Category Archives: Stories

#TBT: Johnny Depp and Matthew Perry Made This 1987 Fox Promo the Foxiest Ever

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Johnny Depp Fox weekend

This was so much fun. I kicked off a new weekly column I’ll be doing for Adweek called #TBT (Throwback Thursday), in which I’ll be unearthing video of some of my favorite classic TV promos and shows. For the first one, I wanted to spotlight a promo that’s been knocking around my brain since 1987: a campaign from Fox to celebrate its then-fledgling network, which includes feature stars like Johnny Depp, Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal and Christina Applegate. As I wrote at Adweek,

Because as Bill Hader’s SNL character Stefon would say, this promo has everything: Sagal and O’Neill strangling each other, a skinny tie-clad Perry hitting on an underage Applegate (then just 16), a man’s bare chest being inexplicably massaged, Tracey Ullman mugging for the camera, a mulleted Peter DeLuise channeling The Love Boat’s two-finger-pointing Isaac, no-longer-famous Fox stars flirting with each other, a teenage boy possibly plummeting to his death, CCH Pounder flexing her biceps, some of the highest ’80s hair you’ve ever seen and Depp literally staying above the fray.

Don’t let Fox Weekend pass you by!

Lisa Kudrow is Feeling the Pressure to Make Her ‘Comeback’ Worth the 9-Year Wait

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I unexpectedly had a terrific chat with Lisa Kudrow during the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour, and turned that into this Adweek profile about The Comeback’s return on Sunday, nine years after HBO canceled it. She talked with me about playing both sides of the HBO/Showtime rivalry, reviving The Comeback, how her guest-appearance on Scandal last season helped make it happen and what’s next for Valerie Cherish.

Lisa Kudrow is Feeling the Pressure to Make Her Comeback Worth the 9-Year Wait

Can ‘MasterChef Junior’ Help Fox Salvage What’s Left of the Fall?

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masterchef junior

In less than two months, Fox’s fall has turned downright cataclysmic, as four of its five new series have already tanked. As I wrote at Adweek,

So the network is turning to an unlikely source to salvage its terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad fall season: a bunch of kid chefs.

That would be tonight’s premiere of MasterChef Junior, which has suddenly become Fox’s Hail Mary play for sweeps. I also spoke with one of the show’s judges, Joe Bastianich, who told me why the show is up for the challenge.

Can MasterChef Junior Help Fox Salvage What’s Left of the Fall?

Why You Shouldn’t Get Too Excited About Marvel and DC’s Long-Term Movie Plans

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Yesterday, Marvel announced its Phase Three slate of films, two weeks after DC Comics unveiled its own ambitious lineup, stretching into 2020. Both announcements whipped fans into a frenzy, but as I wrote at Quartz, you shouldn’t start locking in your 2019 plans just yet:

It’s a potentially thrilling lineup of films to anticipate for many, many years to come. And there’s admittedly a lot to be excited about, particularly the introduction of Marvel’s first female (Captain Marvel) and black (Black Panther) superhero standalone films. Yet at the same time, there’s also a very real chance that despite all these company’s meticulous long-term plans, one—or all—of these franchises could veer wildly off-course, as soon as one of these films stumbles at the box office.

Why you shouldn’t get too excited about Marvel and DC’s long-term movie plans

After #TGIT and #WCW, 12 New TV Hashtag Campaigns We’d Like to See

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Step aside, TGIF and Must-See TV: branded nights of TV are back again, thanks to ABC’s #TGIT (Thank God It’s Thursday) and NBC’s #WomanCrushWednesday. As I wrote at Adweek:

Networks can’t resist cloning anything that’s a hit on television, whether that’s shows or campaigns. Given the success of both #TGIT and #WCW, they’re all likely brainstorming hashtag-friendly campaigns in an effort to brand as many other nights of TV as possible.

So I came up with 12 new TV hashtag campaigns I’d like to see, from #PTSD (Post-Traumatic Sports Delay) to #TGINTGIF (Thank God It’s Not TGIF) to #WhatsaHashtag (What’s a Hashtag? Mondays).

After #TGIT and #WCW, 12 New TV Hashtag Campaigns We’d Like to See

Time Slot Showdown of the Week: Monday, 8 p.m.

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I kicked off a potentially recurring feature for Adweek, on the biggest time slot showdown of each week. For week one, I chose Mondays at 8, which The Big Bang Theory had dominated during early fall.

But with Big Bang returning to Thursdays this week, the Monday night cakewalk is over for CBS, starting tonight.

That time slot is up for grabs again, between 2 Broke Girls, The Voice and Dancing with the Stars. Here was my prediction of how it will all shake out.

Time Slot Showdown of the Week: Monday, 8 p.m.

Outlet: Adweek

Why It Took So Long for ABC to Cancel ‘Manhattan Love Story’

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On Friday, Oct. 24, ABC finally put Manhattan Love Story out of its misery, making it fall’s first canceled new series. It’s the longest we’ve gone into the fall season without a cancellation since 2003, when Fox waited until Oct. 28 to pull the plug on Luis, after five episodes.

At Adweek, I explain why the networks were so patient this fall:

“The growing truth is that picking winners today isn’t as simple as looking at the overnight ratings,” CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler said this summer. And unlike last year, when the networks paid that idea lip service but still quickly moved to cancel several low-rated shows, they’ve actually been practicing what they preach.

Tying in to that Adweek story, I also compiled the first shows to be canceled each fall since 2000 — along with what day they were canceled, and how many episodes had aired — which I was surprised to find that no one else had done previously. (Especially for the earlier shows, that information was tougher to dig up than I had anticipated.) Relive the members of TV’s least prestigious club, from Tucker to Do Not Disturb to (sniff) Lone Star to Lucky 7.

Why It Took So Long for ABC to Cancel ‘Manhattan Love Story’

TV’s Worst Prime-Time Debuts, From 2000 to Present

‘Melissa Harris-Perry’: Shonda Rhimes, gay characters and hair

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I was very excited to return to MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry today to talk about all things Shonda Rhimes. First we discussed the racy same-sex love scenes in How to Get Away with Murder (which as I point out, is a big improvement over Modern Family’s Mitch and Cam, who barely show any affection onscreen).

We then talked about that sensational scene where Viola Davis removed her makeup and wig — one of this fall’s most memorable images.

Also on the panel: Aisha Moodie-Mills, Danielle Moodie-Mills and my former People colleague Janet Mock.

How Shonda Rhimes is opening doors for gay characters on TV

Shonda Rhimes rewriting rules for black women

The ‘Avengers 2’ trailer was supposed to save ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Oops.

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Last night’s leak of the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer was bad news for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was supposed to debut the trailer during next Tuesday’s episode.  As I wrote at Quartz:

The leak eliminated what might have been Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s last, best hope to win back at least part of its initial audience. Because once viewers check out of a show—as they did during the show’s rocky first season—they rarely return to give it a second chance.

Marvel finally gave in and…

The ‘Avengers 2’ trailer was supposed to save ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Oops.

TV’s 10 Worst Time Slots: Can Any Show Survive?

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I’m very excited to begin contributing to Adweek, as they look to expand their TV coverage online. My first story for them is something that I’ve wanted to write for more than a year: a look at the worst TV time slots on television, the ones that have been radioactive for years on end, and manage to bring about the end of almost every show that is aired there.

I looked back at several years of TV schedule grids, and pulled together this collection of TV’s equivalent of death row.

Abandon hope, all ye who are scheduled here:

TV’s 10 Worst Time Slots: Can Any Show Survive?