The Excellent 10 of 2013

Happy New Year! In 2013, a few have complained that they had a difficult time compiling a top ten best show list because there are – get this – too many good shows. Wow, how come yours truly didn’t have this problem? If we indeed are in “A Golden Age Of Television”, someone failed to notify yours truly. After all, […]

CBS drops-kick “We Are Men”

Remember the days when CBS Monday nights were comedy gold? You’d think I Love Lucy. The Andy Griffith Show. Here’s Lucy. M*A*S*H. Rhoda (before she left Joe.) Evening Shade. Newhart. Murphy Brown (well, maybe. Yours truly hated Murphy Brown.) Everybody Loves Raymond. Monday nights on CBS is where you’d usually find the best of the best in sitcoms. These days, […]

“Blacklist”, “Sleepy Hollow” early success stories

The new 2012-13 television season is finally underway, and night one of the new season proved to be a good one for NBC, whose Voice-fueled lineup lead them to dominate Monday night. Meanwhile, CBS couldn’t gain any traction in the final two hours of prime time and Fox surprisingly retained much of last week’s audience for Sleepy Hollow. Here are […]

CBS announces new 2013-14 schedule – with a few surprises

Tiffany network looking to maintain dominance CBS released its 2013-14 primetime schedule Wednesday morning ahead of its presentation later in the afternoon – and believe it or not, there were a few surprises in the lineup. For one, CBS is creating a two-hour comedy block on Thursday nights, based on the success of The Big Bang Theory. CBS has slotted […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: “You Got Shteirized”

On Sunday, New York Times reviewer Rachel Shteir reviewed three Chicago based books. But the reviews were less about the books in question and more about Chicago itself. In her review, Shteir – who is also a professor at DePaul University and moved to Chicago thirteen years ago – talked about “poor Chicago” and used every stereotypical crack associated with […]

Bears rule Monday night – in the ratings and on the field

The Bears ruled Monday night. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. The Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys were featured on ESPN’s Monday Night Football and drew the largest audience of the season with 16.6 million viewers, a 12.3 household rating, and a whopping 6.8 rating among adults 18-49, topping all competition – broadcast or cable. The Bears – led by quarterback Jay Cutler […]

NBC beats broadcast competition in first night of new season

ESPN tops all broadcast and cable networks with Monday Night Football – and a unbelievable bad call to end the game The first night of the 2012-13 season got underway Monday night, but someone forgot to tell the viewers. Looking at the results, a lot of returning programs were down from year-ago time periods, notably Dancing With The Stars and […]

WCIU, CBS O&Os acquire “Hot in Cleveland”

The CBS-Weigel collation has struck again. CBS Television Distribution cleared TV Land’s off-cable Hot In Cleveland in 65 percent of the country for fall 2014, including WCIU in Chicago and several CBS-owned stations in the nation’s largest markets. This is the same collation that acquired Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls for off-network syndication in 2014 and […]

“Mike & Molly”, “2 Broke Girls” head to WCIU for off-net syndication

In a sale that could alter the power structure among which station groups purchase off-net sitcoms – and other programming in the future, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has sold CBS Monday night comedies Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls to Weigel broadcasting’s WCIU in Chicago and to thirteen non-CBS affiliated stations owned by CBS Corporation for fall 2014 […]

CBS new 2012-13 primetime schedule

CBS unveiled its 2012-13 primetime schedule Wednesday morning in advance of its upfront presentation later in the afternoon. The Tiffany network introduced four new shows – three drams and just one new comedy, along with two new midseason series. But the biggest news is the move of longtime Monday stalwart Two And A Half Men to Thursday night after The […]

T Dog’s Six Pack: Picking up the slack

  With Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ed Sherman ending his business of sports blog, T Dog Media is now the only place to get your weekly winners and losers fix. Only there’s six items – three winners and three losers. And mostly doesn’t deal with sports. Okay, sometimes it does. Incidentally, credit for T Dog’s Six Pack should also go to […]

T Dog’s Six Pack: Pour a wet beverage on me

It’s time to grab your favorite beverage (a six pack of it would be best…) because it’s time for T Dog’s Six Pack! In this edition, Jerry Bryant expands his business, Betty White’s is actually on her rockers celebrating her 90th birthday while the Rev. Michael Pflager is far off his.       Rounds of Hot Cocoa for everyone. […]

T Dog’s Six Pack: You can’t “Work It”

Last week saw the premiere of several underachieving sitcoms (and proud of it) while one of them (Work It, which premiered Jan. 3) was canceled. Meanwhile, It wasn’t all love and kisses at the TCA Winter Press Tour as the critics wanted to drop the gloves with a few people on stage – literally. The best and the worst of […]

TCA: CBS Corporation shows off its wares

CBS took its turn at the stage Wednesday and Thursday at the TCA Winter Press Tour. This writeup not only includes CBS, but its sister properties Showtime and CW. – Did she throw new sitcom Rob! under the bus? In a rather brief meeting with critics, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said on Wednesday it would take time finding the […]

T Dog’s Six (Nine) Pack: Upfronts edition

It’s an special edition of T Dog’s Six Pack – a supersized one with nine items related to last week’s upfronts in New York as advertisers, media buyers, and the networks  now have the hardest job ahead of them – negotiations. Here are the hits and misses from last week’s presentations: Epic successes:The return of the sitcom. Just when you’ve […]