The Media Notepad: ABC, The CW announce 2024-25 lineups

Also: The Drive reclaims the top spot in Chicago radio ratings; Young Sheldon redeems himself   [Editor’s Note: The second item of this piece was updated on May 21.] Wrapping up the upfronts: ABC released its fall schedule last week as part of a Disney upfront presentation that hardly mentioned the network. And little wonder – there isn’t much to talk […]

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 […]

What’s new in primetime this fall (if you still care)

Fewer new shows reflect today’s reality of network television With television viewership shifting to streaming preferences, it seems a “fall schedule” for linear TV networks seems antiquated, especially when viewers are watching shows on their own schedules. Plus, the pandemic has all but canned the in-person upfronts experience. But old habits are hard to break, and despite plunging ratings, the […]

“Designated Survivor” off to strong start

Kiefer Sutherland gets to do something he was never able to do on 24 – become President of The United States. And he didn’t even battle Dennis Haysbert for the job. The biggest debut of the night was the premiere of Designated Survivor, the Kiefer Sutherland vehicle where he plays the President Of The United States – getting the position […]

TCA: Showtime and The CW

CBS Corp.’s two other properties: Showtime and The CW, held their presentations at TCA recently: Showtime: CEO David Nevins addressed rival FX’s programmer John Landgraf’s comments regarding “too much TV”: “There is never enough great TV”, Nevins responded. Nevins also said he was developing a comedy with Jim Carrey about the 1970’s comedy club scene, and is developing a drama […]

CW hopes to continue momentum into 2014-15

But Tribune CEO throws cold water on party The CW unveiled its 2014-15 schedule to advertisers Thursday, but it was Tribune CEO Peter Ligouri who really stole the show. On the same day CW revealed its fall lineup, Ligouri said at the Moffer Nathanson Media and Communications Summit that he is “not pleased where the CW is” despite the fact […]

TCA: CW looking to continue its growth

With less doubt surrounding its future, The CW is looking to continue is growth by steering away from teen-oriented soaps and adding more broader appeal fare such as Arrow. During the net’s exec session, network entertainment president Mark Pedowitz said he would introduce The Flash as a recurring character on Arrow this upcoming season as a springboard for a possible […]