Benjamonster's TV

ALEX, INC. Starring: Zach Braff, Tiya Sircar, Hillary Anne Matthews, Elisha Hening, Audyssie James, and Michael Imperioli Created by Matt Tarses From the Podcast "Start Up" by Gimlet Media, Inc. Written by Matt Tarses, Directed by Zach Braff THE PREMISE Alex, Inc. is the newest family sitcom to join the ABC lineup. This one is centered on Alex Schuman (Zach Braff), a radio host who quits his job abruptly and decides to start his own podcast company with cousin Eddie (Michael Imperioli) and assistant Deirdre (Hillary Anne Matthews). This sudden life change also requires some understanding from his wife, Rooni (Tiya Sircar) and kids Ben and Soraya (Elisha Hening and Audyssie James). THE REVIEW This pilot was sort of a tale of two shows and the direction they go in from here will go a long way to determining if it joins my long list of ABC sitcoms on my watch list. There were two distinct plots going on in the pilot. One was centered on the family and ...

SPLITTING UP TOGETHER Starring: Jenna Fischer, Oliver Hudson, Bobby Lee, Diane Farr, Lindsay Price, Olivia Keville, Van Crosby, Sander Thomas Developed for American Television by Emily Kapnek Teleplay by Emily Kapnek, Directed by Dean Holland THE PREMISE Lena and Martin (Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson) were once very much in love and happily married. Three kids (Olivia Keville, Van Crosby, & Sander Thomas) later and years of growing apart took its toll and they decided to get a divorce but they decided to do it as a team much to the chagrin of Arthur and Camille (Bobby Lee and Lindsay Price). They decide to tag team and still live in the same house with one parent taking responsibility and one living in the garage. THE REVIEW While there was a potential sweetness to this show, it was pretty short on laughs for a sitcom pilot. I didn't laugh once during the pilot. That is problematic because there have been drama pilots with more comedy beats than this on...

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #26. Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO) 1. 60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7:36pm) - 4.0     12th week 2. The Voice (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 2.3     16th week 3. The Voice (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 2.2     15th week 4. Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.9     15th week 5. Survivor (CBS, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.8     16th week 6. Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.7     16th week     9-1-1 (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.7     10th week     American Idol (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.7     3rd week 9. American Idol (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.6     2nd week     The Good Doctor (ABC, Monday 10:00pm) - 1.6     17th week     The Goldbergs (ABC, Wednesday 8:00pm) ...

Here is a look at Week #27! ABC It's a big premiere week for comedies on ABC with the heavily hyped return of Roseanne after over 20 years on Tuesday night. The show has gotten a ton of promotion and so a big premiere has to be expected or else that would be a big disappointment. ABC also has comedy premieres of Splitting Up Together on Tuesday and Alex, Inc. on Wednesday. Alex, Inc. has the better slot but Splitting might get some afterglow if Roseanne does in fact premiere big. Elsewhere, the season finale of freshman hit The Good Doctor is Monday night and we'll see how week two of Station 19 goes after an underwhelming premiere. MONDAY 8:00 American Idol 10:00 The Good Doctor (Season Finale) TUESDAY 8:00 Roseanne (SERIES PREMIERE) 9:00 Black-ish 9:30 Splitting Up Together (SERIES PREMIERE) 10:00 For the People WEDNESDAY 8:00 The Goldbergs 8:30 Alex, Inc. (SERIES PREMIERE) 9:00 Modern Family 9:30 Splitting Up Together (Repeat) 10:00 Designated Survivor ...

STATION 19 Starring: Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jason George, Grey Damon, Barrett Doss, Alberto Frezza, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre, and Miguel Sandoval Based on Grey's Anatomy Created by Shonda Rhimes Created by  Stacy McKee Written by Stacy McKee, Directed by Paris Barclay THE PREMISE Station 19 is a spinoff of ABC's long time hit Grey's Anatomy  but instead of being set in a hospital, it's set at a fire station, Seattle's Station 19. Although not a Grey's viewer, it appears a lot of the Grey's elements are here: romances, workplace drama, intense life or death situations, etc. Andrea "Andy" Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) is a firefighter at Station 19 and working for her dad, Captain Pruitt Herrera (Miguel Sandoval). When he is confronted with cancer, he attempts to turn over the station to Lieutenant Jack Gibson (Grey Damon) before also considering his daughter. Rounding out the main cast are other firefighters at the s...

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #25. Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO) 1. This is Us (NBC, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 2.8     17th week 2. The Voice (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 2.4     15th week 3. The Voice (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 2.3     14th week 4. American Idol (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.8     1st week     The Good Doctor (ABC, Monday 10:00pm) - 1.8     16th week     Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.8     14th week     American Idol (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.8     2nd week 8.  Survivor (CBS, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.7     15th week 9. 9-1-1 (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.6     9th week 10. NCIS (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.5     17th week 11. 60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7:37pm) - 1.4   ...

INSTINCT Starring: Alan Cumming, Bojana Novakovic, Daniel Ings, Sharon Leal, and Naveen Andrews Based on the Book "Murder Games" by James Patterson and Howard Roughan Created for Television by Michael Rauch Teleplay by Michael Rauch, Directed by Marc Webb THE PREMISE Instinct is sort of a hybrid between Elementary and Criminal Minds . It has the light hearted murder mystery feel with a male/female combo solving crimes, but it focuses a lot on criminal behavior and, by extension, serial killers. Former CIA officer Dr. Dylan Reinhart (Alan Cumming) gets back in the crime solving business when an NYC detective, Elizabeth Needham (Bojana Novakovic). Rounding out the main cast is Dylan's husband, Andy (Daniel Ings) and Elizabeth's boss, Lt. Jasmine Gooden (Sharon Leal). THE REVIEW This is a procedural through and through and a perfect fit for CBS. I can handle procedurals and I often like them but even I had to laugh a couple times at the implausibi...

Here's a look at Week #26! ABC ABC has season finales this week of Fresh Off the Boat and Speechless to make room for comedy premieres next week. Thursday night brings us a two hour premiere of the new Grey's Anatomy firefighter spinoff, Station 19. Grey's continues to be a beast but it will be interesting to see if that translates to the very Grey's spinoff since Private Practice over a decade ago. MONDAY 8:00 American Idol 10:00 The Good Doctor TUESDAY 8:00 The Middle 8:30 Fresh Off the Boat (Season Finale) 9:00 Black-ish 9:30 Modern Family (Repeat) 10:00 For the People WEDNESDAY 8:00 The Goldbergs 8:30 Speechless (Season Finale) 9:00 Modern Family 9:30 American Housewife 10:00 Designated Survivor THURSDAY 8:00 Grey's Anatomy 9:00 Station 19 (SERIES PREMIERE) FRIDAY 8:00 Once Upon a Time 9:00 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 10:00 20/20 SATURDAY 8:00 Movie: Over the Hedge 10:00 20/20 SUNDAY 7:00 America's Funniest Home V...

FOR THE PEOPLE Starring:  Hope Davis, Ben Shenkman, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Susannah Flood, Wesam Keesh, Rege-Jean Page, Ben Rappaport, Britt Robertson, with Anna Deavere Smith, and Vondie Curtis Hall Created by  Paul William Davies Written by  Paul William Davies,  Directed by  Tom Verica THE PREMISE For the People  is a new Shondaland drama centered on a group of new lawyers working for one of the most famous courts, the Southern District of New York federal court. Young lawyers Allison, Seth, Kate, Jay, Leonard, and Sandra (Jasmin Savoy-Brown, Ben Rappaport, Susannah Flood, Wesam Keesh, Rege-Jean Page, & Britt Robertson) work for both the defense under Jill Marcus (Hope Davis) or prosecution under Roger Gunn (Ben Shenkman). Rounding out the main cast are Chief Judge Nicholas Byrne (Vondie Curtis Hall) and clerk Tina Krissman (Anna Deavere Smith). THE REVIEW For the People  doesn't really feel like a Shondaland drama as much ...

RISE Starring: Josh Radnor, Marley Shelton, Auli'i Cravalho, Damon J. Gillespie, Shirley Rumierk, Joe Tippett, Ted Sutherland, Amy Forsyth, Rarmian Newton, Casey Johnson, Taylor Richardson, and Rosie Perez Created by Jason Katims Inspired by the Book "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove Written by Jason Katims, Directed by Mike Cahill THE PREMISE Rise is a new drama from Jason Katims of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood fame. This time, the feel good drama is set at a high school where football is king in a town that is well past its prime. English teacher Lou Mazzuchelli (Josh Radnor) takes over the theater program from Tracey Wolfe (Rosie Perez) with plans to produce the controversial musical "Spring Awakening." Along the way, he deals with a one track mind football coach (Joe Tippett) who protests to his star player, Robbie Thorne (Damon J. Gillespie) being a part of the show and a reluctant wife at home, Gail (Marley Shelton) with worries tha...

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #24. Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO) 1. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday 8:00pm) - 2.6     17th week 2. The Voice (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 2.5     14th week 3. This is Us (NBC, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 2.3     16th week     American Idol (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 2.3     1st week (NEW SERIES) 5. The Bachelor (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 2.2     8th week 6. The Voice (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 2.1     13th week     Young Sheldon (CBS, Thursday 8:30pm) - 2.1     14th week 8. Survivor (CBS, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.7     14th week     Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.7     13th week 10. 9-1-1 (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.6     8th week 11. The Goldbergs (ABC, Wednesday 8...

DECEPTION Starring: Jack Cutmore-Scott, Ilfenesh Hadera, Lenora Crichlow, Justin Chon, Laila Robins, with Amaury Nolasco, and Vinnie Jones Created by Chris Fedak Written by Chris Fedak,  Directed by David Nutter THE PREMISE Deception is an interesting new take on a crime procedural because it involves a magician. Illusionist Cameron Black (Jack Cutmore-Scott) is at the top of his game when his secret brother Johnny (also Cutmore-Scott) is sent to jail for murder. Black is convinced an illusionist set his brother up and he teams up with Special Agent Kay Daniels (Ilfenesh Hadera) to find out the truth and also help them solve crimes. Rounding out the main cast is a mix of Black's team and other FBI agents. THE REVIEW I'm almost as much a sucker for magic and illusion as I am with time travel ( Now You See Me is one of my favorite movies). So I've been excited about this since it was in development last year. I'm happy to report that while the pilot...

CHAMPIONS Starring: Anders Holm, Fortune Feimster, Andy Favreau, JJ Totah, Mouzam Makkar Created by Charlie Grandy and Mindy Kaling Written by Charlie Grandy & Mindy Kaling, Directed by Michael Spiller THE PREMISE Champions is a new sitcom from Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy centered on two brothers, Vince and Matthew (Anders Holm and Andy Favreau) who run a gym in Brooklyn. Their world is upended when Matthew's former girlfriend Priya (Kaling in a recurring role) walks back into Matthew's life with their now teenage and very pretentious son, Michael (JJ Totah). With Michael looking for a place to live so he can attend an elite private school, the theatre loving kid moves in with his jock father and uncle. THE REVIEW This was a cliche ridden and pretty unfunny pilot. I just get so tired of sitcoms that have characters who don't seem like real people. A good sitcom can make even an extreme character seem like a real person (think Ted Baxter, Mich...

Here is a look at Week #25! ABC ABC has a lot going on this week including night two of American Idol on Monday (it premieres tonight). It will surely be down from its Sunday premiere but the million dollar question is how it does in its premiere? That will give us a better guess for Monday. On Tuesday, there is a double pumping of Black-ish to lead into the new Shondaland drama For the People , which is being thrown to the wolves in a death slot for ABC. With its season almost over, Speechless is being double pumped on Wednesday while the season finale of How to Get Away with Murder and the last 9pm episode of Scandal follow on Thursday. Sunday brings us the second week of American Idol and Deception . MONDAY 8:00 American Idol 10:00 The Good Doctor TUESDAY 8:00 The Middle 8:30 Fresh Off the Boat 9:00 Black-ish 9:30 Black-ish 10:00 For the People (SERIES PREMIERE) WEDNESDAY 8:00 Speechless 8:30 Speechless 9:00 Modern Family (Repeat) 9:30 American Housewife 10:00 D...