Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week!
It was a week of big ratings news, one not surprising and one a complete surprise. The unsurprising news was a big debut for HBO's sweeping new drama The Last of Us. The video game adaptation has been heavily hyped and premiered to HBO's second best debut ratings since 2010 after last year's highly anticipated House of the Dragon. The bigger surprise came two nights later when NBC's revival of Night Court premiered to 7.55 million viewers and a 0.98 demo. That might not seem like a lot but it is huge for 2023. It was the best demo for ANY show on broadcast this season that didn't have an NFL lead-in. Its viewership was the best for an NBC comedy since the debut of the Will & Grace revival in September 2017. This was much more surprising because this show didn't seem to have much buzz and while the original was highly rated in its day, it hasn't really lived on in a big way in reruns. This result was truly perplexing but congratulations to all involved.
It was announced this week that Meryl Streep has joined the third season of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building. This is a big get as Streep has not done a lot of TV in her run of Academy Award nominations. She did appear on Season Two of Big Little Lies and is in the upcoming Apple TV+ series Extrapolations, but this is a high profile get for the Emmy-nominated series. As previously revealed, the third season will also feature Paul Rudd. When you get those two stars joining Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, it's clear that this is a very star-studded show and one that might have even more buzz heading into its third season, which is likely to arrive this summer.
Awards season marches on with the Critics Choice Awards winners announced this past Sunday night on a little-watched CW telecast. We'll see what happens when Ted Lasso comes back but Abbott Elementary might be the show to beat after winning for Comedy Series less than a week after winning the Golden Globe in the same category. Sheryl Lee Ralph repeated her Emmy win here but Quinta Brunson was edged out by Jean Smart for Hacks. The final season of Better Call Saul was a big winner too, winning Drama Series as well as Lead Actor (Bob Odenkirk) and Supporting Actor (Giancarlo Esposito). With The White Lotus moving over to Drama (for this award show at least), The Dropout was the winner for Limited Series and also saw star Amanda Seyfried win. The winter TV awards are always weird since they come halfway through an Emmy cycle but it allows for a bit of a temperature check on where things are standing awards-wise.
#4 - RENEWALS & CANCELLATIONS
There were a few renewals and cancellations this week. Starz renewed their long-running flagship Outlander for an eighth and final season ahead of its upcoming seventh season, arriving this summer. The premium cable channel also renewed BMF for a third season. Paramount+ renewed former CBS cast-off SEAL Team for a seventh season. Meanwhile, HBO Max cancelled the reboot of Gossip Girl after two mostly buzzless seasons.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at this week's scripted premieres!
Today: Apple TV+ has the third season premiere of Truth Be Told. Like last week's Servant, this is one of those shows that premiered early in the Apple TV+ run and didn't seem to really get much buzz or acclaim but has somehow now been on several seasons. The third season has Gabrielle Union joining the cast.
Sunday: Following an NFL playoff game, FOX has the premiere of Accused. The anthology drama centers on a different crime in a different location each episode. The first episode features appearances by Rachel Bilson, Abigail Breslin and Michael Chiklis. It settles into a Tuesday 9pm timeslot after the Sunday preview.
Tuesday: It's a day of returning shows. NBC brings back American Auto for a second season. The first season flew under the radar but NBC showed some faith in the series with a renewal. FOX has the fourth season premiere of 9-1-1: Lone Star after another solid fall for the mothership. Hulu has the return of How I Met Your Father for a second season. The first season seemed to do well for Hulu (who knows exact numbers) even if it was critically maligned.
Thursday: Peacock has the premiere of Poker Face. The Natasha Lyonne-fronted project has gotten a lot of buzz and is proudly declaring itself a throwback to Columbo-style "case of the week" shows with big guest stars. Will this be the first Peacock original to actually break through? Paramount+ has the premiere of Wolf Pack, a supernatural teen drama starring a familiar face to the genre, Sarah Michelle Gellar. Paramount+ seems relatively high on this one but it doesn't seem to be getting a ton of buzz.
My pick for the week:
Lots to choose from this week but I will go with Poker Face. I think it seems like a really well done show that could be the thing Peacock needs, but we'll see. I also was a champion of American Auto last season so I'll be excited to see it returning. And I've been very intrigued by Accused as far as broadcast dramas go thanks to the anthology format and big names attached. I also may check out How I Met Your Father but I really didn't care for the first season.
Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
Comments
Post a Comment