WEEKLY RECAP: January 21-27, 2019

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #18 of the 2018-19 season! Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted

TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO)
1. The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 2.3    3rd week
2. This is Us (NBC, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 1.9    11th week
3. The Bachelor (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.6    3rd week
    America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.6    3rd week
    Ellen's Game of Games (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.6    3rd week
    Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.6    9th week
7. The Conners (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.5    11th week
8. Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (CBS, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.4    Special Airing
9. Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.3    Special Airing
    Chicago Med (NBC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.3    11th week
    America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.3    3rd week
12. The Good Doctor (ABC, Monday 10:00pm) - 1.2    6th week
    The Goldbergs (ABC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.2    11th week
    Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.2    13th week
    Chicago Fire (NBC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.2    11th week
    The Titan Games (NBC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.2    3rd week
17. Schooled (ABC, Wednesday 8:30pm) - 1.1    3rd week
      Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (CBS, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.1    Special Airing
      Chicago PD (NBC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 1.1    6th week
      Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (FOX, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.1    1st week
      A Million Little Things (ABC, Thursday 9:00pm) - 1.1    2nd week
      Shark Tank (ABC, Sunday 9:00pm) - 1.1    1st week
     60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7:00pm) - 1.1    8th week

BOTTOM 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO)
1. Dynasty (CW, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.1    10th week
    Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.1    11th week
3. All American (CW, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 0.2    10th week
4. Black Lightning (CW, Monday 9:00pm) - 0.3    10th week
    Legacies (CW, Thursday 9:00pm) - 0.3    8th week
    Supergirl (CW, Sunday 8:00pm) - 0.3    10th week
    Charmed (CW, Sunday 9:00pm) - 0.3    11th week
8. Roswell, New Mexico (CW, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 0.4    2nd week
    Riverdale (CW, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 0.4    10th week
    Arrow (CW, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 0.4    9th week
    Supernatural (CW, Thursday 8:00pm) - 0.4    11th week
12. The Gifted (FOX, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 0.5    9th week
    Match Game (ABC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 0.5    3rd week
    Madam Secretary (CBS, Sunday 10:00pm) - 0.5    11th week
15. Splitting Up Together (ABC, Tuesday 9:30pm) - 0.6    6th week
    How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, Thursday 10:00pm) - 0.6    3rd week
    Gotham (FOX, Thursday 8:00pm) - 0.6    3rd week
    Speechless (ABC, Friday 8:30pm) - 0.6    11th week

19. Magnum P.I. (CBS, Monday 9:00pm) - 0.7    2nd week
    The Rookie (ABC, Tuesday 10:00pm) - 0.7    5th week
    The Flash (CW, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 0.7    6th week
    Single Parents (ABC, Wednesday 9:30pm) - 0.7    2nd week
    The Good Place (NBC, Thursday 9:30pm) - 0.7    2nd week
    The Orville (FOX, Thursday 9:00pm) - 0.7    3rd week
    Fresh Off the Boat (ABC, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.7    10th week
    Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.7    5th week

TOP 20 SHOWS (TOTAL VIEWERS)
1. 60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7:00pm) - 11.2 million    14th week
2. America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 9.7 million    3rd week
3. Chicago Med (NBC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 9.4 million    11th week
4. Chicago Fire (NBC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 8.4 million    12th week
5. This is Us (NBC, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 8.2 million    11th week
6. The Conners (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 7.7 million    11th week
7. Ellen's Game of Games (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 7.5 million    3rd week
8. FBI (CBS, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 7.4 million    12th week
9. Chicago PD (NBC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 7.2 million    9th week
10. The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 7.1 million    3rd week
11. Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 7.0 million    4th week
12. Bull (CBS, Monday 10:00pm) - 6.7 million    6th week
    NCIS: New Orleans (CBS, Tuesday 10:00pm) - 6.7 million    12th week
    NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, Sunday 9:00pm) - 6.7 million    13th week
15. America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 6.6 million    3rd week
16. Fam (CBS, Thursday 8:30pm) - 6.4 million    Special Airing
17. The Good Doctor (ABC, Monday 10:00pm) - 6.3 million    6th week
18. The Bachelor (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 6.0 million    1st week
19. New Amsterdam (NBC, Tuesday 10:00pm) - 5.8 million    5th week
20. Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (CBS, Monday 8:00pm) - 5.4 million    Special Airing
    Manifest (NBC, Monday 10:00pm) - 5.4 million    9th week
    The Resident (FOX, Monday 8:00pm) - 5.4 million    2nd week
    A Million Little Things (ABC, Thursday 9:00pm) - 5.4 million    1st week
    Madam Secretary (CBS, Sunday 10:00pm) - 5.4 million    1st week

BOTTOM 20 SHOWS (TOTAL VIEWERS)
1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.4 million    11th week
2. Dynasty (CW, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.6 million    10th week
3. All American (CW, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 0.7 million    10th week
4. Black Lightning (CW, Monday 9:00pm) - 0.9 million    10th week
    Charmed (CW, Sunday 9:00pm) - 0.9 million    11th week
6. Legacies (CW, Thursday 9:00pm) - 1.0 million    8th week
7. Riverdale (CW, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.1 million    10th week
8. Roswell, New Mexico (CW, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 1.2 million    2nd week
    Arrow (CW, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.2 million    9th week
10. Supergirl (CW, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.3 million    10th week
11. Supernatural (CW, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.4 million    11th week
12. The Gifted (FOX, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 1.8 million    11th week
13. The Flash (CW, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.9 million    10th week
14. Match Game (ABC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 2.3 million    3rd week
15. The Good Place (NBC, Thursday 9:30pm) - 2.4 million    11th week
     Gotham (FOX, Thursday 8:00pm) - 2.4 million    3rd week
17. Splitting Up Together (ABC, Tuesday 9:30pm) - 2.6 million    7th week
      Speechless (ABC, Friday 8:30pm) - 2.6 million    11th week
19. Single Parents (ABC, Wednesday 9:30pm) - 2.7 million    4th week
      How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, Thursday 10:00pm) - 2.7 million    5th week
      Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Friday 9:00pm) - 2.7 million    11th week

WINNERS OF THE NIGHT
Monday - Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (CBS)    Special Airing
Tuesday - The Conners (ABC)    2nd week
Wednesday - The Masked Singer (FOX)    2nd week
Thursday - A Million Little Things (ABC)    1st week
Friday - Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (CBS)    Special Airing
Sunday - 60 Minutes (CBS)    2nd week

LOSERS OF THE NIGHT
Monday - Magnum P.I. (CBS)    1st week
Tuesday - FBI (CBS)    1st week
Wednesday - Single Parents (ABC)    2nd week
Thursday - The Good Place (NBC)    1st week
Friday - Dynasty (CW)    2nd week
Sunday - Madam Secretary (CBS)    1st week

THE WEEK AHEAD: January 21-27, 2019

Here's a look at Week #19!

This week features the Super Bowl (and premiere of The World's Best) on Sunday night and a bizarre Tuesday night for the networks as the State of the Union was originally scheduled for this night but with it not happening on Tuesday, networks aren't backtracking and going to all their regular scheduled programming, they are mostly sticking with repeats or filler.

ABC

MONDAY
8:00 The Bachelor
10:00 The Good Doctor

TUESDAY
8:00 American Housewife (Repeat)
8:30 The Kids Are Alright (Repeat)
9:00 TBA

WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Goldbergs
8:30 Schooled
9:00 Modern Family
9:30 Single Parents
10:00 Match Game

THURSDAY
8:00 Grey's Anatomy
9:00 A Million Little Things
10:00 How to Get Away with Murder

FRIDAY
8:00 Fresh Off the Boat
8:30 Speechless
9:00 20/20

SATURDAY
8:00 NBA Basketball: LA Lakers at Golden State

SUNDAY
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat)
8:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat)
9:00 Shark Tank (Repeat)
10:00 Shark Tank (Repeat)

CBS

MONDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 Magnum P.I.
10:00 Bull (Repeat)

TUESDAY
8:00 Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials 2019 (Special)
9:00 NCIS (Repeat)
10:00 FBI (Repeat)

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
9:30 Young Sheldon (Repeat)
10:00 Criminal Minds

THURSDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 Young Sheldon
9:00 Mom
9:30 Fam
10:00 S.W.A.T.

FRIDAY
8:00 MacGyver
9:00 Hawaii Five-0
10:00 Blue Bloods

SATURDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 NFL Honors (Special)

SUNDAY
7:00 Super Bowl LII: Los Angeles vs. New England
10:00 The World's Best (SERIES PREMIERE)

NBC

MONDAY
8:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions
10:00 Manifest

TUESDAY
8:00 Ellen's Game of Games
9:00 Ellen's Game of Games
10:00 Ellen's Game of Games (Repeat)

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Chicago Med (Repeat)
9:00 Chicago Fire (Repeat)
10:00 Chicago PD (Repeat)

THURSDAY
8:00 The Titan Games
9:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9:30 Will & Grace
10:00 Law & Order: SVU

FRIDAY
8:00 Blindspot
9:00 The Blacklist
10:00 Dateline NBC

SATURDAY
8:00 NHL Hockey: Tampa Bay at NY Rangers

SUNDAY
7:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions (Repeat)
9:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions (Repeat)

FOX

MONDAY
8:00 The Resident
9:00 The Passage

TUESDAY
8:00 Lethal Weapon (Repeat)
9:00 The Gifted (Repeat)

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back
9:00 The Masked Singer

THURSDAY
8:00 Gotham
9:00 The Orville

FRIDAY
8:00 Last Man Standing
8:30 The Cool Kids
9:00 Hell's Kitchen

SATURDAY
8:00 9-1-1 (Repeat)
9:00 The Passage (Repeat)

SUNDAY
7:00 The Simpsons (Repeat)
7:30 Bob's Burgers (Repeat)
8:00 The Simpsons (Repeat)
8:30 Bob's Burgers (Repeat)
9:00 Family Guy (Repeat)
9:30 The Cool Kids (Repeat)

CW

MONDAY
8:00 Arrow
9:00 Black Lightning

TUESDAY
8:00 The Flash
9:00 Roswell, New Mexico

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Riverdale
9:00 All American

THURSDAY
8:00 Supernatural
9:00 Legacies

FRIDAY
8:00 Dynasty
9:00 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

SUNDAY
8:00 Supergirl (Repeat)
9:00 Charmed (Repeat)

TV NEWS & THOUGHTS
- NBC will launch the new multi-camera bar comedy Abby's on March 28 at 9:30pm. It will air after Will & Grace for two weeks and then Brooklyn Nine-Nine the rest of the way.

- CBS has renewed The Neighborhood, FBI, and Magnum P.I. for a second season. The first two come as no surprise. The Neighborhood has been a surprisingly potent Monday night comedy while FBI has been fairly compatible with NCIS. Magnum P.I. is more of a surprise although perhaps it shouldn't be given that CBS seems to have tons of faith in it despite its minuscule ratings. It just got the post-AFC Championship Game slot and then promptly proceeded to hit a series low with its next episode the next night.

WEEKLY RECAP: January 14-20, 2019

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #17 of the 2018-19 season! Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted

TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO)
1. Magnum P.I. (CBS, Sunday 10:39pm) - 2.4    Special Airing
2. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday 8:00pm) - 2.3    11th week
3. The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 2.2    2nd week
4. This is Us (NBC, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 2.0    10th week
5. Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.9    8th week
6. The Bachelor (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.7    2nd week
    America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.7    2nd week
    Ellen's Game of Games (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.7    2nd week
    Young Sheldon (CBS, Thursday 8:30pm) - 1.7    11th week
10. The Neighborhood (CBS, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.3    8th week
    The Passage (FOX, Monday 9:00pm) - 1.3    1st week (NEW SERIES)
    The Conners (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.3    10th week
    NCIS (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.3    12th week
    The Titan Games (NBC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.3    2nd week
15. The Good Doctor (ABC, Monday 10:00pm) - 1.2    5th week
    The Goldbergs (ABC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.2    10th week
    Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.2    12th week
    Chicago Med (NBC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.2    10th week
    Mom (CBS, Thursday 9:00pm) - 1.2    12th week
20. The Resident (FOX, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.1    4th week
      Schooled (ABC, Wednesday 8:30pm) - 1.1    2nd week
      Chicago Fire (NBC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.1    10th week
      Chicago PD (NBC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 1.1    5th week
      A Million Little Things (ABC, Thursday 9:00pm) - 1.1    1st week

BOTTOM 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO)
1. All American (CW, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 0.2    9th week
    Dynasty (CW, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.2    9th week
    Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.2    10th week
    Charmed (CW, Sunday 9:00pm) - 0.2    10th week
5. Supergirl (CW, Sunday 8:00pm) - 0.3    9th week
6. Roswell, New Mexico (CW, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 0.4    1st week (NEW SERIES)
    Supernatural (CW, Thursday 8:00pm) - 0.4    10th week
8. The Gifted (FOX, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 0.5    8th week
    Match Game (ABC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 0.5    2nd week
    Riverdale (CW, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 0.5    9th week
11. The Flash (CW, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 0.6    5th week
    Speechless (ABC, Friday 8:30pm) - 0.6    10th week
    Blindspot (NBC, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.6    10th week
    The Blacklist (NBC, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.6    2nd week
    Dateline NBC (NBC, Friday 10:00pm) - 0.6    13th week
    Dateline NBC (NBC, Sunday 10:00pm) - 0.6    2nd week
17. Bull (CBS, Monday 10:00pm) - 0.7    2nd week
     Splitting Up Together (ABC, Tuesday 9:30pm) - 0.7    5th week
     The Rookie (ABC, Tuesday 10:00pm) - 0.7    4th week
     Lethal Weapon (FOX, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 0.7    6th week
    How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, Thursday 10:00pm) - 0.7    2nd week
    Gotham (FOX, Thursday 8:00pm) - 0.7    2nd week
    The Orville (FOX, Thursday 9:00pm) - 0.7    2nd week
    Fresh Off the Boat (ABC, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.7    9th week
    20/20 (ABC, Friday 10:00pm) - 0.7    14th week
    Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.7    4th week
    Shark Tank (ABC, Sunday 9:00pm) - 0.7    5th week

TOP 20 SHOWS (TOTAL VIEWERS)
1. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday 8:00pm) - 13.3 million    11th week
2. NCIS (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 12.2 million    12th week
3. Young Sheldon (CBS, Thursday 8:30pm) - 11.5 million    11th week
4. America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 10.0 million    2nd week
5. FBI (CBS, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 9.3 million    11th week
6. Magnum P.I. (CBS, Sunday 10:39pm) - 8.8 million    Special Airing
7. Chicago Med (NBC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 8.5 million    10th week
    Mom (CBS, Thursday 9:00pm) - 8.5 million    13th week
9. Chicago Fire (NBC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 8.0 million    11th week
10. This is Us (NBC, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 7.7 million    10th week
11. Hawaii Five-0 (CBS, Friday 9:00pm) - 7.6 million    11th week
12. NCIS: New Orleans (CBS, Tuesday 10:00pm) - 7.3 million    11th week
     Chicago PD (NBC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 7.3 million    8th week
14. Bull (CBS, Monday 10:00pm) - 7.1 million    5th week
     Grey's Anatomy (ABC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 7.1 million    3rd week
16. The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 6.9 million    2nd week
      MacGyver (CBS, Friday 8:00pm) - 6.9 million    4th week
18. The Neighborhood (CBS, Monday 8:00pm) - 6.8 million    4th week
19. The Conners (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 6.7 million    10th week
20. The Good Doctor (ABC, Monday 10:00pm) - 6.3 million    5th week
     Ellen's Game of Games (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 6.3 million    2nd week

BOTTOM 20 SHOWS (TOTAL VIEWERS)
1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.4 million    10th week
2. Dynasty (CW, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.6 million    9th week
3. All American (CW, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 0.7 million    9th week
4. Charmed (CW, Sunday 9:00pm) - 0.8 million    10th week
5. Supergirl (CW, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.0 million    9th week
6. Riverdale (CW, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.3 million    9th week
7. Supernatural (CW, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.4 million    10th week
8. Roswell, New Mexico (CW, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 1.5 million    1st week (NEW SHOW)
9. The Gifted (FOX, Tuesday 9:00pm) - 1.6 million    10th week
   The Flash (CW, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.6 million    9th week
11. Match Game (ABC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 2.3 million    2nd week
12. Gotham (FOX, Thursday 8:00pm) - 2.4 million    2nd week
13. The Good Place (NBC, Thursday 9:30pm) - 2.5 million    10th week
14. Splitting Up Together (ABC, Tuesday 9:30pm) - 2.6 million    6th week
      Speechless (ABC, Friday 8:30pm) - 2.6 million    10th week
      Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Friday 9:00pm) - 2.6 million    10th week
17. How to Get Away with Murder (ABC, Thursday 10:00pm) - 2.8 million    4th week
     Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, Thursday 9:00pm) - 2.8 million    2nd week
     Shark Tank (ABC, Sunday 9:00pm) - 2.8 million    3rd week
20. Single Parents (ABC, Wednesday 9:30pm) - 3.0 million    3rd week
      The Orville (FOX, Thursday 9:00pm) - 3.0 million    2nd week

WINNERS OF THE NIGHT
Monday - The Neighborhood (CBS)    4th week
Tuesday - Ellen's Game of Games (NBC)    1st week
Wednesday - The Masked Singer (FOX)    1st week
Thursday - Grey's Anatomy (ABC)    3rd week
Friday - MacGyver (CBS)    1st week
Sunday - None

LOSERS OF THE NIGHT
Monday - Manifest (NBC)    2nd week
Tuesday - The Gifted (FOX)    3rd week
Wednesday - Modern Family (ABC)    1st week
Thursday - How to Get Away with Murder (ABC)    1st week
Friday - None
Sunday - None

THE WEEK AHEAD: January 21-27, 2019

Here's a look at Week #18!

ABC
ABC is all new all week. The Conners has its season finale on Tuesday night and while not officially renewed, it is certain to get a second season with just the details to be ironed out. A Million Little Things had a solid Thursday start, we'll see how week two in the new timeslot goes.

MONDAY
8:00 The Bachelor
10:00 The Good Doctor

TUESDAY
8:00 The Conners (Season Finale)
8:30 The Kids Are Alright
9:00 Black-ish
9:30 Splitting Up Together
10:00 The Rookie

WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Goldbergs
8:30 Schooled
9:00 Modern Family
9:30 Single Parents
10:00 Match Game

THURSDAY
8:00 Grey's Anatomy
9:00 A Million Little Things
10:00 How to Get Away with Murder

FRIDAY
8:00 Fresh Off the Boat
8:30 Speechless
9:00 20/20

SATURDAY
8:00 NBA Basketball: Golden State at Boston

SUNDAY
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat)
8:00 America's Funniest Home Videos
9:00 Shark Tank
10:00 Shark Tank

CBS
CBS is having Big Brother: Celebrity Edition take over its lineup with five episodes in seven days this week. Elsewhere, there's a mix of new episodes and repeats. It will be interesting to see if Magnum P.I. can benefit at all from its post-Championship Game exposure.

MONDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (Season Premiere)
9:00 Magnum P.I.
10:00 Bull

TUESDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 FBI
10:00 NCIS: New Orleans

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 SEAL Team
10:00 Criminal Minds

THURSDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
8:30 Young Sheldon (Repeat)
9:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
9:30 Fam
10:00 S.W.A.T. (Repeat)

FRIDAY
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 Hawaii Five-0 (Repeat)
10:00 Blue Bloods (Repeat)

SATURDAY
8:00 FBI (Repeat)
9:00 48 Hours
10:00 48 Hours

SUNDAY
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 Big Brother: Celebrity Edition
9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
10:00 Madam Secretary

NBC
NBC is all new for most of the week with a fairly strong winter lineup. Thursday night has the season finale of The Good Place, which has already been renewed for a fourth season.

MONDAY
8:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions
10:00 Manifest

TUESDAY
8:00 Ellen's Game of Games
9:00 This is Us
10:00 New Amsterdam

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Chicago Med
9:00 Chicago Fire
10:00 Chicago PD

THURSDAY
8:00 The Titan Games
9:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9:30 The Good Place (Season Finale)
10:00 Law & Order: SVU (Repeat)

FRIDAY
8:00 Figure Skating

SATURDAY
8:00 2019 NHL All-Star Game

SUNDAY
7:00 The Titan Games (Repeat)
8:00 The Titan Games (Repeat)
9:00 American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. the World (Special)

FOX
FOX is mostly new with a few repeats sprinkled in. Sunday night has Rent Live!, which airs on a Sunday night like Grease Live! did back in 2016 to big numbers. I don't think this will do as well, but I do think it will still be solid.

MONDAY
8:00 The Resident
9:00 The Passage

TUESDAY
8:00 Lethal Weapon (Repeat)
9:00 The Gifted

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back
9:00 The Masked Singer

THURSDAY
8:00 Gotham
9:00 The Orville

FRIDAY
8:00 Last Man Standing (Repeat)
9:00 The Cool Kids (Repeat)
9:00 Hell's Kitchen

SATURDAY
8:00 Boxing

SUNDAY
7:00 The Simpsons (Repeat)
7:30 Bob's Burgers (Repeat)
8:00 Rent Live! (Special)

CW
After easing back into new episodes, the CW is fully new this week with its regular lineup. Roswell, New Mexico had an OK debut. We'll see how week two goes.

MONDAY
8:00 Arrow
9:00 Black Lightning

TUESDAY
8:00 The Flash
9:00 Roswell, New Mexico

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Riverdale
9:00 All American

THURSDAY
8:00 Supernatural
9:00 Legacies

FRIDAY
8:00 Dynasty
9:00 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

SUNDAY
8:00 Supergirl
9:00 Charmed

TV NEWS & THOUGHTS
- CBS announced a few more midseason dates, this time for some of its dramas. Military legal drama The Code will get a special premiere after NCIS on Tuesday, April 9 and then take over the Monday 9pm hour from Magnum P.I. starting April 15. Event drama The Red Line will have a unique airing schedule. Its eight episodes will air in two hour blocks over four weeks starting Sunday, April 28 at 8pm. CBS also announced the third season of Ransom will premiere February 16 in its regular Saturday 8pm slot. Still no word on Elementary, Instinct, and Life in Pieces. It seems likely all three will air in the summer at this point.

- FOX has renewed veteran summer staple So You Think You Can Dance for an impressive 16th season.

- NBC has renewed Ellen's Game of Games for a third season just two episodes into its second season. The reality show has been a very solid winter filler show for the network.

PILOT REVIEW: Roswell, New Mexico

ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO

Starring: Jeanine Mason, Nathan Dean Parsons, Michael Vlamis, Lily Cowles, Tyler Blackburn, Heather Hemmens, Michael Trevino, Trevor St. John, Karan Oberoi

Based on the Book series "Roswell High"
Developed by Carina Adly MacKenzie
Written by Carina Adly MacKenzie, Directed by Julie Plec

IN SHORT: Aliens get CW-ified

THE PREMISE:
A reboot of sorts of the cult hit from the WB, Roswell, New Mexico is centered in the town made famous for the famous 1947 crash that launched a million conspiracy theories that resonate to this day. Jumping in fully with the premise that there was something to that crash, this series is set in the present day and the return of Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason) to Roswell. She instantly reconnects with a friend from high school, Max (Nathan Dean Parsons). But what Max isn't sharing is that he is an alien alongside sister Isobel (Lily Cowles) and troubled Michael (Michael Vlamis). Several other members of the community round out the main cast.

THE REVIEW:
I never watched the original Roswell series, though I was surprised in reading about this show to discover that the original was created by one of my favorites - Jason Katims. I don't know how I didn't know that fact! Anyway, this new series does some things quite well and I walked away from it being pleasantly surprised by it, which is always a good thing. That's not to say it's going to become part of my regular viewing schedule, but I didn't really expect much and I would say it exceeded that. Even as someone who is not into sci-fi stuff, I think there is inherently an interesting story to be centered around the Roswell mystery. Like the Kennedy assassination, it's just one of those things that has enough questions surrounding it to continue to be compelling.

The cast was solid here and there is some decent chemistry between Jeanine Mason and Nathan Dean Parsons. I also liked the dynamics between Parsons and his fellow aliens. The pilot just barely touched on the personal lives of the other two aliens but I think that was actually smart. This wasn't a pilot that tried to do too much. I thought they smartly mixed the "CW romance" of the two lead characters along with the sci-fi Roswell stuff. They didn't feel a need to delve too much into Isobel's life and husband, for example and that helped make the pilot not feel overwhelming.

Unlike some CW shows, this one didn't really look or feel all that cheap. I know that can be true of pilots but I think the fact that it films in New Mexico doesn't hurt matters either. There was a certain level of authenticity that this show seemed to have and even though it still had some hopeless romantic elements so common in non-DC CW shows, it also felt like a show that was heading somewhere. I appreciated all that, but it wasn't so over the top good that it made me want to actually stick with the show as someone who doesn't really like this genre. So it's not game changing, it's just pretty decent.

BOTTOM LINE:
This show doesn't seem to have a lot of buzz even on its premiere night so I'm not expecting too much but the bar is also pretty low for the CW. So, I think it has as good a chance as any.

WEEKLY RECAP: January 7-13, 2019

Here is the weekly ratings recap looking back at the week in ratings for Week #16 of the 2018-19 season! Please note no repeats, sports, specials, or Saturday airings are counted

TOP 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO)
1. The Simpsons (FOX, Sunday 8:06pm) - 3.2    8th week
2. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday 8:00pm) - 2.4    10th week
3. The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 2.3    1st week
4. Bob's Burgers (FOX, Sunday 8:36pm) - 2.1    9th week
5. Young Sheldon (CBS, Thursday 8:30pm) - 1.9    10th week
6. America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.8    1st week (NEW SERIES)
7. Family Guy (FOX, Sunday 9:06pm) - 1.7    6th week
8. The Titan Games (NBC, Thursday 8:00pm) - 1.6    1st week
9. The Bachelor (ABC, Monday 8:00pm) - 1.5    1st week (New Season)
    Ellen's Game of Games (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.5    1st week (New Season)
11. The Conners (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.4    9th week
     Mom (CBS, Thursday 9:00pm) - 1.4    11th week
13. The Goldbergs (ABC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.3    9th week
    Schooled (ABC, Wednesday 8:30pm) - 1.3    1st week (NEW SERIES)
    Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.3    11th week
    Chicago Med (NBC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 1.3    9th week
    America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 1.3    2nd week
18. NCIS (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 1.2    11th week
    Chicago Fire (NBC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 1.2    9th week
    Fam (CBS, Thursday 9:30pm) - 1.2    1st week (NEW SERIES)
    Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, Thursday 9:00pm) - 1.2    1st week (New Season)
    Last Man Standing (FOX, Friday 8:00pm) - 1.2    10th week

BOTTOM 20 SHOWS (18-49 DEMO)
1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.1    9th week
2. Speechless (ABC, Friday 8:30pm) - 0.5    9th week
    Dateline NBC (NBC, Sunday 10:00pm) - 0.5    1st week
4. The Rookie (ABC, Tuesday 10:00pm) - 0.6    3rd week
    Match Game (ABC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 0.6    1st week (New Season)
    20/20 (ABC, Friday 10:00pm) - 0.6    13th week
    Blindspot (NBC, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.6    9th week
    The Blacklist (NBC, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.6    1st week
    Dateline NBC (NBC, Friday 10:00pm) - 0.6    12th week
    Madam Secretary (CBS, Sunday 10:00pm) - 0.6    10th week

11. Splitting Up Together (ABC, Tuesday 9:50pm) - 0.7    4th week
    Gotham (FOX, Thursday 8:00pm) - 0.7    1st week
    The Orville (FOX, Thursday 9:00pm) - 0.7    1st week
    Fresh Off the Boat (ABC, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.7    8th week
    MacGyver (CBS, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.7    5th week
    60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7:00pm) - 0.7    1st week

17. Happy Together (CBS, Monday 8:30pm) - 0.8    1st week
    Black-ish (ABC, Tuesday 9:20pm) - 0.8    2nd week
    Single Parents (ABC, Wednesday 9:30pm) - 0.8    1st week
    SEAL Team (CBS, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 0.8    1st week
    Criminal Minds (CBS, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 0.8    3rd week
    Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Thursday 10:00pm) - 0.8    1st week
    Blue Bloods (CBS, Friday 10:00pm) - 0.8    2nd week
    Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Friday 9:00pm) - 0.8    3rd week

TOP 20 SHOWS (TOTAL VIEWERS)
1. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday 8:00pm) - 13.5 million    10th week
2. NCIS (CBS, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 12.1 million    11th week
    Young Sheldon (CBS, Thursday 8:30pm) - 12.1 million    10th week
4. America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC, Monday 8:00pm) - 10.0 million    1st week (NEW SERIES)
5. Mom (CBS, Thursday 9:00pm) - 9.4 million    12th week
6. Blue Bloods (CBS, Friday 10:00pm) - 9.1 million    11th week
7. Chicago Med (NBC, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 8.5 million    9th week
8. NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS, Sunday 9:00pm) - 8.3 million    12th week
9. God Friended Me (CBS, Sunday 8:00pm) - 8.2 million    12th week
    The Simpsons (FOX, Sunday 8:06pm) - 8.2 million    2nd week
11. 60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday 7:00pm) - 8.1 million    13th week
12. Chicago Fire (NBC, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 8.0 million    10th week
     Hawaii Five-0 (CBS, Friday 9:00pm) - 8.0 million    10th week
14. Fam (CBS, Thursday 9:30pm) - 7.3 million    1st week (NEW SERIES)
15. The Masked Singer (FOX, Wednesday 9:00pm) - 7.1 million    1st week
16. Chicago PD (NBC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 6.9 million    7th week
17. The Conners (ABC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 6.8 million    9th week
18. MacGyver (CBS, Friday 8:00pm) - 6.6 million    3rd week
19. Ellen's Game of Games (NBC, Tuesday 8:00pm) - 6.5 million    1st week (New Season)
20. America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC, Sunday 8:00pm) - 6.3 million    3rd week

BOTTOM 20 SHOWS (TOTAL VIEWERS)
1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW, Friday 8:00pm) - 0.4 million    9th week
2. Gotham (FOX, Thursday 8:00pm) - 2.4 million    1st week
    Speechless (ABC, Friday 8:30pm) - 2.4 million    9th week
4. Match Game (ABC, Wednesday 10:00pm) - 2.6 million    1st week (New Season)
5. The Good Place (NBC, Thursday 9:30pm) - 2.7 million    9th week
6. Dateline NBC (NBC, Sunday 10:00pm) - 2.8 million    1st week
    Rel (FOX, Sunday 9:36pm) - 2.8 million    10th week
8. Hell's Kitchen (FOX, Friday 9:00pm) - 2.9 million    9th week
9. Single Parents (ABC, Wednesday 9:30pm) - 3.0 million    2nd week
   Blindspot (NBC, Friday 8:00pm) - 3.0 million    8th week
11. The Orville (FOX, Thursday 9:00pm) - 3.1 million    1st week
12. Fresh Off the Boat (ABC, Friday 8:00pm) - 3.2 million    5th week
13. Dateline NBC (NBC, Friday 10:00pm) - 3.3 million    6th week
14. Black-ish (ABC, Tuesday 9:20pm) - 3.4 million    2nd week
15. Splitting Up Together (ABC, Tuesday 9:50pm) - 3.5 million    5th week

      Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back (FOX, Wednesday 8:00pm) - 3.5 million    1st week
     Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC, Thursday 9:00pm) - 3.5 million    1st week (New Season)
18. The Blacklist (NBC, Friday 9:00pm) - 3.7 million    1st week
19. The Rookie (ABC, Tuesday 10:20pm) - 4.0 million    2nd week
     Law & Order: SVU (NBC, Thursday 10:00pm) - 4.0 million    1st week
     Family Guy (FOX, Sunday 9:06pm) - 4.0 million    9th week

WINNERS OF THE NIGHT
Monday - America's Got Talent: The Champions (NBC)    1st week (NEW SERIES)
Tuesday - The Kids Are Alright (ABC)    2nd week
Wednesday - Schooled (ABC)    1st week (NEW SERIES)
Thursday - Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)    1st week (New Season)
Friday - Blindspot (NBC)    1st week
Sunday - America's Funniest Home Videos (ABC)    1st week

LOSERS OF THE NIGHT
Monday - None
Tuesday - New Amsterdam (NBC)    1st week
Wednesday - Single Parents (ABC)    1st week
Thursday - Law & Order: SVU (NBC)    1st week
Friday - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)    3rd week
Sunday - 60 Minutes (CBS)    1st week

PILOT REVIEW: The Passage

THE PASSAGE

Starring: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Saniyya Sidney, Jamie McShane, Caroline Chikezie, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Brianne Howey, McKinley Belcher III, with Henry Ian Cusick, and Vincent Piazza

Based on the Novels by Justin Cronin
Created by Liz Heldens
Written for Television by Liz Heldens, Directed by Jason Ensler & Marcos Siega

IN SHORT: In case you want your sweet surrogate parent stories peppered with an apocalyptic dystopia

THE PREMISE:
Loosely based on a trilogy of novels, The Passage is centered on a secret medical facility called Project Noah run by Dr. Major Nichole Sykes (Caroline Chikezie) and ex-CIA operative Clark Richards (Vincent Piazza). They are conducting experiments to try to eradicate all types of disease. They need a child subject and enlist Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) to retrieve the 12 year old child, Amy Belafonte (Saniyya Sidney). As Wolgast is bonding with Amy, there are also strange things happening to the residents at Project Noah including former scientist Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane) and death row inmate Shauna Babcock (Brianne Howey).

THE REVIEW:
The Passage suffers from tonal whiplash and while part of the drama is something I could get interested in, the other is far too weird to ever make me want to watch another episode. I think hybrid types of dramas can work but only if you are a fan of (or at least can tolerate) both forms. These are two genres that are pretty far apart so I'll be surprised to see if this can really find much of an audience. I have a feeling that people who are the opposite of me: those who love genre and apocalyptic dramas will find the "father figure" story a little heavy-handed.

But that "father figure" story was easily the best thing about The Passage for me. That is partly due to my own biases but also due to the strongest two cast members in the pilot: Mark-Paul Gosselaar and young Saniyya Sidney. Gosselaar has been strong recently with a great turn in the tragically short-lived Pitch. He brings his nice mix of charm and sentimentality here as well. Sidney is a strong 12 year old and I would be interested to see her in a show that is more appealing to me. She had a great rapport with Gosselaar and a funny streak too. There are other strong actors in the show too including Henry Ian Cusick, who was an intriguing but underused character in the pilot.

The problem is I just have no interest at all in the dystopian, disease-raged vampire type creatures that made up the other part of the episode. It seemed done decently, but I am just completely uninterested in vampire type creatures bleeding from the mouth and showing superhuman strength. I am unfamiliar with the novel trilogy, but it appears that this show is not sure exactly what it wants to be given the seemingly equal time it gave to the two stories. Maybe they'll blend better in the future, but I won't be watching to find out.

BOTTOM LINE:
Well I'll not be back for another episode, but I'm curious to see the response to this show. I just felt like the tonal differences were too jarring to appeal to many people, but we'll see.

THE WEEK AHEAD: January 14-20, 2018

Here's a look at Week #17!

ABC
ABC has an all new week except for some repeats on Sunday. Most interesting to watch will be Thursday night and the new home for A Million Little Things. If it can show improvement in live viewing after Grey's Anatomy, that will be a good sign. Schooled had a solid debut last week so we'll see how week two holds up.

MONDAY
8:00 The Bachelor
10:00 The Good Doctor

TUESDAY
8:00 The Conners
8:30 The Kids Are Alright
9:00 Black-ish
9:30 Splitting Up Together
10:00 The Rookie

WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Goldbergs
8:30 Schooled
9:00 Modern Family
9:30 Single Parents
10:00 Match Game

THURSDAY
8:00 Grey's Anatomy
9:00 A Million Little Things
10:00 How to Get Away with Murder

FRIDAY
8:00 Fresh Off the Boat
8:30 Speechless
9:00 20/20

SATURDAY
8:00 NBA Basketball: LA Lakers at Houston

SUNDAY
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat)
8:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat)
9:00 Shark Tank
10:00 Shark Tank (Repeat)

CBS
CBS has mostly new episodes with a few repeats sprinkled in. Monday has the season finale of Happy Together, and its very likely to be a series finale. Fam had a decent debut on Thursday so week two will be interesting. After the sure to be high rated AFC Championship game, CBS is giving some much needed love to Magnum P.I. in hopes of improving the struggling freshman drama's audience.

MONDAY
8:00 The Neighborhood
8:30 Happy Together (Season Finale)
9:00 Magnum P.I.
10:00 Bull

TUESDAY
8:00 NCIS
9:00 FBI
10:00 NCIS: New Orleans

WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
8:30 Young Sheldon (Repeat)
9:00 NCIS (Repeat)
10:00 FBI (Repeat)

THURSDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 Young Sheldon
9:00 Mom
9:30 Fam
10:00 S.W.A.T.

FRIDAY
8:00 MacGyver
9:00 Hawaii Five-0
10:00 Blue Bloods (Repeat)

SATURDAY
8:00 NCIS: Los Angeles (Repeat)
9:00 NCIS: New Orleans (Repeat)
10:00 48 Hours

SUNDAY
7:00 NFL AFC Championship Game
10:00 Magnum P.I.

NBC
NBC is all new all week. They've had a good start to January with strong starts for America's Got Talent: The Champions, The Titan Games, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And this week will bring the return of This is Us so it should be another good week.

MONDAY
8:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions
10:00 Manifest

TUESDAY
8:00 Ellen's Game of Games
9:00 This is Us
10:00 New Amsterdam

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Chicago Med
9:00 Chicago Fire
10:00 Chicago PD

THURSDAY
8:00 The Titan Games
9:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine
9:30 The Good Place
10:00 Law & Order: SVU

FRIDAY
8:00 Blindspot
9:00 The Blacklist
10:00 Dateline NBC

SATURDAY
8:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions (Repeat)
10:00 Saturday Night Live (Repeat)

SUNDAY
7:00 Movie: Minions
9:00 Dateline NBC

FOX
FOX has the event of the winter so far with The Masked Singer, but it did see a sizable week two drop. How will week three fare? Earlier in the week is the series premiere of The Passage, which got significant NFL promotion over the weekend. I think it will have an OK debut but I don't love its long term prospects.

MONDAY
8:00 The Resident
9:00 The Passage (SERIES PREMIERE)

TUESDAY
8:00 Lethal Weapon
9:00 The Gifted

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back
9:00 The Masked Singer

THURSDAY
8:00 Gotham
9:00 The Orville

FRIDAY
8:00 Last Man Standing (Repeat)
8:30 The Cool Kids (Repeat)
9:00 Hell's Kitchen

SATURDAY
8:00 The Masked Singer (Repeat)
9:00 The Passage (Repeat)

SUNDAY
7:00 The Simpsons (Repeat)
7:30 Bob's Burgers (Repeat)
8:00 The Simpsons (Repeat)
8:30 Bob's Burgers (Repeat)
9:00 Family Guy (Repeat)
9:30 The Cool Kids (Repeat)

CW
The CW is back in business this week starting on Tuesday and they have a series premiere that night with Roswell: New Mexico, a reboot of the cult late 90s show. I don't expect it to do any better than the other newbies have done this year on the CW.

MONDAY
8:00 The 4th Annual Howie Mandel Stand-Up Extravaganza (Special)

TUESDAY
8:00 The Flash
9:00 Roswell, New Mexico (SERIES PREMIERE)

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Riverdale
9:00 All American

THURSDAY
8:00 Supernatural
9:00 Roswell, New Mexico

FRIDAY
8:00 Dynasty
9:00 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

SUNDAY
8:00 Supergirl
9:00 Charmed

TV NEWS & THOUGHTS
- CBS has renewed Criminal Minds for a 15th and final season, which will consist of just 10 episodes. The veteran crime drama has definitely gone from being a powerhouse to an aging drama in recent years but it's had quite a run so it's nice to see it going out with a planned final season. The show has had some tense last minute renewals in the past but not this time. It will end at an impressive 324 episodes.

- ABC has added three episodes to Grey's Anatomy's current 15th season to bring it to a total of 25. This really is a remarkable feat in an era where dramas seem to be producing less and less episodes thanks to the streaming influence, star contracts, etc.

- ABC will give a sneak preview of the Whiskey Cavalier following the Oscars. It will air at 11:35pm on Oscar night and repeat the same pilot episode three days later in its regular Wednesday 10pm slot.

- The CW announced the rest of its midseason dates. New drama In the Dark will premiere Thursday, April 4 at 9pm. The final season of Jane the Virgin will begin on Wednesday, March 27 at 9pm while the final season of iZombie premieres Thursday, May 2 at 8pm. Additionally, season 6 of The 100 starts two days earlier on Tuesday, April 30 at 9pm.

PILOT REVIEW: Fam

FAM

Starring: Nina Dobrev, Tone Bell, Odessa Adlon, Sheryl Lee Ralph, with Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Gary Cole

Created by Corinne Kingsbury
Written by Corinne Kingsbury, Directed by Scott Ellis

IN SHORT: The Odd Couple: Family Edition

THE PREMISE:
Fam is centered on a newly engaged couple, Clem and Nick (Nina Dobrev and Tone Bell). Nick comes from a loving, if slightly overbearing family, with parents Rose and Walt (Sheryl Lee Ralph and Brian Stokes Mitchell). Clem comes from a very dysfunctional family with a narcissistic and estranged father, Freddy (Gary Cole) and a troubled teenage half-sister, Shannon (Odessa Adlon).

THE REVIEW:
Fam is everything you would expect from a CBS sitcom about two different families. Take that as you will, but it's pretty much the best description. Everything about this sitcom felt like a retread. Despite an occasional funny line, most of the jokes were detectable from a mile away while the interactions felt forced at best and downright fake at worst.

The cast is solid across the board. Nina Dobrev and Tone Bell seem like they can develop some chemistry. I like Broadway veterans Sheryl Lee Ralph and Brian Stokes Mitchell, but both were pretty obnoxious in the pilot and they just seemed to throw in an unnecessary reason for Mitchell to use his impressive singing voice. Gary Cole was pretty underwhelming in what could have been a scene-stealing role. I felt like for being a character who's supposedly such a narcissist that his daughter cut him out of her life, he seemed pretty tame. And I know Cole is capable of being a larger personality but he underplayed it all here. Odessa Adlon was obnoxious at times (her fake crying scene), but got a couple good lines off (her butt cancer joke delivery, despite being predictable, was well done).

Rarely does a TV sitcom get it all right in a pilot episode and I'm mindful of that. It takes time for chemistry to develop and we have to get to know the characters to appreciate them in a way we may not have to in a more plot driven drama. But my problem with a show like this and most other CBS sitcoms is they just don't seem like they have very far to go. At best, this might be a tolerable show like The Neighborhood. At worst, it's going to be another 9JKL. It just doesn't seem worth my time to see if Fam can gel enough to get to a "meh" level.

BOTTOM LINE:
Since I started this blog, I feel like I have seen 100 pilots like this. There's just not much to say about a sitcom with forced dialogue and canned laughter. Fam is the next in the list and it will probably see the same fate as most of the others.

PILOT REVIEW: Schooled

SCHOOLED

Starring: Tim Meadows, Bryan Callen, and AJ Michalka

Created by Adam F. Goldberg and Mark Firek
Written by Marc Firek, Directed by David Katzenberg

IN SHORT: School of Rock with the Mean Girls principal

THE PREMISE:
Schooled is a spinoff of The Goldbergs and set a few years after the popular 80s sitcom. We're now in the 90s (although there appears to be no set timeline just like the parent series) and Lainey Lewis (AJ Michalka) is trying to find her place in life. With some help from Beverly Goldberg, she returns to William Penn Charter School as the new music teacher under Principal Glascott (Tim Meadows). Still there is gym teacher and coach Rick Mellor (Bryan Callen) who is trying to adapt to 1990s kids.

THE REVIEW:
I wasn't super excited about this spinoff because Lainey, Glascott, and Coach Mellor are not my favorite parts of The Goldbergs and I felt like it might just feel exactly like the 90s version of The Goldbergs. But while it is structurally and tonally very similar, it's a different show that can surprisingly have the same amount of heart as the parent show. The show smartly used Beverly Goldberg right at the beginning but then got her out of the way. She's a great character but she would have overpowered this show in the pilot and this show needed to be able to separate itself.

In a "sum is greater than the parts" situation, the three educators at the center of this show worked quite well together. There was some funny dynamics between Meadows and Michalka and while Callen is a little bit more of a caricature, he had a really nice scene with Michalka at the end of the episode. There was also a very funny moment when Lainey did not know what a syllabus was and it played well. Despite the obvious reminder of Mean Girls, Tim Meadows is a gifted comedian in this setting and has good comedic timing and AJ Michalka certainly proved her worth as a lead character. I thought she was better in this episode than she's ever been on The Goldbergs.

What I like about this show as it seems to want to be about teachers what The Goldbergs is about families. That there's a camaraderie and a higher purpose. As a teacher myself, I appreciated a show that extols the virtues of the profession (even with plenty of gags about it too). I so often have felt that shows that have school elements get it wrong so easily (I'm sure lawyers would say that about SVU too). This show has some "that can't actually happen in a school" moments but it seems intent on having a heart and portraying the ups and downs of teaching in a mostly realistic way. So, my skepticism going in turned into me possibly getting hooked on yet another feel good ABC comedy. A nice "real life" nod at the end was cool too.

BOTTOM LINE:
I'll be curious to see how this is received and how it does in the ratings. It's hard to imagine that people who like The Goldbergs won't like this one. Although they are in different realms, it is not hard to see that they are related.

THE WEEK AHEAD: January 7-13, 2019

Check below this post for My Top 20 Episodes of 2018!

Here's a look at Week #16!

ABC
ABC has a series premiere this week with the Goldbergs spinoff, Schooled. It will air after its parent show on Wednesday night and has received a lot of promotion. It's also the return of The Bachelor on Monday night, which will have to compete with the College Football National Championship and the premiere of America's Got Talent: The Champions. There's also the season premiere of Match Game and the lineups are back except for Thursday nights.

MONDAY
8:00 The Bachelor (Season Premiere)

TUESDAY
8:00 The Conners
8:30 The Kids Are Alright
9:00 Black-ish
9:30 Splitting Up Together
10:00 The Rookie

WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Goldbergs
8:30 Schooled (SERIES PREMIERE)
9:00 Modern Family
9:30 Single Parents
10:00 Match Game (Season Premiere)

THURSDAY
8:00 Modern Family (Repeat)
8:30 The Goldbergs (Repeat)
9:00 Truth and Lies: Monica (Special)

FRIDAY
8:00 Fresh Off the Boat
8:30 Speechless
9:00 20/20

SATURDAY
8:00 The Good Doctor (Repeat)
9:00 A Million Little Things (Repeat)
10:00 The Alec Baldwin Show (Season Finale)

SUNDAY
7:00 America's Funniest Home Videos (Repeat)
8:00 America's Funniest Home Videos
9:00 Shark Tank
10:00 Shark Tank (Repeat)

CBS
CBS has the series premiere of new comedy Fam on Thursday night. It has gotten a ton of promotion in recent weeks, but it would be surprising to see it do any better than Murphy Brown in that slot and it very well could do worse. Elsewhere, CBS is a mix of new episodes and repeats.

MONDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
8:30 Happy Together
9:00 Young Sheldon (Repeat)
9:30 The Neighborhood (Repeat)
10:00 Bull (Repeat)

TUESDAY
8:00 NCIS
9:00 FBI
10:00 NCIS: New Orleans

WEDNESDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory (Repeat)
8:30 Young Sheldon (Repeat)
9:00 SEAL Team
10:00 Criminal Minds

THURSDAY
8:00 The Big Bang Theory
8:30 Young Sheldon
9:00 Mom
9:30 Fam (SERIES PREMIERE)
10:00 S.W.A.T.

FRIDAY
8:00 MacGyver
9:00 Hawaii Five-0
10:00 Blue Bloods

SATURDAY
8:00 NCIS: Los Angeles (Repeat)
9:00 48 Hours
10:00 48 Hours

SUNDAY
7:00 60 Minutes
8:00 God Friended Me
9:00 NCIS: Los Angeles
10:00 Madam Secretary

NBC
NBC has quite a few big things happening this week. Monday night is the premiere of America's Got Talent: The Champions for its first in-season run for the long running summer franchise. It also features the return of Manifest, which was on a downward trend in the fall. Tuesday has the season premiere of Ellen's Game of Games, which had a successful run last season followed by the return of New Amsterdam. Thursday has week two of The Titan Games, which got off to a strong start last week. It is followed by the heavily promoted NBC premiere of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It will be really interesting to see how Brooklyn does in the ratings after its very meager FOX results in recent years.

MONDAY
8:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions (SERIES PREMIERE)
10:00 Manifest

TUESDAY
8:00 Ellen's Game of Games (Season Premiere)
9:00 Ellen's Game of Games
10:00 New Amsterdam

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Chicago Med
9:00 Chicago Fire
10:00 Chicago PD

THURSDAY
8:00 The Titan Games
9:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Season Premiere)
9:30 The Good Place
10:00 Law & Order: SVU

FRIDAY
8:00 Blindspot
9:00 The Blacklist
10:00 Dateline NBC

SATURDAY
8:00 America's Got Talent: The Champions (Repeat)
10:00 Saturday Night Live (Repeat)

SUNDAY
7:00 Movie: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
10:00 Dateline NBC

FOX
FOX shot out of the gate in 2019 with the mammoth premiere of The Masked Singer delivering the best 18-49 demo rating for a regularly scheduled show since the This is Us season premiere. FOX also has the late divisional playoff game on Sunday which will certainly boost its Sunday lineup to high numbers.

MONDAY
8:00 The Resident (Repeat)
9:00 9-1-1 (Repeat)

TUESDAY
8:00 Lethal Weapon
9:00 The Gifted

WEDNESDAY
8:00 Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back
9:00 The Masked Singer

THURSDAY
8:00 Gotham
9:00 The Orville

FRIDAY
8:00 Last Man Standing
8:30 The Cool Kids
9:00 Hell's Kitchen

SATURDAY
8:00 NFL Divisional Playoffs

SUNDAY
7:00 NFL Divisional Playoffs
8:00 The Simpsons
8:30 Bob's Burgers
9:00 Family Guy
9:30 Rel (Season Finale)

CW
The CW is still in holiday mode except for a new Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on Friday night.

MONDAY
8:00 The Flash (Repeat)
9:00 Arrow (Repeat)

TUESDAY
8:00 Supergirl (Repeat)
9:00 EA Sports Madden NFL 19 Classic (Special)

WEDNESDAY
8:00 College Basketball

THURSDAY
8:00 Supernatural (Repeat)
9:00 Roswell: Mysteries Decoded (Special)

FRIDAY
8:00 Whose Line is it Anyway? (Repeat)
8:30 Whose Line is it Anyway? (Repeat)
9:00 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

SUNDAY
8:00 24th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (Special)

YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 20 Episodes of 2018

Here is my annual year-end countdown of the best episodes of 2018! I will include the caveat I always do that I am behind on some shows and haven't even started some streaming shows that might have an episode that belongs on this list, but of what I have seen - here is my list!

Past countdowns: 2017   2016   2015   2014   2013   2012   2011

20. Mom #111 "Pre-Washed Lettuce and a Mime" (CBS/September 27)
Mom has continued to be a very underrated sitcom (even if Kristen Johnson's presence has annoyed me this season). The season premiere dealt with Christy's attempted return to college and it was interesting to see how this difficult leap for Christy can relate to being sober as Mom has continued to explore new journeys. There was also a great comedic scene with Christy and Bonnie trying to retrieve her purse from Christy's work and setting off alarms.

19. 9-1-1 #20 "Merry Ex-Mas" (FOX/November 26)
Leave it to 9-1-1 to produce a completely bonkers Christmas episode. From a man thrown from his roof by a giant inflatable snowman to another man being tossed into a package at a shipping facility to a heartwarming return of a soldier in time for his daughter's Christmas concert (but not before a major accident of course). There were also some great moments in the unlikely Bobby/Athena romance and an impending problem for Maddie with her abusive ex-husband back. Leave it to 9-1-1 to have my favorite holiday episode of the year.

18. The Kids Are Alright #2 "Timmy's Poem" (ABC/October 23)
The Kids Are Alright has been a pleasant surprise this fall for me after a so-so pilot episode. It found its groove as early as the second episode with a very funny episode that featured Timmy plagiarizing his mother's poem to win a contest. And then of course it was found out that his mother also plagiarized the poem which led to a funny stand-off of who would blink first. Mary McCormack is a hoot in this episode, the next in the great line of ABC family comedy mothers including Beverly Goldberg and Jessica Huang.

17. Deception #3 "Escapology" (ABC/March 25)
One of my favorite shows of the year due to my guilty pleasure love for magic was the short-lived ABC drama Deception. I am disappointed it wasn't able to find a bigger audience but I enjoyed its one season run. The best episode was "Escapology" which featured an elaborate escape from a museum. If there's one form of magic I like the best, it's escaping from somewhere like an art museum so I was happy to see Deception tackle that magic trope and tackle it well so early in its run.

16. This is Us #32 "Super Bowl Sunday" (NBC/February 4)
The most anticipated episode of the ear was easily the post-Super Bowl airing of This is Us dealing with Jack's death and it didn't disappoint. In typical This is Us fashion, it was not quite what we thought it was going in but perhaps that made it even more tragic. It was anchored by the criminally underrated Mandy Moore, who is so deserving of Emmy nominations for her work on this show. And in the final seconds, it launched us to a brand new era when we met future Tess and Randall. It's impressive for an episode with this much hype to not disappoint.

15. Chicago PD #111 "Fathers and Sons" (NBC/October 24)
I have had an off and on relationship with Chicago PD, but this fall has been very strong for the veteran drama. The best episode of the fall was "Fathers and Sons," which had a very intriguing and suspenseful storyline featuring Ruzek and his father. Just like the Chicago Fire to come on this list, this episode did a great job with pacing and building suspense. The reveal of Ruzek's father in the club was a great moment and it just built in intensity from there. It was emblematic of what is certainly the most consistent season for PD yet.

14. The Goldbergs #107 "Dinner with the Goldbergs" (ABC/January 10)
The Goldbergs isn't as funny as it used to be and it feels a little bit like the same thing every week at this point. But it hit its high point with its first episode of 2018, a zany episode that featured the Goldbergs going out to dinner and the many problems that ensue. As you can imagine, Beverly Goldberg is not going to be easy on any waitstaff at a restaurant as there are order changes, food complaints, and everything else you can imagine. This reminded me of one of those classic episodes of Friends where they just plopped the cast down together and let hilarity ensue. There were less distractions from other plotlines and characters, it was just a great family episode.

13. Chicago Fire #132 "When They See Us Coming" (NBC/April 12)
One of the more tense episodes of Chicago Fire, a series that peddles in tense situations quite often. This one felt a little different because it wasn't just about a fire somewhere or some corrupt situation in Chicago politics. This was basically a "stakeout" episode as the FBI camped out at Firehouse 51 to try to capture a violent fugitive with family living across the street. Chicago Fire is not a show where I am usually on the edge of my seat but I was with this one, especially as Casey and Severide were making their way through the apartment building. It had a good sense of plotting and urgency that didn't feel forced.

12. Black-ish #86 "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" (ABC/March 13)
Black-ish has never shied away from difficult topics. An episode about the "n-word" ranked #1 on my countdown a few years ago. However, it can also struggle with occasionally veering too close to a "very special episode." Luckily, it struck the right balance this spring with an episode where Dre and Bow found out that both their oldest children are sexually active. Dre's drastically difference responses to that news from his daughter as opposed to his son was funny but also a social commentary on gender dynamics and Black-ish explored that dynamic with a great level of finesse.

11. Everything Sucks! #8 "I Just Wanna Be Anybody" (Netflix/February 16)
This summer, I decided on a whim to give the Netflix show Everything Sucks! a chance and to my surprise, I discovered a modern day Freaks and Geeks: a nostalgic show layered with cynicism and tragically cancelled after just one season. The best episode from its 10 episode season dealt with a trip to California to shoot scenes for the movie at the center of the series. It was a sad episode on many levels as the episode started with such hope and ended with such heartbreak, but it was also a great coming-of-age episode for a great coming-of-age series.

10. The Conners #1 "Keep On Truckin'" (ABC/October 16)
Many were curious to see how the premiere episode of The Conners would deal with the death of the character Rosanne Conner. Of course the real life Roseanne did her best to spoil it beforehand, but it was a pleasant surprise that The Conners has actually turned out to be a better show than the Roseanne revival (though it's not as good as the original Roseanne's heyday). The best part of the pilot episode was a dramatic and layered performance from John Goodman, who previously seemed to be phoning it in a bit in the revival. The death of the central character gave the rest of the cast a chance to pick up the slack and they did it with flying colors.

9. God Friended Me #2 "The Good Samaritan" (CBS/October 7)
God Friended Me is my favorite new drama of the year. I know it's a little bit emotionally manipulative but I think it is grounded in good intentions and anchored by some very strong performances. It reminds me of a gentler version of Person of Interest as a puzzle has to be pieced together every week. The second episode, centered on a sweet story about a mother and her non-verbal son, made me realize what this show is going to look like on a weekly basis and I liked what I saw. Knock it all you want for being a feel-good version of a "case of the week show," we need uplifting shows like this on TV.

8. Superstore #42 "Golden Globes Party" (NBC/January 11)
I continue to maintain that Superstore is the spiritual successor to The Office with its unique blend of mostly downtrodden blue collar workers making up its ensemble. For a couple years, they rarely strayed from Cloud 9 but the Golden Globes Party episode was one of the first chances to see these characters outside of work, something The Office moved towards eventually to. This is a hilariously madcap episode with great moments from Glenn, Dina, Amy and many more. The fact that it took place mostly at Amy's house helped give these characters more depth simply through the change of scenery.

7. Law & Order: SVU #423 "The Undiscovered Country" (NBC/February 7)
The final episode of Law & Order: SVU for Raul Esparza's Rafael Barba was a great episode of the long running drama. It was also an episode that dealt with a hot button issue in a more creative way than many SVU episodes: the concept of quality of life. That was very personal for Barba with flashbacks to the end of his father's life. Esparza gave an Emmy quality performance (although shows like SVU never get nominated anymore) and his presence is very missed on the show. The episode also had the bonus of the return of Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy.

6. Timeless #27/28 "The Miracle of Christmas" (NBC/December 20)
I know it wasn't always great TV, but I just loved Timeless. I had an interesting history with the show as it didn't keep my interest in season one, but I started it again when it got saved for a second season and I became hooked. So I was sad to see it get cancelled a second time then delighted to hear it got a final movie. The trip to 1950 North Korea at Christmas time was a pretty interesting final trip and then the show had what I felt was a satisfying resolution even though I wanted more. A very haunting rendition of "Time After Time" playing over the final montage made me just so sad this show couldn't find a way for its passionate online following to translate to actual viewers.

5. 9-1-1 #6 "Heartbreaker" (FOX/February 7)
9-1-1 was so insane, especially in season one and I loved its commitment to just the craziest cases they could possibly dream up. My favorite was the Valentine's Day episode which was probably the weirdest of them all. There was a Broken Heart Syndrome in a plane and Buck choking in a restaurant. But the craziest story was the main one about a psychotic woman who murdered her boyfriends and then attempted to do the same to Athena. The episode evoked memories of the movie Misery and was genuinely pretty terrifying.

4. New Girl #146 "Engram Pattersky" (FOX/May 15)
New Girl had quite an interesting run. There were times where I thought it was the best show on TV and times where it infuriated me with its incompetence. It came through in the end though with a final episode that captured the best of the show. That was thanks in large part to its best character - more on that in a minute. Before the final scene, we got to see the gang play True American one last time in their apartment as there was a flash forward to their kids playing the same game (alcohol free of course) in the future. But the final twist involving the delightfully weird Winston made the finale more than sentimental, it made it quirky and funny and that was always what New Girl did best. For a show that I was kind of over before it was over, the finale made me surprisingly nostalgic.

3. This is Us #33 "The Car" (NBC/February 6)
I already talked about the strengths of the post-Super Bowl episode of This is Us, but the best one of the year for me was the next one, "The Car." The episode chronicles the journey of the family car: from the eager and excited Pearson family buying it with their young kids to Rebecca soldiering on without Jack in the days following his death. There's also a beautiful storyline of Jack and Rebecca talking about mortality as Rebecca awaits an MRI result. But what makes this episode is the final scene when Rebecca faces her fears and takes the car and her children over a bridge that scared her before and we know the family will eventually be okay.

2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine #104 "The Box" (FOX/April 1)
Sterling K. Brown stepped over from This is Us to guest star on Brooklyn Nine-Nine in an episode that made me so glad that NBC uncancelled this show a month later. I think Brooklyn has not always met its mark but it can be capable of sheer brilliance as it was here. This was such an engrossing episode thanks to its complete focus on the main storyline. There was very little going on in the episode besides the main plot featuring Andy Samberg's Peralta, Andre Braugher's Holt, and guest star Brown. And as great as Brown was, even he was a little expendable as this episode played to the strengths of its two leads in a way I would venture to say it never has before with such clarity.

1. The Middle #214/215 "One Heck of a Ride" (ABC/May 22)
In a year with several series finales, the best for sure was the end of the Hecks and their story living in The Middle. The long running ABC sitcom never wavered in quality for nine years and that's incredibly impressive considering what happens to many sitcoms at a certain age. The finale was a delight for fans of the series as it not only featured many callbacks to the run, but was also a showcase of everything great about the show. It featured the core family love with layers of dysfunction around it. Everything about the finale struck the exact right tone down to the plane flying over The Middle in the final shot. Although I was intrigued by it, there's a part of me that's glad the Sue Heck spinoff isn't happening so the last of the Hecks we will ever see was this beautiful goodbye. It's a well deserved #1 episode of 2018.