The 2008-2009 television season is quickly coming to a close. Last week saw some 30 season/series finales hitting our screens. The resulting numbers were all over the place. Some shows took advantage of the situation, pulling out all the stops and hitting numbers they hadn’t seen in some time. Others held steady. And a few signed in with troubling drops.

I’ve mentioned before that these final numbers could hold sway as the networks prepare to release the fall schedules this week. That does still apply, although, after all the shenanigans over the weekend, with Dollhouse and Better Off Ted being renewed, just how much sway becomes a little more cloudy. Read the rest of this entry »

And just like that, finale season is upon us. Over the next few weeks, all of our favorite shows will be pulling out all the stops and heading off into the summer break, with hopes of returning for another go in the fall. Some of them, no doubt, will be disappointed in that regard. Aside from the marriages, pregnancies, and lives left hanging in the balance, finales are interesting from a ratings perspective because they provide the possibilities of a numbers boost. One last data point to point to as you make the case that this show shouldn’t be canceled. NBC got the ball rolling last week as Chuck and Heroes both fired off their finale salvos. The results were something less than stellar. The news was better for Fringe, the NCIS spinoff, and the CW Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »

Man … last week was just a bloodbath in the ratings. With the exception of Thursday night, it was bad news for all of the shows at the top of my list for every night. Kings on Sunday, Chuck and Heroes on Monday, Reaper on Tuesday, Better Off Ted and Lost on Wednesday, and Dollhouse on Friday. Not a lot of good to report for any of them. On a brighter note, there was good news for the returning Fringe, and the debuts of Parks & Recreation, Southland, and Harper’s Island. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Les Moonves, President and CEO of CBS Corporation,

You and I don’t know one another. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting you, the man who saw the brilliance behind a young comedian from Queens, allowing him to create the wildly hilarious and eternally enjoyable Everybody Loves Raymond. Kudos to you on your eye for quality television.

Which brings me to the point of my letter. I have to share the most ridiculous of stories with you: I was reading Entertainment Weekly yesterday (last week’s; I am as behind on magazines as I am on television these days), and I came across the craziest blurb I’ve ever seen. Namely, that CBS executives had recently warned the producers of both Without a Trace and Cold Case that they are facing possible cancellation. Can you believe it? The short paragraph went on to suggest that the two procedurals don’t “have the type of ratings that justify the massive overhead.” Read the rest of this entry »

… and hates Marco White, apparently.

It was a strange week on television. The calendar keeps insisting we are in a sweeps period, but the networks are dropping repeats all over the schedule. Even Lost, which ABC promised would run uninterrupted, went the repeat route. There were still some big events. As usual, Idol dominated, but ABC made some noise of their own with the return of Dancing With The Stars, spinning the loss of Jewel and Nancy O’Dell into ratings gold by signing up jilted bachelorette Melissa Rycroft. At the other extreme we found NBC’s latest disaster, The Chopping Block. There were also interesting numbers, good and bad,  for Chuck, Heroes, Castle, Kath & Kim,  CSI: Miami, Lie To Me, Next Top Model, and Dollhouse. Read the rest of this entry »

(1/19 – 1/26)

The subject of the Friday night death slot comes up fairly regularly around here. Moreso recently, what with the Terminator/Dollhouse debut right around the corner. I’m not one to argue in the face of so much damning evidence, but I do think there is a plucky young upstart with eyes on the crown. Life On Mars made it’s debut following Lost this week, and it just wasn’t good. Barring some drastic change in the numbers, or an odd act of kindness from the network, it’s looking like the island is ready to take its next victim. Elsewhere this week, Idol continued to roll, NCIS & CSI scored big, and The Bachelor was up, again. Read the rest of this entry »

With its “Casting Clack” post, CliqueClack brings you a summary of the TV casting news released throughout the week, be it the addition of a series regular, a new recurring cast member, a guest star, or even someone making a cameo.

Be warned, the casting news after the jump may contain slight spoilers about the roles the actors will play.

This week, we have casting news for: Chuck, Big Bang Theory, Without a Trace, CSI: NY,  Stargate Universe and many more.

Read the rest of this entry »