The Media Notepad: Michelle Beadle becomes full-time host of NBA Countdown

Also: Page Six clears 90 percent  of country First look at new Defenders; ABC 7 drops “First Alert” branding; Frank Mathie retires. In an unusual move late in the regular season, ESPN announced earlier this week the promotion of Michelle Beadle as NBA Countdown host, ESPN/ABC’s pre-game show. She’ll also host halftime segments in-between games. Beadle returned to ESPN a few years ago […]

Writer’s Strike, redux?

Here we go again? The story in Tuesday’s New York Post suggests another Writer’s Strike may be on tap, ten years after the last one crippled Hollywood for one hundred days. The Writer’s Guild of America is slated to start negotiations on March 13. The current three-year contract ends on May 1 – timed to coincide with the Upfront presentations […]

“Heroes: Reborn” should’ve stayed dead

This useless reboot tells you all you need to know about the state of broadcast network prime-time television Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I? Didn’t I tell you the new Heroes: Reborn would be a disaster? I told you – right here in this space in February 2014 – about how bad an idea rebooting Heroes was. And it turns out […]

Comic-Con: “Heroes: Reborn” takes center stage

NBC’s relaunch of the 2006-10 series is massive – and actually impressive It was back in 2006 when a 73-minute pilot called Heroes was screened at the San Diego Comic-Con. The episode blew fans away as the success of the screening burned up the Internet (and this was when Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube were in their infancy.) Anticipation was built […]

The Upfronts Post-Game Show

What we learned: – The sitcom is almost dead – Too much drama – Greg Berlanti is now the most powerful person on TV Now that the parties have been held, the red carpet has been rolled up, and the song and dance routines have been performed, it’s time to get to serious business: sell suckers… er… I mean advertisers on […]

NBC unveils 2015-16 season schedule

Emphasizes drama; only one hour of comedy on the fall sked for the first time in 37 years NBC released its 2015-16 schedule Sunday, with six new comedies, seven new dramas, and one new short-term variety hour emceed by Neil Patrick Harris. The sked also features two revival efforts: Coach, which ran on ABC from 1989-96 and Heroes, which ran […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: “Heroes” returns. Oh God, why?

Just when you think the idiots who run broadcast network television couldn’t get any stupider, here comes this piece of news: NBC aired a promo Saturday night – yes, Saturday night during the Winter Olympics for the debut next year of a hot new series… Heroes. What the what? And here’s the kicker: the person helming this revival of Heroes: […]

Marvel hooks up with Netflix

In a sign where online video distributors are ramping up their original programming slates, Marvel Entertainment announced Thursday it is pairing up with Netflix to launch four new serialized series beginning in 2015, with thirteen episodes each, scheduled for “multiple years. ” First on tap is Daredevil, followed by series based on Marvel Comics characters Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Rob Johnson re-ups with CBS 2

Plus: Meredith clears NBC 5 and other NBC O&Os; Heroes returns – in comic book form; the “Car Bomb” departs; and another old syndication name resurfaces – Rob Johnson is here to stay – the co-anchor of CBS-owned WBBM-TV’s 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. newscasts has signed a contract renewal in news first reported by Robert Feder on […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Four-for-one special

It’s a four-for-one-special in this edition of T Dog’s Think Tank – thoughts on four subjects in one post. What a deal! – Is Fox’s incompetence at its local Chicago stations spreading to the network? Last week, the network scheduled X Factor to Wednesday, but game three of the NLCS between San Francisco and St. Louis (which started earlier in […]

Retro Friday: Fall 2008 NBC Promo – Make Some Noise!

This week’s Retro Friday takes a short trip back to 2008 when NBC aired a promo for its fall programming during the Opining Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, featuring the song “Make Some Noise”. Shown are clips from modest hits 30 Rock, Heroes, Chuck, and Deal Or No Deal, featuring Alec Baldwin, Zachery Levi, Howie Mandel, and Greg Grunberg. […]

Welcome to Comic-Con

It’s finally here! On Thursday, the 43rd annual Comic-Con kicked off Thursday in San Diego. Once held in a basement of a downtown hotel, Comic-Con expanded over the decades and now takes place at the city’s convention center. Certainly, Comic-Con is a far better and more enjoyable experience to cover than some overrated, overblown, overhyped, and over-covered event that took […]

One for the record books – yet again

The Voice and Smash get off to impressive starts Here we go again – for the third year in a row, the Super Bowl has set another viewing record – but just barely. Sundays Super Bowl XLVI game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis drew 111.3 million viewers – up […]