Day: May 9, 2023

Strike quickly jolts broadcast TV

Life, you may have noticed, is rarely fair.
That’s become clear now, as the Writers Guild strike settles in, leaving an uneven impact:
— At one extreme are the movie studios, which pile up scripts and projects far in advance. For now, everything seems unchanged – same superheroes, supervillains, super collisions.
— In the middle are the streamers and a few cable networks. They try for the movie-studio approach.
— At the other end are the commercial broadcast networks. For them, the effects are instant and jolting; Pete Davidson (shown here) was one of the first to be smited. Read more…

CBS uncancels “SWAT” and adds games

Staring into a foggy future, CBS has made some quick shifts.
Today (May 8) it did something rare – uncanceling a show: “SWAT” (shown here) will be back next season, after all; however, another police drama, “East New York,” will not.
That came after recent moves to add two primetime game shows. Both will be produced and hosted by leading-man types – Josh Duhamel and Jaime Camil.
The games seem to be well-timed: The writers strike is expected to be long-term, leaving networks in need of unscripted shows. The cop-show switch, however, was unusual. The details: Read more…

Best-bets for May 11: three finales and lots of country

1) “Ghosts” season-finale, 8:30 p.m., CBS. When Sam inherited a mansion last year, she decided to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast. What could go wrong? A lot so far, despite help from the ghosts that only Sam can see. Now comes another problem: Someone arrives (shown here, right), claiming to be the rightful heir. There’s a surprise, CBS says, that could sharply change things. Read more…