1) “The Bachelor” finale, 8 p.m.,, ABC,with follow-up at 10. Joey Graziadei, 28, is down to two choices, both 25: Kelsey Anderson (shown here wth hm) is from Louisiana; Daisy Kent grew up in Minnesota, but went to college in San Diego and works there. She wrote a children’s book; based loosely on her experience as a hearing-impaired kid who received a cochlear implant. Read more…
TV networks seem to be like many of us – suddenly remembering religion twice a year.
Now the Easter rush begins. In a three-day surge, TV ranges from Easter lite (bunnies and bonnets and such) to the intensity of “The Ten Commandments” and “The Passion of the Christ.”
Here’s a round-up, from Good Friday through Easter, March 29-31. Some of the channels (ABC, History, Hallmark, Turner Classic Movies) are easy to find; others have scattered availability, via cable, digital, satellite and online.
This skips some of the regular church services, but includes the rest. All times are ET; many of the channels – TCM, UpTV, INSP and more – only send one signal, so an 8 p.m. show listed here is 5 p.m. PT. Read more…
1) “Tracker,” 8 p.m., CBS. In a one-time switch, CBS moves this up an hour., for an episode that teams Colter (Jason Hartley) with his nemesis, a fellow tracker. She’s played by Hartley’s wife, Sofia Pernas (shown heere). A Morrocan natiive, she was Marisa on “The Young and the Restless” (where they met), Cataliina in “Jane the Virgin” and starred in CBS’ summer action show, “Blood & Treasure.” Read more…
1) “The Bachelor” finale, 8 p.m. today, ABC, follow-up at 10. Joey Graziadei makes his choice. He’s 28 and teaches tennis in Hawaii; now two women remain, both 25. Kelsey Anderson (right) is from Louisiana. Daisy Kent (center) grew up in Minnesota and went to school and works in San Diego; after longtime hearing troubles (apparently from Lyme disease), she received a cochlear implant. Read more…
1) Figure Skating, 3 p.m., USA Network, and 8 p.m., NBC. It’s the last competition day for the world championship. That has the pairs in the afternoon, men at night … and a clear change. NBC has always highlighted the women, but this time the top American contender is a guy, Ilia Malinin (shown here). The women’s finals were Friday, on cable. Read more…
1) Figure Skating, 8 p.m., USA Network. Approximately forever, women have been top-billed in American coverage of figure-skating. (Shown here is an Olympics skater.) Not this time. The best spot in the World Figure Skating Championships — Saturday night on NBC — goes to the men; women are relegated to tonight on cable. Peacock will start coverage of the women at 6 p.m.; earlier, it has rhythm dance at 11:20 a.m. Read more…
Amid last year’s strike-time scrambling, CBS emerged with at least one good thing:
“NCIS: Sydney” (shown here) was a ratings success; now it’s been renewed for a second season. Read more…
1) Basketball. The college tournament begin with perhaps the day’s best match-up – MSU vs. MSU. Michigan State (shown here) annd Mississippi State, seeded No. 9 and 8 in a 16-team quadrant, collide at 12:15 p.m. on CBS– which also has games at 2:45, 7:10 and 9:40. Other games are on TruTV (12:40, 3:10, 7:25 and 9:55); TNT (1:30, 4, 6:50 and 9:20); and TBS (2, 4:30, 7:25 and 9:55). Read more…
Even in an ordinary year, NBC tends to dominate the ratings. And Olympic years are quite extraordinary.
So the network will stick with what works this summer – “America’s Got Talent,” “American Ninja Warrior” (shown here) and three game shows – “Password,” “The Wall” and “Weakest Link.” It apparently won’t try anything new and won’t need to. Read more…
This was a quick change, sort of like Superman in a phone booth or The Flash anywhere.
Less than two years ago, CW was the network of superheroes and such. Superman was in Smallville, Jughead was in a gang, Batgirl was in charge, The Flash was in a hurry..
And now? The network is a mash-up of cops, crooks and Canadians (lots of Canadians), plus golfers, wrestlers and more. It has shed most of its old shows, with a few exceptons, including “Walker” (shown here), which returns soon. It also shed its brand image.
“What is NBC’s brand?” Brad Schwartz, the CW program chief, asked the Television Critics Association. “What is CBS’ brand? What is ABC’s brand? What is Fox’s brand?” Read more…
