Benjamonster's TV

As I continue my Emmys Preview on Tuesdays, I will be taking a look at the Lead Actor categories today! COMEDY This is a category where it feels like there are co-frontrunners as the 2021 winner - Jason Sudeikis ( Ted Lasso ) faces off against the 2018 & 2019 winner - Bill Hader ( Barry ), who is eligible for the first time since his 2019 win. Both will obviously get nominated. As far as the win goes, I would currently lean a little bit towards Hader with his show being more recent and Barry 's third season being a little more acclaimed than Ted Lasso 's second season. Beyond those two frontrunners, there are lots of others vying for a nomination. Anthony Anderson has been nominated seven times for Black-ish  so it seems likely he'll get one final nomination for the farewell season. The chances seem a little more murky for the rest of the potential returning nominees. Larry David has been nominated six times for Curb Your Enthusiasm  but the most recent season sort of c...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1994-95 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Saturday Night Movie The Commish Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb The Marshal Mar Apr May The Commish For several years, ABC tried to do something with Saturday nights and they only found success with The Commish at 10pm. In the 1994-95 season, they didn't even attempt anything earlier in the night and just went with a family-themed movie from 8-10pm. The Commish continued at 10pm to start the season. It had been quietly just plugging along with modest ratings that were acceptable for a difficult timeslot but it was losing badly to Walker, Texas Ranger by this point and ABC made a move with the launch of The Marshal at midseason. The Marshal was definitely more direct comp...

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show by season. Today I am looking at Season 4 (Part 2) of  Happy Days ! For Part 1,  click here ! I will not have a Friday Five post tomorrow as I am away and not able to update the TV news from the week so see you Monday for a new week of blog posts! 77. The Book of Records (1/18/77) Al tries to get Arnold's restaurant into the Magilla Book of Records at the same time Fonzie's shy and clumsy cousin Angie is visiting. There's a lot happening in this episode as the story is simultaneously about Fonzie's cousin and the wild attempts to get into the Book of Records. I think in general that's a good idea to keep the show moving. As I mentioned before, shows back in the 70s rarely had A, B and C stories. They primarily had one story with some side things. The plus side is more in depth stories. The downside is long episodes when the plot isn't strong enough to sustain a full episode. So episodes like this wor...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at  Extreme ! EXTREME January 29, 1995 - April 6, 1995 7 episodes ABC Starring: James Brolin, Cameron Bancroft, Brooke Langton, Justin Lazard, Julie Bowen, Tom Wright, Micah Dyer, Danny Masterson Created by: Didier LaFond & Ron Booth and Robert Wolterstorff & Mike Scott Plot: Extreme is centered on a search and rescue team in the Rocky Mountains of Utah. The leader is Reese Wheeler (Brolin), a former downhill racer. The rest of the team is mostly younger including Kyle (Bancroft) who is mourning the death of his fiancée. Andie (Bowen) is interested in Kyle and Farley (Wright) is the helicopter pilot.  Brief Pilot Review: Extreme looked to have a pretty big budget for a 1990s era network drama. It benefited a lot from being filmed on location in Park City, Utah because I definitely felt immersed in the area and the world of extreme winter sports. The rescue mission scenes we...

As I continue my Emmys Preview on Tuesdays, I will be taking a look at the Lead Actress categories today! COMEDY Another comedy category, another tough fight. This one is interesting because there's likely to only be six nominees that I could see shaking out a lot of different ways. In fact, I only see one person as a slam dunk for a nomination and that is last year's winner, Jean Smart for Hacks . She has continued to win awards through the winter season and the just released second season of Hacks has good reviews as well so she's the one to beat. There's another former winner in the mix too with Rachel Brosnahan returning to contention. She seems unlikely to win as momentum on Maisel seems to be on the downward trajectory. I don't think a nomination is a guarantee for her or any of the rest on this list but I still think it's likely for Brosnahan. Kaley Cuoco was the frontrunner last year until Smart's late season entry and while buzz seems to be down on ...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Fridays in the 1994-95 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Family Matters Boy Meets World Step by Step Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper 20/20 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Sister, Sister On Our Own Apr May Boy Meets World Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper ABC found a winning formula for its TGIF lineup in the 1993-94 season and kept rolling with that lineup into the 1994-95 season. The kid friendly lineup of Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper were not ratings monsters but they hit the sweet spot in the demographic they were going for. ABC kept that lineup in tact for much of the year but they did give Boy and Mr. Cooper a short break ...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week. This week was Upfronts. Here's my analysis on the schedules for  NBC ,  ABC ,  CBS  and  CW  (FOX did an Upfront but has not released a schedule yet). This week, my Friday Five will mostly focus on takeaways from the Upfronts. #1 - UPFRONTS TAKEAWAY: Networks Play It Super Safe It wasn't long ago that we had well over 20 new scripted shows premiering in the fall. Even in the last normal, pre-COVID fall of 2019, there were 16 new scripted shows on the fall schedule and that felt super low at the time. Well, now we are down to nine (plus perhaps 1-2 more from FOX depending on what they put on in the fall). The combination of COVID shifting things to a year-round development cycle and the general trend of broadcast networks means there's not going to be much to talk about in terms of a netowrk Fall Preview. Another hallmark used to be timeslot changes. Big changes were always the talk of the fall - how wo...

Here's a look at The CW's plans for 2022-23! MONDAYS 8:00 All American (5th season) 9:00 All American: Homecoming (2nd season) The CW is colonized on Monday with one of their more successful shows - All American , paired with its recent spinoff All American: Homecoming . For two shows that would seem to have the same appeal, Homecoming did lose a decent portion of the All American audience on Mondays this spring. TUESDAYS 8:00 THE WINCHESTERS 9:00 PROFESSIONALS (acquired series) Tuesdays are an odd night. The CW gets back into the Supernatural business with prequel The Winchesters . Of course Supernatural was the tentpole CW show, ending in November 2020 after 15 seasons. The CW has struggled to find spinoffs of the show as some high profile ones never went to series. We'll see if this show can recapture that Supernatural magic for them. It is paired with Professionals , one of the several acquired international shows replacing CW originals on the schedule. This one stars ...

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show by season. Today I am looking at Season 4 (Part 1) of  Happy Days ! HAPPY DAYS: SEASON FOUR 1976-1977 25 episodes Season Four is the season that  Happy Days  shot to #1 in the ratings and with good reason. It's certainly the show at its best in its multi-cam era. Everything is clicking for the show at this point with a particularly good stretch of episodes starting with "Fonzie's Hero." You can tell that this is a show that is confident with what it was doing and it is not tired yet. Everyone seems enthused by the studio audience and the performances are strong and funny. Sure, a jump over the shark was looming but it didn't happen in the fourth season. Starring Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham  (25 episodes) Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli  (25 episodes) Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham  (25 episodes) Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham  (25 episodes) Anson Williams as Potsie Webber  (2...

Here's a look at the CBS schedule for 2022-23! MONDAYS 8:00 The Neighborhood (5th season) 8:30 Bob Hearts Abishola (4th season) 9:00 NCIS (20th season) 10:00 NCIS: Hawaii (2nd season) CBS is keeping this status quo on Monday nights with a comedy block leading into a pair of NCIS shows. The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola have turned into a solid comedy block and stay together for a fourth straight season. NCIS left its longtime home of Tuesdays at 8pm and lost star Mark Harmon but has held it together on Monday nights and will be back for a landmark 20th season. It will be followed by the newest NCIS spinoff, NCIS: Hawaii , which has only done ok this season. CBS is down to just one show filming in Hawaii this season with the cancellation of Magnum P.I..  TUESDAYS 8:00 FBI (5th season) 9:00 FBI: International (2nd season) 10:00 FBI: Most Wanted (4th season) Dick Wolf has two nights fully devoted to his shows on NBC and one night on CBS. The FBI trio including the newest entry,...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at Double Rush ! DOUBLE RUSH January 4, 1995 - April 12, 1995 12 episodes CBS Starring: Robert Pastorelli, David Arquette, Corinne Bohrer, Adam Goldberg, D.L. Hughley, Phil Leeds, Sam Lloyd Created by: Stephen Nathan & Diane English Plot: Double Rush is set in the busy world of a Manhattan bicycle delivery service. Johnny Verona (Pastorelli) is the gruff owner who once had dreams of being a rock star. He deals with a unique group of employees including quintessential Gen X-er, Leo (Goldberg), the overqualified Zoe (Bohrer), a spaced out disaptcher, Barkley (Lloyd), a daredevil named Hunter (Arquette) who loves to fly around the city, smooth talking Marlon (Hughley) and a 75 year old nicknamed "The Kid" (Leeds).  Brief Pilot Review: This has to be the first and only series ever set at a bicycle delivery service so I have to give it credit for originality in a setting. Pretty mu...

Here's a look at the ABC schedule for 2022-23! MONDAYS 8:00 Bachelor in Paradise (8th edition) 10:00 The Good Doctor (6th season) For the first time since 2006, Dancing with the Stars is not leading off the fall Monday lineup for ABC. That veteran series has moved to Disney+ but ABC is still leaning into the unscripted realm with Bachelor in Paradise . It is typically a summer series that occasionally bleeds into the very beginning of the season but now it will officially get a fall slot. It is followed by The Good Doctor  which is already heading into its sixth season. TUESDAYS 8:00 Bachelor in Paradise (8th edition) 10:00 THE ROOKIE: FEDS ABC is leaning hard on its Bachelor franchise with a second night of Bachelor in Paradise taking the Tuesday slot that has been held by The Bachelorette the last two seasons. It is followed by a new drama in a slot that has killed many new dramas over the last decade plus including Queens last year. This one is The Rookie: Feds , a spinoff of th...

As I continue my Emmys Preview on Tuesdays, I will be taking a look at the Supporting Actor categories today! COMEDY This is a category that seems like it could be a race between Ted Lasso and Barry supporting actors.  Ted Lasso occupied four slots last year and the hit Apple TV+ show will surely be a player in this year's race. Last year's winner Brett Goldstein is back in the mix and should be considered the frontrunner. There's also Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammad and Jeremy Swift all returning but I'd be surprised if Ted Lasso four-peats in the category again. That's especially true with former nominees and winners back in the mix. 2019 winner Tony Shalhoub for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and 2018 winner Henry Winkler for Barry are both eligible again and  Barry could also see some attention for Anthony Carrigan and perhaps Stephen Root . Other potential returning nominees are Brian Tyree Henry for Atlanta and two longshots to return: Carl Clemons-Hopkins for Hacks an...

While my blog focuses on different things now as the industry has evolved, I will still be doing an Upfronts post for each of the five broadcast networks when they release their schedules. Both NBC and FOX had Upfronts today but only NBC released a schedule so here it is! MONDAYS 8:00 The Voice (22nd edition) 10:00 QUANTUM LEAP Since The Voice premiered in 2011, most falls (and sometimes springs) have had NBC's highest profile new show premiering after their tentpole competition series. Often times it would be one of many premieres but in a clear sign of the changing landscape, NBC will premiere just one new show at the start of the traditional broadcast season. That show is the high profile reboot of Quantum Leap , a cult hit for the network from 1989-1993. This version stars Raymond Lee and will get the bulk of NBC's promotional push. The Voice isn't the lead-in it once was but shows in the Quantum Leap vein like The Blacklist and Blindspot were always better performers a...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1994-95 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep My So-Called Life McKenna Primetime Live Oct Matlock Nov Dec Jan Day One Feb Matlock The Commish Mar Extreme Apr Matlock May Various Programs ABC made an attempt with scripted dramas on Thursday nights throughout the 1994-95 season but it did not work out well for them at any point. They made a bold attempt at 8pm with teen drama  My So-Called Life . Now considered one of the greatest one and done shows in TV history, the critics embraced the show at the time as well with breakout teen star Claire Danes winning a Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Drama. The series debuted early, in late August, to get a jump o...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - BLOODY THURSDAY For years, this week was known as "Hell Week" with tons of cancellations, renewals and series pickups ahead of Upfronts week. It's not as crazy as it once was but there was still quite a bloodbath on Thursday led by a network not used to participating in Bloody Thursday rituals: The CW. The network, which is in transition as it heads towards being sold, cancelled 4400, Charmed, Dynasty, In the Dark, Legacies, Naomi and Roswell, New Mexico after already cancelling Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman . The CW used to almost always let shows end gracefully but this is a new era and the network is definitely slimming down its library. The CW wasn't the only network on a cancellation spree though. CBS cancelled United States of Al, B Positive, Good Sam, How We Roll and Magnum P.I.  Most surprising from that list is Magnum , which has found a nice little audience for itself on Friday nights after ...