2015-2016 In Review: Cancellations, Renewals, and Surprises

Last May I did a round-up of the year in broadcast TV, and I think I’m going to make that an annual tradition. One change from last year – I now have less than 600 episodes on my to-watch list, compared to last year’s 900+!

ABC

So the innovative British guy is out, and ABC has a new president, one who’s besties with Shonda Rhimes (I don’t watch any of her shows, so you can guess how I feel about that). New gal cleaned house, canceling several of my favorite shows in the process, including Agent Carter (pictured above), Castle (which was sort of for the best, since it would have had to continue without Beckett), and Galavant (which at least ended well). ABC used to be my most-watched network, and now it is my least, with only 2 shows I watch returning next year: Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time (which, like last year, sits mostly unwatched until I catch up during breaks). None of ABC’s nine new shows sounded especially appealing, though after watching the trailers I may try out Designated Survivor and the more boring-sounding of the three time-travel shows launching this year, Time After Time. I was thinking of giving Hayley Atwell’s Conviction a chance, but the promo made me think it’s not really my cup of tea.

0 new shows watched, 3 of my shows canceled, 2 of my shows returning

CBS

The Eye Network still has plenty of veteran shows I will keep watching until the end, even as they become more annoying to watch as the only broadcast network who doesn’t put their shows on Hulu. I have the no-commercials option on Hulu Plus, so watching CBS shows with all commercials live or on demand feels like a waste of time. I’d sign up for CBS All Access in a heartbeat if it got rid of commercials, but unfortunately, it doesn’t. I tried out the excellent Life in Pieces (renewed) and the doomed-to-fail Angel from Hell (canceled) this year. Person of Interest is also ending this summer. In addition to Life in Pieces, next year I’ll watch returning comedies The Big Bang Theory and just-renewed The Odd Couple. For dramas, I’m still watching NCIS (how I will miss DiNozzo!), NCIS: Los Angeles, Elementary, and Scorpion. Out of their new shows, the only drama I plan to try out is Michael Weatherly’s Bull (the premise is meh, but the 4-minute trailer looks awesome), but I will probably at least sample all of their new comedies.

2 new shows watched, 2 of my shows canceled (1 new), 7 of my shows returning

FOX

Fox actually had a cool screening opportunity in my area for 3 of their new shows – Grandfathered, The Grinder, and Scream Queens. Of the 3, I only liked Grandfathered, but only Scream Queens was renewed. I also really liked Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, which was canceled. Sleepy Hollow was a surprise renewal – the show will never be as good as its first season, and I still have a few episodes waiting to be watched, but I’ll keep watching as long as Tom Mison plays Ichabod Crane. I also will watch the final season of Bones, and of course awesome comedies New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I haven’t watched any more of The Last Man on Earth, but I may try out the show again if I’m running out of comedies over the summer. Fox’s new fall shows aren’t particularly compelling, but at midseason I may try out The Mick and APB since promos look interesting. Midseason time-travel comedy, Making History (starring Adam Pally and Leighton Meester), is the one new Fox show that earned an immediate spot on my to-watch list (which means, of course, that Fox will cancel it).

2 new shows watched (2 others tried), 2 of my shows canceled (both new), 4 of my shows returning

NBC

I noted last year that NBC had only one returning show I would be watching – Grimm. I tried out two of their new shows this year, Blindspot and Superstore, both of which I enjoyed immensely and both of which were renewed, along with Grimm. So now I will have 3 NBC shows to watch next fall, plus I will definitely check out their 3 new shows, Timeless (time travel and Matt Lanter), The Good Place (Kristen Bell), and This is Us (Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia). All have pretty decent spots on the fall schedule, so I’m hopeful they’ll stick around for at least a season, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the showrunners’ previous shows, so I’m hopeful the quality will be good. Plus, NBC has a number of midseason shows I want to check out, especially the DC comics-set workplace comedy Powerless, starring Vanessa Hudgens, Danny Pudi, and Alan Tudyk. Excited that NBC seems to be turning things around.

2 new shows watched, 0 of my shows canceled, 3 of my shows returning

The CW

For the second year in a row, the CW renewed all their shows (spring show Containment, now canceled, had yet to premiere, and summer show Beauty and the Beast had already been announced as final season). I tried out and liked new shows Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Legends of Tomorrow. I’ll still be watching Arrow, The Flash, Jane the Virgin, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and iZombie (and Supernatural if we ever catch up – on season 6 now). I’ll probably try out their 3 new shows, and while I like the premise for No Tomorrow more, I liked the trailer more for Frequency. Though if Riverdale premieres in the spring, there’s not much hope for it (since the CW seems to cancel one spring show every year – Containment in 2016, The Messengers in 2015, Star-Crossed in 2014, Cult in 2013, etc.).

2 new shows watched, 0 of my shows canceled, 8 (9 if counting Supernatural) of my shows returning

2016-2017 Predictions

As much as I hate losing shows, it’s time for some long-running favorites to come to an end. Castle ended this year; Bones is entering its final season. NCIS: Los Angeles has lost viewers away from its parent show, and is now moving to Sundays. I wouldn’t be surprised if it or Elementary gets canceled next year, but if CBS’s new shows bomb, they’ll likely stick around. On the speculative side, The Vampire Diaries is showing its age, and if more actors are bailing, it should end. I also don’t see Once Upon a Time lasting much longer, though I do like how they’ve been exploring different realms every half season to keep things interesting. Supernatural will live as long as Jared and Jensen want to keep doing it, and the same with the cast of The Big Bang Theory.

I don’t think the CW will renew all their fall shows again this year. There’s just not space, and I’m pretty sure one of the newbies will go. And I’m guessing at least one returning show will be moved to summer.

New fall shows that I think will be renewed: Bull (everyone who liked Michael Weatherly on NCIS will keep watching his new show airing right after NCIS), Designated Survivor, This is Us, Speechless, The Great Indoors, and Timeless.

Limitless: Previewing The Latest CBS Drama

Guest Post by Adrian Crawford

In 2011, Neil Burger’s pseudo-sci-fi suspense drama Limitless was released to a surprisingly favorable response. The film starred Bradley Cooper as Eddie Mora, a down-on-his luck writer who stumbles upon a drug that enables him to tap into the full potential of the human brain (specifically, of course, his own). Mora’s experience with the drug, which is called NZT, takes him to new heights both professionally and socially. However, its negative effects, both in the form of withdrawal and the envy it inspires in others, quickly threaten to outweigh the positives.

Really, the concept was a little bit cheesy, and the decision to place Cooper in the main role was bolder than it might seem in retrospect. In 2011, Cooper was not quite the serious actor we regard him as today, but rather still “the guy from The Hangover” trying to make his way in film beyond comedy. As it turned out, however, Cooper was fantastic. Also, a supporting cast headlined by Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro helped to spin a cheesy subject into a genuinely compelling film. Rotten Tomatoes lists Limitless with a 70% favorability rating among critics, with 74% of viewers having rated it positively.

Fast-forward four years, and here we are looking not at a sequel for the cinema, but a CBS adaptation that will turn the Limitless concept into a television drama. The show will premiere on Sept. 22, and in the meantime here’s our preview of some of the most interesting factors at play.

Undoubtedly the factor most people will have their eyes on is the transition of Bradley Cooper to television. While the protagonist of the series will be a character named Brian Finch (played by Jake McDorman), Cooper will be reprising his role as Eddie Mora, making him the latest major film actor to dabble in television. According to Deadline, Cooper “intends to appear as much as his schedule permits,” indicating he’s truly interested in seeing this project through. Evidently, the show will pick up where the film left off, with Mora having used his improved mental capacity to chase political ambition, and Sinclair likely following in his footsteps.

The appearance of Cooper on a CBS drama comes on the heels of TV roles for cinematic superstars like Jeff Daniels (in The Newsroom), Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey (in True Detective’s first season), and Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Rachel McAdams (in True Detective’s second season). While it’s unknown yet just how often he’ll be on screen, it’s a certainty that he’ll command audience attentions whenever he’s around.

As to what sort of drama will actually unfold in the TV continuation of Limitless, a CBS synopsis reveals that the primary focus will be on Finch’s work with the FBI. Working closely with FBI officials while also becoming a sort of protege for Mora (who will indeed be a senator en route to a presidential run), Finch will apparently become an indispensable asset for the bureau, thanks entirely to his usage of the NZT drug and resulting boost in cognitive ability.

Until the premiere actually arrives, that’s about all we’ve got on the content and structure of the show. Although, there’s one other interesting development that’s already occurred, and it’s that Limitless has a game. It’s a sort of cognitive test built on a combination of reading speed and show trivia, meant to see just how “limitless” players are. It’s a simple concept for now, but it’s actually pretty unique if you think about it.

Typically, video games do not accompany cable dramas, but rather mainstream films. And yet, a lot of the movie-based video games that do exist out there are built around the exact type of concepts—namely, casino experiences and card games—that a character on NZT might seek to manipulate. On the Betfair site, where so many movie-based casino games have found a home over the years, users can enjoy experiences based on Marvel superheroes, literary icons like Sherlock Holmes, and others, all with the accompanying promotional bonuses and real money gaming integration. These games are ultimately standard casino entertainment, but they make use of popular characters in their own unique ways.

With so much popular fiction tied in with this particular style of gaming coupled with the fact that a cognitive Limitless game already exists, it makes one wonder if the new show could be a rare exception: a TV drama with real potential in gaming and elsewhere in entertainment. The Limitless test could easily branch out to include other quizzes and puzzles, as well as card games, arcade experiences and the like, all of which are already, to varying degrees, testing our brains.

Currently, that’s just speculation. More than likely, the Limitless game is merely a fun tool CBS is using to help promote the show. But the nature of the subject matter, should the show become popular, is very conducive to a style of entertainment that already has close ties to popular fiction.

Either way, I can’t wait to see the new Limitless. I’m beyond excited to see Bradley Cooper on TV, and I’ll be trying to max out my score on the Limitless test pretty much from now until the premiere!

Daredevil: Marvel Comes to Netflix

I finally caught up on Marvel’s Daredevil, a show I’ve been aching to finish for months (my sister didn’t really connect with the characters and we were watching together). By turns I loved it, I hated it, I was amazed by it, I was bored by it, and ultimately, I cannot wait to see what happens in season two.

In case you’ve been living under a rock or tend to block out all superhero news (this show is more crime/vigilante noir than a standard superhero tale), here’s a brief summary: Matt Murdock was blinded as a child, but the accident enhanced his other senses. By day, he’s a lawyer fighting injustice with his best friend Foggy Nelson and their first client/new assistant Karen. By night, he keeps the streets of Hell’s Kitchen safe by beating up criminals and rescuing victims. But the mysterious head of a group of organized criminals, Fisk, has a different plan for Hell’s Kitchen.

Being as I’m a pessimist, I’m going to nitpick about the things I disliked first before I gush about all the things I loved. Spoilers for the full first season below!

The gore. While I really liked the way the show made you feel every blow Matt took, there were way too many bits that were over the top. At least most were telegraphed well enough so I could look away. Still, it’s annoying to have to add a warning to friends every time I mention the show.

The subtitles. I get that they’re trying to show how diverse New York City is. And it’s great that they include a bunch of different nationalities as part of the show. But I hate subtitles with a passion. One thing I love about conversations in TV shows is getting to see the emotions on characters’ faces as they talk, but with having to read the subtitles (since I don’t speak Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or Spanish), my eyes are constantly darting from words to faces and it pulls me out of the story.  Side note: A similar thing happens when the closed captioning is turned on, one reason I also hate that. I can’t ignore the words since I communicate best with printed words so my eyes are naturally drawn to them. But since I read so quickly, I also generally read the words before the character says, which often strips conversations of emotional impact and humor (like a person blurting out the punch line of a joke too early).

The under use of the “world on fire” view. I get that they don’t want Matt’s enhanced sense-informed “sight” to be a gimmick, but there were several times it should have been used. Most notably when Matt was trying to meditate but kept remembering the Nobu and Fisk fight. If they are his memories, they should be the way he sees them, not the way the camera did (which we already saw the first time).

The slow build. While a 13-episode season has more breathing room than a 2-hour movie, I fear the measured pace failed to capture many viewers. I myself was always going to watch the show because Marvel, but even I wasn’t completely hooked until episode 4.

The predicable end. I foresaw many of the twists in the final few episodes. Leland being behind the poisoning. Ben dying. Fisk escaping. Daredevil beating him in his shiny new suit (which just seems off for some reason, but could have been much worse). The three friends coming back together felt awkward, as did their scene together outside their office. The opera music over the arrests was annoying and didn’t mesh with the scenes – I feel like it would have felt more powerful if a different selection had been used, even a different opera selection. I also think it would have been an interesting twist to have Fisk go after Ben’s wife instead of Ben himself (not to mention that we would still have Ben for season two!).

Now for the stuff I loved!

Matt Murdock. Charlie Cox was the perfect choice for this role. I was most familiar with his acting from his lead role in Stardust (one of my favorite fantasy movies), and his talents have only grown. He does an amazing job of helping viewers feel everything that Matt feels – every blaze of pain, every glimmer of hope, every moment of panic. When he is let down (again) by Stick, when he has to admit his lies and secrets to Foggy, you ache with him. And I’m not ashamed to admit I now have a bit of a crush on him! (Sorry, Thor/Chris Hemsworth, you’ve been downgraded.)

The rest of the casting choices. Elden Henson as Foggy played off Matt’s serious demeanor expertly, bringing a much-needed ray of lightheartedness, but also had plenty of serious character moments (I loved when he told off his ex!). Vincent D’Onofrio transformed completely as Fisk (especially contrasted with his character on Jurassic World) and made you want to give the villain a happy ending (well, until the first head rolled at least). Rosario Dawson, Deborah Ann Woll, Toby Leonard Moore, Vondie Curtis-Hall – the list goes on.

The religious debates. God and superheroes don’t normally mix (aside from Captain America’s brief mentions). If anything, it’s the villains who tend to be religious fanatics who twist scripture and abuse faith toward their own ends. Having the hero be a strong Catholic trying to come to terms with what he believes and what he feels he has to do adds much to the story.

The law practice. I like that the day jobs aren’t completely forgotten or nonexistent in this superhero story. While the job does get pushed aside at times, their limited client list makes this acceptable. (What happens if they get busy next season? Matt is never going to sleep.)

The limited scope. Matt isn’t trying to save the galaxy, or the world, or the country. He’s trying to save one victim at a time, or at most, one neighborhood in New York City. That, along with Matt’s not-as-flashy powers, gives the show a much more grounded, human feel.

The humor. While this is a very serious show, the humor that is there is often in the wry sense that I like. Hopefully next season has more hilarious moments as the trio of friends becomes more comfortable with each other.

The lack of a singular love interest. While Fisk beats a speedy path from first conversation to proposal with Vanessa, the rest of the romantic relationships are left very much in flux. Yet there is no overt love triangle or meant-to-be couple (in the show itself, I haven’t read the comics). It’s a refreshing change and one well suited to a show that should last for years.

The action sequences. I don’t know much about the technical aspects, so I’ll just say they were amazing.

Have you watched Daredevil? What do you think about the show?

2014-2015 In Review: Cancellations, Renewals, and Surprises

2014-2015 has been a year of change. In October, I moved to a nearby town with another of my sisters, and both of us being TV fans, we synced our to-watch lists. So far, we watch upwards of 75% of the same shows, and we tried out many of the same new shows. The sheer volume of what we have left to watch is boggling. I have more than 900 episodes on my to-watch list. So it’s not surprising I haven’t devoted time to blogging about TV – I spend too much time watching it!

Fall 2014 brought a bumper crop of new shows to broadcast networks, many of which I tried and many of which were canceled.

 

ABC

New shows I tried that were canceled:

Forever – this show will be greatly missed. I’ve never seen such unanimous disappointment over the cancellation of a new show. At least things wrapped up fairly well in the last episode.

Selfie – Karen Gillan made this a guaranteed watch for me. The humor was probably a bit too niche to garner needed ratings, but I loved the My Fair Lady/Pygmalion parallels.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

Galavant – a fun, crazy musical medieval comedy. It was a big surprise to everyone that this was renewed, but I’m glad it was, especially since season one ended on a cliffhanger. It seems like ABC is going with a lot of shorter season shows to fill in gaps and provide more original content over the year.

Agent Carter – another “gap” show that was easily one of my favorites this year. Can’t wait for more of Peggy and Jarvis!

Other notes:

Agents of SHIELD followed up its amazing end of season one with an uneven season two, though the unevenness was between episodes that were amazing and some that were merely good. No matter – I’ll be watching it until the end because I love these characters. Castle is showing its age, but still tells a decent story each week. I fell behind on Once Upon a Time, so I still have half this season to watch.

 

CBS

New shows I tried that were canceled:

Battle Creek – I probably wouldn’t have tried this if my sister hadn’t been watching, and I ended up dropping it after a few episodes. It was too similar to other crime shows and the team didn’t gel. Five years ago, I probably would have kept watching.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

Scorpion – we watched the first few episodes and loved this, but with the busyness of all the returning and new shows and moving, we fell behind on watching and because CBS hates Hulu, we weren’t able to catch up easily and let it go. We’ll be watching the rest of season one this summer.

The Odd Couple – Matthew Perry was the main draw for watching this, but I preferred his characters on Friends and Go On. The humor is too forced for me to really enjoy it, but I’ll probably keep watching, especially since I have only a handful of returning comedies to watch next fall.

Other notes:

The Hulu-lessness of CBS made on-demand the best option for catching up, but wait too long and the episodes were gone from there too. So I have quite a few episodes of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles (which has had a rash of terrible episodes lately – get new writers!), and Elementary to watch. I watched Person of Interest by myself, and I’m enjoying the more serialized nature it has taken. I hope that the 13-episode renewal doesn’t signal a final season. The Big Bang Theory has been its usually excellent self, which may be why The Odd Couple failed to shine when paired with it.

 

FOX

New shows I tried that were canceled:

Backstrom – this one I watched because of Hart Hanson and Rainn Wilson. I’ll watch the final 4 episodes, but I think the main character was too unlikable for this show to catch on. We almost stopped watching several times. But Needlemeyer is awesome.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

The Last Man on Earth – I tried this one because of the weird premise, and the main actor is pretty funny. But a couple episodes in, it was getting pretty skeezy. I might try an episode or two more to see if it improves.

Other notes:

Fox has burned me way too many times with shows, so I’m always wary to try their new ones. Empire was buzzy, and I might have tried it out because of Taraji since I liked her on Person of Interest, but the premise didn’t appeal to me. Gotham looked too dark, and while I have enjoyed the recent Batman movies, I’m not invested enough in the characters to be overly interested in their origin stories. Gracepoint (the American remake of Broadchurch, which I love) didn’t get great ratings so I expected its outcome. I thought of watching, but I couldn’t get past David Tennant’s American accent. It was just too weird. The Mindy Project’s cancellation was a shock, less so Hulu’s pickup of the show. We fell behind on Sleepy Hollow and only watched one episode this season of New Girl, but plan to catch up on both this summer.

 

NBC

New shows I tried that were canceled:

A to Z – cute premise, loved that it had the Mother from How I Met Your Mother, but Abbi seemed to always want to watch something else, so we fell behind but will watch the rest of the show later.

Marry Me – a watered-down Happy Endings that was still decent. Liked the main couple (which was a surprise since I only knew the guy as the sleazy PI Vinnie Van Lowe from Veronica Mars) but the supporting characters weren’t as great. Still, was sad to see it go. (Can we get Happy Endings back instead? Please?)

New shows I tried that were renewed:

None.

Other notes:

NBC has gone from being one of my most-watched networks to least-watched. I only have Grimm to watch as a returning show next year, and that’s only if I catch up on it during the summer (wasn’t a fan of what they did to Nick at the end of last season, so have only watched one episode so far this past year). We did start watching Parks and Recreation recently (which ended this season), and after a rocky first season, it has grown to be one of my favorite comedies as we start season 4. Where are your shows like this, NBC?

 

The CW

New shows I tried that were canceled:

None.

New shows I tried that were renewed:

The Flash – a great reminder of how FUN superhero stories can be. As an Arrow spinoff I was guaranteed to watch this, and I liked the characters in the planted pilot.

Jane the Virgin – this sounded like the stupidest show ever, until I watched the promo and loved it! Based on the over-the-top soap-opera style of telenovelas, this show knows its plotlines are ridiculous and embraces that fact fully. It balances that with grounded characters with whom you can both laugh and cry.

iZombie – I usually dislike anything zombie-related, but definitely wanted to try this new show by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas. It’s more zombie-lite, with characters affected able to pass as human as long as they have a steady supply of brains. Said brains give the zombies who eat them personality traits of the person who used to own them as well as vision-like bits of memory that pop up when triggered. The result is a darkly hilarious show with a case-of-the week format, voiceovers by the main character, and a strong overarching mystery (much like Veronica Mars).

Other notes:

The CW is the network I watch the most, which is surprising since I didn’t start watching it until Nikita’s debut, what, six years ago? I’ve seen at least one episode of every scripted show airing on the CW this year, with the exception of the DOA The Messengers (with the entire fall lineup renewed and iZombie getting the plum post-Flash spot, the terrible ratings the premiere got only sealed the deal). While Hart of Dixie failed to impress (me, Abbi watched every episode), The 100 was too gruesome, and Reign was mostly dropped because of time, all the other shows keep me watching regularly. I’m caught up on all of those except for Supernatural, which sits on season five.

 

What canceled and renewed new shows did you check out last year?

Zombies Cannot, And Will Not, Be Stopped

Guest Post

In case you haven’t been paying attention, zombies are pretty much everywhere. In fact, they’re so widespread in the entertainment portion of our culture that one famous actor even thinks we’re on the brink of an epidemic. In an interview with the HuffingtonPost.com, living legend Morgan Freeman said that he believes “[we] may already be in the midst of a growing zombie apocalypse.” Fair enough. He also said that we have all become so obsessed with these undead creatures because of “our desire for immortality.” He may have a point there, though it’s one more existential than simply stating what may be the obvious at this point: zombies cannot, and will not, be stopped.

Seriously, let’s take a quick look back at the television side of things, where these brain-noshing jerks have invaded a number of networks. The most prominent and well-known example, of course, is The Walking Dead, the acclaimed series that centers on survivors making their way through a zombie apocalypse. That’s an obvious example, though, and one that neglects to mention, say, Castle‘s run in with these particular monsters. They also showed up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which Katie Hart discussed in an article on the episode “Dead Man’s Party” a few years back.

The zombies outbreak goes well beyond the small screen. In terms of feature films, it would be a thankless task to even simply list the zombie movies that have been released in the past decade alone. That’s partially because there are a plethora of B-movies out there that cashed in on the craze surrounding these monsters. That being said, there have been plenty of notable releases with zombies at the center of it all. They include the Brad Pitt-starring World War Z (2013), the fantastic kids’ movie ParaNorman (2012), and the flat-out hilarious Zombieland (2009) that featured Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. If this sort of thing tickles your cinematic fancy, you should probably check out Boston.com for their list of the best zombie movies ever released.

There are then the various zombie-themed franchises running rampant through both cinema and another branch of entertainment: video gaming. You’d probably have to be living under a rock (for at least 10-15 years, at this point) to not have heard of the Resident Evil series and its many games, books, movies, etc. But it’s not the only zombie-heavy gaming content to sweep over the industry. One can simply look to arcade hub Intercasino.com for several examples of the undead further crossing over into mainstream popularity. Namely, they host a goofball, family sitcom-inspired game, “The Zombies,” in addition to a survival horror-leaning experience, “Zombie Rush.” The latter falls somewhere between what you’d expect from Resident Evil if it had less of a we-want-to-scare-the-pants-off-you vibe.

So what, then, does this mean for the connection between entertainment and the undead moving forward? Plenty, it would seem. Given the popularity of The Walking Dead and everything else mentioned here, it’s extremely doubtful that we’ve seen the last of the zombies for, at the very least, the next several years. That’ll be particularly true if that Walking Dead spinoff can capture the same fire as the original.

Rick Sanchez is a longtime zombie enthusiast who’s constantly researching what to do if the undead actually do take over the world. He lives in New York with his girlfriend and two dogs, Frank and Gizmo.

May Madness Final: Castle vs. M*A*S*H

And here we are, the final match of the tournament! Our drama winner, Castle, faces our comedy winner, M*A*S*H! Vote for which show you think is best, and worthy of the title tournament champion!

May Madness - Final Round

  • Castle (97%, 813 Votes)
  • M*A*S*H (3%, 28 Votes)

Total Voters: 837

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This poll will only be open 72 hours, so vote and share the link!

May Madness: Friends vs. M*A*S*H

We’ve reached the comedy final match! M*A*S*H defeated How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs, Golden Girls, and I Love Lucy to make it this far, while Friends took out The Middle, The Cosby Show, The Mindy Project, and Will & Grace to get to this faceoff.

This poll will be open for 72 hours, and the winning comedy will face the winning drama for tournament champion!

May Madness - Comedy Final

  • M*A*S*H (53%, 65 Votes)
  • Friends (47%, 58 Votes)

Total Voters: 123

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May Madness: Castle vs. Beauty and the Beast

We’ve reached the drama final match! Castle narrowly beat White Collar in one of our most-voted-on polls of the tournament, and Beauty and the Beast overtook Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the final few hours of the poll!

This poll will be open for 72 hours, and the winning drama will face the winning comedy for tournament champion!

May Madness - Drama Final

  • Castle (50%, 1,417 Votes)
  • Beauty and the Beast (50%, 1,399 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,806

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May Madness: Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs. Beauty and the Beast, Will & Grace vs. Friends

Round four of the tournament concludes with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who pulled out a last-minute win yesterday, facing social media savvy Beauty and the Beast. Also, Will & Grace has their toughest battle yet against still-popular Friends.

These round four polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! After this round, only 2 dramas and 2 comedies will remain to compete, first for the top drama/comedy, and then for the May Madness champion! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 4.2

  • Beauty and the Beast (66%, 184 Votes)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (36%, 100 Votes)

Total Voters: 279

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 4.2

  • Friends (83%, 132 Votes)
  • Will & Grace (18%, 28 Votes)

Total Voters: 159

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These round four polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness: White Collar vs. Castle, I Love Lucy vs. M*A*S*H

Round four of our tournament begins with fan favorites White Collar and Castle battling each other, while I Love Lucy faces M*A*S*H!

These round four polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! After this round, only 2 dramas and 2 comedies will remain to compete, first for the top drama/comedy, and then for the May Madness champion! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 4.1

  • Castle (52%, 1,046 Votes)
  • White Collar (48%, 955 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,993

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 4.1

  • M*A*S*H (56%, 487 Votes)
  • I Love Lucy (45%, 393 Votes)

Total Voters: 875

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These round four polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness: Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs. Supernatural, Will & Grace vs. The Dick Van Dyke Show

Update: This poll has ended, but you can vote for Buffy here!

For our last matchups of round three, genre favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural do battle, while Will & Grace faces The Dick Van Dyke Show!

These round three polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 3.4

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer (87%, 469 Votes)
  • Supernatural (36%, 196 Votes)

Total Voters: 539

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 3.4

  • Will & Grace (73%, 214 Votes)
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show (56%, 163 Votes)

Total Voters: 292

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll. Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

May Madness: Once Upon a Time vs. Beauty and the Beast, Friends vs. The Mindy Project

For our next-to-last matchups of round three, cop romance with an altered DNA twist Beauty and the Beast faces the reimagined fairy tales (which include both a beauty and a beast) of Once Upon a Time. Also, redefining comedy Friends takes on newbie (and only current comedy left) The Mindy Project!

These round three polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 3.3

  • Beauty and the Beast (59%, 105 Votes)
  • Once Upon a Time (41%, 74 Votes)

Total Voters: 179

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 3.3

  • Friends (67%, 65 Votes)
  • The Mindy Project (33%, 32 Votes)

Total Voters: 97

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll. Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

May Madness: White Collar vs. House, M*A*S*H vs. Golden Girls

For these round three matchups, fresh off a difficult round two victory, White Collar goes up against House, while comedies M*A*S*H and Golden Girls do battle!

These round three polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 3.2

  • White Collar (58%, 360 Votes)
  • House (42%, 266 Votes)

Total Voters: 626

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 3.2

  • M*A*S*H (63%, 176 Votes)
  • Golden Girls (37%, 104 Votes)

Total Voters: 280

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll. Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

May Madness: Castle vs. The X-Files, I Love Lucy vs. The Andy Griffith Show

For our first matchups of round three, two will-they-or-won’t-they couples face off as Castle battles The X-Files. We also have two black-and-white classic comedies facing each other, I Love Lucy and The Andy Griffith Show!

These round three polls will launch every other day, and be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 3.1

  • Castle (60%, 32 Votes)
  • The X-Files (40%, 21 Votes)

Total Voters: 53

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 3.1

  • I Love Lucy (62%, 23 Votes)
  • The Andy Griffith Show (38%, 14 Votes)

Total Voters: 37

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll. Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!

May Madness: Supernatural vs. Sherlock, The Dick Van Dyke Show vs. Gilligan’s Island

For our final matchup of round two, fandom juggernauts Sherlock and Supernatural do battle, while classic comedies Gilligan’s Island and The Dick Van Dyke Show face each other!

These round two polls will be open for about 72 hours, so be sure to spread the word quickly if you want your favorites to make it to the next round! As always, you can find the links to all the current matchups on our main post. Please try to vote in all the polls, not just the one with your favorite show!

May Madness - Drama, Round 2.8

  • Supernatural (65%, 67 Votes)
  • Sherlock (36%, 37 Votes)

Total Voters: 103

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May Madness - Comedy, Round 2.8

  • The Dick Van Dyke Show (59%, 38 Votes)
  • Gilligan's Island (41%, 26 Votes)

Total Voters: 64

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Feel free to leave a comment about which show(s) you voted for and why! I may quote your comment in a Facebook post or tweet promoting this poll! Also, there may be a bit of a lag if a lot of people are voting, so make sure the first poll finishes loading your results before submitting your vote for the second poll!