Rewinding media in 2023

A year dominated by labor strife, awful Chicago sports teams, and – oh yeah, Elon  If you watched the WWE, you remember Vince McMahon playing himself as an arrogant CEO and billionaire, ruling over anything and everything – the ultimate heel. It’s a real-life trend we’re seeing as we close 2023. Led by billionaire Elon Musk, CEOs – whether they’re […]

Remembering Norman Lear

Trailblazer created shows that changed TV One of the most influential voices who helped shape television for its future in the 1970s has passed on as Norman Lear died Tuesday night at his Beverly Hills, Calif. home in his sleep at the age of 101, surrounded by family. Lear was born in New Haven, CT, and began his television career […]

“One Day At A Time” to return – with a Hispanic cast

Get ready for another reboot…with a big change. Former CBS sitcom One Day At A Time is being revived for Netflix, but with a major overhaul: the series is being recasted with Hispanic leads. Here’s the pitch: instead of an divorced mother from Indianapolis raising her two daughters, this would be a Cuban-American female servicewoman raising her two kids – a […]

Jay Leno, Russell Simmons take center stage at NATPE

The NATPE gathering continued into Wednesday as buyers came out to see panels featuring former Tonight Show host Jay Leno and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons: – Leno appeared at a Q&A session Wednesday at NATPE and stated his thoughts on Bill Cosby, who is accused of sexually assaulting several women: “I don’t know why it’s so hard to believe women”, […]

NATPE 2015 is off and running

The 53rd annual gathering of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) got underway at the Fontainbleau Resort in Miami on Tuesday as syndicators, producers, and content creators converged for the three day conference, which ends on Thursday. There were some programming announcements made at or just prior to NATPE’s start: – Disney-ABC Domestic Television announced updated clearance information for new Tyra […]

NBC unveils 2013-14 schedule

After a season which went through extremes (first place in November 2012 in adults 18-49 to fifth in February 2013), NBC is completely overhauling its primetime slate in 2013-14, with eight new dramas, five new comedies, and three “alternative” reality series. The new schedule was announced Sunday afternoon, a day before NBC’s upfront presentation. Only eight series from this past season […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Dan Harmon, “Community”, their fans, and you

As you know by now, Community creator and executive producer Dan Harmon was fired by the studio who produces the show (Sony Pictures Television) on the evening of Friday May 18. I’m sure you’ve read the reasons why he was fired, including from Harmon himself. Fans of Community took to social media and the Internet to express their outrage over […]