Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
After a one year hiatus because of their own failures, the Golden Globes are returning to NBC in 2023. The much maligned yet long running awards show that has been the unofficial kickoff of awards season was pulled from NBC this year after the group that hands out the awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, came under fire for both a lack of diversity and some shady business during the campaign season. The Golden Globes were still awarded but there was no official ceremony and it was pretty much an afterthought. Due to the NFL airing on the usual spot on January 8 and the Critics Choice Awards claiming January 15, the Golden Globe Awards will air on a Tuesday - January 10. What remains to be seen is if the stars will return and it will be the party it once was. It's hard to imagine the actors completely embracing the show the way they used to but I guess we'll see.
In a bit of surprising news, Jimmy Kimmel re-upped at ABC for three more years. With the departure of Conan O'Brien from the late night scene, Kimmel is the longest tenured late night host and there had been lots of rumors that he was close to hanging it up, especially after taking this summer off. But now Jimmy Kimmel Live will continue for at least three more years. Kimmel continues to be ABC's go-to man for everything from awards shows (despite his deservedly poorly received Emmys bit this year) to the NBA pregame shows. I wouldn't be surprised if Kimmel is done after this contract runs out though.
Once upon a time the ratings of Premiere Week would easily be the biggest news with every ratings point analyzed as tons of new shows premiere. That once upon a time was not that long, less than a decade in fact. But in this premiere week, we had only one new show premiere (NBC's Quantum Leap) and nothing coming close to a 1.0 demo. So there really isn't much to discuss. The colonized nights of NBC's Chicago shows and CBS's FBI shows fared decently. 9-1-1 continues to be the only decent performer for FOX while the second episode of Monarch fell flat on its face on Tuesday. The aforementioned Quantum Leap was an improvement from Ordinary Joe last year but nothing special. And Abbott Elementary didn't see any big jump after its Emmy love though its much more likely to get more attention on streaming. I miss the days of anxiously awaiting for Premiere Week ratings but we're in a different time now and the old times aren't coming back for Broadcast TV. There's still good broadcast shows but less and less people care when or where their favorite shows air because they can catch them when they want.
#4 - CHRIS REDD LEAVING "SNL"
The Saturday Night Live mass exodus continues with Chris Redd becoming the eighth cast member to depart this offseason. Although Redd wasn't a huge player, it's yet another person leaving the show which will be going through a major transition. After very little changes in the midst of the COVID seasons, it will have a much different feel. Bringing the overall number of cast members down is not a bad thing but some of the newer players will need to step up.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at the scripted premieres coming this week, another week with several new and returning broadcast shows premiering.
Sunday: FOX's animated lineup returns with three shows well into double digit years. It is the premieres of Season 34 of The Simpsons, Season 3 of The Great North, Season 13 of Bob's Burgers and Season 21 of Family Guy. FOX has the doubleheader for the NFL so they should premiere well. Also returning is The Rookie for Season 5 on ABC.
Monday: Spectrum Originals (does anyone watch anything on that?) has the premiere of Panhandle, a Florida-set crime dramedy starring Luke Kirby and Tiana Okoye.
Tuesday: ABC has the series premiere of The Rookie spinoff The Rookie: Feds starring Niecy Nash. The Rookie is not a big hit so it doesn't seem like this will make much of a dent. NBC has the second season premiere of La Brea, which was a pleasant surprise in the ratings last fall. Hulu premieres Reasonable Doubt, the first scripted drama from Hulu's Onyx Collective initiative. This legal drama stars Emayatzy Corinealdi and Michael Ealy and counts Kerry Washington among its executive producers.
Wednesday: Disney+ has the second season premiere of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. There was a report that former Disney+ entertainment chief Peter Rice was fired in part due to his decisions to renew Mighty Ducks and Big Shot so, if true, that doesn't bode well for this series beyond this new season.
Thursday: CBS premieres its lineup with includes Season 6 of Young Sheldon, Season 2 of the acclaimed Ghosts and Season 2 of the CSI reboot CSI: Vegas. At 9pm is the series premiere of So Help Me Todd starring Skylar Astin and Marcia Gay Harden. The series looks like something that would have premiered in the late 2000s and I'm skeptical it will have much of an impact in 2022. FOX also brings back its low rated comedy lineup of Call Me Kat (Season 3) and Welcome to Flatch (Season 2). BET+ has the premiere of Zatima, a spinoff of Sistas.
My pick for the week:
Despite a lot of premieres, there's really not much I'm excited about with one notable exception. I am excited to start watching the second season of Ghosts. It was a delightful freshman comedy last season that got overshadowed by Abbott Elementary as far as new broadcast comedies. It's great though and I look forward to seeing what Season 2 brings. I will also keep watching Young Sheldon and will probably check out So Help Me Todd and Reasonable Doubt though I'm skeptical of both.
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