Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
Everything old is new again and nothing ever really goes away when it comes to Broadcast TV. In 2010, NBC famously cancelled Law & Order after 20 seasons, keeping it one season short of breaking the title of longest running drama series and leaving it tied with Gunsmoke. That record has since been broken by its spinoff, Law & Order: SVU but the original is coming back for a revival that NBC is calling a 21st season. No official word yet on which cast members will be returning but it's very clear the Law & Order brand is more valuable to NBC now in 2021 than it was in 2010. If you listened to TV chatter back in the early 2010s, there was the sense that the franchise was done with the original and Criminal Intent coming to an end, Los Angeles being a flop and SVU appearing to be on its last legs. But in recent years, SVU has shown new life and is now quietly one of TV's top dramas. The newest spinoff, Organized Crime marking the return of former SVU star Christopher Meloni got off to a hot start last spring and is secured in the NBC lineup now. While a planned third show for Thursday nights called For the Defense was cancelled before it ever aired, the original will probably prove to be a more potent option. The franchise, now considered a standard procedural, was once pretty revolutionary when Law & Order first aired in the early 1990s with its blending of, you guessed it, law and order. The revival season will premiere sometime in 2022.
With the 47th season premiere of Saturday Night Live coming this weekend, we got casting news as expected this week but the news was surprising. Some of those who were heavily rumored to be leaving: Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon among others are all coming back though they may pop in and out as Lorne Michaels has allowed in recent years. Leaving is Beck Bennett after eight seasons and featured player Lauren Holt after one season. Holt didn't make much of an impression but Bennett is a surprise as he wasn't one who was rumored to be leaving. Bennett wasn't an all time great for SNL but he played the lame white guy extremely well so I'll miss his brand of humor. Joining the cast are three new featured players: Sarah Sherman, Aristotle Athari & James Austin Johnson.
Another former broadcast drama has found a new home but it wasn't as big of news as Manifest getting revived on Netflix. All Rise, which aired for two seasons and 38 episodes on CBS, will be revived on OWN in 2022 for a third season. The legal drama was low rated but had its fans and was notable for being one of the first scripted shows to attempt an entire episode in the early days of the pandemic. The series also went through some behind the scenes drama when its showrunner, Greg Spottiswood, was ousted for misconduct allegations earlier this year. This seems like a decent fit for OWN and the pressure will be lower than on a broadcast network.
#4 - SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW ANNOUNCED
The Super Bowl Halftime performers were announced this week and it's a star-studded lineup with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. I'm not a giant fan of any of them but after last year's very lackluster solo performance from The Weekend, I think a group of names is not a bad way to go and they are all big names who have not been on this stage before.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
There are still a bunch of fall premieres to go including many this week!
Today: Netflix premieres Maid, a dramedy starring Margaret Qualley and based on Stephanie Land's memoir. The series has gotten pretty good reviews to date. CBS also has the return of three dramas: S.W.A.T. (which will move to Sundays eventually), Magnum P.I. and the 12th (!) season premiere of Blue Bloods.
Sunday: AMC has the premiere of the second and final season of The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The series was critically savaged last year when it premiered.
Monday: Netflix drops the fourth and final season of On My Block, a series that has always had its fans but doesn't push its way into the conversation too often. Still, a lot of Netflix shows don't make it to four seasons and a spinoff is on the way.
Wednesday: CBS has the premiere of its third franchise drama of the fall. It's been five years since a CSI show was on the air but CBS is getting back in business with the original series as CSI: Vegas launches featuring some original stars including William Petersen and Jorja Fox. of course CSI was a ratings phenomenon in its early days but things have changed a lot since then so it's hard to imagine this will make a huge dent in the conversation or ratings.
Thursday: CBS has the return of its comedy lineup with the season premieres of Young Sheldon and United States of Al. The latter has a re-written premiere after the events in Afghanistan this summer. They lead into a double episode premiere of Ghosts, based on the British series of the same name. It's a little bit of a unique show for CBS but I don't see it finding a big audience. Closing out the night on CBS in the premiere of Bull on a new night. Elsewhere, Peacock has the series premiere of teen drama One of Us is Lying. The mystery series would probably be a buzzy show on Netflix but it's hard to imagine it breaking out on Peacock.
My pick for the week: I am most interested in Ghosts. I liked the pilot when I read it and I think the teasers have looked promising. It looks like something unique for CBS. That's the only new show I'm super excited about this week though I may get around to One of Us is Lying and/or Maid at some point. I was never a big fan of the original CSI so I'm not really excited for its return though I'll probably check out the premiere. I will keep watching Blue Bloods and Young Sheldon. I gave up on United States of Al last season but will watch the premiere at least to see how they handle it.
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