REPORTS: CURRY NOT SOURCE OF TODAY‘S DECLINE

Several analysts have suggested that Ann Curry ended up as the scapegoat for numerous problems that have brought about the decline of ratings for NBC’s Today show. In an interview with today’s (Friday) Los Angeles Times Jeffrey McCall, a communications professor at DePauw University, pointed the finger at NBC’s low-rated telecasts during primetime. “So few […]

CRITICS: OSCARS AMOUNT TO TEDIUM TV

Film critics wasted no time banging out reviews of Sunday night’s Oscars, with several of them posting their assessments of the affair within minutes after the ceremonies concluded. Indeed, Daily Variety‘s Brian Lowry posted his (negative) review of Billy Crystal’s opening as if he were racing a legion of tweeters. Actually, many of the reviews […]

GRAMMYS TELECAST MOST WATCHED SINCE 1984

With news of the death of Whitney Houston overwhelming broadcast and cable newscasts over the weekend, many of them mentioning that producers of the Grammy awards were “scrambling” to come up with a fitting tribute to her, it was inevitable that the awards show would pull big ratings. And they did. After last year’s telecast, […]

TV REVIEWS: WILFRED

It’s not often that a scripted comedy show debuting in the summer on a cable network receives much notice from TV critics, let alone rave reviews, but such is the case with FX’s new comedy series Wilfred, which premieres tonight (Thursday). The show, which stars Elijah Wood as a depressed lawyer and Jason Gann as […]

CONAN RULES LATE NIGHT IN TBS DEBUT

Conan O’Brien launched his “second annual first show” on TBS Monday night, drawing 4.2 million viewers, 3.3 million of them in the 18-49-year-old demographic. In a statement, Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, said, “Conan delivered an extraordinary audience and stands out as the youngest late-night talk show on television.” Monday night’s premiere received […]