Continuing my look at the Network lineups, NBC is up. They’ve already handed out a few renewals, locking in the One Chicago lineup for next season, as well as Happy’s Place and St Dennis Medical both picked up for a third season. With the Voice currently in its 29th season, and experimenting with one less judge, there’s zero chance they don’t hit 30. It has been a solid performer for them, and major milestone seasons always allow for a bigger promotional push, just look at Survivor 50. Surprisingly, NBC doesn’t have a Law and Order deal on the table yet, which would extend the show beyond SVU’s current 27th season, and the originals 25th Season. I doubt ratings play too much of a factor, and at this point, it comes down to whether a certain SCVU cast member wishes to continue. That leaves Sophomore dramas Brilliant Minds and The Hunting Party. The Hunting Party wasn’t a ratings juggernaut to begin with, but has almost held steady, dipping slightly from last season. It does have an abysmal 0.1 rating in the target 18-49 demo. However, NBC’s low development for this current season does pose the question of just what is even waiting in the wings to replace it? NBC only premiered one new Fall show, Stumble, and that was a sitcom. That show actually fares better, actually benefitting from a slight uptick in Happy’s Place, and being able to hold the audience. It also has a much more impressive 0.6 average in the 18-49 demo, suggesting NBC is likely to keep the freshman cheerleading comedy around. Brilliant Minds, on the other hand, looks the most vulnerable, as not only did it initially draw a higher audience than The Hunting Party, but it has lost more of it. the show is now logging lower viewership than The Hunting Party, and has an equally abysmal 0.1 rating in the demo. The Fall and Rise of Reggie Deakins is a bit too early to tell. The show had a fantastic (by today’s standards) premiere, but has been totally unable to hold that momentum, losing half its audience. In the battle of Freshamn comedies, Stubmle far outperforms it, unless RJ has some massive Peacock numbers to balance it out. NBC has 8 pilots, some of which feel no brainers to pick up to series. NBC currently has David Boreanaz attached to a Rockford Files reboot, and has a sitcom starring Jane Lynch and Katey Sagal that scream at me as obvious front runners. Interestingly, NBC also has an untitled crime drama with Boreanaz’s former Bones co-star Emily Deschanel that is untitled, but the timing of having those two in the mix could make for interesting bedfellows if paired on the same night, tapping into Bones fandom.
TV Shows Watched: The Diplomat: S3E? (Netflix) with audio description, English Teacher: S2E10 (Disney Plus) with audio description, 56 Days: S1E1 (Amazon) with audio description, Sheriff Country: S1E8 (Paramount Plus) with audio description, Wondla: S3E2 (Apple) with audio description, and Abbott Elementary: S5E8? (Disney Plus) with audio description
The Diplomat- I’ve enjoyed Season 3 a lot more. I had to go back through and watch the second season, which is why I’m even further behind on this, but I think the show may actually be getting better. The actors are really finding their strides with Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford all doing wonderful work this season. The tense relationship between the UK and USA is felt, and the directness in the episode to the poor handling of our pullout in Afghanistan is heavy. The AD here is good too,though this episode was a lot of people talking in rooms, and not a lot of action.
English Teacher- I finally finished the show, which I know I’m supposed to now have mixed feelings about because of allegations made against the shows creator, but the ensemble was lovely. Like, I would have loved a third season, only to see if Markie and Gwen might have been able to explore the possibility that the often bumbling coach has his heart in the right place. Goodbye, show. You will be missed.
56 Days- Finally, a horny show. Amazon is so full of crime dramas, this is a nice change of pace. It’s so weird to see how they don’t pay attention to scheduling, often throwing a bunch of crime dramas, but not really mixing it up. Netflix does a much better job balancing their output. This is at least intriguing, even if I’m not immediately in love with it, simply because it feels at least on some level different from most of the shows on my watchlist. The AD isn’t bad either, with (I believe) the same team that just did Fallout.
Sheriff Country- The “growers” are under attack, and by the end of the episode, father and daughter are going to find themselves sternly on opposing sides of the issue, because Wes feels like no one respects or supports the growers, even though what they do is legal in California. W. Earl Brown as Wes is a solid standout in the episode. Also, perfectly solid audio description, which is what you get with nearly every CBS show through their connection with Media Access Group. if it ain’t broke.
Wondla- the science fiction series ramps up as Eva fights to find her sister, process what Mother told her, and save the world. No pressure. Lovely audio description, and a vocal cameo from Oscar nominee Shoreh Agadashloo.
Abbott Elementary- First day of school, at a mall. What’s funny is that this mall has stuff left behind, so they are using recognizable brand names all the time, like holding class in a Journeys, or Hollister. The MVP here is Barbara, as Sheryl Lee Ralph’s character has to use her years of experience to wrangle all the faculty and kids through a difficult time, and inedible lunches.There was a visual cue missed at the beginning, one of those “how bad can it be?” Type gags, before the opening credits, and I contend a better writer would have acknowledged it, instead of white flagging the moment. It isn’t like audio description was impossible, or even highly improbable. There was a slight challenge, and no one rose to the occasion.