The Fall Schedule Has Arrived!
Since my life seems to be made up of work, writing fiction and watching TV, it seems only appropriate that I am overly excited by the release of the fall TV schedule. So let me just go through my thoughts on the scheduling of my favourite shows, and predict how I think each one will do.
MONDAY
8-9pm
Nothing that interests me fills the early Monday slot, although the 2-hour champion that is ABC's Dancing With The Stars is likely to pull some of the viewers away from Lucifer.
9-10pm
Lucifer (FOX) was a harmless addition to my schedule this season, bolstered by its casting of Lauren German as Detective Chloe Decker. It's ratings dropped throughout season 1 to around the 3-4m mark, but given that it retains this slot from the previous year it should do well enough and hopefully see a season 3 at the end.
10-11pm
Conviction (ABC) and Scorpion (CBS), fill this slot. Scorpion has been in the 9-10 slot for its first two seasons, and has built a solid fanbase. CBS will be hoping this will be enough to keep the ratings high in a later position, given that it plans to air two new comedies in Kevin Can Wait and Man with a Plan at 8-8.30 and 8.30-9 respectively (beginning in November), and two returning comedies in 2 Broke Girls (moved from mid-season) and The Odd Couple from 9-9.30 and 9.30-10 respectively. I see no reason Scorpion should suffer drastically, although the 10pm position does naturally come with some degree of viewership decrease.
Conviction is a new offering from ABC - the wildcat daughter of a former President is blackmailed into working at the Conviction Integrity Unit, investigating cases where there is reason to believe the wrong person was convicted of a crime. A twist on the usual crime procedurals, showing us the same type of investigation but in reverse: they're trying to free the convicted. I've seen the trailer for this and it looks extremely good, so I am hoping a 10pm introduction (due to the aforementioned Dancing With the Stars) won't harm its chances of a lengthy tenure at ABC, although it should gain some appeal from fans of Hayley Atwell (of the recently cancelled Agent Carter).
Timeless of NBC also premieres at this time. I may give that a look in, but it doesn't appeal to me as Conviction does.
TUESDAY
8pm
NCIS (CBS) has been in this spot for 13 years and despite what Stephen Hawking might say there's not a single parallel universe where season 14 airs at a different time. I won't be caught up in time to see this season as it airs, but it's already been renewed for season 15, so I can expect viewers in the mid-teens of millions, and be assured it'll be there when I am caught up next year.
Unfortunately, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) will battle it out, also starting at 8pm, although only for half an hour. The Andy Samberg show has run for 3 seasons so far, although its scheduling has been iffy: in its first season it aired on Tuesdays at 8.30 or 9.30pm, season 2 aired Sundays at 8.30pm and season 3 aired either Sundays at 8.30 or Tuesdays at 9. Hopefully an earlier timeslot will stabilise it, and give it hope for better ratings, in spite of the heavyweight it's up against in NCIS.
9-10pm
NCIS's dearly departed Michael Weatherly stars in Bull, CBS's new drama around the life of Dr Phil McGraw and his trial consultancy firm. Sticking it directly after NCIS was an undeniably genius move, as it will soften the pain for the millions of NCIS fans lamenting Weatherly's departure - they can see him again just an hour later! It goes up against ABC's comedies Fresh off the Boat and The Real O'Neals, and NBC's new drama This Is Us, but I reckon Bull will be the heavyweight in this timeslot.
10-11pm
NCIS: New Orleans spent its first two seasons in the 9-10pm slot directly after NCIS; that and its being part of the NCIS franchise saw its ratings reach the mid-teen-millions. I've no doubt that, while NCIS NO will take a slight hit being in a later spot, it will still rake in viewers in the double digit millions.
WEDNESDAY
8-9pm
I haven't begun watching Blindspot (NBC) yet - given the ratings decline I thought I'd give it a miss and see if it got a season 2 - but now that it has, I'll use the off-season to catch up and be ready when it rolls back around next year. Blindspot opened its debut season in the Tuesday at 10pm slot, right after The Voice, and while I'm sure that helped partially, a late slot never bodes well for a show. Now, Blindspot will air two hours earlier, giving it the chance to redeem its depleting viewers and continue to succeed, which I'm certain it will.
9-10pm
As with NCIS, I'm not sufficiently caught up to Criminal Minds to watch this season 12 air, but you have to wonder just how it continues to garner such viewers given it's alongside such powerhouse shows as Fox's Empire and NBC's Law and Order: SVU. Criminal Minds has been in this Wednesday at 9 slot all its life (which seems to be one of the strongest TV broadcast slots of the week), and will continue to be there until it finishes but, when it does - and if Law and Order: SVU and/or Empire are still around, CBS will have a hard time finding something to compete so well against them.
10-11pm
Code Black is a new CBS show I've only just begun to watch, and is another I will be caught up with in the off-season, now that I know it will get a season 2. Set in an overwhelmed hospital (and I do like hospital dramas), there is a much grittier, more realistic feel to this one that I like. It debuted in this slot and I hope it will continue to do well, although I could see its ratings dropping and it being a possibility for cancellation come next year.
THURSDAY
8-9pm
Thursdays are not my day. There isn't a single show I want to watch in this 8-9 slot at all.
9-10pm
Nor is there anything in this slot I plan to watch, either.
10-11pm
Pure Genius (renamed [terribly] from Bunker Hill [what in the name of God does genius have anything to do with this show]) will make its debut on CBS in this Thursday at 10 slot. Another medical drama - this one based around how cutting-edge technology can be implemented if a rich guy sets up a hospital - whose trailer looks very interesting indeed, in spite of it not having any actors I've previously enjoyed to attract me. It's up against The Blacklist, but that's in a later position for season 4 and it's ratings are declining anyway, as did my interest after the start of season 3. Move over Blacklist.
FRIDAY
8-9pm
Nothing here but MacGyver (CBS), a 2016 reboot, which I may give a chance. The trailer doesn't appeal to me as much as say Bull's or Conviction's, but it looks interesting enough that I may enjoy it.
9-10pm
Hawaii Five-0, had its first 3 seasons in the Monday at 10 slot, but since season 4 has occupied Friday at 9, and its ratings have largely levelled off (with a slight overall increase) since it's been in this position. There was no reason to think it would be moved and it hasn't been, and I expect another 25-episode season that will draw 10m+ viewers, and a season 8 renewal at the end of it.
10-11pm
Blue Bloods (CBS) is a lock for this position, as it has been for it's first 6 seasons, and still draws over 10m+ viewers. I've failed to be as hooked by this as other shows, stalling in my catch-up midway through the first season, and it may end up falling by the wayside as the more interesting cop procedurals get renewed and new ones are created. Still, will do well enough to secure a season 8, barring some catastrophic failure of everything.
SATURDAY
There's no choice TV scheduled for Saturday so ... we'll move on.
SUNDAY
8-9pm
NCIS: Los Angeles has had a bit of a hard time lately. It opened it's first 5 seasons Tuesday at 9, behind its forefather NCIS, and drew in overall ratings of 16m+. Then, when NCIS: New Orleans came in and stole that spot, NCIS LA was moved to Mondays at 10 and lost an entire third of its viewers in the next two seasons. Now, CBS has seen fit to move it to Sundays at 8, which I imagine is a brilliant move and one I am very thankful to see. NCIS LA's format may be getting stale after 7 seasons, but it's cast list remains solid and it's humour stable, and, despite the slow phasing out of the legendary Hetty Lange, it should, in the 8pm slot, pick up it's ratings and surge back up to the usual NCIS-franchise-level ratings.
9-10pm
Nothing here that I watch.
10-11pm
Quantico is another show that, now I've seen it's been renewed for a season 2, I can catch up on in the off-season. I've no idea if it's any good or if I'll like it, but I'll give it a go.
It's up against Elementary, which I'm stunned continues to exist. While I do enjoy Elementary, the writing of it is its only saviour. It manages to maintain a cast list of only 4 people and still underuse 2 of them, it's ratings are some of the worst I've seen over the last season and it's decline throughout its 4 seasons has been absolutely laughable. Even Castle's universally hated final season managed to attract more viewers than Elementary this year, and we'll skip my lament that it remains while Person of Interest is cruelly shafted. CBS do good cop procedurals, but this is easily the weakest and, in spite of its top-draw writing, in all honesty shouldn't still be on air.
Anything else?
There are plenty of shows I haven't mentioned yet that will pick up in the off-season or mid-season. Orange Is The New Black, The Night Shift, Zoo and Hell on Wheels' final half-season will all return in June; The 100, iZombie, Black Sails and The Librarians will all likely return mid-season, alongside new Fox drama A.P.B.; while new NBC comedies Making History and Powerless are set to appear in 2017 and I don't know respectively.
The third season of Hulu comedy Deadbeat has already been released online and there are a handful of other new shows which look interesting such as Incorporated and Blood Drive, which I shall check up on in the future.
Final words
I don't need to say much here, other than to simply thank everyone for reading again, and I will see you next time!
Sam
No comments:
Post a Comment