Benjamonster's TV

Here's a look at the first full week of the summer season! ABC ABC has the return of The Bachelorette on Memorial Day. It often premieres the week before and then has a Memorial Day dip so these results could be disappointing, but things could get better in the weeks ahead. The NBA Finals start for ABC on Thursday. MONDAY 8:00 The Bachelorette (Season Premiere) 10:00 The Crossing TUESDAY 8:00 Roseanne (Repeat) 8:30 The Middle (Repeat) 9:00 Black-ish (Repeat) 9:30 Black-ish (Repeat) 10:00 Splitting Up Together (Repeat) 10:30 Splitting Up Together (Repeat) WEDNESDAY 8:00 The Goldbergs (Repeat) 8:30 The Goldbergs (Repeat) 9:00 Modern Family (Repeat) 9:30 American Housewife (Repeat) 10:00 Modern Family (Repeat) 10:30 American Housewife (Repeat) THURSDAY 8:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live Game Night 8:30 NBA Countdown 9:00 NBA Finals Game 1 FRIDAY 8:00 Quantico 9:00 Shark Tank (Repeat) 10:00 20/20 SATURDAY 8:00 The Bachelorette (Repeat) 10:00 20/20 SUNDAY 7:0...

As usual, I am ending the season with a few miscellaneous awards. The blog will be quiet this summer but I will continue to do the week ahead posts with broadcast TV news as it happens this summer. Then I'll be back for previews, pilot reviews, and more in the fall! BEST RETURNING COMEDY Superstore (NBC) - Superstore was awarded my "Best Returning Comedy" last year, but it only got better in season three. The funniest ensemble on TV took another step forward with some truly hilarious moments (the season premiere, the Golden Globes party, and the Christmas episode to name a few) and some major plot points moving forward. It also has the potential to be surprisingly sentimental at times. I think back to the first year of the show and how I felt like it had so many funny elements but didn't always bring it completely together. Well now it does on a weekly basis and it is one of those shows that just seems to be in the sweet spot of what will hopefully be a long run. ...

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #34. Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO) 1. Roseanne (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 2.6     7th week 2. Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.9     23rd week 3. The Voice (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.6     24th week     Empire (FOX, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.6     17th week 5. The Middle (ABC, Tuesday 8:30pm) - 1.5     22nd week     Survivor (CBS, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.5     24th week 7. The Voice (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.4     23rd week 8. NCIS (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.3     23rd week     Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.3     22nd week     Star (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.3     17th week     American Idol (FOX, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.3...

The Middle ends tonight after nine seasons and 215 episodes. This unassuming comedy premiered just one week after the heralded debut of Modern Family and as part of ABC's heavily hyped entirely new comedy block that also included Cougar Town and the quickly cancelled Kelsey Grammar comedy Hank . All eyes were on Modern Family at first and for many years with its five straight Emmy wins (at least two of those were very deserving) and huge popularity. But I firmly believe it is The Middle that had the better run. While Family 's best days are years ago and it is a shell of what it was once, The Middle has continued in quality with remarkable consistency since day one and its ratings reflect that. It never reached the highs of a show like Modern Family  but also didn't suffer a huge erosion of audience over the years comparatively. What is the reason for that? First of all, the show managed what very few family sitcoms in history have been able to do. The ki...

Here is my recap of this year's new dramas! Check back later for a tribute to The Middle and check back tomorrow for my final post of the 2017-18 season with some other awards! BEST NEW DRAMA 9-1-1 (FOX) - Since this was a Ryan Murphy show, I was pretty skeptical of 9-1-1 despite the stellar cast. Aside from The People vs. OJ Simpson , I typically find Murphy's stuff over the top. Well, 9-1-1  was over the top but in the best way possible. It was a procedural drama but with the Murphy flairs and it shockingly worked extremely well. The superstar cast helped things a great deal but the cases, based on true stories, were gripping even if they were incredibly creepy or disturbing at times. The home lives of the characters were interesting too without getting too sappy or soapy. This was a show I found myself really excited to watch every week. RUNNER-UP:  Deception (ABC) - I don't think Deception was a great show by any means, but I really loved it and I was sad to see ...

For the final three days of the season, I will be looking back at the season that was. Today will be a look at the freshmen comedies, tomorrow ill be the freshmen dramas, and Wednesday will have some miscellaneous awards! Also, tomorrow I will have a special post about the finale of The Middle . Enjoy! Past New Comedies posts:  2016-17     2015-16     2014-15     2013-14     2012-13     2011-12     2010-11 BEST NEW COMEDY Young Sheldon (CBS) - I am not a fan of The Big Bang Theory and on the few occasions I have watched it, Sheldon Cooper has annoyed me more than amused me. But Young Sheldon is an entirely different story. With a very "ABC family comedy" feel, it was funny and also heartwarming. Young Sheldon Cooper was funny but the entire family made this show what it is (more on them below). It's a testament to the creators of the show that a non- Big Bang fan is interested in watching a prequel every single wee...

Here is a look at Week #35! The final week of the 2017-18 season. It ends on Wednesday and the summer season officially begins on Thursday. ABC ABC has finales of Monday and Tuesday with a pair of reality finales - the abbreviated season of Dancing with the Stars and the end of season 1 of the ABC era of American Idol . Tuesday brings the season finale of the smash return of Roseanne followed by the series finale of ABC tentpole The Middle . I will have more thoughts on The Middle on Tuesday. Later in the night are the season finales of Splitting Up Together and For the People . The rest of the week is in summer mode with burnoffs of Quantico , now banished to Fridays, and the two hour series finale of the cancelled Deception on Sunday. MONDAYS 8:00 Dancing with the Stars (26th Edition Finale) 9:00 American Idol (Season Finale) TUESDAYS 8:00 Roseanne (Season Finale) 8:30 The Middle (SERIES FINALE) 9:30 Splitting Up Together (Season Finale) 10:00 For the People (Season Fina...

And here is the CW schedule! Check back next week for my recap of the 2017-18 season! Past CW Upfronts:  2017 MONDAYS 8:00 DC's Legends of Tomorrow (4th season) 9:00 Arrow (7th season) The CW is consolidating their superhero shows in the sense that Arrow is coming to Mondays, but they are also adding a superhero show on their new Sunday lineup so maybe it's not much of a difference. On Mondays, DC's Legends of Tomorrow keeps the slot it had for a few months this winter and it was solid there. It is paired with Arrow , which has quietly gone from being the CW's second strongest show to their weakest superhero show. Paired with another superhero show and in a fairly low pressure slot is not a bad situation for the veteran show. TUESDAYS 8:00 The Flash (5th season) 9:00 Black Lightning (2nd season) Tuesdays continues the superhero trend to begin the CW's week. It will keep the successful midseason pairing of The Flash and Black Lightning on Tuesdays. Wh...

Here is the official CBS schedule! Past CBS Upfronts:  2017     2016     2015     2014     2013     2012     2011 MONDAYS 8:00 THE NEIGHBORHOOD 8:30 HAPPY TOGETHER 9:00 MAGNUM P.I. 10:00 Bull (3rd season) CBS was pretty mad about Mondays this season and has overhauled the entire night. Only one show that aired on this night in 2017-18 was even renewed and that show ( Man with a Plan ) was held for midseason. CBS has cut down its comedy hour to one and will try entirely new comedies with Cedric the Entertainer's The Neighborhood and Damon Wayans Jr.'s Happy Together . CBS is relying on these shows being self starters but that's a tall order for two new sitcoms that, although more diverse, seem like pretty typical CBS sitcoms. The better move is Magnum P.I. at 9pm. I like that CBS is launching a promising drama at 9pm and 10pm and this should be a good self starter even if the comedies fail. It can get a lot of Sund...

Here is the ABC schedule! Past ABC Upfronts:  2017     2016     2015     2014     2013     2012     2011 MONDAYS 8:00 Dancing with the Stars (27th edition) 10:00 The Good Doctor (2nd season) In an unsurprising move, ABC is keeping its Monday the same as last fall. After airing one full edition followed by an abbreviated athletes edition this spring, Dancing with the Stars returns with a regular edition in the fall. It is followed by this past fall's breakout hit, The Good Doctor , returning to its Monday night perch. Many advocated for a move to an earlier timeslot, but there wasn't really a good one available for it because it doesn't belong with the TGIT crew. I think it's smart to leave it here. It should continue to hold its own against at least one new show (on NBC) and possibly another (on CBS). TUESDAYS 8:00 Roseanne (2nd season) 8:30 THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT 9:00 Black-ish (5th season) 9:30 Splitting Up ...