Sleepy Hollow Archives - TV Breakroom

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.

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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?

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May Madness Nominations: Current TV Dramas

Update: Nominations are over, vote in the bracket tournament!

I love TV-related bracket tournaments. What I don’t love is said tournaments leaving out so many great shows (yes, Hulu, I’m looking at you), and not giving TV fans a chance to pick which shows are included.

So in preparation for TV Breakroom’s May Madness bracket tournament, you, this site’s readers, get to choose which 64 shows will battle it out for the best show of all time!

I’m dividing this competition into four sections (though the bracket itself will be randomized), between past and present shows, as well as comedies and dramas. Present shows will include renewed shows and any shows that have aired episodes October 2013 or later (even if they have since been canceled). Comedies will include all 20-30 minute shows, while dramas will include 40 minute plus shows, even if they are very funny. So Psych, which you might consider a past TV comedy, will actually be among the present TV dramas. Each of these 4 sections will have their own nomination poll, in consecutive weeks. Last week’s poll selected great comedies like The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, and 14 others!

This site’s typical guidelines (scripted, live-action, primetime shows) apply. So don’t look for (or nominate) The Simpsons, Whose Line is It Anyway?, daytime soaps, or variety shows. Online shows like those created by Netflix and Amazon are eligible, web series with episodes shorter than 20 minutes (no matter how much we love The Guild) are not. Shows must have aired either a full season or at least 5 episodes to be eligible as well.

I did my best to include all the current TV dramas that meet the guidelines. Feel free to nominate any great ones I missed, and if they meet the guidelines I’ve outlined above, I will add them to the poll.

This poll will be open for one week, and you can vote for up to 20 of your favorite current TV dramas. Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will make it into our bracket tournament next week!

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s May Madness nominations! Voting ends around 12AM May 5th, and the top 16 will make it into our bracket.

Which current TV dramas deserve to be in our May Madness bracket? (Choose up to 20!)

White Collar (18%, 658 Votes)
Beauty and the Beast (3%, 121 Votes)
Castle (3%, 99 Votes)
Agents of SHIELD (2%, 91 Votes)
Sherlock (2%, 90 Votes)
Supernatural (2%, 89 Votes)
NCIS (2%, 84 Votes)
Arrow (2%, 83 Votes)
Once Upon a Time (2%, 77 Votes)
Suits (2%, 76 Votes)
Doctor Who (2%, 64 Votes)
The Vampire Diaries (2%, 61 Votes)
Game of Thrones (2%, 59 Votes)
Criminal Minds (1%, 55 Votes)
Glee (1%, 55 Votes)
Bones (1%, 50 Votes)
The Mentalist (1%, 50 Votes)
Sleepy Hollow (1%, 49 Votes)
Psych (1%, 49 Votes)
Covert Affairs (1%, 48 Votes)
Hawaii Five-O (1%, 46 Votes)
Elementary (1%, 46 Votes)
Grimm (1%, 45 Votes)
Grey's Anatomy (1%, 44 Votes)
NCIS: Los Angeles (1%, 42 Votes)
The Blacklist (1%, 41 Votes)
The Walking Dead (1%, 40 Votes)
Person of Interest (1%, 38 Votes)
The Originals (1%, 38 Votes)
Downton Abbey (1%, 38 Votes)
Teen Wolf (1%, 37 Votes)
Rizzoli & Isles (1%, 35 Votes)
The Good Wife (1%, 35 Votes)
Law & Order: SVU (1%, 32 Votes)
CSI (1%, 31 Votes)
Almost Human (1%, 31 Votes)
Chicago Fire (1%, 30 Votes)
Royal Pains (1%, 30 Votes)
Blue Bloods (1%, 28 Votes)
Scandal (1%, 27 Votes)
True Blood (1%, 26 Votes)
Pretty Little Liars (1%, 26 Votes)
House of Cards (1%, 26 Votes)
Reign (1%, 26 Votes)
Warehouse 13 (1%, 25 Votes)
Revenge (1%, 24 Votes)
The Tomorrow People (1%, 24 Votes)
Orphan Black (1%, 24 Votes)
Hannibal (1%, 23 Votes)
Orange is the New Black (1%, 22 Votes)
Graceland (1%, 22 Votes)
Parenthood (1%, 21 Votes)
Perception (1%, 21 Votes)
Mad Men (1%, 21 Votes)
Hart of Dixie (1%, 21 Votes)
The Following (1%, 21 Votes)
Nashville (1%, 20 Votes)
Homeland (1%, 20 Votes)
Bates Motel (1%, 19 Votes)
The Americans (0%, 18 Votes)
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (0%, 18 Votes)
Da Vinci's Demons (0%, 17 Votes)
Chicago PD (0%, 17 Votes)
Star-Crossed (0%, 16 Votes)
Dracula (0%, 16 Votes)
Being Human (US) (0%, 15 Votes)
Revolution (0%, 15 Votes)
The 100 (0%, 15 Votes)
Intelligence (0%, 15 Votes)
Justified (0%, 14 Votes)
Major Crimes (0%, 14 Votes)
Falling Skies (0%, 14 Votes)
Franklin & Bash (0%, 13 Votes)
American Horror Story (0%, 13 Votes)
Continuum (0%, 13 Votes)
Believe (0%, 12 Votes)
Vikings (0%, 11 Votes)
Drop Dead Diva (0%, 11 Votes)
The Fosters (0%, 11 Votes)
Resurrection (0%, 11 Votes)
Devious Maids (0%, 10 Votes)
Dallas (2012) (0%, 10 Votes)
Witches of East End (0%, 10 Votes)
Ripper Street (0%, 10 Votes)
Longmire (0%, 10 Votes)
Girls (0%, 9 Votes)
Lost Girl (0%, 9 Votes)
Mr. Selfridge (0%, 9 Votes)
Boardwalk Empire (0%, 9 Votes)
Switched at Birth (0%, 9 Votes)
Sons of Anarchy (0%, 9 Votes)
Nikita (0%, 9 Votes)
Crisis (0%, 8 Votes)
Haven (0%, 8 Votes)
Call the Midwife (0%, 8 Votes)
The Carrie Diaries (0%, 7 Votes)
Shameless (0%, 7 Votes)
Masters of Sex (0%, 7 Votes)
The Bridge (0%, 7 Votes)
Bitten (0%, 6 Votes)
Hostages (0%, 5 Votes)
Twisted (0%, 5 Votes)
Banshee (0%, 5 Votes)
Unforgettable (0%, 5 Votes)
The Killing (0%, 4 Votes)
Defiance (0%, 4 Votes)
Betrayal (0%, 3 Votes)
Strike Back (0%, 3 Votes)
Ray Donovan (0%, 3 Votes)
Helix (0%, 3 Votes)
Black Sails (0%, 3 Votes)
Rake (0%, 2 Votes)
Hemlock Grove (0%, 2 Votes)
Mob City (0%, 1 Votes)
In the Flesh (0%, 1 Votes)
Lilyhammer (0%, 1 Votes)
Hell on Wheels (0%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 846

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Monday Madness: Favorite TV Sisters

Since our last poll featured TV brothers, now it’s time to vote for TV sisters!

Sisters seem to be a lot less common on TV than brothers. Like the previous poll, I only included more recent shows (2000-present, hence the absence of the Huxtable sisters), and included both half- and step-sisters (but not sisters-in-law). There are some slight spoilers for a few shows (two characters actually being sisters, a sister being still alive to be in multiple episodes, etc.).

I also did not include sisters when one of them is only in a handful of episodes. For example, Robin Scherbatsky’s sister Katie is only in 2 episodes (so far). My general rule of thumb was going with sisters who had both/all been in at least 1/3 of the episodes. Be sure to keep that in mind with any nominations!

The winner of last week’s poll was Dean and Sam Winchester of Supernatural! Second place went to the Holmes brothers (Sherlock), followed by Klaus and Elijah (The Originals), Damon and Stefan (The Vampire Diaries), and Pete, Derrick, and Randy (Enlisted)!

This poll will be open for one week, and you can choose up to 5 of your favorite TV sister duos (or trios). Be sure to spread the word so your favorites will win!

Even though there are many options on this list, I know there are sisters I left out! As always, you can cast write-in ballots by leaving a comment, and if I receive several nominations, I may add them to the poll! 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.

Without further ado, here’s the poll for this week’s Monday Madness! Voting ends around 12AM March 17th.

Who are your favorite TV sisters? (Choose up to 5!)

Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell, and Paige Matthews (Charmed) (14%, 21 Votes)
Buffy and Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (13%, 19 Votes)
Mary, Edith, and Sybil Crawley (Downton Abbey) (12%, 17 Votes)
Abbie and Jenny Mills (Sleepy Hollow) (12%, 17 Votes)
Beth and Maggie Green (The Walking Dead) (10%, 15 Votes)
Mary, Lucy, and Ruthie Camden (7th Heaven) (10%, 15 Votes)
Annie Walker and Danielle Brooks (Covert Affairs) (6%, 9 Votes)
Laurel and Sara Lance (Arrow) (5%, 7 Votes)
Meredith and Lexie Grey (Grey's Anatomy) (4%, 6 Votes)
Sarah and Julia Braverman (Parenthood) (4%, 6 Votes)
Kristin, Mandy, and Eve Baxter (Last Man Standing) (3%, 5 Votes)
Siobhan Martin and Bridget Kelly (Ringer) (3%, 4 Votes)
Amber and Abby Weaver (The Neighbors) (1%, 2 Votes)
Emily Thorne and Charlotte Grayson (Revenge) (1%, 1 Votes)
Cassie Blake and Diana Meade (The Secret Circle) (1%, 1 Votes)
Amy and Ashley Juergens (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) (1%, 1 Votes)
Jane Kerkovich-Williams and Alex Kerkovich (Happy Endings) (1%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 62

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Fall TV 2013 – Part Two

Before I get started blogging about the latest news in TV, I figured I should probably wrap up my thoughts about fall TV, since there was so much I didn’t touch on in the earlier post.

To start, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s 3rd episode was amazing, and it’s now one of my favorite new TV comedies (about even with The Crazy Ones, despite that show’s significant Mork/Buffy pull). My favorite, however, is the regulated-to-the-Friday-death-slot-before-it-even-had-a-chance Enlisted. Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell, and Parker Young have incredible chemistry as three very different brothers, and I especially love that Parker Young’s character Randy is similar to his character Ryan from Suburgatory, as I’ve missed him on that show!

For returning comedies, How I Met Your Mother’s final season has been a mixed bag of amazing episodes and boring fillers. The rhyming episode was just painful. Community is returning to its old self, but Troy will be very missed (Pierce, not so much). New seasons of The Big Bang Theory, New Girl, The Mindy Project, and The Neighbors have been consistently good, with only a handful of blah episodes for the entire bunch.

Sleepy Hollow’s entire first season was great, and I’m looking forward to the next. I’m enjoying Almost Human and Intelligence with their sci-fi crime bents, but prefer Almost Human (and while both shows aren’t doing well in the ratings, it has a better chance of survival). Once Upon a Time in Wonderland started slow but got better, and I’ll finish the show when the final episodes air, but I won’t mourn the loss. Michael Socha’s great performance may push me to finally watch the end of the UK’s Being Human.

CW’s The Originals has been a great twisty guilty pleasure show, and I’ve actually kept up with it more than The Vampire Diaries. I’m behind on The Tomorrow People (it has potential but feels unpolished), and I only saw a few episodes of Reign, though now that it has been renewed I’m more likely to watch another episode or two before I make a decision on whether to keep watching. Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has finally found its groove.

Returning dramas have been good if unremarkable – save for the following bits: Once Upon a Time’s Neverland stint was sluggish, but the mid-season finale was blow-your-socks-off amazing. NCIS bid a proper farewell to Ziva, and new team member Ellie isn’t half bad. Person of Interest went for the tears and it still feels like there’s a hole in the team. Arrow remains one of my favorites.

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Fall TV 2013 – Part One

Fall TV season has begun, and I have returned to blogging about it! Right now we’re halfway through premiere week (with Fox getting a jump on other broadcast channels by premiering most of its shows a week early), so I thought it would be a great time to see how the fall season is shaping up so far. Besides, Wednesdays are my “light” TV night, so I have a bit of time to catch up and share!

Solid Start

One of the most-talked about new shows is Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, and the pilot did not disappoint! To be honest, I love all of Whedon’s TV shows, so the only thing I was a bit nervous about going in was the cast, since most of them are newbies. Still not sold on Chloe Bennet, who plays Skye, and Brett Dalton has a difficult job getting people to relate to his stoic character, Ward (though the Granny bit helped – wish they’d had time to show more of that scene). I think the show unveiling of characters will make the show better, I just hope people won’t get impatient and tune out. For me, as soon as the truth serum shot happened, I knew this was my show.

Disappointing Beginning

Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s promo bumped it to my “will watch” list and made it one of my top 3 anticipated comedies of the season, which made the fact that the first two episodes weren’t funny at all that much more disappointing. I could forgive the pilot, since the promo gave away all of the episode, but the second episode was even less funny. I may give the show one more episode to win me over, since it has so much potential, but otherwise, farewell.

Creepy Commencement

Sleepy Hollow was on my to-try list, but recommendations from friends and a high premiere rating made me make checking out the pilot a high priority. So glad I did! After catching up on Grimm, I was in the mood for another spooky/cop show, and I love stories about the American Revolution. Tom Mison is pitch-perfect as the fish-out-of-water Crane, and I’m quickly warming up to the rest of the cast.

As well as marathoning through Grimm, I recently caught up Bones, Castle, The Neighbors, and Suburgatory to prepare for their next seasons. Unfortunately, that meant that I was spoiled about many events in season finales, but at least I don’t have to wait as long for resolution to the cliffhangers.

For shows that have already returned, here’s a few quick thoughts: How I Met Your Mother is poised to deliver an amazing final season, with a likeable and perfect-for-Ted mother. Can’t imagine what NCIS will be like without Ziva, and hated that half of her farewell didn’t even include her. Liking what Bones is doing with the new season, not sure about Castle. New Girl and The Mindy Project feel a touch off, waiting to see what the continued fall out is from major events. NCIS: Los Angeles seems to be back to normal, excluding Deeks, and Person of Interest looks like it will be a ton of fun this year.

What are your thoughts on this season of TV so far?

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What I Will Be Watching in Fall 2013 – ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, The CW

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?

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD (6%, 19 Votes)
NCIS (5%, 16 Votes)
Supernatural (4%, 15 Votes)
Arrow (4%, 15 Votes)
Castle (4%, 15 Votes)
The Big Bang Theory (4%, 14 Votes)
Elementary (4%, 13 Votes)
Grimm (4%, 13 Votes)
Once Upon a Time (4%, 13 Votes)
Bones (4%, 12 Votes)
NCIS: Los Angeles (3%, 10 Votes)
Criminal Minds (3%, 10 Votes)
How I Met Your Mother (3%, 9 Votes)
Person of Interest (2%, 8 Votes)
Dracula (2%, 8 Votes)
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2%, 8 Votes)
Almost Human (2%, 8 Votes)
The Mentalist (2%, 7 Votes)
Sleepy Hollow (2%, 7 Votes)
The Vampire Diaries (2%, 6 Votes)
Hawaii Five-O (2%, 6 Votes)
New Girl (2%, 6 Votes)
The Tomorrow People (2%, 6 Votes)
Grey's Anatomy (2%, 6 Votes)
Blue Bloods (1%, 5 Votes)
Revolution (1%, 5 Votes)
Revenge (1%, 5 Votes)
The Good Wife (1%, 4 Votes)
Modern Family (1%, 4 Votes)
Scandal (1%, 4 Votes)
CSI (1%, 4 Votes)
Law & Order: SVU (1%, 3 Votes)
Ironside (1%, 3 Votes)
Two and a Half Men (1%, 3 Votes)
Enlisted (1%, 3 Votes)
Raising Hope (1%, 3 Votes)
The Michael J. Fox Show (1%, 3 Votes)
The Crazy Ones (1%, 3 Votes)
Glee (1%, 3 Votes)
Nashville (1%, 3 Votes)
Hart of Dixie (1%, 3 Votes)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (1%, 3 Votes)
The Mindy Project (1%, 3 Votes)
The Originals (1%, 3 Votes)
Beauty and the Beast (1%, 3 Votes)
2 Broke Girls (1%, 2 Votes)
Reign (1%, 2 Votes)
Dads (1%, 2 Votes)
Hostages (1%, 2 Votes)
Parks and Recreation (1%, 2 Votes)
Parenthood (0%, 1 Votes)
The Goldbergs (0%, 1 Votes)
Last Man Standing (0%, 1 Votes)
Blacklist (0%, 1 Votes)
Mom (0%, 1 Votes)
Chicago Fire (0%, 1 Votes)
Super Fun Night (0%, 1 Votes)
Back in the Game (0%, 1 Votes)
The Neighbors (0%, 1 Votes)
We Are Men (0%, 0 Votes)
Betrayal (0%, 0 Votes)
Sean Saves the World (0%, 0 Votes)
Welcome to the Family (0%, 0 Votes)
Trophy Wife (0%, 0 Votes)
Lucky 7 (0%, 0 Votes)
The Millers (0%, 0 Votes)
The Middle (0%, 0 Votes)
The Carrie Diaries (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 31

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TNT Orders Legends and The Last Ship to Series, Fox Picks Up Eight Shows, Including Enlisted

TV news for next season is starting to heat up, and I’m back to blogging about it as I try to make sense of what’s going on, share the joy of new projects seeing the light of day, and rant about pilots not picked up.

TNT ordered 10 episodes of two new series I’ve been excited about for a while, thanks to one key role and a decent premise. Adam Baldwin’s The Last Ship features a previously-isolated crew racing to find a cure for a global pandemic. Sean Bean’s Legends has the CIA’s top chameleon operative suffering a break with reality amid his many covers.

I watched both trailers for the new shows (which the above loglines are based on), and both seem slightly different from their original premises. I’m not sure if it’s that, or the fact that my TV watching time has been drastically cut, but I’m less excited about these projects than I was initially. Both are going into my “wait and see the reviews/ratings” box for now, and I imagine they’ll stay there for a while. Now that Leverage is over, the only veteran show I’m watching on TNT is last year’s Perception, which was unique and well done enough to stay on my “to watch” list. (I should really make these into real lists and share them – perhaps after upfronts?)

Fox has ordered 4 dramas and 4 comedies (to add to the already-picked-up Dads, which got expanded from 6 to 13 episodes), quite a lot for a channel that doesn’t program anything from 10-11.

Out of the eight, I’m most excited about Enlisted, a military comedy starring Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell, and Parker Young (who play three brothers). Stults won me over completely in The Finder and I also enjoyed his reoccurring role on Ben & Kate, so I’d be at least previewing almost any new show he would be cast in. I’m sad to see that Young will be leaving Suburgatory, since I love his character on that show, but I’m glad he’ll have more of a starring role in this project. Lowell I know mainly as Piz from Veronica Mars, so I’ll have to get a new opinion of his acting now that he won’t be getting in the way of one of my favorite TV couples.

For the other comedies, Us & Them seems the one I’m most likely to watch, with Gilmore Girls’ Alexis Bledel returning to TV and a fun premise: a long-distance relationship with family and friends butting in. Brooklyn Nine-Nine puts a comedy spin on a cop show, and Surviving Jack stars Christopher Meloni. Dads may also warrant a preview, as Seth Green (Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays one of the two guys whose fathers move in with them.

I’m disappointed Delirium didn’t get picked up to series. While the sci-fi premise was a bit hokey (a procedure to remove love?), it reminded me of Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee’s novel Forbidden. And I enjoy Emma Roberts’ acting.

I doubt I will watch any of Fox’s new dramas. I may check out Almost Human (an android/human buddy cop show) if the trailer leans more toward sci-fi than cop drama. Rake has Greg Kinnear, but I’m not piqued by a law drama take on House. The story of Sleepy Hollow never interested me, and Gang Related just seems like another cop show with a conflicted loyalties twist (and medical drama with a conflicted loyalties twist worked out so well for The Mob Doctor).

Do you plan to watch any of these new shows?

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