Fox brings familiar faces back for 2018-19

Tim Allen? Vicki Lawrence? The once edgy Fox brand is history as the network retools to attract older audiences Fox announced its 2018-19 schedule and it is a radical departure from what it was in years past. In the 1990s, Fox was synonymous with “hip, edgy programming” with The Simpsons, Beverly Hills 90210, In Living Color, and Melrose Place dominating […]

“Young Sheldon” bows to strong ratings

Sheldon roars right out of the gate and so does Good Doctor (Updated at 4:40 p.m.) Despite hot temperatures throughout much of the country (including Chicago), viewers tuned in for the start of the new fall season on Monday, starting a week later than in recent years. The show industry watchers are keeping an eye on is CBS’ new Big […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Oh, Bethenny…

-As expected, ratings for syndication’s three new shows (The Arsenio Hall Show, Bethenny, and The Test) declined from Monday’s premiere, but Arsenio still was on top with a 1.5 overnight household rating, down from a 1.9 rating.  Bethenny slipped to a 0.9/3 household rating/share from a 1.2/4; and The Test slid to a 0.7. On Wednesday however, Arsenio was up […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: WLS-TV widens lead over rivals

Grab baggin’: – ABC-owned WLS-TV widened its lead over its competitors during the just-completed May sweeps, according to Nielsen. According to CRM, ABC 7 swept all local news time periods in households (25-54 demos weren’t available at press time), with a decisive victory at 10 p.m., surging 11 percent from May 2012 with a 10.0/18, leaving NBC-owned WMAQ-TV (5.9/11, +4% […]

Dick Clark dies

The television, music, and radio industries lost a legend today with the passing of Dick Clark. Clark suffered a massive heartattack a day after after an outpaitent procedure in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 82. Born in 1929 in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Clark got his first job at his family-owned radio station in Utica, where he started in the […]

TCA, Part 6: Fox with a full plate

While ABC skimped through its TCA Press Tour presentation Monday, Fox had a full plate of panels for three of its new shows on Tuesday, including one for its revamped version of American Idol, with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Fox announced at the press tour its was renewing Raising Hope for a second season, announced a premiere […]

TCA: Fox leaves "American Idol" questions unanswered

Fox’s 2010 TCA Presentation won’t be remembered for its three new shows (in fact, they’re quite forgettable), but for the questions it didn’t answer… Fox execs Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice talked about a lot of things pertaining to their network, but disappointed many at the press tour by refusing to answer any questions related to American Idol, especially on […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

A week of shock and awe – literally. A Halloween edition of T Dog’s Four Pack: Treats – White Collar. USA had a lot of goodies in its bag – to the tune of 5.3 million viewers for the debut of its new Friday night drama White Collar. With the continued success of Dexter on Showtime, being a criminal has […]

T Dog’s Four Pack – the start of a new season

The new season is here, and here’s the first T Dog’s Four Pack for the fall 2009 season: Winners. The Emmy Awards. Neil Patrick Harris rocked as host with a smooth and speedy presentation – and the ratings weren’t too bad either. Glee. This Fox musical dramedy has been picked up for a full season after a strong start and […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

Haven’t done it for awhile, so let’s bring it back! It’s another edition of T Dog’s Four Pack: Winners. – Diane Sawyer to World News Tonight. She replaces the retiring Charles Gibson, and she certainly has the ability to anchor a major network evening newscast – unlike a certain former Today co-host (and the ratings more than tells that story.) […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: The white flag

On Monday, the Chicago White Sox traded veterans Jim Thome to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jose Contreras to the Colorado Rockies, bringing back memories of the July 1997 White Flag Trade which sent Wilson Alvarez and two others to the San Francisco Giants. The move was sent as a signal the White Sox has given up on the season […]

Fox introduces new 2009-10 schedule

The broadcast network upfronts began today in New York City, and first up is Fox, who released its fall and midseason schedules today to advertisers. Fox defended its position on why the broadcast networks are better than cable and declined to talk about the controversy over the fourth judge on American Idol (Kara DioGuardi) and whether or not she will […]

Fox at TCA

It’s Fox’s turn at the mic at TCA press tour. Among the nuggets: – The first of Fox’s new fall lineup to roll out will be on August 30 with the season premiere of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? with Cops and America’s Most Wanted following on Sept. 8 and Kitchen Nightmares on Sept. 13. – Fox has […]