televisionexpress

Country Music Television has found themselves a scripted series!

Fans of ABC’s Nashville were outraged by the cancellation of this four-season long series, left on a cliffhanger ending finale night (May 25th) that questioned the survival of leading character Juliette Barnes. The ratings for Nashville have fallen significantly since the second season of the show, yet the fans have remained loyal for the majority of season four, as the series never fell below an 0.8 in the ever important 18-49 age demographic. After days of speculation and rumors, regarding ABC’s discussions with other networks about finding Nashville a home somewhere new, CMT has announced they will take on season five for themselves!

The business of TV revivals has been a tricky one, in these past few years. NBC’s Community is a glaring example, having moved to streaming service Yahoo Screen to premiere a sixth (and final?) season, which ultimately made scarce money for Yahoo as the service itself was taken down not long after the shows finale. Some shows find littles success, like ABC’s own Cougar Town which found new airtime on TBS for its next three seasons. Sometimes revivals are more strategic, with FOX adding a new season of popular franchise The X Files to their lineup after a ratings-challenged previous season, and some falter quickly just as ABC’s The Muppets had this year. The Muppets remains a solid example that just because a show was once well loved, does not mean it will continue to be loved without proper scriptwriting, that appeals to not only ABC’s demographic but also to the likely younger children who might intend to watch with their families. Should Nashville continue to entertain and be able to maintain its current ratings on its new cable network, however, surely the series will have hope in multiple seasons to come on CMT!

The 2016 Emmy awards are upon us, meaning every advertisement you will see pop up on any given website for the next few weeks will be for a series with the tagline “for your Emmy consideration.” One has to remember that generally the same series make the cut every year, but with gaps in the nomination categories for shows that have ended post 2014, many more new shows and their show runners will be praying to make the cut while they still can.

Outstanding Series: Drama

Last year’s nominees:

Better Call Saul / Downton Abbey / Game of Thrones / Homeland / House of Cards / Mad Men / Orange is the New Black

No longer eligible: Med Men

I’ll try not to be bias with my love for Mr. Robot on USA, but assuming the series will take Man Men’s place is almost a no-brainer. At the Golden Globes the series won both best drama and best supporting actor for Christian Slater’s outstanding performance, with a best actor nomination for its lead Rami Malek, setting expectations that despite not having aired for quite some time (the last episode aired at the beginning of September) the show and its critical acclaim will seek awards yet again. I’m willing to bet no actors from the series will receive nominations this year, however, with these categories being filled with Downton Abbey actors as the series has ended its run as of late.

Personally, I might be surprised to see House of Cards and Better Call Saul make the category yet again this year as well given the curerent lack of critical acclaim for both, with perhaps their spots being filled by FX’s The Americans, or FOX’s Empire?

Outstanding Series: Comedy

Last year’s nominees:

Louie/Modern Family/Parks & Recreation/Silicon Valley/Transparent/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Veep

No longer eligible: Parks  & Recreation, Louie

With Parks having wrapped their final season and Louie on some sort of potential “extended hiatus” (Will he come back? We still don’t know), that leave two wide open spots in the comedy category. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt returned to an even greater second season this April, and Veep is showing no signs of stopping after its win last year, with Modern Family a given until the very night it ends its run. Transparent continues to hold onto its critical acclaim, and Silicon Valley may even claim the win it has yet to achieve this year, but personally I believe both open positions will be claimed by Netflix’s Master of None (coming off a tremendous and heartfelt first season) and perhaps Brooklyn Nine-Nine again?

I’ll admit to having never watched a single series on USA Network before Mr. Robot. Suits looks interesting, Psych looked entertaining, but I was never truly drawn towards any particular series until this one (albeit later than most, I watched the pilot at about 12 AM in August when the series was eight episodes in).

Mr Robot centers around Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a vigilante hacker by night with a day job at Allsafe Cybersecurity: protecting E-Corp (read only in his mind as “Evilcorp”) from relevant cyber attacks. When “Mr. Robot,” the name on the patch of his jacket, leads Elliot out to Coney Island in an abandoned arcade now dubbed “FSociety,” he introduces a whole team of hackers willing to take down EvilCorp, ridding millions of people from their debt in America. Over the course of ten episodes, Elliot seemingly grows crazier than he began as he communicates with us, the audience, and faces tragedy including the kidnapping of girlfriend Shayla and the realization that some people are not as they seem. Many are worse, few are better, and some people might not be real at all.

If you even look past the writing, for just a brief moment, the cinematography of Mr. Robot is nearly the greatest I personally have seen on any network, cable or otherwise. Sure it is dark in the night and bright in the day, but those behind the camera always seem to focus their lens at just the right moment, like the blur-to-clear focus of Evilcorp employee Tyrell Wellick as he leans towards Elliot to offer him a job, or the placement of two people on opposite sides of a shot in separate actions, switching a focus point between one to another over time to keep the attention of the audience.

[SPOILERS BELOW]

The writing is absolutely stellar, however, because every minute of this series has twists and turns given Elliot’s unreliable narrator status. For instance Darlene, a character Elliot has interacted with on a regular basis since the beginning of the season, leading into episode 8, is revealed to be his sister, which she has known from the start having assumed Elliot knew as well. The character whom led Elliot to the hacker group Fsociety is first revealed to be his father by episode 9, but then is later understood as merely a figment of his mind that only he himself can see, as his father died years ago, pointed out to him by Darlene and his closest friend Angela. His lack of memory, and ability to see people who perhaps don’t even exist, confuses the audience almost as much as it confuses himself, in the most fascinating and wild fashion that I have ever seen in television. Christian Slater portrays this imaginary father figure as erratic and awe-inspiring, making strict decisions without Elliot knowing he does them himself, and essentially reminding Elliot with every moment that he will always be a part of him as long as he stays in his head.

The series returns for Season 2 on July 13th, 2016 at 10 PM, this summer on USA.

 

CANCELLED Shows of the 2016 Season:

• Minority Report
• Wicked City
• Of Kings & Prophets
• Angel From Hell
• Limitless
• The Family
• Galavant
• Nashville
• Castle
• Rush Hour
• Bordertown
• Cooper Barett’s Guide To Surviving Life
• Grandfathered
• The Grinder
• The Mysteries of Laura
• The Muppets
• Agent Carter
• CSI: Cyber
• Second Chance
• Containment
• Undateable
• Telenovela
• Crowded
• Heatbeat
• Game Of Silence

RENEWED Shows of the 2016 Season:

• The Middle
• The Goldbergs
• Modern Family
• Blackish
• The Odd Couple
• Code Black
• Criminal Minds
• Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders
• Chicago Fire
• Chicago PD
• Chicago Med
• Supergirl (Moved to The CW)
• Quantico
• The Catch
• Scandal
• The Blacklist
• Greys Anatomy
• Undercover Boss
• Family Guy
• The Simpsons
• 2 Broke Girls
• Brooklyn 99
• Superstore
• The Last Man On Earth
• The Carmichael Show
• Sleepy Hollow
• Last Man Standing
• Dr Ken
• Life In Pieces
• New Girl
• Hawaii Five-0
• The Amazing Race
• The Big Bang Theory
• NCIS: New Orleans
• NCIS
• Scorpion
• Survivor
• Mom
• Madam Secretary
• Elementary
• Blue Bloods
• NCIS: Los Angeles
• The Bachelor
• Shark Tank
• How To Get Away With Murder
• Agents of SHIELD
• Dancing With The Stars
• Fresh Off The Boat
• Once Upon A Time
• Grimm
• Law & Order SVU
• The Voice
• Little Big Shots

Additional Thoughts:

• Castle came as a shocker, as it was announced weeks ago that Stana Katic would not be asked to return for the upcoming Season 9. It seems now that won’t be necessary, as ABC has chosen to eliminate the show from their schedule as a whole, leaving those not involved behind the scenes (including myself!) confused on what other factors lead to its downfall.
• Nashville was another surprise cancellation this spring, having just ended the run of its fourth season on Wednesday night. While perhaps one could expect that the longer the show ran, the more expensive it was to support the cast, crew, and location financially, the ratings of this series were not particularly as unfortunate as some others that did in fact gain a renewal (American Crime comes to mind).
• Moving Supergirl to The CW was a strong move for both networks. Its ratings just weren’t strong enough to justify airing it on CBS for another full season, yet were great enough to be considered exceptional for the CW network. As a DC comics based series, Supergirl has already collaborated with CW’s The Flash, leaving the series a perfect fit for the new network to air on it’s new timeslot of 8:00 on Mondays.

This past Tuesday, FOX confirmed the pickups of six new series to join already greenlighted 24: Live Another Day, Star, and Shots Fired. The new shows include two comedies and four dramas, most notably the remakes of horror movie The Exorcist and the action-packed Lethal Weapon. Also joining FOX’s lineup in late 2016 to early 2017 will be Pitch, A.P.B, and comedies Making History and The Mick. Here are all the following dramas, along with personal guesses regarding whether or not they will survive the season and gain a renewal:

•The Exorcist•

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

“The Exorcist” will be a modern-day reimagining of the classic film, turned into a psychological thriller following two priests taking on the same case of a family’s problems with demonic possession. Geena Davis is set to star with Jeremy Slater writing and executive producing.
Will It Survive? : YES

Despite having never seen the original Exorcist movie myself, a simple IMDB search will show that the original 1973 release of The Exorcist managed a gross of over $200,000,000, back when a movie ticket was only about $1.77 a person. It’s simple to say the franchise has held is popularity given the number of sequels created in recent years, not to mention the recent trend in horror television (American Horror Story and Scream Queens come to mind). If written well enough, FOX may have an easy success in their hands this year.

•Lethal Weapon•

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

“Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Martin Riggs suffers the loss of his wife and baby and he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he gets partnered with LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh who, having recently suffered a ‘minor’ heart attack, must avoid any stress in his life. Based on the popular movie series.”

Will It Survive? : MAYBE

You can really tell from this series how badly FOX is lacking in the male demographic. As another series based of a popular movie, I’m willing to bet The Exorcist finds more success given the current trend of horror in TV, while this remake series suffers without a solid female demographic, not to mention the surplus of police procedurals on FOX alone without regarding the multiple on rivals NBC, ABC, and CBS. The reason I say maybe and not a complete ‘no’ to this series is Damon Wayans Sr. playing Roger Murtaugh, an actor who may perhaps have the star power to rise the ratings week after week.

•PITCH•

“The emotional story of young pitcher Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury), a beautiful, tough and incredibly gifted athlete who instantly becomes the most famous person in the country when she’s called up by the San Diego Padres, making her the first woman to play Major League Baseball.”

Will It Survive? : MAYBE

Here’s a show where ratings and survival depend almost entirely on well planned scheduling. On TVByTheNumbers, a common ratings website, one commenter noted how FOX has ownership of all MLB games for airtime, and this series fits directly with the demographic of the viewers watching baseball on any given night. If FOX is smart and premieres the show in the fall while baseball is still mid-season, they are very likely to find success in its premiere. Choosing to push the series to spring however, the demographic may lose interest with baseball season no longer in session, and without any big names attached to this project its survival is almost entirely based on proper scheduling.

•A.P.B.•

“Inspired by true events, APB is about the Chicago Police Department spiraling out of control amid sky-high crime, officer-involved shootings, cover-ups and corruption. After witnessing a violent crime first-hand, genius tech billionaire Gideon Reeves (Justin Kirk), decides to do something about it, putting up millions of dollars of his own money to take over the troubled 13th Precinct and reboot it as a private police force: better, faster and smarter than anything seen before. With cutting-edge technology and revolutionary new ideas, Gideon plans to rethink everything about the way cops fight crime.”

Will It Survive? : NO

Hmmm, where have you heard this before? With four different series’s revolving around Chicago in progress on rival network NBC, it seems just a bit silly to indirectly copy series “Chicago PD” with a technical spin on it. With no big actors or actresses attached either, and with FOX having difficulties in their schedule on almost every night, this series is most likely to do the worst of all four of these newly announced dramas. Unless the show is placed after Empire, FOX’s highest rated series on the network, I firmly believe this one is a goner.

As we reach the second month of a year already flying by, excitement begins for all new series’s to premiere in the coming months on America’s most popular streaming service. Here’s what you all can expect to see in comedy over the next year or so:

Fuller House: Likely the most talked about of anything else on Netflix’s new lineup, Fuller House extends the original Full House story, in which where Danny Tanner’s now grown daughter DJ enlists the help of her friends and family to take care of her young triplets, in the family’s old home in San Fransisco, California. The majority of the cast of the 90’s hit are all returning to play their original roles, creating buzz as the set has been recreated with a premiere date of February 26.

Love: I’ll admit to my excitement for this series starring Paul Rust and Community favorite Gillian Jacobs, in their starring roles as Gus and Mickey. Created by Judd Apatow,  the series revolves around the meeting of these two characters and the roles they play in each others currently upsetting lives, as Gus has been cheated on and Mickey had ended her own relationship as of late. As the two meet the audience wonders, based on the title of the series, will they fall in love? The premiere will be February 11th at 3 AM EST!

The Ranch: In new roles for Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson of That 70s Show, this (mainly) outdoor comedy regards Kutcher’s character Colt, as he helps his family and brother run their ranch in Colorado. The series also stars Elisha Cuthbert of Happy Endings and Sam Elliot of Justified, and premieres April 1st of 2016!

The Characters: As Netflix makes their way into the world of sketch comedy, The Characters will follow eight comedians (one per episode) and their own goofy costumes and characters that they use to develop their even sillier and stranger storylines. The previews for the series display this effect through one character’s reaction to a “your mom” joke, taken as literally as possible, and another taking as long a time as he needs to decide how he would like his steak prepared. Don’t forget to watch on its premiere date, March 11th!

Superstore, which began airing this January, takes the term “bottle episode” to new levels for every new airing. The term “bottle episode” refers to an episode of a show that takes place in only one setting, that the characters do not leave for the entirety of one single episode. Comedy series The Office had many bottle episodes, taking place only in the single room in which each member was working, which writer Justin Spitzer must have taken note upon in the development of his own network television show. NBC’s Superstore follows the daily tasks of a group of workers at Cloud Nine, a big box store in Missouri, which is significantly more fun and entertaining than it sounds. Leading character Amy (played by America Ferrera) holds the title of smart, independent and grounded, harboring arguably the most normal qualities in comparision to that of her coworkers. While assistant store manager Dina (played by Lauren Ash) finds her strengths in acting aggressive towards her employees, the remainder of the cast is very eccentric, despite facing real challenges including Cheyenne’s (Nichole Bloom) young pregnancy and each single employee’s money struggles. When Jonah (Ben Feldman) begins working at Cloud Nine in the pilot of the series, his character immediately seems to bode well with the cast, with hi-jinks including dressing up mannequins to look like coworkers or his attempt to take care of Amy’s teenage daughter. The series has a very goofy and laugh – out – loud vibe, in a format where you do not necessarily have to watch each episode in order. This makes for a pleasant viewing experience, as you do not have to worry about missing an episode in order to understand the plot. Airing Monday’s at 8:00, Superstore is one you might want to remember!

A descriptive list of my favorite shows, both old and new, and why they appealed to myself and their audiences:

1. Community

What made Community so entertaining was how the plot of each episode was always incredibly abnormal, yet the main characters of the show made them feel as though they were just normal occupancies at Greendale Community College. In an episode where a paintball competition was held, so that the winner could have first enrollment in the classes of the next semester, the school immediately became a war zone that the main characters quickly fell into, forming teams and taking down groups like the cheer squad and the glee club at once. In another, a school wide fight of pillows versus blankets occurs that the cast immediately becomes a part of, serving as nurses for the ‘injured fighters’ and forming suits entirely out of pillows and tape. As silly as it was, the characters of the series made each of these scenarios feel realistic and plausible, and therefore extremely entertaining.

2. Mr. Robot

This series is relatively new, having begun its run the summer of 2015, and having earned its first Golden Globe award just a few weeks ago. A drama based loosely on Fight Club, lead character Elliot Alderson is lead by a strange man dubbed ‘Mr Robot’ to the ‘lair’ his team has been hacking from the internet in, with an end goal of cancelling debt worldwide to those tricked by company ECorp, or as Elliot sees it, EvilCorp. The series is full of twists and turns as the audience wonders what is truly real and what isn’t, what characters are real and who is Elliot seeing in his head? The wonder and mystery is what makes every minute of this show an interesting journey, and the wild cliffhangers of season one’s final episode has the audience (especially myself) extremely excited for season two!

3. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

One of the longest running cable comedies in history, Always Sunny still manages to stay fresh and insane in each new season of its series. What makes this series so much fun is how the characters, purposely unlikable and terrible, continue to make the same mistakes they have always made in the past, and never expecting the awful outcomes of their attempts. Throughout this season thus far, as character Frank falls out a window and has amnesia, his son and daughter use this as an opportunity to convince him into giving them wild amounts of money that they were never able to earn themselves. Another episode and these characters attempted to sell worthless art at high, high prices, luring in potential buyers through another wild money scheme. How these characters always manage to fail just adds to their charm, and as the writers of the series also play the characters, they know better than anyone how to keep their series as silly as its been since its first run in 2006.

4. American Horror Story

As an anthology series, with new characters and a new setting for each season, it’s no surprise that AHS is able to stay memorable for as long as it has. I’ve personally seen just about four of the five seasons, and I might be one of few to believe the series is getting better and better. While perhaps the ‘horror’ factor of each season usually does not last so long, as the main storyline for each season begins, in AHS: Hotel each episode brings a new level of shock value to its audience. Each character this season had their own fascinating backstory as to how they ended up working or living in the hotel, giving each member of the cast a purpose that made for a very dark yet enlightening ending.
5. Revenge

Perhaps an odd favorite, as I never tend to watch any ‘soap opera type’ series myself, Revenge was a series that could always leave me on the edge of my seat over its 4 season run. I will always applaud the development of the show as the lead character Emily Thorne struggled to keep her real identity, daughter to a framed terrorist, a secret, for this secret was kept for just the right amount of time before its reveal. Arguably the best part of this series was the side characters, given the loyalty between Emily and her ‘sidekick’ Nolan and her ever growing list of love interests, some who truly loved her dearly and some who could only love the girl she pretended to be.

Hype is quickly rising for fans of older television shows, as these make their triumphant returns to the small screen. Among these new revivals are Fuller House, a later spin on the 90’s comedy Full House, airing this February on Netflix, and others in production including Prison Break. Many networks are following in these footsteps in the hopes of achieving solid ratings, but which reboots have actually succeeded, and which proved a terrible idea?

 

Heroes Reborn (NBC): Based of heavily fallen ratings and less than pleasant reviews, this reboot based on the Heroes series of the early 2000s proved less than beneficial for the network. The original series was noteworthy for a very solid first season, that derailed later on according to many, which appeared to continue unsuccessfully as the the newer series aired this year.

24: Live Another Day (FOX): 24 is one of few reboots today, excluding the X Files, to do well and continue to do reasonably well throughout its full 11 episode run. While there was no second installment after this short stint in 2014, FOX informed the press this year that in fact another series would be made called 24: Legacy, starring all new characters, likely given the success they achieved from this one.

X Files (FOX): Currently on the second episode of its short, six episode order, this continuation of an older series about 13 years later still continues to dominate in viewer ratings. X Files was arguably the smartest idea for a reboot in the first place, given its significant fan base even today, despite the series having ended in 2002. By choosing a popular, long running series that holds significant relevance, especially a series with each season available on Netflix to “binge” and get into, Fox knew this series would be most beneficial for their (currently) struggling network.

The Muppets (ABC): Another series with awfully fallen ratings, The Muppets premiered in September of 2015 to a very large audience, that sank significantly by about its 10th episode. Blaming the style of the show, instead of perhaps the audience’s lack of interest in watching more than a Muppets special, ABC claims the show will be back to finish its run this year with new producers to bring back the show’s charm. It is more than likely that the show will not return for another season after finishing this run, yet given more than a few strange, low rated renewals from ABC last May, maybe they’ll unsuccessfully try it again?

With the hundreds of new television series’s having premiered in 2015 alone, coinciding with the long running shows we have already come to know and love today, television executives have a solid mindset on what themes lead a show to great ratings. For example:

Zombies: Chances are you’ve heard plenty about The Walking Dead, as television’s highest rated show in years, given the general public’s fascination of a zombie riddled world. While perhaps no other network has made their own attempt at a specific zombie theme, aside from AMC themselves with a spinoff, the idea of a central theme that all characters could revolve around has proven very effective.

Medical Workplace: Hospitals are a very welcome setting for an audience of high viewership, as displayed by shows such as Greys Anatomy, in its 12th season, and Scrubs, that lasted 9. Multiple times have networks tried to recreate this same idea for their own, yet somewhat unsuccessfully, as CBS’s Code Black continues to fall in viewership and NBC’s The Night Shift struggles just the same.

Medival Setting: Another successor in the television ratings verse is the medival Game Of Thrones, which continues to rate higher and higher as each new season premieres. Arguably an attempted replica of the well rated show, ABC has plans to air Of Kings and Prophets this year, bearing strong resemblance to the former. This move may prove strategic for the network in the hopes of aquiring a much needed ratings boost this season.