream usually reserved for spillover programming. In addition, McConnell’s show is being available via podcast. Since being hired away from WLW/Cincinnati by then-PD Kevin Metheny in August 2009, McConnell has not been able to find an […]

TCA: Despite “SHIELD”, ABC headed for down year

If ABC hopes to get out of fourth place in the adult demo, this crappy 2013 fall lineup won’t do it. That’s the feeling many in attendance had when ABC held its presentation at the recent TCA press tour. In fact, Chicago native Jeff Garlin (of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame and star of ABC’s new sitcom The Goldbergs) gave a […]

TCA: Fox comes out swinging

The Fox presentation during TCA was quite feisty as Entertainment President Kevin Reilly touched on a number of subjects from the death of Glee’s Corey Montieth to audience measurement: – Reilly – like other network chiefs – was frustrated about how little respect broadcast network shows get compared to their cable counterparts. He pointed out The Mindy Project was the […]

TCA: CW looking to continue its growth

With less doubt surrounding its future, The CW is looking to continue is growth by steering away from teen-oriented soaps and adding more broader appeal fare such as Arrow. During the net’s exec session, network entertainment president Mark Pedowitz said he would introduce The Flash as a recurring character on Arrow this upcoming season as a springboard for a possible […]

TCA: CBS tries to stay on top

It was CBS’ turn at the mic at the Television Critics Association press tour last Tuesday, and it featured a surprise cameo appearance from CEO Les Moonves, who filled in for Entertainment president Nina Tassler at the last minute. – Moonves didn’t really get into details regarding the retrans dispute between CBS and Time Warner Cable, hoping it would be […]

TCA: Improvements on the horizon at NBC

NBC opened the network leg of The Television Critics Association press tour recently, taking place at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Los Angeles. – Executive session: NBC Entertainment President (and Rockford native) Robert Greenblatt talked to the press, coming off a yo-yo season (first in adults 18-49 in November to fifth in February), and looked ahead to the future – […]

Analysis: “Simpsons” finally headed to cable

What this means for fans of the long-running franchise, its syndicator and the show itself In news first reported by TV Guide’s Michael Schneider Monday, the longest-running series in primetime TV history is expected to be sold by Twentieth Television to a cable network this year for airing in the fall of 2014. Possible cable contenders include Turner Broadcasting (TBS, […]

Comic-Con, Day 4: Dan Harmon and “Breaking Bad” wrap it up

Comic-Con wrapped up on Sunday with the triumphant return of Dan Harmon and a farewell to Breaking Bad. – At the Community Comic-Con panel (see below), Harmon talked about being way from the show for the fourth season – and a la David Letterman when he’s made a mistake, continuing to apologize – to fans for his criticism of it. […]

Comic-Con: Animation Special

Of course, it’s not Comic-Con without some animation being presented, right? From adult favorites to kids’ fare (a.k.a. programming that also attracts the stoner crowd), many panels were held for fans over the four-day event. Here’s a quick synopsis on what went down: – Though this time without Seth MacFarlane or Mila Kunis, Family Guy made the trek to Comic-Con […]