Benjamonster's TV

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - WRITER'S STRIKE HAS BEGUN The biggest potential news in the industry for months is now official. The WGA and AMPTP were unable to come to an agreement and the Writer's Strike began at midnight on Tuesday. Immediately impacted were the late night talk shows, which have all shut down for now as well as Saturday Night Live , which has cancelled the final three episodes of its season that were scheduled to be hosted by Pete Davidson, Kieran Culkin and Jennifer Coolidge. Next to be impacted will likely be the Upfronts with networks hesitant to announce fall schedules (not that it's as big a deal as it used to be, but still). Streamers likely have a lot in the pipeline but they'll be impacted too if it goes on too long. Of course the streamers are a big reason this strike is happening as the TV models have changed and so has compensation for writers in a world where 22 episode seasons and big syndication deals are...

Next week, I will be presenting my regular Schedules of the Past post on Tuesday followed by Emmy Previews on Wednesday & Thursday and then another Friday Five. Then the following week will be my final week for the "season" on the blog with Emmy Previews on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and a Summer Preview to end the week. I am ending my blog posts for the season a little bit earlier this year due to many other things going on in my life but I will be doing the Benjamonster Awards again in July! Anyway, here are the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - TUCKER CARLSON & DON LEMON GONE FROM CABLE NEWS The week started with a bang with two cable news bombshells that were released within an hour of each other. Tucker Carlson was dropped from FOX News less than a week after FOX's huge settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Reportedly, the findings from the potential trial resulted in some very troubling details of the work environment at Carlson's show plus...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - FOX NEWS & DOMINION REACH SETTLEMENT This was one of those weeks where one of the biggest TV stories was also one of the biggest politics stories. Just before a trial got underway, FOX News reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems that saw them paying the company $787.5 million after Dominion sued FOX News for defamation after fraudulent claims regarding the 2020 election. While this was a huge amount of money, many were left feeling that FOX sort of got away without having to truly admit to their lies and help in spreading former President Trump's false claims about the 2020 election. The findings showed that many of FOX's top talent including Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham didn't really believe what they were spreading. Whether or not this has any impact on the hugely popular conservative news network going forward remains to be seen but I wouldn't hold my breath. 

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - HBO MAX TO BECOME MAX IN MAY It has been anticipated for awhile but it became official this week. HBO Max will officially merge with Discovery+ to become a new service simply called "Max" on May 23. This was part of a deliberate attempt to remove the "HBO" name from the platform but it's heading from a unique platform (& look) to something so generic in its title and visuals. Do we really need another blue-themed streaming service after Prime Video, Paramount+ and Disney+? I liked that Hulu was green, Netflix was red, HBO Max was purple and so on but I digress. The pricing mostly aligns with current HBO Max pricing and while customers can still get Discovery+ as its own entity, that will not be the case for people who just want the HBO Max content and don't care about Discovery+ (*raises hand*). I don't fully understand the business behind all of this and I get that those Discovery show...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "THE RESIDENT" CANCELLED It was a pretty quiet week as far as TV news with things like a potential Writer's Strike and Upfronts season still on the horizon but quiet at the moment. So, I guess the biggest news is the official cancellation of The Resident on FOX. The show has quietly become one of FOX's longer running shows (not counting animation) as it soldiered through six seasons and 107 episodes since its debut in January 2018. After only receiving a 13 episode order for its sixth season and the report that its set pieces were being sold off, this was widely expected. The medical drama was a solid utility player for FOX since its debut but it never really made the leap to hit status. With the news that the show was cancelled, it was also reported that series lead Matt Czuchry (formerly of The Good Wife ) will be joining the next season of FX's American Horror Story .

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! Also a reminder that this blog will be taking a two week break after this week with posts resuming April 4! #1 - OSCARS RECAP & RATINGS The Oscars were held on Sunday night and plenty has already been written about the telecast. A year after the infamous slap incident, the Oscars played it safe. The ceremony felt like a throwback to older Oscars ceremony with a very classic look, a safe but funny monologue from host Jimmy Kimmel and purposeful attention to not causing waves. It all felt pretty classy except for the shameless studio plugs (a trailer during the actual ceremony??). Among winners, it was Everything Everywhere All at Once that dominated with all major awards except for Lead Actor (which it was not up for and went to Brendan Fraser for The Whale ). In terms of ratings, the telecast was up 12% from last year to 18.7 million viewers. That's a far cry from the ratings it used to get, even less than ten years ago....

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - "BARRY" ENDING WITH SEASON FOUR Shortly after announcing the end of Succession , HBO announced this week that the upcoming fourth season of Barry will also be its final season and will premiere on April 16 (airing after Succession  on the linear channel). While the Succession news came as a bit of a surprise, it was much less surprising for Barry . The show seemed to be hurdling towards a conclusion and some of the actors have hinted at this being the final season well before the official announcement. The series, which has been nominated for an Emmy for Comedy Series in each of its first three seasons has gotten increasingly dark so it will be interesting to see what happens for the final season. The series finale is slated for May 28.

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - SAG AWARD WINNERS The Screen Actors Guild Awards were held on Sunday night. While that is primarily of interest for what it means in the Oscar race, there are also TV awards handed out. It just is always a little odd with "awards season" not being at the same time as the Emmys so there's some 2022 Emmy contenders competing against 2023 contenders. The awards were pretty spread out as only The White Lotus was the winner of more than one TV award (Drama Ensemble and Drama Actress for Jennifer Coolidge). The other big winner was Abbott Elementary for Comedy Ensemble and there several surprises. Jason Bateman winning for Ozark over Better Call Saul 's Bob Odenkirk for Drama Actor was a surprise but not as much of a surprise in the bizarre Limited Series acting categories where two upsets happened - Jessica Chastain won Limited Series Actress for George & Tammy , which had very little buzz on Showtime, whil...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - "SUCCESSION" TO END WITH SEASON FOUR The adventures of the Roy family will come to an end sooner than most fans wanted. Jesse Armstrong, creator of HBO's award winning drama Succession , announced that the upcoming fourth season (debuting March 26) will be the last for the series. Although Armstrong and the cast have consistently said that they didn't see the show lasting for years and years, most assumed the show would go at least one more season beyond the upcoming fourth season but that won't happen. The series, which won Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmys in 2020 and 2022, seems likely to be another frontrunner for the Emmys this year despite competition from HBO's own The White Lotus, The Last of Us and House of the Dragon among other dramas like AMC's Better Call Saul, Netflix's The Crown and Showtime's Yellowjackets . I will be sad to see the Roy story come to an end, but I...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - RYAN SEACREST LEAVING "LIVE" Surprising news arrived on Thursday morning that Ryan Seacrest is leaving Live! after six seasons. The longtime American Idol host will depart this spring when Idol switches to live shows in Los Angeles ( Live! tapes in New York City). Seacrest has been co-hosting the morning show with Kelly Ripa since Michael Strahan's surprising departure (and subsequent drama with Ripa). Of course, before Strahan it was Regis Philbin and before Ripa, it was Kathie Lee Gifford so there have been a lot of incarnations of the show that started as Live with Regis and Kathie Lee . The next co-host will be Ripa's husband, soap and Riverdale  star and frequent guest co-host Mark Consuelos. The show will be rebranded Live with Kelly and Mark  and it seems like this could be the final destination for Ripa's revolving door of co-hosts. I have to think the real life couple will stay on the show f...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "YELLOWSTONE" POSSIBLY COMING TO AN END Surprising news came this week that Paramount Network might end its massive hit Yellowstone after the current fifth season resumes this summer. The drama has defied all contemporary trends by being a massive cable hit. But it's also come with its own sets of issues as Paramount gave streaming rights to Peacock before it became a massive hit and now they can't air it on Paramount+ where they have aired spinoffs 1883 and 1923 as well as other Taylor Sheridan shows and other potential spinoffs. But that wasn't the main reason that came out this week. The main reason was disagreements with series star (and recent Golden Globe winner for the show) Kevin Costner over the shooting schedule. The report is that Yellowstone  may end in its current form and launch as a different, but similar show featuring Matthew McConaughey. I'm sure Paramount (the corporation) woul...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - PARAMOUNT+ AND SHOWTIME MERGING The long rumored merge happened this week as Paramount+ and longtime premium channel Showtime will be merging into one service later this year. There will still be a linear Showtime network but it will all be under the umbrella "Paramount+ with Showtime." This has been expected since CBS All Access became Paramount+ in June 2021 and it gives Paramount+ a place for prestige shows including the current hit Yellowjackets . With the merger coming soon, there has started to be the shedding of some shows from the streaming service - a trend that streamers have been employing since HBO Max started the practice late last year. That includes Let the Right One In and American Gigolo , which were both cancelled this week at Showtime. No specific dates have been announced but it will be interesting to see what the strategy is going forward and it's potentially a sign of more streaming ser...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - KRISTA VERNOFF STEPPING DOWN FROM "GREY'S ANATOMY" & "STATION 19" It was announced this week that Krista Vernoff will be stepping down as showrunner of Grey's Anatomy and its spinoff, Station 19 , at the end of the season. Vernoff took over as showrunner for Grey's in 2017 after creator Shonda Rhimes departed for Netflix and then she took on its wayward spinoff in 2019. Both shows have continued as cornerstones for the network ever since. Although this appears to be amicable in press releases, I wouldn't be surprised if there was still some hard feelings over ABC abruptly cancelling the first show Vernoff created that went to series, Rebel , after just a few episodes in Spring 2021. This is the second major departure for Grey's Anatomy  this season as its leading lady, Ellen Pompeo, will be leaving the series when it returns from its winter hiatus. Both dramas will probably stil...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - BIG DEBUT RATINGS FOR "THE LAST OF US" & "NIGHT COURT" 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...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS The Golden Globe Awards returned to TV after a year in the doghouse with a ceremony that aired on a Tuesday and was a little bit disjointed but not without its moments. Jerrod Carmichael got a few zingers off as host and was daring at times but also a bit low energy throughout the show. Some of the speeches also went insanely long, especially early in the night before they started running long. The big winners were Abbott Elementary and The White Lotus . Abbott won Outstanding Comedy Series and also picked up wins for Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams. The second season of The White Lotus picked up where the Emmys left off with wins for Limited/Anthology Series and Jennifer Coolidge (who gave the night's most memorable acceptance speech). There was a surprise in the Drama category where House of the Dragon scored an upset win, topping The Crown, Severance, Ozark and Better Call Saul . There ...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - BILLS-BENGALS WILL NOT RESUME It was the story of the week (or at least tied with the House of Representatives shenanigans) that was primarily a sports story but also a TV story. As I'm sure everyone knows by now, Monday Night Football was suspended when the scary situation of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin passing out on the field and having to be given CPR to resuscitate him. The good news is that Hamlin is continuing to improve though he remains in critical condition. And the attention started to turn to what to do about the game. The NFL announced on Thursday night that the game, which was only in the first quarter when it was suspended, will not resume. The playoff seeding will be based on win percentage while certain circumstances may warrant the AFC Championship Game being played on a neutral site. I was critical of the initial handling by the NFL with how long it took to cancel the game for the night. But I d...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories this week! #1 - R.I.P. KIRSTIE ALLEY The TV world was shocked this week when it was announced that Kirstie Alley died at the age of 71 after a brief cancer battle. Alley had a long and successful career on film and TV and ruffled some feathers in her later years with her political beliefs that she shared frequently on Twitter. But she is best known for stepping into a very difficult situation on Cheers in 1987. Fan favorite Shelley Long left the series and it wasn't a sure thing the show would ever be the same again. But Alley blossomed as the mess of a character that was Rebecca Howe. She made the character her own with a ridiculous yet grounded performance that earned her five Emmy nominations (and one win). Alley breathed new life into a show that had an incredible second act in its run. Alley's other TV credits included the starring role on a three year run for NBC's Veronica Closet as well as a one year run for TV Land...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "WEDNESDAY" SETS NETFLIX RECORDS Netflix has a new hit on their hands with Wednesday . The Addams Family -universe series starring Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman with direction by Tim Burton did not get great reviews, but it quickly became a hit with viewers. According to Netflix, it set an English language series record for hours viewed in its first week with 341.23 million hours viewed. That beats the first week for the most recent season of cultural icon Stranger Things though the record holder when factoring in international shows is Squid Game . Even though Netflix's numbers are always hard to verify, it's clear this show has gotten into the cultural conversation. A Season Two renewals feels like it will be coming very soon.

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - CBS MIDSEASON PLANS After NBC, ABC and FOX all announced midseason plans on the same day last week, CBS announced its midseason plans this week. There wasn't too much to see with only two new shows joining the fold. A RuPaul hosted version of the game show Lingo will make its debut on January 11, airing between The Price is Right at Night and Tough As Nails . Then on February 23, a sneak preview premiere of the new drama True Lies will air after Young Sheldon and Ghosts . It will then settle into its regular Wednesday 10pm slot after the return of Survivor on March 1. Elsewhere, as previously announced, freshman drama  Fire Country will get the coveted post-AFC Championship Game slot on January 29 and a three show  NCIS crossover event will kick off the midseason on January 2. 

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - MIDSEASON PLANS FOR ABC It was a busy Monday as three broadcast networks revealed their midseason plans. There is no particular order of importance so I just went alphabetical. ABC announced premiere dates for three new shows. Procedural drama Will Trent will air on Tuesday nights at 10pm starting January 3. It will follow a colonized night for The Rookie with the original series moving to Tuesdays at 8pm and The Rookie: Feds sliding up an hour to 9pm. Unscripted series The Parent Test will air Thursdays at 9pm while the Thursday dramas are on hiatus. It will also get a preview in December. The Gina Rodriguez comedy Not Dead Yet will premiere with two episodes on February 8 and then settle into its regular Wednesday 9:30pm timeslot as Home Economics will wrap up its season after 13 episodes. That same night, A Million Little Things returns for its fifth and final season as the show will officially wrap things up (which wa...