The plight of the sitcom

  What’s happening to the cherished genre these days isn’t funny as it could be reduced to nothing Seven weeks ago, CNN launched The History Of The Sitcom – an unnecessary eight-part documentary on a subject covered to death through books, PBS, and other media celebrating the form stretching from the days of I Love Lucy on your black-and-white mono […]

The future for WGN-TV, The CW, and My Network TV

After Monday’s announcement of The CW shifting to WPWR, where does these channels stand? Back in 2008, WGN-TV aired a retrospective of its 60th year in broadcasting. Hosted by Jim Belushi, the special looked back on the station’s local programming such as Garfield Goose, Ray Rayner, and Bozo. Airing on a Sunday night, the special did better in the ratings […]

Comic-Con Notepad: It’s A Marvel (or a DC)

  Attendees were still jackin’ it in San Diego as the 2015 Comic-Con extravaganza continued with more costumes, more cosplay (whatever that is), and more panels of your favorite TV shows, movies, and comics. More highlights: – Even though Marvel Studios’ film studios sat out Comic-Con, its television division held plenty of panels – including Marvel Television Presents on Friday, with […]

Kevin Reilly out as Fox chief

Fox announced Thursday the resignation of Entertainment President Kevin Reilly, who has held the position for the last seven years. His departure is scheduled at the end of next month. Since coming over from NBC, Reilly was credited for bringing aboard people who created hit shows for the network, including Glee and New Girl, and to a lesser extent, Bob’s […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: WCIU to replace “This” with “Bounce”

Time to see what’s in this week edition of the Grab bag: – With This TV leaving for WGN-TV  November 1, Weigel Broadcasting is replacing it with Bounce, moving from its 23.2 subchannel position to the much stronger 26.5 position, according to an item on WCIU’s website. Bounce is an African-American-targeted subchannel targeted to adults 25-54. The move comes as […]

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 […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Mag Mile media coverage under scrutiny

Also: CBS 2 dumps Susan Carlson; Right This Minute finally clears Chicago; Idol’s finale ratings tank as expected; special on Chicago violence doesn’t resonate in ratings While the TV and media world were focusing on the new lineups unveiled by the networks during the upfronts last week in New York, there were other headlines made as well: – The local […]

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 Grab Bag: Harry Teinowitz out at ESPN 1000

– I guess he ain’t “winning” anymore: Harry Teinowitz is out as afternoon co-host at ESPN 1000 (WMVP). Teinowitz, who was paired up with John “Jurko” Jurkovic and Carmen DeFalco for the 2-6 afternoon shift, was given his walking papers Thursday after twelve years at the ESPN-owned radio station. Jurko and Carmen will continue with the show for the time […]

CBS powers its way to another Thursday night win

A night after more than 60 million tuned in to the Presidential Debates, viewer levels were back to normal Thursday night with CBS dominating the evening once again. All ratings are from the adult 18-49 demo, unless otherwise noted: – First hour of prime-time: the CBS Thursday Night Comedy Power Hour remains just that as The Big Bang Theory (4.9/16, […]

CBS, “Grey’s Anatomy” run ripshod over competition

Remember when Thursday night belonged to NBC? Seems so long ago, doesn’t it? The Tiffany network won the first Thursday night of the 2012-13 season in households, total viewers, and in adults 18-49 (Fox won in adults 18-34) thanks to the season premieres of The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men, and the series premiere of Elementary. All […]

NBC unveils 2012-13 lineup

NBC unveiled its 2012-13 schedule on Sunday, a day before its upfront presentation in New York City (I guess a little something called Mother’s Day didn’t stop them.) In all, there are six new series with changes on five nights – many of those changes quite questionable. NBC is introducing twelve new series in their 2012-13 campaign, with seven of […]