Next up in our May Madness tournament, recent classic The Office faces popular 2 Broke Girls, and musical soap Glee goes up against hard-boiled teen detective Veronica Mars, whose Kickstarter-funded movie releases on DVD today! (Just $9.99 as of this writing!)
These 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!
May Madness - Comedy, Round 1.3
The Office (US) (57%, 17 Votes)
2 Broke Girls (43%, 13 Votes)
Total Voters: 30
Loading ...
May Madness - Drama, Round 1.3
Veronica Mars (74%, 23 Votes)
Glee (26%, 8 Votes)
Total Voters: 31
Loading ...
Which of these four shows do you think will make it to the finals? Leave a comment and let me know, and don’t forget to check out all of the ongoing polls on our main tournament page!
At last, it is time for the 64 TV shows YOU chose to battle it out for the best TV show of all time! Over the next few weeks, shows will face each other in 72-hour single elimination matchups! Everyone who responded to my question about whether to have comedies and dramas mixed throughout the tournament preferred to have the genres battle it out separately and the top comedy and top drama face each other in the final match, so that’s what we will do!
This post will be your go-to reference for current and upcoming matches, so be sure to bookmark it and check back daily! I will add the links as the posts go up. Or, subscribe to our RSS feed to get the latest posts!
And now we’re starting round three, as the remaining 16 shows face off! The lists will be completed as the round one matchups finish, and links to each new poll will be added after they go live! Each of the round three posts will contain two matchups: one drama battle and one comedy battle. All polls will be open 72 hours.
These will be the matchups for round one. This list was randomly generated, and each of the round one posts will contain two matchups: one comedy battle and one drama battle. I may post several times in a day during this first round so that this bracket won’t go too far into June, but all polls will be open 72 hours. If any of the choices below seem impossible, remember, your decisions will only get more difficult as the tournament progresses! Have fun!
The schedules are out, the promos are released – now it’s time for me to figure out what I want to watch, what I have time to watch, what I won’t miss, and which new shows I’ll give a chance to wow me. As always, shows that aren’t live-action and scripted are ignored by this site.
New shows are in bold.
SUNDAY
Watching: Once Upon a Time
Not watching: Revenge, Betrayal, The Good Wife, The Mentalist
Only one new show is debuting on Sundays, Betrayal, and while the promo was good, the subject matter is meh in my mind.
MONDAY
Watching: Castle, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, Almost Human, Beauty and the Beast
Checking out: We Are Men, Intelligence , Sleepy Hollow
Not watching: 2 Broke Girls, Mom, Hostages, Blacklist, Hart of Dixie
Almost Human’s promo was so excellent, it got bumped right to the watching list. Of course, if it stinks, it’ll get bumped right back down. While Hostages and Blacklist had good promos, they’re just not something I’m interested in watching. Mom looks awful. Sleepy Hollow looks far better than I expected, so I’ll probably watch the pilot out of curiosity’s sake, but I doubt I’ll keep watching due to time constraints. Other than HIMYM, the returning shows that are on Mondays are the ones I fell most behind on (thinking about it now, why Castle and Bones got the short end of the stick was because we usually had a friend over on Tuesdays to watch previous seasons of HIMYM, so I didn’t have time to catch up).
TUESDAY
Watching: Marvel’s Agents of Shield, NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Person of Interest, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, The Mindy Project
Checking out: The Originals
Not watching: The Goldbergs, The Trophy Wife, Lucky 7, Dads, Chicago Fire, Supernatural
The only reason Supernatural is on the not watching list is because I haven’t caught up yet, and since I’m still on season one, I doubt I’ll catch up this summer. I was going to watch Dads because of Seth Green, but the promo was so awful I don’t even plan to watch the pilot (besides, it’s in a horrible time slot so I doubt it will last). I’m behind on The Vampire Diaries, so my “checking out” of The Originals may only consist of watching the planted pilot (not a huge fan of the original siblings or Haley). Agents of Shield went on my to-watch list as soon as it was announced, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the promo for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Unless the first few episodes strike a very different tone, it’ll probably stay on my watch list.
WEDNESDAY
Watching: Arrow
Checking out: The Tomorrow People
Not watching: The Middle, Back in the Game, Modern Family, Super Fun Night, Nashville, Criminal Minds, CSI, Revolution, Law & Order: SVU, Ironside
Wednesdays are once again my least-watched weekday. Aside from the Amell cousins’ projects, I’m passing on the entire night. Back in the Game and Super Fun Night look awful. Ironside looks excellent, but I watch so many other excellent crime dramas that new ones need a fun sci-fi twist (like Almost Human) or to cast one of my favorite actors.
THURSDAY
Watching: Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Big Bang Theory, The Crazy Ones, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries
Checking out: Reign
Not watching: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, The Millers, Two and a Half Men, Glee, Parks and Recreation, Welcome to the Family, Sean Saves the World, The Michael J. Fox Show, Parenthood
It used to be that I mainly watched NBC comedies; now I’m just waiting for Community to come back. CBS’s The Crazy Ones pairs Mork and Buffy, which pushed it onto my short list, and the behind-the-scenes promo was as hilarious as most regular trailers. Wonderland’s preview is amazing, and Reign has an interesting premise and enough actors I know for me to give it a try.
FRIDAY
Watching: The Neighbors, Bones (once it moves), Enlisted, Grimm
Checking out: Dracula
Not watching: Last Man Standing, Hawaii Five-O, Blue Bloods, Raising Hope, The Carrie Diaries
Enlisted was one of my most anticipated series contenders thanks to a great cast, and the promo shows that it’ll be funny as well. I probably won’t watch Dracula, but I do want to see where they’re going with the story, so I should preview the pilot.
That gives me 22 shows that I plan to watch (8 comedies and 14 dramas for 18 hours total) and 7 that I want to check out (1 comedy and 6 dramas for 6.5 hours total).
What shows are you watching next fall? Vote below and spread the word!
What broadcast shows do you plan to watch during fall 2013?
For day 10 of our duos bracket, two duos that include the show’s titular character face off, with Nikita and Michael from this side of the pond and Merlin and Arthur from the other. Today’s other matchup is a study in opposites, as one of the oldest shows in this competition goes up against one of the newest: The Andy Griffith Show’s Andy and Barney vs. 2 Broke Girls’ Max and Caroline!
Reminder: While there are romantic pairs in this bracket, that’s only one possible aspect of a duo’s relationship. Duos have fun together, work well together, and/or have hilarious interactions. Simply put, they spark.
You can find a full list of upcoming TV duos matchups here. Round one matchups are in teal. Each of the round one matchups will be open for 72 hours (3 days), so spread the word quickly so your favorite pairs will make it into the next round! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Our toolbar at the bottom of the page has lots of quick links to help you share this post!
Which is your favorite TV duo? Round 1.19
Merlin and Arthur - Merlin (93%, 288 Votes)
Nikita and Michael - Nikita (7%, 22 Votes)
Total Voters: 310
Loading ...
Which is your favorite TV duo? Round 1.20
Andy and Barney - The Andy Griffith Show (51%, 75 Votes)
For this round of our TV Show Olympics, we’re looking at animals on TV! Whether furry or scaly, they often add color and dimension to the TV shows of which they are a part. This poll does not include characters who appear human most of the time but also can show up as animals – werewolves, shapeshifters, etc., but mythological animals are allowed.
For an animal to qualify for this poll, it has to appear in more than one episode of the show (which left out some nominated favorites from Psych, Supernatural, and NCIS). As usual, only live-action, scripted shows are included. If you have additional nominations, please put them in the comments!
Poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 3 of your favorite TV animals. Remember to keep checking the main event page for all the current polls and results!
What's your favorite TV animal? (Choose up to 3!)
Dragon - Merlin (28%, 108 Votes)
Satchmo - White Collar (11%, 43 Votes)
Marcel - Friends (7%, 25 Votes)
Kit - Charmed (5%, 18 Votes)
Pongo - Once Upon a Time (5%, 18 Votes)
Miss Kitty Fantastico - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (5%, 18 Votes)
This Monday Madness, we’re looking at (listening to?) awesome accents on TV! Some are real, some are pretend, but all help define the character who speaks them. Whether the accent is straight-laced British, sultry Spanish, or down-home Southern, and whether the character reinforces or subverts the accent’s stereotypes, these accents add flair and texture to their shows.
Special note: I’m choosing to feature accents that stand out in a show – aka the majority of characters in the show don’t have similar accents. Otherwise, accents from shows set in Great Britain, the southern US, India, etc. would make this poll extremely long.
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite accents. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10! Fans have used Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, forums, Reddit, blogs, and chatboxes to get the word out about past polls. Get creative!
Even though there are 30-some options on this list, I know there are TV characters with great accents I left out! You can nominate ones I missed in the comments until Thursday night, and I may add them to the poll (from live-action scripted shows only, please, and the accents should differ from the majority of the cast).
Want more of a say in who makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter or like TV Breakroom on Facebook, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll. Please help out with nominations! There are only so many shows I can watch personally, so I’m counting on you to fill me in!
Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM July 16th.
Which character has your favorite accent? (Choose up to 10!)
Now that all of the broadcast networks have revealed their fall schedules, as well as trailers or clips of new shows, it’s time to look at what I will be watching live, what I’ll have to catch online, and how many annoying half hour and hour “dead zones” I’ll have between good shows.
TVLine was nice enough to compile a grid chart of what’s airing when, which you can view at the link below (it will open in a new tab so you can follow along):
Thanks to 666 Park Street’s too-much-horror bent, Once Upon a Time remains my only show for Sundays, though if my Sunday evenings stay busy, I’ll be watching online anyway.
Monday has a lot of dead zones. Since I don’t get HD Fox coverage in my area (which makes the picture 2/3 of its normal size), I’ll watch Bones on Hulu and How I Met Your Mother live. But since I’m likely giving up 2 Broke Girls (since it’s become the ladies’ version of Two and a Half Men instead of a smart, funny comedy), I don’t have anything else I plan to watch until Castle at 10. Revolution looks good, but like Smash (which will be back in midseason), I’ll only watch it live if Castle is a repeat or ABC won’t come in.
Tuesday’s first two hours are packed for me. I’ll probably watch NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles live when I can, because if I have to watch a show online I prefer Hulu to CBS’s video player. But if they’re on repeats or I’m in the mood for comedy, I have choices: Ben & Kate on Fox at 8:30, New Girl on Fox or Go On on NBC at 9, and The Mindy Project on Fox (maybe) or Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 at 9:30. Nothing on at 10 that interests me, though I might watch the pilot of Vegas out of curiosity.
Wednesday just has two shows I plan to watch, and of course they conflict – Arrow at 8 and Suburgatory at 8:30. I might try out Animal Practice (at 8) if I’m watching Suburgatory live.
Even with Community’s move, Thursdays remain my busiest night. At 8, I have to choose between The Big Bang Theory and a half hour dead zone, or ABC’s Last Resort. At 9, Person of Interest and CW’s Beauty and the Beast will probably push The Office to online-only. My only conflict-free hour will be at 10, with CBS’s Elementary.
Friday, I will probably watch Community and Grimm (NBC, 8:30 and 9) live, and catch Nikita online.
All told, that’s 22-26 shows every week, out of which up to 12 are 1/2 hour comedies. Up to 20 hours total every week for broadcast shows, if I like all the new shows I’m trying out. Seems like a lot, but I guess not really for someone who runs a TV site. 🙂
CBS has announced its new schedule for fall 2012, with several changes to make room for 4 new shows.
The Mentalist is moving to Sundays at 10 to make room for the new Sherlock Holmes show, Elementary (which will take its Thursdays at 10 slot). While Elementary is receiving a lot of flack for being too similar to BBC’s Sherlock, after CBS failed to secure the rights to an American remake of the show, I think it shows promise. The NYC setting and a female Watson help differentiate the shows, but I am thrilled that Holmes will still have a British accent. Plus it has a great lead-in with Person of Interest, and Scandal is the only scripted show it has to compete with.
Two and a Half Men is moving to Thursdays at 8:30, following The Big Bang Theory. I really hate when networks put shows I can’t stand next to shows I love, especially with comedies. Plus, Two and a Half Men seems like a terrible lead-in for Person of Interest. The move is to make room for Partners, which will air at 8:30 on Mondays, following How I Met Your Mother, while 2 Broke Girls moves down to 9PM.
The 1960s cowboy cop vs. criminal casino owner show Vegas will take the Tuesdays at 10 spot thankfully vacated by Unforgettable (so glad to see that show go) following NCIS: Los Angeles. The show looks a lot better than I was anticipating.
CSI:NY will move to 8 on Fridays, to make room for new show Made in Jersey at 9. Is it just me, or does the main actress’s actual British accent sort of destroy the whole “Jersey girl makes good” vibe of the show in the sneak peek below?
Aside from a few midseason debuts and several likely-canceled shows, ABC, CBS, the CW, Fox, and NBC have all made their decisions about which new shows are returning, and which aren’t. How did I do at picking which shows to watch this year?
ABC
Canceled: Charlie’s Angels, GCB, Man Up, Missing, Pan Am, The River, Work It
Renewed: Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, Last Man Standing, Once Upon a Time, Revenge, Scandal, Suburgatory
I tried out Missing but wasn’t hooked. I fell in love with Once Upon a Time and Suburgatory, and my feelings for the B—- are a little mixed, but generally positive. I would have tried Revenge if I had time, and I planned to preview Scandal but was deterred by less-than-stellar reviews.
I give myself an A+ for ABC.
CBS
Canceled: A Gifted Man, How to Be a Gentleman, NYC 22, Rob, Unforgettable
Renewed: 2 Broke Girls, Person of Interest
I watched How to Be a Gentleman since it was the only 1/2 hour show in an empty timeslot. I disliked both Rob and Unforgettable, giving up on episode 2 for both after allowing the pilot a little leeway. I watched 2 Broke Girls and Person of Interest from the start, and liked both (though 2 Broke Girls has degraded some over the year).
I give myself an A+ for CBS.
The CW
Canceled: Ringer, The Secret Circle
Renewed: Hart of Dixie
I only watched Ringer, which I wanted to love more than I did. Sarah Michelle Gellar and the unexpected yumminess of Ioan Gruffudd kept me watching through a rough start, but I’m glad I saw the whole thing through till the end. I watched the Hart of Dixie pilot, but medicial + the South wasn’t my cup of tea.
I give myself a C- for the CW.
Fox
Canceled: Alcatraz, The Finder, I Hate My Teenage Daughter, Terra Nova
Renewed: New Girl, Touch
I watched two new Fox shows, The Finder and New Girl. Didn’t even try the others. New Girl took a bit to grow on me, but I loved The Finder from the start, and am glad I watched it.
I give myself a C+ for Fox.
NBC
Canceled: Are You There, Chelsea?, Awake, Bent, Best Friends Forever, Free Agents, The Playboy Club, Prime Suspect, The Firm
Renewed: Grimm, Smash, Up All Night, Whitney
NBC canceled 8 new shows (of which I watched 3), and renewed 4 (of which I watched 2). I didn’t watch a single episode of the other 7. Grimm and Smash deserved the renewal for being fresh and catchy, something that Awake’s excellent but dour presentation could have used. Cop shows seem to work best with a bit of lightheartedness thrown in, a fact that Grimm realized by bringing in Monroe more. Awake’s twin tragedies prevented all but a slight wry sense of humor. The conspiracy behind Awake’s two realities could have counterbalanced that, but the show’s creators seemed to be saving most of that for future seasons, which ironically prevented future seasons by not hooking viewers. Bent and Free Agents were under-promoted and misrepresented, which almost caused me to miss out on them – how much more a casual TV viewer?
The poll for favorite new show garnered much less activity than I anticipated, and ended with 568 voters, less than 10% than the past several polls received. Perhaps it’s because new shows don’t have an as-established fan base? (In contrast, the poll for long-running shows garnered the most non-spam votes of any poll.)
As a result, it was a close race – in fact, eleven runner-up shows were 10 votes or less away from making it into the top 10. Here are the shows that DID make it:
This week on Monday Madness, it’s time to vote for your favorite new TV shows! This poll is for all live-action scripted shows that aired their first US episode between June 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012, and includes both broadcast and cable shows.
This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 10 of your favorite new shows. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into the top 10!
Even though there are 50 options on this list, I know there are some shows I left out (I think there are only a few canceled shows or lesser-known cable shows left out this week)! As always, you can cast write-in ballots (for new live-action scripted shows only please) by leaving a comment. Want more of a say in what makes it onto the poll each week? Be sure to follow me on Twitter, since I usually ask for nominations for the next Monday Madness the weekend before the new poll.
Next week’s poll will focus on favorite season and series finales. Please nominate your favorite finales by leaving a comment! In your comment, be sure to note the show, season, episode title, and not-too-spoilery descriptive phrase (think of what a promo for that episode would say). For example: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 2, “Becoming, Part Two.” Aided by an unlikely ally, Buffy must face Angel to save the world.
Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 1AM May 7th.
UPDATE: This poll has closed. You can view the top ten list here.
This poll sponsored by Nannerbug Designs. Contact me if you would like to sponsor next week’s poll!
What's your favorite new show? (Choose up to 10!)
Once Upon a Time (10%, 168 Votes)
Person of Interest (9%, 144 Votes)
Grimm (9%, 144 Votes)
The Finder (7%, 111 Votes)
Bent (5%, 78 Votes)
New Girl (4%, 70 Votes)
Alphas (3%, 55 Votes)
2 Broke Girls (3%, 48 Votes)
Falling Skies (3%, 48 Votes)
Revenge (2%, 41 Votes)
Suburgatory (2%, 40 Votes)
Alcatraz (2%, 39 Votes)
GCB (2%, 39 Votes)
Touch (2%, 38 Votes)
Awake (2%, 36 Votes)
The Secret Circle (2%, 36 Votes)
Terra Nova (2%, 35 Votes)
Smash (2%, 34 Votes)
Ringer (2%, 33 Votes)
Hart of Dixie (2%, 33 Votes)
Scandal (2%, 32 Votes)
Suits (2%, 30 Votes)
American Horror Story (2%, 29 Votes)
Last Man Standing (2%, 26 Votes)
Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (1%, 25 Votes)
Want to know how this season is ending, for just about every scripted broadcast show? Then check out this slideshow! Dates, rumors, extended episodes, and guest stars are all revealed below!
You can watch the first two episodes of ABC’s Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 before they air at the link below! The comedy stars Krysten Ritter, Dreama Walker, James Van Der Beek (as James Van Der Beek), and Liza Lapira (Dollhouse’s Ivy, NCIS’s Agent Michelle Lee). The show premieres April 11th at 9:30/8:30 central on ABC.
Show synopsis:
A wide-eyed Midwestern girl moves to New York City to pursue her dream job only to find herself living with an outlandish girl with the morals of a pirate. June’s (Dreama Walker) well-planned well-organized life takes a drastic turn when she arrives in New York to find that the corporate finance job she moved there for no longer exists. As she tries to navigate her newly single life in the big city, her Midwestern scruples are constantly put to the test by her wild and sophisticated party-girl roommate Chloe (Krysten Ritter) and Chloe’s best friend, the actor James Van Der Beek (James Van Der Beek). The two girls form an unlikely friendship that leads them both to unexpected places and often-illegal experiences.
I feel like I would enjoy the show more if I had watched Dawson’s Creek growing up. Also, during most of the second episode, I thought Chloe was lying about who her parents were, since it had already been established that she’s a con artist.
Since this show has many similarities to 2 Broke Girls (two 20something girls sharing an apartment in NYC, one naive, one jaded), there are bound to be comparisons. So far, I don’t find it as funny as the CBS show, but the excellent cast gives it room to grow.
CBS is starting the renewal season off with a bang, announcing the renewal of 15 more shows (in addition to 3 which had already been renewed, including The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother).
Freshmen shows that got the early pickup were 2 Broke Girls and Person of Interest. The low-rated but critically acclaimed The Good Wife also was renewed.
As for the shows not renewed thus far, it doesn’t mean they’re canceled, just that CBS is waiting on cast confirmations and pilot viewing before deciding the rest of their schedule, but I wouldn’t care if all of them ended up not being renewed. NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Blue Bloods, in addition to the shows mentioned above, are the only ones I care about.
For a full list of the renewed shows, visit the link below.
Those hoping 2 Broke Girls’ Johnny would realize the error of his ways and return to Max’s life are likely to be disappointed – Nick Zano has just been cast in ABC’s Prairie Dogs. The show’s title actually seems like a misnomer – it’s about a cubical worker (Kal Penn) whose identity is stolen, and when he realizes the con man (Zano) did a lot more with his identity than he ever did, he hires him to help him improve his prospects.
Loading ...
