Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
The ratings are in for the biggest TV event of the year and the results were disappointing by its own standards. The big game, that unexpectedly turned into not much of a game, scored 91.6 million viewers and a 26.5 demo for CBS. It will of course blow everything else on TV out of the water as usual but the numbers were the lowest since the Colts-Bears Super Bowl in February 2007. There could be a number of reasons including the blowout score, two smaller market teams, Tom Brady fatigue, some people tuning out the NFL with their race issues (that includes people tuning out on both political sides either in support of Colin Kaepernick or in protest of the league's renewed focus on racial justice), and a switch to digital (the game had the largest streaming audience yet, though it was still just a fraction of the main total at 5.7 million viewers). The post-Super Bowl slot went to the series premiere of Queen Latifah reboot of The Equalizer. It started at 10:39pm and scored 20.4 million viewers and a 5.1 demo. This is way higher than anything currently on TV but there were plenty of shows that used to get ratings like that weekly. It was one of the lowest post-Super Bowl shows but the viewer total is not terrible considering the demo. The series moves to its 8pm slot this Sunday.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is going to be saying goodbye for good in the 2021-22 season. The long running comedy series, which will not air this season, will end with a ten episode run on NBC sometime next season. The series was famously cancelled by FOX in 2018 but renewed by NBC a few days later amidst a major uproar from fans. I think the reprieve on NBC did wonders for the show's creative juices as they seemed rejuvenated by the move. The series also reportedly restructured the entire upcoming season following the protests this past summer. It will be interesting to see how the series addresses police issues especially since it'll not be airing for awhile still and so much could (or could not) happen in that time.
I'm not going to say too much about this since there are much better places to read about this. But Joss Whedon, most famous on TV for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, found himself in a lot of hot water for creating toxic work environments throughout his career and specifically on Buffy. Buffy co-star Charisma Carpenter posted a lengthy statement on how she was treated by Whedon and many others have rushed to her defense or at least acknowledged issues, including star Sarah Michelle Gellar. It will be interesting to see how this makes people think of Buffy, a show I've never watched but one that is loved by many TV critics. It also makes things complicated for The Nevers, an upcoming HBO drama that was a Whedon project before he departed in the fall.
#4 - PREMIERE DATES ANNOUNCED
Many premiere dates were announced this week as the networks and streamers gear up for the last batch of contenders before the Emmy cutoff date (assuming it doesn't change). Premieres announced this week include HBO's Kate Winslet limited series Mare of Easttown on April 18, HBO Max dramedy Generation on March 11, the reboot of In Treatment with Uzo Aduba in May (exact date TBD), and the third and final season of Shrill on Hulu on May 7.
#5- SERIES/PILOT ORDERS - THE REVIVALS & REBOOTS CONTINUE!
If we ever have a week without a revival or reboot announced, I'll be amazed. This week's announcements include a limited series based on cult favorite film The Best Man for Peacock, a CW reboot of USA Network's The 4400 and a pilot order for a TV version of True Lies on CBS.
Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
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