The TV Column

Sunday Night Football, ‘NCIS’ squabble over season’s top ratings spot

Lisa de Moraes — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:05:00 GMT

Two days after CBS proclaimed its prime-time drama “NCIS” to be the season’s No. 1 program for the first time, NBC Sports announced that its “Sunday Night Football” was, once again, prime-time television’s No. 1 program.

Read full article >>

Only on live TV: Wolf Blitzer inadvertently creates priceless moment on CNN during tornado coverage

Lisa de Moraes — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:03:02 GMT

One of the more priceless exchanges of this week’s Oklahoma City tornado news coverage happened about 5:35 p.m. Tuesday.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was interviewing a young woman named Rebecca, whose husband was traveling when the tornado hit, and who was prepared to ride out the tornado with her 19-month-old son Anders.

Read full article >>

Broadcast network ratings: CBS wins the season

Lisa de Moraes — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:48:50 GMT

Now that Nielsen numbers for last week are finally out, and with the TV season almost over (it officially ends Wednesday night), CBS officially pronounced itself the winner Tuesday, snagging the biggest prime-time audience for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons.

Read full article >>

Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio join ‘The X Factor’ as judges

Lisa de Moraes — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:12:00 GMT

Former Destiny’s Child member Kelly Rowland, and Mexican singer/actress Paulina Rubio have joined Fox’s singing competition “The X Factor” as judge/mentors, the network announced late Monday.

They’re replacing LA Reid and Britney Spears.

Read full article >>

Ang Lee backs out of directing ‘Tyrant’ pilot on FX

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:31:00 GMT

Remember back in March, when FX announced Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee was going to make his TV directorial debut on the pilot for FX’s new drama series “Tyrant”?

Never mind.

Lee has backed out of the project, which would have been his first since “Life of Pi,” for which he won this year’s best-director Academy Award.

Read full article >>

CBS pre-empts ‘Mike & Molly’ season finale due to Tornado storyline

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:19:59 GMT

CBS yanked Monday night’s season-finale episode of its comedy series “Mike & Molly,” owing to the episode’s reference to a tornado hitting Chicago.

“Due to the tragic events this afternoon in Oklahoma, we are pre-empting tonight’s season finale of ‘Mike & Molly,’ which has a related storyline,” a CBS spokesman said in a statement issued to the press.

Read full article >>

NBC debuts sci-fi drama in same time slot as CBS’s summer series ‘Under the Dome’

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:09:35 GMT

NBC is taking a poke at CBS’s summer Stephen King series, “Under the Dome,” by scheduling its acquired sci-fi drama, “Siberia,” in the same time slot.

“Dome” will debut June 24 at 10 p.m.; “Siberia” will launch the following Monday.

Read full article >>

Deborah Turness named president of NBC News

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:01:39 GMT

NBC on Monday officially named Brit news exec Deborah Turness as the first woman to run a network news division in the United States, ending weeks of speculation.

Turness has spent the past nine years heading ITV News, the UK’s most watched commercial network news service. She’s replacing Steve Capus, who resigned from NBC News in February, ending his eight-year run in the gig and more than two decades with NBC News.

Read full article >>

Seth MacFarlane confirms he won’t host Oscars again

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:56:07 GMT

“Traumatized critics exhale: I’m unable to do the Oscars again,” Seth MacFarlane tweeted Monday afternoon, ending speculation he’d be back, after producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan were asked back for a second round.

Read full article >>

ABC puts unaired episodes of ‘Don’t Trust the B----’ online and on mobile devices

Lisa de Moraes — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:33:00 GMT

Those of you seeking “Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23” closure, ABC said Friday the unaired episodes are now available online and on select mobile devices.

Those episodes, in which Chloe drugs June, calls off her friendship with James, and goes to AA, are now available in their entirety on WATCH ABC on ABC.com, the WATCH ABC Player for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Kindle Fire, Hulu and iTunes.

Read full article >>

‘American Idol’ finale fumbles third of last year’s crowd

Lisa de Moraes — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:14:00 GMT

Bye-bye “American Idol” judges: Thursday night’s finale clocked an average of 14.3 million viewers — an all-time low for the Fox franchise.

Last year’s finale copped 34 percent more viewers — 21.5 million — and last year’s results were nothing to rave about, compared to seasons past.

Read full article >>

A look at CW’s new series: ‘The Originals,’ ‘Reign,’ ‘Tomorrow People,’ ‘The 100,’ ‘Star-Crossed’ [VIDEO]

Emily Yahr — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:39:50 GMT

CW announced five new dramas at its upfront presentation, three to air this fall, and two to air midseason. Here’s a look at the first clips:

“The Originals” (Tuesdays at 8): Spin-off of “The Vampire Diaries,” centered on Klaus (Joseph Morgan) living in New Orleans.

Read full article >>

CW’s new schedule: ‘Vampire Diaries’ spin-off to Tuesdays, network’s first crunchy gravel drama

Lisa de Moraes — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:36:00 GMT

CW will use its biggest hit, “The Vampire Diaries” to launch its first crunchy-gravel drama on Thursday nights in the fall, while its most successful freshman drama, “Arrow” will be used Wednesdays to launch a new series about teens with supernatural powers.

Read full article >>

USA Network gets in scripted comedy game, orders two original series

Emily Yahr — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:11:32 GMT

USA Network has ordered the first scripted comedies in its history, executives announced Thursday before the channel’s annual upfront presentation to advertisers in New York.

Known for its dramas, mostly ones that all vaguely look and sound the same — “Burn Notice,” “White Collar,” “Covert Affairs,” etc. — the network will debut two comedy series in the first quarter of 2014. That’s right after USA starts airing syndicated reruns of ABC’s “Modern Family” (premiering Sept. 24), which the network will use to launch the new comedy prospects, “Sirens” and “Playing House.”

Read full article >>

A look at CBS’s new series: ‘Mom,’ ‘Hostages,’ ‘We Are Men,’ ‘The Crazy Ones’ and more [VIDEO]

Emily Yahr — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:28:12 GMT

“We Are Men” (Mondays at 8:30): A 20-something guy gets left at the altar, and winds up moving into a short-term apartment complex that’s filled with single men, most recovering from a romantic misstep of their own — he immediately bonds with three others.

Read full article >>

CBS’s new schedule: Robin Williams and Will Arnett comedies, two new dramas

Lisa de Moraes — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:20:00 GMT

CBS, the country’s most popular TV network, will add four new comedies to its primetime schedule next season on Monday and Thursday nights, cast with the likes of Robin Williams and Will Arnett, and two new dramas that will share the Monday 10 p.m. timeslot.

Read full article >>

TBS and TNT upfronts: Networks will live stream all content online starting this summer

Emily Yahr — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:09:13 GMT

Starting this summer, TBS and TNT will be the first major entertainment networks to stream all on-air content — so subscribers can watch the channels, live, on any mobile device.

“Tablets and smartphones become television sets,” explained Turner Entertainment Networks Steve Koonin, in an announcement released as he was on stage at the Turner upfront presentation in New York City.

Read full article >>

A look at ABC’s new series: ‘Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD,’ ‘Super Fun Night,’ and more [VIDEO]

Emily Yahr — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:27:00 GMT

“Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” (Tuesdays at 8): From Joss Whedon; with Clark Gregg back in his role as Agent Phil Coulson from Marvel’s feature films, he leads a small group of agents from a worldwide law-enforcement organization.

Read full article >>

ABC shrinks ‘Dancing with Stars’ for Marvel comics drama; Rebel Wilson paired with ‘Modern Family’

Lisa de Moraes — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:14:00 GMT

ABC has collapsed “Dancing with the Stars” to just one night a week — Monday to give the show a “sense of occasion” and to make room for a “four-quadrant play” on Tuesdays, the network’s programming chief announced Tuesday.

Read full article >>

‘Downton Abbey’ Season 4 to premiere Jan. 5

Lisa de Moraes — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:20:00 GMT

“Downton Abbey’s” fourth season will debut on PBS on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014, “Masterpiece” exec producer Rebecca Eaton announced Tuesday at the PBS Annual Meeting.

So all those reporters who hinted that “Downton” obsessives might get to see the franchise’s fourth season sooner than they had been able to see the third season weren’t pulling your leg —the third season had debuted on Jan 6 of this year.

Read full article >>

A look at Fox’s new series: ‘Almost Human,’ ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ and more [VIDEO]

Emily Yahr — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:35:43 GMT

After its upfront presentation Monday afternoon, Fox released trailers for its fall and midseason shows — here’s the lineup.

“Almost Human” (Mondays at 8): This J.J. Abrams buddy cop show looks at what happens when the Los Angeles Police Department partners its officers with androids.

Read full article >>

Seth Meyers is the big story, but Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon entertain the crowd at NBC upfronts

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:28:00 GMT

Seth Meyers was not one of the NBC stars recruited to entertain the crowd when the network unveiled its fall schedule Monday morning at Radio City Music Hall.

The “SNL” long-timer is moving to “Late Night” when Jimmy Fallon takes over “Tonight Show” after NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Read full article >>

A look at NBC’s new series: ‘The Blacklist,’ ‘Ironside,’ ’The Michael J. Fox’ show and more [VIDEO]

Emily Yahr — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:52:00 GMT

NBC released video clips and previews of the network’s new fall shows — first up, “The Blacklist,” which has landed the cushy post- “Voice” spot on the schedule.

“The Blacklist” (Mondays at 10): This stars James Spader as one of the FBI’s most-wanted criminals, who decides to help the agency track down a terrorist...but only if he can work with a certain agent, a young female profiler who just started her first day on the job.

Read full article >>

Barbara Walters talks retirement on ‘The View’

Emily Yahr — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:57:00 GMT

About 12 hours after ABC announced Barbara Walters, 83, would officially retire next year, Walters and co-hosts spent nearly half of “The View” discussing the big news.

“After all the speculation and rumors and so forth last month, I promised if I had anything to announce about my future plans, you would hear it first here,” said Walters, referring to when word got out that she would make a retirement announcement soon. “So here it goes.”

Read full article >>

Fox’s new schedule: ‘24’ to return; plus, new shows from J.J. Abrams and Seth MacFarlane

Lisa de Moraes — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:00 GMT

Kiefer Sutherland’s back as Jack Bauer; Seth MacFarlane has his first live-action comedy; and Andy Samberg and Greg Kinnear are joining the line-up as Fox looks to dig its way out this season’s 20 percent ratings decline.

Read full article >>