Benjamonster's TV

Here are my midseason CW thoughts! The CW's schedule doesn't matter as much as the other networks since their linear ratings don't matter as much, but they still seem to try to put together a coherent schedule. With Batwoman and Nancy Drew both getting full seasons, their shelf space is limited. MONDAYS (Jan) 8:00 All American 9:00 Black Lightning (Apr) 8:00 The 100 9:00 In the Dark The CW Monday lineup is going okay. I would let it air out as is and replace it late in the season with The 100 and In the Dark . TUESDAYS 8:00 The Flash 9:00 (Jan) Arrow/ (Feb) DC's Legends of Tomorrow Arrow has a short final season likely to end in January. With no obvious midseason show, I would keep DC shows together and put Legends of Tomorrow back here. WEDNESDAYS 8:00 Riverdale 9:00 Katy Keene Nancy Drew is already not working and Katy Keene is a Riverdale spinoff. Even with Riverdale a shell of what it once was, this makes the most sense. THURSDAYS (Jan) 8:0...

Here is my suggestion for ABC's midseason schedule! As I have mentioned, this is a suggestion not a prediction. Like all networks, it's been a tough fall for ABC. ABC might be the most "in the middle" with their lineup. They haven't had any great moments from any new or returning shows but haven't had any disastrous bomb like Sunnyside or Almost Family (though Emergence is getting there). The bigger issue is they have so little on the bench because the picked up so little to series. I don't love how many issues they can't address, but the shows n the bench make it almost impossible. So, here we go. MONDAYS 8:00 (Jan) The Bachelor/ (late Mar) American Idol 10:00 The Baker and the Beauty I think ABC needs to move The Good Doctor to 9pm (more on that later) so I would do it sooner rather than later and let a new show debut out of The Bachelor . The only one that makes any sense is The Baker and the Beauty . So I would give that the 10pm slot and le...

Here is my midseason schedule suggestion for CBS! It's been a rough fall for CBS. Their newbies all had rough premieres, but the good news is they've stabilized a little quicker than newbies on other networks. Given that there is not much promising on the bench, I think CBS needs to try to be patient with these new shows and see how they do over the course of a season. It might mean for a major reboot next fall, but I don't think they can make all the moves they need to at midseason so the next best option is to hold steady and see what happens. MONDAYS 8:00 The Neighborhood 8:30 (Jan) Bob Hearts Abishola/ (Apr) Man with a Plan 9:00 All Rise 10:00 Bull CBS Mondays aren't working great but they aren't a disaster (that's sort of a theme for CBS this season). Given the extension of episode orders for the newbies and not much on the best, I would leave Mondays alone I guess until towards the end of the season when Man with a Plan can air into summer. TUES...

Here are my midseason thoughts for NBC! NBC has had an interesting fall because a lot of their veterans (especially the Chicago shows) are holding up well, but their new class has arguably been the worst on any network. Sunnyside is cancelled, Bluff City Law has had production shut down after 10 episodes instead of 13 and Perfect Harmony is one of the lowest rated shows on the big four now that Sunnyside is gone. Once again, I will state this a suggestion, not a prediction! MONDAYS 8:00 ( Jan)  America's Got Talent: The Champions/ (Mar) The Voice 10:00 (Jan)  Council of Dads/ (Apr) Manifest It seems obvious that NBC is going to give Council of Dads the same treatment they had for Rise and The Village: a few weeks airing after This is Us and then taking the 9pm slot. But I think Council of Dads has more potential and that plan clearly doesn't work. If it is their most promising drama (which it very well could be), why not give it a better slot by letting it air after t...

I will be giving my midseason schedule suggestions over the next couple days. Here is mine for FOX! This is NOT a prediction, but instead a suggestion. FOX has had a pretty decent fall even with instant bomb Almost Family . Although Prodigal Son has been slipping, it had a decent start and some DVR interest. Bless the Harts has already snagged a second season while WWE SmackDown is doing decently on Fridays. Among returning shows, The Masked Singer is at the top of the ratings and  9-1-1 is arguably the most impressive returning show on any network. The Resident is holding up decently while the animated comedies are having their typical ups and downs with the NFL lead-ins or lack thereof. MONDAYS (Jan) 8:00 9-1-1 9:00 9-1-1: Lone Star (late Mar) 8:00 Next 9:00 Empire I think FOX should take a cue from the One Chicago night and have a 9-1-1 night rather than spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star being the filler for 9-1-1 . When their seasons end, I would launch Next (maybe out of th...

Here is my midseason schedule suggestion for ABC! ABC has had an OK fall. They have a bunch of middling dramas while their comedies have done a little bit better. Their only outright flop is The Alec Baldwin Show , which is already benched to Saturdays. ABC has three more high profile dramas sitting on the bench. I think given the structure of their schedule and the fact that American Idol is coming back, this is a schedule that doesn't have a ton of room for creativity. MONDAYS (January) 8:00 The Bachelor 10:00 The Good Doctor (March) 8:00 American Idol 10:00 Whiskey Cavalier I think the plan for last year is solid with The Bachelor pairing with The Good Doctor and American Idol leading into a new show. I just don't think The Good Doctor could survive a hiatus, but I would try to get a new drama on a little sooner than early April like The Crossing was last year. Whiskey Cavalier seems like a good fit here. TUESDAYS 8:00 (Jan) The Conners/ (Feb) Schooled 8:30 T...

Here is my CBS midseason schedule suggestion! CBS seemed off to a rough start, but they have stabilized quicker than other networks and have reliable newbies in FBI and (surprisingly) The Neighborhood  even while their bigger bets like Magnum P.I. and Murphy Brown haven't done as well. MONDAYS 8:00 The Neighborhood 8:30 (Jan) Fam/ (Apr) Man with a Plan 9:00 Magnum P.I. 10:00 Bull Happy Together is doing OK, but they have three comedies on the bench. With The Neighborhood being a decent performer, I would use it to launch a new show at a highly viewed time of year so I would slot Fam behind it in January and then let Man with a Plan do mop-up at the end of the season. Magnum P.I. has a full season so I guess I would leave it here unless things get dire then I would switch it with Bull. TUESDAYS 8:00 NCIS 9:00 FBI 10:00 NCIS: New Orleans I would leave Tuesdays alone. They have been solid for CBS and FBI is doing decently, especially in total viewers. WEDNESDAYS (Jan...

Here is my FOX midseason schedule suggestion! FOX has had a pretty good fall so far all things considered, but they clearly are heading in a different direction as evident by their lack of scripted shows on the bench. It's too bad they are moving to a more unscripted/sports direction because they have seen decent seasons so far from their scripted Monday and Wednesday lineup and especially the Friday comedy block anchored by Last Man Standing . MONDAYS 8:00 The Resident 9:00 (Jan) The Passage/ (Apr) 9-1-1 This is the FOX plan and I guess I'm on board with it to give The Passage a chance. But I'm skeptical on The Passage so they might end up wishing they had just seen through the season of 9-1-1 and then launched Passage later in the season. TUESDAYS 8:00 (Jan)  The Orville/ (Apr) Big Bounce Battle 9:00 (Jan) Lethal Weapon/ (Feb) Gotham Tuesdays seem ready to be a surrender night but I still would yank The Gifted and let it fill in somewhere later in the season....

Over the next couple weeks, I will be making midseason schedule suggestions. Today I start with NBC: a network that doesn't have a ton of room available and has already announced some of its midseason schedule. MONDAYS 8:00 (Jan)  America's Got Talent: The Champions/ (late Feb) The Voice 10:00 (Jan)  The Enemy Within/ (Apr) The Inbetween America's Got Talent: The Champions is already announced and The Voice will of course be back at its usual time. I like the use of Talent here and I am sure NBC is going to keep Manifest here. But I think we can all see the direction Manifest is heading in. It's doing OK right now but I think it's going to keep dropping. So I'd send it elsewhere and use Talent to launch The Enemy Within . Talent will likely be higher rated than The Voice 's spring run so why not use that time of year to launch a high profile drama? When it ends its likely 13 episode season, NBC can try to launch another, less high profile drama: The I...

Here are my CBS schedule suggestions! As usual, CBS doesn't have a ton on the bench but they also have some nights that are definitely having trouble. This might be a year they wish they had more shows on the bench. MONDAYS 8:00 Kevin Can Wait 8:30 Man with a Plan 9:00 By the Book 9:30 Superior Donuts 10:00 Instinct CBS has tweaked their Monday lineup but the next thing that needs to go is 9JKL , which needs to be cancelled. I don't love the idea of By the Book or Instinct here, but I'm also not high on either of those shows so I guess I'd give them a chance here. I can't imagine they'd be worse offerings than 9JKL and Scorpion . TUESDAYS 8:00 NCIS 9:00 Bull  10:00 NCIS: New Orleans I would leave Tuesdays alone. It's arguably the most stable and solid CBS night. WEDNESDAYS 8:00 (Jan) Undercover Boss/(late Feb) Survivor 9:00 SEAL Team 10:00 Criminal Minds CBS doesn't have an obvious filler for Survivor so I would put a short run of Und...

Here is my midseason CW schedule! The CW has four shows waiting in the wings and only programs 10 hours so there's less options than the other networks. MONDAYS 8:00 Supergirl 9:00 (Jan) Dynasty/(Mar) iZombie For the second year in a row, CW has struck out with their fall freshman dramas. But I think one should get at least a small extension and I would let Dynasty try its luck on Mondays for a little while, though I doubt it will help. In March, I would replace it with iZombie . TUESDAYS 8:00 The Flash 9:00 (Jan) DC's Legends of Tomorrow/(Feb) Black Lightning I think we all expect Black Lightning to take over for DC's Legends of Tomorrow and that is the right move. I think the idea of the CW starting to consolidate its superhero shows to a couple nights and this helps to that end. WEDNESDAYS 8:00 Riverdale 9:00 Life Sentence While their fall freshmen have been flops for two years, the CW stumbled into a big success with Riverdale , which picked up a lot of ...

Here are my midseason thoughts for ABC! ABC has American Idol coming in March and a lot of shows on the bench. I think they could go a lot of ways but this is my suggestion. MONDAY (Jan) 8:00 (Jan) The Bachelor/(Mar) Dancing with the Stars 10:00 The Good Doctor (Apr) 8:00 Dancing with the Stars 9:30 American Idol 10:00 Deception I know American Idol is going to dominate the midseason schedule but I think ABC needs to hedge its bets with that show. I'm not convinced it will be the hit ABC is hoping for because I don't think anyone is ready for or excited about a return of Idol , it's just too soon. So I think ABC's main Monday focus should be fall hit The Good Doctor  by having it paired first with The Bachelor then with Dancing with the Stars . Then in April, after The Good Doctor 's season is complete, I would air just half an hour of Idol results shows and lead that into the new Deception . TUESDAY 8:00 The Middle 8:30 (Jan) Fresh Off the Boat/(Feb)...

Here are my midseason thoughts for NBC! They have the Olympics in mid February and will/should use it to launch several new shows. MONDAYS (Jan) 8:00 Genius Junior 9:00 The Handmade Project 10:00 The Brave (late Feb) 8:00 The Voice 10:00 Reverie We all know The Voice will come back after the Olympics. I would punt a bit on the night until the Olympics by airing some unscripted shows and letting The Brave finish out its run. When The Voice returns, I would pair it with Reverie . I'm not convinced that show will work but it's definitely worth a shot in a slot that I think can still make an impact, especially if it gets a lot of Olympics promotion. TUESDAYS 8:00 (Jan)The Wall/(late Feb) The Voice 9:00 (Jan) This is Us/(Mar) Rise 10:00 Chicago Med I would bring The Wall back to Tuesdays in January, where it did decently last season. This is Us doesn't need The Voice to be successful so it can continue along with Chicago Med , which is premiering November 21. Th...

Over the next couple weeks, I will be giving midseason schedule suggestions for all the networks, starting with FOX! Considering the state of most of their nights, FOX has shockingly little on the bench and I think that will make for a rough spring. MONDAYS (Jan) 8:00 The X-Files 9:00 9-1-1 (Apr) 8:00 New Girl 8:30 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 9:00 9-1-1 I think the general consensus is that The X-Files will pair with The Resident at midseason, but I think that's a bad idea because The Resident looks terrible in my opinion. I would combine it with Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1 and start the lineup in mid January (while taking two weeks off when NBC is airing the Olympics). In late spring, I would burn off the final season of New Girl and what will probably be the final season of the very low rated Brooklyn Nine-Nine too. TUESDAYS (Jan) 8:00 Lethal Weapon 9:00 The Mick 9:30 LA to Vegas (Mar) 8:00 The Four 9:00 Lethal Weapon I would give LA to Vegas a football preview during th...

Here is my look at the comedy and drama pilots I'm most interested in for next season! For a complete list,  click here DRAMAS Rise (NBC) - Easily the show I am most looking forward to next season. Set around a high school theater program and from the person who gave us Friday Night Lights and Parenthood ? Count me all in on this one. It's hard to envision a scenario other than this being paired with This is Us on the fall schedule. Deception (ABC) - I'm very interested in a magic procedural perhaps because of how much I enjoy the Now You See Me movies. This seems like a great fit for ABC and a lighthearted procedural in the Castle vein. The Gospel of Kevin (ABC) - I like Jason Ritter in anything I've seen him in and he deserves a success. I think this concept sounds promising and I trust Ritter to make it strong. Searchers (CW)  - This is the only CW pilot that looks promising to me but I like the idea of a globe-setting adventure story uncovering the world...

After a long wait, here are my midseason CBS thoughts! MONDAYS 8:00 Kevin Can Wait 8:30 Man with a Plan 9:00 2 Broke Girls 9:30 The Odd Couple/The Great Indoors 10:00 Scorpion Mondays are not going great but I wouldn't make too much of a change. I would let the Monday 8pm family comedies stay for the year because Kevin Can Wait definitely deserves it and Man with a Plan might hang on enough. The only change I would make is eventually ending The Odd Couple before a full season and bringing over The Great Indoors , which is underwhelming on Thursdays. TUESDAYS 8:00 NCIS 9:00 Bull 10:00 NCIS: New Orleans I would leave Tuesdays alone. They are working pretty well for CBS. WEDNESDAYS (Jan-early Feb) 8:00 Undercover Boss 9:00 Criminal Minds 10:00 Code Black (late Feb-May) 8:00 Survivor 9:00 Doubt 10:00 Criminal Minds I would let Undercover Boss be the bridge show between Survivor seasons because its old Friday and Sunday slots both have mo...

Here are my thoughts on ABC's midseason schedule! MONDAYS 8:00 (Jan) The Bachelor/(Mar) Dancing with the Stars 10:00 (Jan) Still Star-Crossed/(Mar) Time After Time Obviously The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars should and will continue to occupy 8-10pm. Conviction has been a big bomb and ABC is completely wasting the slot if it stays there when The Bachelor launches in early January. I don't love ABC's midseason offerings but I would give Still Star-Crossed a chance because it could get sampled after The Bachelor. When Dancing with the Stars comes back, I would try Time After Time which is a tough sell but needs to be given a chance. TUESDAYS 8:00 The Middle 8:30 American Housewife 9:00 Fresh Off the Boat 9:30 Downward Dog/Imaginary Mary 10:00 (Jan) The Toy Box /(Mar) Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Tuesday comedy lineup is working for the most part but I am just not sold on The Real O'Neals at all and I think ABC needs to give new shows a chance ...

Here are my midseason thoughts for CW! The CW has had a rough start to their season aside from a solid start for Supergirl . Their two new shows are flops while previous stalwarts The Flash and Arrow seem weaker. They have a lot of returning shows and one new show on deck for midseason. MONDAYS 8:00 Supergirl 9:00 iZombie Supergirl has made a successful transition to The CW and is solidly their second highest rated show next to The Flash . I imagine their beloved Jane the Virgin will stay on Mondays but I think it has proven its ceiling no matter what is in front of it so I would instead bring iZombie to the night and see how it does before launching a new show after Supergirl in the fall. TUESDAYS 8:00 The Flash 9:00 Riverdale The Flash is down but still the strongest show on the network and No Tomorrow is absolutely wasting that lead-in. They have just one show on the bench - Archie comics show Riverdale so I think they have to give it a chance behind their biggest show. ...

Here are my thoughts on NBC's midseason schedule! NBC had a conservative fall with The Voice , football, and just three new shows. One of those new shows is a big hit ( This is Us ) and they have had no outright flops along with plenty of solid returning dramas. They also have the most shows on the bench. I don't actually expect them to air all of the new shows during the season as I think they will save some for summer, but this is what I would do if I was in charge: MONDAYS (Jan-Feb) 8:00 Celebrity Apprentice 10:00 Timeless (late Feb) 8:00 The Voice 10:00 Midnight, Texas The new incarnation of Celebrity Apprentice (sans Donald Trump) is slated to be the bridge series for The Voice and I think that's a good choice as there might be interest in new host Arnold Schwarzenegger and possibly renewed interest in the brand. I would extend the Timeless order to maybe 16 or so episodes and let it air with Apprentice  and then let The Voice come back with a new show. I...

As I did last year, I will be giving some midseason scheduling ideas over the next several days. Here are my thoughts on FOX, which has had a tough fall outside of Wednesdays and (sometimes) Sundays. They have a lot on the bench though. Given what they have, this is what I would do. MONDAYS (Jan & Apr-May) 8:00 Gotham 9:00 Lucifer (Feb & Mar) 8:00 24: Legacy 9:00 A.P.B. This is the FOX plan and I agree with it. 24: Legacy is getting the big post-Super Bowl slot and will make its timeslot premiere the next night, leading into the new A.P.B. I'm not totally sold on A.P.B. , but 24: Legacy will certainly get some eyeballs and this gives it a chance to succeed. I would wrap the new shows with the current OK but not great pairing of Gotham and Lucifer in January and again in April. TUESDAYS (Jan) 8:00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 8:30 New Girl 9:00 Scream Queens (Feb) 8:00 Kicking & Screaming/Beat Shazam 9:00 The Mick 9:30 New Girl FOX can let its low-rated lineu...