Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
The world said goodbye to a legend this week. The iconic Angela Lansbury passed away at the age of 96. In a career that spanned seven decades, Lansbury started in the Golden Age of Hollywood (an era that has very few living actors left) and portrayed many memorable roles on the big screen and on stage, where she won five Tony Awards and hosted the ceremony multiple times. But this is a TV blog and her TV role may be what the most fans known her from. She had an acclaimed 12 year run as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. The series was a Top 10 hit on CBS on Sunday nights for many, many years in the 80s and 90s. Though it famously skewed old at the time, it has continued to do well in syndication and on cable and now even on streaming through Peacock. Lansbury never won an Emmy for the series despite twelve nominations but it propelled her to a new level of superstardom in the way that only a beloved TV show role can. She was well respected and liked by her peers and her loss, even though she lived a long and full life, will still be felt by many.
It was announced this week that The Voice has been renewed for a 23rd edition for next fall and it will be the final go-round for judge Blake Shelton. Shelton is the last remaining original judge as he has been a part of every single cycle of the show. He started on the show when it premiered in April 2011 alongside Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green. The other judges have left (some long ago) and others have come and gone but Shelton has been a constant. The Voice is a shell of what it was but I'd be willing to bet some still tune in because they are fans of Shelton. Maybe this will give the show the jolt it needs but I doubt it. At this point, The Voice is just a tired property.
NBC handed out a full season order to its only freshman on the fall schedule, Quantum Leap. The season order was upped from 13 to 18 episodes after the show has gotten off to an OK start. It's an era where nothing is doing great in the ratings but Leap has held up alright and has done decently in delayed viewing. There's not a big gap between broadcast's biggest successes and biggest failures anymore but it looks like NBC has faith in their newest drama and it will likely stay in the Monday 10pm slot than perhaps originally anticipated.
#4 - "THE DAILY SHOW" SETS END FOR TREVOR NOAH
After the big news a couple weeks ago that Trevor Noah is leaving The Daily Show, an end date has been set. Noah's final show will be on December 8. The show will then go on hiatus until it returns on January 17. Comedy Central is touting that the revamped version will be innovative and different but it's not clear if a new host will be starting January 17 or if there will be an interim period. I'm sure there's lots to come on this topic in the coming weeks!
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
After a busy couple weeks of Fall Premieres, it's a much slower week for premieres coming up.
Today: Apple TV+ has the premiere of Shantaram, a thriller starring Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam. The series seems to have mostly flown under the radar in terms of buzz. Freevee premieres High School, a 90s-set coming of age drama about twin sisters. I could see this show becoming one of those "hidden gems" but it's hard to get traction on Freevee.
Sunday: Starz has the third season premiere of Step Up. The series last aired on YouTube Red (yes, it was that long ago) in March 2019. YouTube Red cancelled the series but Starz picked it up for a third season in May 2020 and it's only now getting to the airwaves. Does anyone remember this show? Did anyone watch it in the first place?
Wednesday: FX has the 11th edition of American Horror Story, this one subtitled "NYC." Very little is known about what this season will look like and there seems to be diminishing returns for this franchise but it's still one of TV's longest running scripted shows at this point and there's always some interest when a new one drops.
Thursday: Peacock has the second season of One of Us is Lying. The first season didn't really seem to break through last year and Peacock isn't really in a better place now so I don't see this one making much of a dent.
My pick for the week:
Um, pass. I have tried at points to get into American Horror Story but never can. I guess I'll go with High School only because I know I don't care about the rest.
Check back Tuesday for a new week of blog posts!
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