Day: January 15, 2024

Strikes pushed networks into wise and foolish moves

Necessity, we’re told, is the mother of invention … and of desperation and foolishness.
That was evident when networks pieced together makeshift schedules, because of the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Some steps were wise, others (including the British “Ghosts,” shown here) were not.
That phase is finally concluding now, as shows gradually start their post-strike seasons. But first, we should pause and look at that time and its interesting quirks.
We’ll stick to the five commercial broadcast networks, because the others were less affected by the strikes. Among other things we learned: Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 17: a fiery drama night

1) “Chicago Fire” season-opener, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Producer Dick Wolf gets the prize for quickly getting dramas back, post-strike. He has three “Law & Order” ones Thursday, three FBI ones next month and three Chicago ones now. This is a fairly ordinary hour, with an arson probe, a fire (shown heere) and staff changes. One person is gone, one is back, one is leaviing … and life goes on. Read more…