UnREAL S2E4 Review



Hey folks, this is Jessica, and here's a long overdue review of UnREAL. Monday night's episode was pretty shocking in of itself. Without further ado, here's the synopsis and review of Monday night's episode. 

2x04 - "Treason"
After last week's match was lit off, this week's explosive episode exposed the war between Rachel and Quinn. Quinn finds out about her father's death, and she soon teams up with Chet to sabotage Rachel and Coleman, by nearly paralyzing Darius. 

Rachel then gives Darius an epidural, and then Darius comes back swinging. Ruby gets her time to shine in this episode, and it is glorious. 

Friendships ending seems to be the theme of this episode as Darius fires Romeo as his manager. The best quote from this is this: "You just poisoned the best thing either of us ever had for a television show. And you have to live with that."

To think, Romeo was the only ally in Darius's corner.

Overall, I was pretty shocked about this week's episode. It all gets darker from there.
Grade: A

NBC to Air Special Episodes of 'Superstore' and 'The Voice' During 2016 Olympics


NBC has announced that it will be utilizing its 2016 Rio Olympics broadcasts to launch two of its hit shows into the 2016-2017 season.

On Friday, August 19, the Cloud 9 employees of Superstore will return with an Olympics-themed episode.

On Sunday, August 21, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys will make their coaching debuts with the Blind Auditions premiere of The Voice, following the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games.

What do you think of this news? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Jess's Take: Summer Renew/Cancel Comparisons, Part 1

Hey folks, this is Jessica. This is a Renew/Cancel comparison post, and since all predictions are out, here are the current standings.

Show TV Ratings Guide TV Watch US TV Predictor
Mistresses (ABC) Likely to be Canceled Likely Renewal Likely to be Renewed
Uncle Buck (ABC) Certain to be Renewed Likely Cancelation Toss Up
American Gothic (CBS) Certain to be Canceled Toss Up Likely to be Renewed
BrainDead (CBS) Certain to be Canceled Toss Up Likely to be Canceled
Houdini and Doyle (FOX) Certain to be Canceled Likely Cancelation Sure to be Canceled
Wayward Pines (FOX) Toss Up Likely Renewal Likely to be Renewed
Aquarius (NBC) Certain to be Canceled Likely Cancelation Toss Up
The Night Shift (NBC) Likely to be Renewed Likely Renewal Likely to be Canceled

So with that being said, I will highlight some shows in more detail.

Uncle Buck: Today is June 30, which is typically the day that cast options expire. This show was originally slated for midseason, but has been demoted to summer. It's doing okay for summer standards, a lot better than The Whispers. However, we have a new president at ABC. It's hard to tell whether or not Channing Dungey would get the negative PR reputation of canceling both summer scripted shows.

Mistresses: Given that Castle was canceled, and that Nashville moved to a cable network, I wouldn't be surprised if Dungey decides to cancel this marginal performer.

In terms of wild cards, Uncle Buck, American Gothic, The Night Shift, Wayward Pines, and Mistresses are bound to cause some missed predictions this summer. With that being said, let the best prediction site win!

Wednesday TV Ratings: Shift sinks, Brother down (FINALS UPDATE)

Wednesday TV Ratings: Shift sinks, Brother down (FINALS UPDATE)






Network
8:00pm
9:00pm
10:00pm
ABC
The Middle (R)/The Goldbergs (R)  - 0.8/0.8
Modern Family (R)/Black-Ish (R) - 1.1/0.9
Fresh off the Boat (R)/The Real O’ Neals (R) - 0.7/0.6
CBS
Big Brother - 1.9
Criminal Minds (R) - 0.9
American Gothic - 0.7
NBC
US Olympic Trials: Swimming - 1.2
The Night Shift - 0.8

FOX
Masterchef - 1.2
Wayward Pines - 0.7

CW
Arrow (R) - 0.2
Supernatural (R) - 0.2

     What Matters: It was a better outing for CBS's Big Brother (1.8) down just a tenth from last week and well above it's low Sunday outing.  American Gothic (0.7) stayed even after a Criminal Minds repeat (0.9), but it's not exactly making it's case for renewal. NBC saw more Olympic Trials with Swimming (1.2) followed by 2 hours of The Night Shift (0.8/0.8) which hit a new low thanks to the lead-in reduction and could only tie FOX's Wayward Pines (0.8) which was up a tick after an even Masterchef (1.1). ABC saw another strong round of comedy repeats with The Middle (0.8), The Goldbergs (0.8), Modern Family (1.1), and Black-Ish (0.9) followed by not-so strong repeats from Fresh Off the Boat (0.7) and The Real O' Neals (0.6). And The CW saw another round of 0.2s with repeats of Arrow and Supernatural.

      Finals Update: Big Brother (1.9) adjusted up tying it's premiere from one week ago and Masterchef (1.2) went up to beat last week's airing. While Wayward Pines (0.7) adjusted down.



Wayward Pines S2E6 Review

Wayward Pines S2E6 Review



Vulture
The first half of the season hasn't really advanced much in story and there are no signs so far that the show even has a plan and knows where it's going. We'll see if that continues tonight.


S2E6 "City Upon a Hill"

This episode began by looking at the abbies from a different perspective. Instead of being seen just as creatures who are no good and kill humans, they are seen as people just trying to live out their lives, which is disrupted by the humans. Jason and Kerry talk about having a baby,  which makes me realize how strange it is that they don't have any kids, seeing as how they force the kids to procreate. Abbies attack the camp, but CJ shoots them, something that was nearly impossible to do in season one.

When the abbies attack, everyone is worried and it is chaos. There is a hint of an ethical dilemma when Jason asks why the first generation patients aren't being prioritized, and Theo says that they are if they're dying. This is followed by a scene with Jason and Kerry where we don't actually see Kerry in focus until like two minutes into the scene, which doesn't really make sense. A little bit of intensity is finally brought to this season aside from simple chaos when CJ says they only have enough food for six weeks.

Xander is wonderfully sassy when his gun is confiscated, and Jason refuses to accept that the abbies do have some intelligence. Xander talks to Rebecca about her getting rid of Theo, and it's really awkward when he talks about them both being her husband. The killing off of season one characters continues when Theresa dies. Now, all of the first season main cast is dead. Theo and Megan discover that the female abbie is more advanced than humans intellectually. Adam has answers about the female abbie, but it looks like we won't get to find out anything more this week, as the episode ends with a large number of abbies gathering outside Wayward Pines.


While the story progressed this week, and actual mystery has increased with the female abbie, there were some serious issues with this episode as well, such as how nothing happened with Jason and Kerry talk about having a baby, the scene where Kerry was out of focus, and too much chaos.

What did you think of "City Upon a Hill"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Special Summer Renew/Cancel: Uncle Buck is Certain to be Renewed

Special Summer Renew/Cancel: Uncle Buck is Certain to be Renewed
The contracts for most shows ordered for the regular season expire at the end of June. I don't know if this is the case for Uncle Buck, but I wanted to make sure that I updated its prediction if that is the case, so I have written this special summer renew/cancel post aside from my regular Friday posting.

Certain to be Renewed
Uncle Buck (ABC) (1.2, 1.0-1.5)

After a solid premiere, Uncle Buck worried me following a large drop in week 2. Though the week 2 rating was still a good number for summer, I wanted to ensure that the show would not continue to fall in week 3. Rather than falling, it has gone up a tenth to 1.1. These are definitely renewal worthy ratings in the summer, so I predict that ABC will renew Uncle Buck, and I am certain of it.

What do you think of my prediction? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - Son of Zorn

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - Son of Zorn
This feature examines what may cause a show to do well or poorly. Any show can go either way, and before the premiere, predictions can be very off. Today I will examine what may cause Son of Zorn to succeed or fail.


What May Cause Son of Zorn to be a Hit?

Football boosts in the fall
Son of Zorn gets the advantage of airing on some nights where FOX has football until almost 8:00. The 9:00 hour is affected slightly by this, but the affects are greater in the 8:00 hour, where Son of Zorn will be airing following a high-rated episode of The Simpsons.

Positive response to the trailer
The like/dislike ratio of Son of Zorn's trailer is a 94. That makes it the highest for all of FOX's fall lineup, beating out the second-highest of The Exorcist which has a 86. Additionally, this places it forth among all five networks, only beneath the strongly liked Designated Survivor, Frequency, and Speechless at 97, 97, and 96. That information can be found here.

Competition of different audiences
I doubt that a half-animated comedy shares much of an audience with a fantasy series based on fairy tales (Once Upon a Time) or a police procedural (NCIS: LA). This means its own audience is out there, probably not watching another show at the same time.


What May Cause Son of Zorn to be a Miss for FOX?

Lack of animated success
We all know that Bordertown failed this season, and it is difficult to think of any other recent animated shows that FOX aired. This is because animated sitcoms are dying off; Bob's Burgers has been sentenced to 7:30, American Dad was canceled in 2014, and The Cleveland Show in 2013. The other animated shows that were picked up in the last couple of seasons never got to air during the regular season; Golan the Insatiable flopped in the summer, while Murder Police never saw the light of day. We have to go back to 2011-12 to find new animated shows airing during the regular season, where Allen Gregory aired 7 and Napoleon Dynamite aired 6 episodes. Bob's Burgers in 2010-11 was the last animated show to make it to season 2. Son of Zorn is only half-animated, but will half be too much of this dying genre?

Sundays weak without football
The only animated shows standing strong are The Simpsons and  Family Guy. Luckily, those shows are what Son of Zorn airs between, but even these shows are weak now without football. The Simpsons episodes that did not air following football this season averaged a 1.38 rating (calculated based on numbers rounded to the hundredth from TV Series Finale). While not a complete flop, that's not a very strong lead-in, even on FOX.


What to Expect for Son of Zorn?

I think that Son of Zorn will be a bubble show, with all of the factors listed above working together. I think it will eventually get canceled after one season, but this is a difficult one to predict.


Which factors do you think will be most in play in causing Son of Zorn to be a hit or a miss? Leave your thoughts in the comments!


New Show Hit/Miss Articles
The Good Place
This is Us
Timeless
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The Exorcist

12 Monkeys Renewed by Syfy

12 Monkeys Renewed by Syfy
Source: EW
You heard the news first. According to TVLine, Syfy has renewed low rated drama 12 Monkeys for a third season, which will consist of 10 episodes.

The series currently averages a 0.11 A18-49 rating, which would normally signal cancelation worthy. However, given the state of Syfy, this wasn't much of a surprise. 

Tuesday TV Ratings: Buck Ticks Up, Zoo Starts Low







Network8:00pm9:00pm10:00pm
ABCThe Middle (R)/Black-Ish (R) - 0.8/0.8Uncle Buck - 1.1 To Tell The Truth - 1.0
CBSNCIS (R) - 0.9Zoo - 0.8
NBCUs Olympic Trials - Swimming - 1.3America's Got Talent - 2.4 
FOXHotel Hell - 0.9Coupled - 0.5
The CWThe Flash (R) - 0.3Containment - 0.3


There was some relief over on ABC as Uncle Buck (1.1) inched up after a volatile week 2 drop it was followed by To Tell The Truth (1.0) which was also up a tenth, Repeats of The Middle (0.8) and Black-Ish (0.8) occupied the 8pm hour. CBS saw the season 2 premiere of Zoo (0.9/0.8) perform markedly worse then it's 1.2 premiere, it could only get back to last year's season low, but considering the disasterous ratings for their summer shows, CBS might want to give it another whirl, earlier in the night there was a repeat of NCIS (1.0). NBC saw success with Olypmic Trials as Swimming (1.3) topped the 8pm hour and 2 hours of America's Got Talent (2.4) inched up. FOX saw low rated summer shows, Hotel Hell (0.9) and Coupled (0.5) inch up. Over on The CW, Containment (0.2) inched down after a repeat of The Flash (0.3), though considering it's already cancelled it doesn't matter much. 


Finals Update: CBS saw an NCIS repeat (0.9) and Zoo (0.8) adjust down while Containment (0.3) adjusted up on The CW. 




ABC Premiere Dates: No Special Premieres, Tuesday Premieres Late

The Ratings Junkie Tuesday, June 28, 2016
ABC Premiere Dates: No Special Premieres, Tuesday Premieres Late
Here are the ABC premiere dates. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Monday, September 12
8-Dancing with the Stars

Tuesday, September 20
8-Dancing with the Stars (Results)
10-Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

Wednesday, September 21
8-The Goldbergs
8:30-Speechless
9-Modern Family
9:30-Blackish
10-Designated Survivor

Thursday, September 22
8-Grey's Anatomy
9-Notorious
10-How to Get Away with Murder

Friday, September 23
8-Last Man Standing
8:30-Dr Ken
9-Shark Tank
10-20/20

Sunday, September 25
8-Once Upon a Time
9-Secrets & Lies
10-Quantico

Sunday, October 2
7-America's Funniest Home Videos

Monday, October 3
10-Conviction

Tuesday, October 11
8-The Middle
8:30-Americam Housewife
9-Fresh off the Boat
9:30-The Real O'Neals

Off Topic - Week 7 (Summer 2016 Season)


Welcome. This is the Week 7 Off Topic thread. Nothing is off limits! 

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - The Exorcist

This feature looks at what may cause a show to do well or poorly. Any show can go either way causing it to succeed or fail. Pre-premiere predictions are not always correct. Today I am looking at what factors may affect The Exorcist. 


What May Cause The Exorcist to be a Hit?

Well known movie
The film was so successful that five films were made, and everyone has probably heard of The Exorcist. I know that, unlike most movies that became TV shows recently, I've heard of The Exorcist.

Attracting ex-Grimm fans
Though it now hovers just beneath 1.0, Grimm used to be a quite popular show, and it attracted the kind of audience who will watch TV at 9:00 on Friday nights. Some of those ex-fans or people who don't care enough to watch the show live anymore, may tune in to The Exorcist, due to its similar theme and same timeslot.


What May Cause The Exorcist to be a Miss for FOX?

Lack of success for Friday shows
As you probably know by now if you've been reading these articles, I love listing shows. So, here's another list: Truth be Told, Constantine, Cristela, The Messengers, Dracula, Enlisted, Made in Jersey, Malibu Country. These, as you probably guessed, are shows that premiered on Friday and failed. To be fair, I should probably list the shows from the same years that premiered on Friday and succeeded, but Dr. Ken doesn't make a very long list.

Lack of success for shows based on movies
In the article for Lethal Weapon I listed six shows adapted from movies in recent seasons, all of which failed. The odds are not in The Exorcist's favor here.

Up against Grimm
There are two shows on broadcast television that I can think of the same/similar genre to The Exorcist, Grimm and Supernatural, the latter of which is weaker due to airing on the CW, but the former of which happens to air at the exact same time as The Exorcist. I think that current fans of Grimm are more likely to tune in to the sixth season show they enjoy than the first season show they may enjoy.


What to Expect for The Exorcist?

I think that the lack of success for Friday shows and shows based on movies will cause this show to fail, but I think it can premiere well due to it being a well known movie, and I don't think it will completely flop thanks to ex-Grimm fans.


Which factors do you think will be most in play in causing The Exorcist to be a hit or a miss? Leave your thoughts in the comments!


New Show Hit/Miss Articles:
The Good Place
This is Us
Timeless
Lethal Weapon
Pitch

Sunday Ratings - Celebrity Family Feud Hits Low (FINALS UPDATE)

Sunday Ratings - Celebrity Family Feud Hits Low  (FINALS UPDATE)





ABC
America's Funniest Videos (R) - 0.6
Celebrity Family Feud - 1.6
The $100,000 Pyramid (P) - 1.7
Match Game (P) - 1.5


CBS
60 Minutes (R) - 0.8
Big Brother - 1.6
Madam Secretary (R) - 0.3
American Gothic (R) - 0.3


NBC
U.S. Olympic Trials - Diving - 0.7
U.S. Olympic Trials - Swimming - 1.0
P&G Championship - 1.4


FOX
Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life (F) - 0.3
Bob's Burgers (R) - 0.4
The Simpsons (R) - 0.6
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (R) - 0.5
Family Guy (R) - 0.6
The Last Man on Earth (R) - 0.4


Finals Update: Things got a little better for Big Brother (1.6) and Celebrity Family Feud (1.6) both adjusting up and both avoiding new series lows.

On ABC, the season debut of Celebrity Family Feud (1.5) got off to a ugly start hitting a new low, this is especially surprising considering recent repeats have been in the 1.1-1.2 range, but it was likely hurt by the BET awards and with a 1.4/1.7 half-hour breakdown it is likely adjusting up. The $100,000 Pyramid (1.7) picked up the slack building on Feud and Match Game (1.5) also had an impressive start. CBS saw Big Brother (1.5) hit a new series low sandwiched between a repeat of 60 Minutes (0.8) at 7 and disasterous repeats of Madam Secretary (0.3) and American Gothic (0.3) following it. NBC had Olympic Trials with Diving (0.7) not doing so hot but Swimming (1.0) and Gymnastics (1.4) picking up the slack. And FOX punted it out with one last Cooper Barrett burnoff (0.3) and repeats of Bob's Burgers (0.4), The Simpsons (0.6), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (0.5), Family Guy (0.6), and The Last Man on Earth (0.4). FOX will hope these repeats improve with Cooper out of the picture.






Mock Scheduling the ABC Premieres

The Ratings Junkie Sunday, June 26, 2016
Mock Scheduling the ABC Premieres
As we wait for ABC to announce their premiere dates, what better is there to do than pretend we're the ones who do so? With that said, here are my mock premiere dates + reasoning behind them, and make sure to leave your own in the comments below!

Thursday, September 22
8-Grey's Anatomy
10-Notorious

ABC should really consider doing a two-hour premiere of Grey's Anatomy in order to take away a bit of Chicago Med's premiere audience, which will already have it tough based on the time slot change. Then, premiere Notorious out of what will probably be one of Grey's highest-rated episodes of the season instead of the declining and serialized How to Get Away with Murder.

Sunday, September 25
7-America's Funniest Home Videos
8-Once Upon a Time
9-Secrets & Lies
10-Quantico

This is a lineup of all veteran shows (unless you count Secrets & Lies), and judging by early promotion none of them are top-priority. I don't think any show would benefit from a special premiere behind one of the Sunday shows, so why not just premiere them as is during what is typically premiere week?

Wednesday, September 28
8-The Goldbergs
8:30-Speechless
9-Speechless
9:30-Speechless (R)

This would be a great way for ABC to give Speechless some more exposure by airing two episodes back-to-back. Also, I'm holding off the Modern Family premiere, which I'll explain below. This will basically be Speechless' night, but with The Goldbergs starting it off so ABC can at least say they tried if it fails.

Thursday, September 29
9-Notorious (time slot premiere)
10-How to Get Away with Murder

Monday, October 3
8-Dancing with the Stars
10-Conviction

Conviction has a pretty awesome spot on the schedule, so no need for a special premiere. If it does OK, ABC won't be worrying about Monday. Would have wanted to premiere this a week earlier, but there's a presidential debate.

Tuesday, October 4
Er...can't do anything here. Presidential debate will get in the way of premiering the Tuesday block now. It should either premiere before The Voice or several weeks after, which is what I think ABC should do. Premiering the block on the 27th only to have it take a week off seems like a bad flow to me.

During the presidential debate, there should be a HUGE push for Designated Survivor.

Wednesday, October 5
9-Modern Family
10-Designated Survivor

Designated Survivor is definitely the show ABC wants and needs to succeed the most, and I think this would be the perfect day to premiere it after the presidential debate. And having its lead-in be a super-sized Modern Family will also lead to more exposure. Big push for the Tuesday block in this one.

Friday, October 7
8-Last Man Standing
8:30-Dr Ken
9-Shark Tank

I think this would be the perfect time to premiere the Friday comedies + Shark Tank because not only can the comedies be promoted a little during the prior Wednesday's premieres of Modern Family and Designated Survivor, both of which have potential to have big numbers, but also in order to promote the new Tuesday block, which ABC needs to work.

Tuesday, October 11
8-The Middle
9-Fresh Off The Boat
9:30-The Real O'Neals
10-Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

The Middle, unlike some other comedies on the network, is not gimmicky or flashy, and rarely makes
"special" episodes. But since this is the centerpiece of the new Tuesday block, ABC needs to make sure it works. I think they should go all out for the premiere; maybe another Everybody Loves Raymond reunion, or a Scrubs reunion, or bring back old recurring characters, anything to make sure the premiere episode of The Middle is something that people will want to watch live (or on the same day). I would have liked to premiere this earlier, but thanks to The Voice and the presidential debate this is really the earliest time that makes sense. I'm holding off on American Housewife because I want to give it a special premiere the next day...

Wednesday, October 12
9:30-American Housewife

ABC used Modern Family to help out the second episodes of Fresh Off The Boat and The Real O'Neals, so why can't it help out American Housewife before the show is thrown on Tuesday? Blackish will get to spend an entire season behind Modern Family, and I think ABC should prioritize launching new shows successfully more.

Tuesday, October 18
8:30-American Housewife (time period premiere)

Wednesday, October 19
9:30-Blackish

Now that Designated Survivor got that one-hour Modern Family premiere behind it and launched American Housewife, it's finally time for Blackish. Under the assumption that Modern Family will be 22 episodes again and Blackish 24, this will actually free Blackish of having to air too many times (if at all) with its lead-in as a repeat. Plus, as mentioned above, Blackish gets a full season behind Modern Family, let's make sure that other shows that the best chance possible before, right?

Predict The Ratings for Sunday Fun and Games


Tonight, ABC will premiere their Sunday Summer lineup with Celebrity Family Feud at 8/7c, The $100,000
Pyramid at 9/8c, and Match Game at 10/9c, here's some background information on each show. Celebrity Family Feud will be premiering it's third season. The first season aired on NBC in 2008 and was hosted by Al Roker, but ended up being cancelled. The second second aired last summer on ABC and premiered to an incredible 2.4 and overall averaged a 2.0. The $100,00 Pyramid and Match Game will be the latest incarnations of the classic game shows. With that said, make your predictions in the comment section down below.

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - Pitch

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - Pitch
This feature examines which factors may affect if a show does well or poorly. Any show can go either way, and it is difficult to know before the premiere. These are the factors that may cause Pitch to succeed or fail.


What May Cause Pitch to be a Hit?

Competition should have little effect
Notorious, Mom, Life in Pieces, and Chicago Med are the shows that Pitch will be up against. The CBS comedies and Notorious may have some crossover audience with Pitch, but the comedies don't get huge ratings, and the crossover audience likely won't be that large, and Pitch's trailer was more liked than that of Notorious, according to the trailer-watching article.

World Series promotion
FOX airs the World Series in October, which would be the perfect place to advertise a show about baseball. This could bring new viewers to Pitch, helping the show find its audience.


What May Cause Pitch to be a Miss for FOX?

Hardly anyone watched the trailer
According to the article on trailer views, Pitch's trailer is the least-watched of any of the new fall shows, far behind any of the other FOX shows. People have to know a show exists to watch it; this is a big problem.

Incompatible and weak lead-in
A police procedural with a male lead is far from the best lead-in for a baseball-themed comedy-drama with a female lead. This makes Rosewood an incompatible lead-in for Pitch. But, even worse, Rosewood scored low ratings airing without Empire on Wednesdays, so I don't expect them to improve when it moves to Thursday.

Lack of success for Back in the Game
Back in the Game is the only sports show to have aired on the broadcast networks in the last five seasons. It was also about baseball and featured a female lead, though it was a half-hour comedy instead of an hour-long comedy-drama. Despite airing in the Wednesdays at 8:30 timeslot on ABC, it was pulled from the schedule after 10 episodes.


What to Expect for Pitch?

I think that the factor of its lead-in will have an effect much bigger than any of the other factors listed here. Maybe it could be a successful show on Wednesdays, but not on Thursdays.


Which factors do you think will be most in play causing Pitch to be a hit or a miss? Leave your thoughts in the comments!


New Show Hit/Miss Articles
The Good Place
This is Us
Timeless
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Preacher S1E4 Review

Preacher S1E4 Review
See folks, this is why you should never play paintball outside an official paintball battleground. At the very least, you shouldn't go out to a dangerous swamp

S1E4 'Monster Swamp'

AMC 


Jesse decides to use his powers to help the church and he decides to do that with the help of Odin Quincannon, the richest and most notorious man in Annville. Jesse first gets a 55 inch flat screen TV for a church raffle and ropes in Odin to the church by offering to sell his father's land. Jesse then reveals that the TV and his land were used only to lure people in to the church. He then uses his power to make Odin a believer of God, which was a very smart move because he showed that if he could convert the most powerful man in the town, he could convert anyone.

Meanwhile, Tulip is upset over the death of one of the girls at the whorehouse during a paintball game with some Quincannon employees, so she decides to beat up the man responsible for her death but she accidentally attacks Cassidy, who was treating himself at the house with some money the angels had given him. Tulip takes him to the hospital but loses him after he runs away, only to find him drinking blood in a nearby room.

It was interesting to see the angels in a dilemma. Right now, it seems obvious that they were in charge of guarding the creature before it escaped into Jesse. Of course, this is just an assumption so I suggest you take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Jesse's back story was quite nice but I wish they had included more of it in the episode.
I couldn't really tell much from what little they showed. But that's okay because the end scene with Jesse in the church made me more curious about the future of his actions rather than his past.

Quote of the week: 'The world is turning to shit and you know what, it's all your fault'

Friday Ratings: Except for 20/20, Every Program Goes Fractional

Here are Friday ratings.

ABC
Shark Tank (R) - 0.8
What Would You Do? - 0.8
20/20 - 1.0

CBS 
NCIS: LA (R) - 0.6
Hawaii Five-0 (R) - 0.7
Blue Bloods (R) - 0.7

NBC 
The Ranch - 0.6
Gymnastics P&G Championships - 0.9

FOX
Rosewood (R) - 0.4
MasterChef (R) - 0.4

CW
Masters of Illusion - 0.3
Masters of Illusion (R) - 0.2
Penn & Teller: Fool Us (R) - 0.3

The second episode of ABC's What Would You Do? scores a 0.8, down a tenth from last week. 20/20 went up two tenths from the last episode to a 1.0. This was the only program to not go fractional. 

Gymnastics came pretty close at a 0.9 on NBC. Ouch for its lead in, The Ranch. It scored a 0.6.

The CW's Masters of Illusion was even with last week with a 0.3. 

Predicting the 2016-17 Ratings: FOX New Shows

The Ratings Junkie Friday, June 24, 2016
Predicting the 2016-17 Ratings: FOX New Shows
Now it's time to take a look into my predictions for the ratings of FOX's new shows. Read them and make sure to leave your own in the comments below!

Son of Zorn
Considering FOX still isn't using Empire as a lead-in, Son of Zorn probably has a better time slot than any other new FOX show, as it will air after football-inflated The Simpsons in the fall. It is very high-concept, which actually is on brand for a FOX comedy. The network definitely sees potential in Lord Miller Productions, though it could be too niche to appeal to a mass audience. The fact that it isn't scheduled to air in the spring should be a helping factor.

Prediction: 1.44

Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is being adapted for television, and by the (early) looks of it not all that many people asked for it. FOX has a sizable slate of shows that could fit with Empire by hitting that W18-34 demographic, but Lethal Weapon probably isn't one of them. For the second season in a row, Empire is getting a super-incompatible lead-in and its monster ratings will not be put to use for anything more than the local news. I think Lethal Weapon is this season's Rosewood. Adjusted for league average declines, its average will probably be lower.

Prediction: 1.17

Pitch
Pitch looks to be a very niche show about the first female MLB player. They can advertise it during baseball, but by then the show would have already started. On paper (and by watching the trailer) it seems to be very compatible with shows like Scream Queens and Empire, as it looks to be one that would do well amongst the W18-34 demographic. The problem is that it got paired with Rosewood in one of the toughest time slots on broadcast television currently. I don't see it doing all that well, though it could still be at renewable numbers and will most likely grow out of its lead-in.

Prediction: 1.05

The Exorcist
The Exorcist is another movie that FOX has adapted for television this season. I don't think it will end the streak of misses when it comes to that genre, and many have complained that the television version isn't as scary as the actual movie. People may sample it, but being on a Friday and not getting great reviews, I don't think this will do too well at all.

Prediction: 0.83

Making History
Making History is the 2nd comedy FOX picked up this season from Lord Miller Productions, and will be their third comedy overall (the other two being Son of Zorn and The Last Man On Earth). Currently scheduled Sunday at 8:30 after Son of Zorn wraps, Making History has one of the best time slots FOX can offer a comedy in the spring, though that isn't saying much at all. When taken away from football, The Simpsons' true colors are shown and it dips down to the low 1s in the all-important A18-49 demographic. Due to the time slot, I can't see this one doing well. Like most of the shows FOX has picked up, it seems too niche to catch on with a large audience.

Prediction: 0.86

The Mick
The Mick is one of the more broader shows that FOX picked up, meaning it probably will be at the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to critical praise, but will have a better chance of catching on with a live audience. FOX is giving it a chance by making New Girl its lead-in, as it appears they think it will be a draw with the W18-34 demographic. After the failures of Grandfathered and The Grinder, I'm a little bit pessimistic about new shows' survival chances on FOX Tuesdays. I think this will do OK, not great.

Prediction: 0.91

Star
Star isn't getting much buzz at all right now, which is strange. It's a music-oriented drama with an African-American cast from Lee Daniels that looks like it will skew well with younger woman; pretty much everything that Empire is. It's actually very hard to find its trailer and its Twitter account do to the overly broad name. I expect hype for this one to rise up in the winter when they start promoting it. No way of knowing if they'll air the premiere before Empire, but I'll just assume they don't and that its average isn't artificially boosted. I think it will be a success for FOX due to Lee Daniels, though nowhere near the levels of Empire.

Prediction: 1.66

Shots Fired
Broad dramas on FOX just are not working anymore; Bones is way past its heyday in even relative ratings, Rosewood is a time slot hit (if that), and Lethal Weapon isn't bringing anything new to the table as far as I can tell so far. Flop alert.

Prediction: 0.76

A.P.B
I don't even know what to think about A.P.B. What it has going for it is the time slot, airing Mondays after 24: Legacy. Or so we think. Legacy could be a complete failure or a big hit, and I think this one will hinge on that. The fact that it's based in Chicago gives me the vibe that they are trying to capitalize on NBC's success with its rapidly-growing Chicago franchise, and I actually think it would be better if they set it in a different city to emphasize that there actually is a unique element about this show. They definitely seem to be giving this cop show a chance, instead of throwing it on Thursday, but this one is a complete wildcard for me. I could see it completely flopping, and I can also see it becoming a big breakout hit. I'll predict somewhere in the middle.

Prediction: 1.44

24: Legacy
As I mentioned above, 24: Legacy is another big wildcard. Last time FOX tried to revive 24 was in the summer of 2014, with ratings in the mid-high 1s, which are great for summer but sharply down from 24's final season. As this one is like 24 without Jack Bauer, viewers might not come back. Though it's guaranteed to premiere well due to premiering after the Super Bowl, that doesn't guarantee long-term success. I'll go with something a little lower than Live Another Day's average.

Prediction without the Super Bowl: 1.65

What do you think of these predictions? Leave your own in the comments below!

Questions of the Week: Leave Your Answers!

The Ratings Junkie Friday, June 24, 2016
Questions of the Week: Leave Your Answers!
Here are five questions that we can discuss in the comments below about ratings happenings this past
week.

1. Will Aquarius be moved to Saturdays, and if so when?
2. Is the 0.9 premiere rating for BattleBots a cause of concern?
3. Which reality show not named America's Got Talent be the highest-rated of the summer?
4. Which scripted series, if any, will make it out of the summer alive?
5. Should FOX consider retiring So You Think You Can Dance or MasterChef?

Thursday Ratings: Spartan Falls, BattleBots Premieres Lower (Finals Update!)


Here are Thursday's ratings.

ABC
BattleBots - 0.9, 1.0
Celebrity Family Feud (R) - 1.1

CBS
The Big Bang Theory (R) - 1.4
Life in Pieces (R) - 1.1
Big Brother - 1.7
Code Black (R) - 0.6

NBC
Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge (R) - 0.6
Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge - 0.7 --> adjusted up to 0.8
Aquarius - 0.4

FOX
Bones - 0.9
Home Free - 0.5

CW
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (R) - 0.2
Beauty and the Beast - 0.2

On ABC, BattleBots premiered lower with a 0.9 in the first hour, and a 1.0 in the second hour. It is in a more difficult timeslot, so this was expected. 

On NBC, Spartan fell hard and fast. to a 0.7 A18-49 rating. Aquarius was even with last week's premiere. 

FOX's Bones went up to a 0.9. However, Home Free plunged to a 0.5. Another one bites the dust. Really, this makes So You Think You Can Dance and Hotel Hell look much better. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finals Update: Spartan adjusts up to a 0.8. But still, it fell almost 50% in its new timeslot. 

Summer Renew/Cancel - June 24: American Gothic is Certain to be Canceled

Summer Renew/Cancel - June 24: American Gothic is Certain to be Canceled
It's week six, and this week we had the premiere of American Gothic. Also this week, two shows have moved to a different category, and time may be running out for another. So, let's get to my predictions and my reasoning.



Format for predictions:
Show title (network) (average adults 18-49 rating, season low-season high)

Certain to be Canceled
American Gothic (CBS) (0.7, 0.7-0.7)
Aquarius (NBC) (0.4, 0.4-0.4)
BrainDead (CBS) (0.6, 0.5-0.7)
Houdini & Doyle (FOX) (0.6, 0.4-0.7)

Likely to be Canceled
Mistresses (ABC) (0.7, 0.7-0.8)

Toss-Up
Wayward Pines (FOX) (0.8, 0.7-0.9)

Likely to be Renewed
The Night Shift (NBC) (1.0, 0.9-1.1)
Uncle Buck (ABC) (1.3, 1.0-1.5)

Certain to be Renewed

Fate Determined
Beauty and the Beast (CW) FINAL SEASON

Yet to Premiere
Zoo (CBS)


American Gothic: This show premiered to the same rating that BrainDead premiered to. It was not a healthy number for BrainDead, and it is even worse for American Gothic considering the size of its lead-in. For any episode in the season, this is weak. For a premiere, it is terrible.

BrainDead: After dropping two tenths this week to a miserable 0.5, I have moved BrainDead to certain to be canceled. There is no way CBS could justify renewing this show. Even if Zoo fails in season two, CBS won't renew this.

Mistresses: One of the trickier shows this summer, Mistresses dropped again to a 0.7. This is a painful number, especially considering its lead-in. But why would ABC decide to give this show the lead in of The Bachelorette? It would have been better used on repeats. The scheduling suggests that ABC wants this show to succeed, but I don't think they will be able to renew it with this low of ratings.

Uncle Buck: After a large premiere, Uncle Buck experienced a large drop. 1.0 is still a good number for the summer, which is why I haven't moved it, but that drop is worrisome. The rest of the shows here were intended or expected to air in the summer, but Uncle Buck wasn't, so contracts likely expire at the end of June. Because of this, I may post a special summer renew/cancel on Wednesday, June 29 if I decide to make Uncle Buck certain to be renewed or likely to be canceled. Stay tuned!

Wayward Pines: The show has stabilized since its premiere, consistently hitting 0.7s now. That number is two tenths lower than anything it hit in season one, where it hit a high of 1.2 and averaged a 1.1. This season, it is averaging a 0.8, and if it gets two more 0.7s in the upcoming two weeks, that will be its average. That average is a bit lower than season one's, and it isn't a strong number, so I am wondering if the show may be canceled. However, each year ratings are lower, and we don't know how much above the bar Wayward Pines performed in season one. Also, production has moved to Canada, which is cheaper. This is going to be a difficult show to predict.

Zoo: Coming up this week is Zoo, CBS's only renewal from last summer. With how American Gothic and BrainDead are performing, if Zoo gets anywhere near its numbers from last season, it should be able to get renewed. However, CBS summer dramas have experienced big drops between seasons, so it could be getting Extant-level ratings this season.


What do you think of my predictions? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Wednesday Ratings: American Gothic Flops (Finals Update!)

Here are Wednesday's ratings.

ABC
The Middle (R) - 0.8
The Goldbergs (R) - 0.8
Modern Family (R) - 0.9
black-ish (R) - 0.8
Fresh Off the Boat (R) - 0.8
The Real O'Neals (R) - 0.7

CBS
Big Brother - 1.8 --> adjusted up to 1.9
American Gothic - 0.7

NBC
American Ninja Warrior (R) - 1.0
The Night Shift - 0.9

FOX
MasterChef - 1.0 --> adjusted up to 1.1
Wayward Pines - 0.7

CW
Arrow (R) - 0.2
Supernatural (R) - 0.3 --> adjusted down to 0.2

On CBS, the premiere of Big Brother was down from last season's premiere. American Gothic flops at a 0.7 A18-49 rating. This is the continuation of CBS ratings woes.

On NBC, despite the weakened lead-in, The Night Shift stayed steady at a 0.9. The retention argument clearly doesn't apply to this show. 

On FOX, MasterChef was mostly steady with a 1.0, but Wayward Pines was flat with last week's numbers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finals Update: CBS's Big Brother (1.9) and FOX's MasterChef (1.1) adjusted up a tenth. A repeat of CW's Supernatural (0.2) adjusted down a tenth. 

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - Lethal Weapon

New Show Hit/Miss Fall 2016 - Lethal Weapon
This feature examines which factors may affect how well a show does. Any show can do well or poorly, and it is difficult to know before the premiere. I have moved on to FOX now. These are the factors that may cause Lethal Weapon to succeed or to fail.


What May Cause Lethal Weapon to be a Hit?

Airing before Empire
FOX won't use Empire as a lead-in for anything, but they used it as a lead-out for Rosewood last season, and they are doing the same thing for Lethal Weapon this year. This will likely help the show out a lot.

More people watched its trailer than other FOX shows
It beat out Pitch, The Exorcist, and even Son of Zorn in trailer views, according to the trailer-watching article. This means that a lot of people are aware that the show exists, and may be interested in watching the show.

Four Lethal Weapon films
There are four Lethal Weapon films! This means that there are likely a lot of fans of the films out there, who may come to the TV version.


What May Cause Lethal Weapon to be a Miss for FOX?

Heavily disliked trailer
From the trailer-watching article, only one show had a lower like/dislike ratio, MacGyver, and Lethal Weapon tied The Great Indoors. While people watched the trailer, they didn't like it very much, so viewers may not stick with the show.

More episodes without Empire than Rosewood
While Rosewood only aired five episodes without Empire airing on the same night, Lethal Weapon won't be waiting until March to return after Christmas. This will cause its average to be much lower if it doesn't have a real fan base.

Movie to TV doesn't usually work
About a Boy, Bad Teacher, Limitless, Minority Report, Rush Hour, Taxi Brooklyn. What do they all have in common? They were all adapted from movies, and they all didn't last. If it were to be successful, Lethal Weapon would be going against the trend.


What to Expect for Lethal Weapon?

I think that the Empire factor will help in the beginning, but then the without Empire factor will hurt in the second half of the season, and the heavily disliked trailer factor will hurt the show in general, and it won't get a second season.


Which factors do you think will be most in play in causing Lethal Weapon to be a hit or a miss? Leave your thoughts in the comments!


New Show Hit/Miss Articles:
The Good Place
This is Us
Timeless

Wayward Pines S2E5 Review

Wayward Pines S2E5 Review




Flickering Myth
This week concludes the first half of the season of Wayward Pines. Not much has happened so far this season. Will that change tonight?


S2E5 "Sound the Alarm"

David Pilcher appears this week, as in the past he convinces Rebecca to help him create Wayward Pines. She is on board surprisingly quickly. The abbie that entered Wayward Pines turns out to be a female, which means they have to put a shirt on it, even though it looks extremely similar to the males. It also means other things, which make Megan and the other scientist very excited to find clues about the abbies.

The brother that we met last week has an appointment in procreation, which is extremely awkward. Meanwhile, after an odd little scene with Arlene, Theo demands to be in charge of the abbie research, which Megan is very angry about. He thinks of them as more human than the others think of them as.

Rebecca meets with Pilcher's team, where Megan soaks up his every word. The feeling at the dinner is very cult-like. The brother meets with Theo, where Theo brings up the possibility that the brother may be gay, which he at first doesn't understand. Apparently they kill people who can't have children. Another big piece of information is dropped when it is revealed that Rebecca and Xander are married.

Theo is very angry about Rebecca and Xander. Megan talks to an abbie, which is really odd, as she reminds herself at the end that the abbies are just animals. Something strange is happening at the end of the episode when the abbies carry torches of fire. Before, they were afraid of fire. What is going on?


There were hints of the storyline with the brother getting interesting, but it didn't get as much focus as I would have liked. Overall, it was a mediocre episode.

What did you think of "Sound the Alarm"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

The 2015-16 Freshmen Class and Bleeding Audiences: A Look At The Trends

The Ratings Junkie Wednesday, June 22, 2016
The 2015-16 Freshmen Class and Bleeding Audiences: A Look At The Trends
The 2015-16 broadcast TV freshmen class was widely seen as underwhelming. Shows that started with promise lost their buzz, and those which started modest didn't grow. So, it's time now to take a look into each show's audience loss from its premiere to its finale. I will not be counting Containment, as its season hasn't concluded. I will include shows that were pulled from the schedule, even if they will be burned off at a later date.

ABC
Blood & Oil
Premiere: 1.4
Finale: 0.8
Trend: -43%

Quantico
Premiere: 1.9
Finale: 1.0
Trend: -47%

The Muppets
Premiere: 2.9
Finale: 0.9
Trend: -69%

Dr Ken
Premiere: 1.5
Finale: 0.9
Trend: -40%

Wicked City
Premiere: 0.9
Finale: 0.4 (pulled from the schedule)
Trend: -56%

The Real O'Neals
Premiere: 1.8
Finale: 1.1
Trend: -39%

Of Kings and Prophets
Premiere: 0.8
Finale: 0.5 (also known as the 2nd episode)
Trend: -37%

The Family
Premiere: 1.5
Finale: 0.8
Trend: -47%

The Catch
Premiere: 1.2
Finale: 0.8
Trend: -33%

CBS
Supergirl
Premiere: 3.1
Finale: 1.3
Trend: -58%

Limitless
Premiere: 1.9
Finale: 1.1
Trend: -42%

Code Black
Premiere: 1.5
Finale: 1.2
Trend: -20%

Life in Pieces
Premiere: 2.6
Finale: 1.7
Trend: -35%

Angel from Hell
Premiere: 1.6
Finale: 1.4 (pulled from the schedule)
Trend: -12%

Rush Hour
Premiere: 1.1
Finale: 0.9
Trend: -18%

Criminal Minds; Beyond Borders
Premiere: 1.6
Finale: 1.0
Trend: -37%

The CW
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Premiere: 0.3
Finale: 0.3
Trend: +/- 0%

DC's Legends of Tomorrow
Premiere: 1.2
Finale: 0.7
Trend: -42%

FOX
Minority Report
Premiere: 1.1
Finale: 0.7
Trend: -36%

Grandfathered
Premiere: 1.5
Finale: 0.6
Trend: -60%

The Grinder
Premiere: 1.5
Finale: 0.6
Trend: -60%

Scream Queens
Premiere: 1.7
Finale: 0.9
Trend: -47%

Rosewood
Premiere: 2.4
Finale: 0.8
Trend: -66%

Lucifer
Premiere: 2.4
Finale: 1.3
Trend: -46%

Second Chance
Premiere: 1.2
Finale: 0.5
Trend: -58%

Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life
Premiere: 1.2
Latest: 0.3
Trend: -75%

Bordertown
Premiere: 1.1
Finale: 0.4
Trend: -64%

NBC
Blindspot
Premiere: 3.1
Finale: 1.3
Trend: -58%

Chicago Med
Premiere: 2.2
Finale: 1.6
Trend: -27%

The Player
Premiere: 1.2
Finale: 0.8
Trend: -33%

Truth Be Told
Premiere: 0.7
Finale: 0.4 (Christmas burnoff; time slot finale was a 0.6)
Trend: -43%

Crowded
Premiere: 1.7
Finale: 0.4
Trend: -76%

Heartbeat
Premiere: 1.4
Finale: 0.7
Trend: -50%

Game of Silence
Premiere: 1.4
Finale: 0.6
Trend: -57%

Shades of Blue
Premiere: 1.8
Finale: 1.1
Trend: -39%

You, Me, and the Apocalypse
Premiere: 1.2
Finale: 0.6
Trend: -50%

Superstore
Premiere: 2.0
Finale: 1.4
Trend: -30%

Telenovela
Premiere: 1.4
Finale: 0.9
Trend: -36%

Thoughts
Most shows lose a significant portion of their audience after their premiere, it's just natural in television viewing experiences. Viewers will sample a show, but that is more a product of good advertising and time slot exposure than the quality of the show itself. Viewer fatigue was very evident
this season, though. I would argue that losing less than 30% of an audience is very respectable, but losing more than 40% from the premiere to the finale is a cause of concern.

Supergirl went from a 3.1 to a 1.3 in a season
The real question is if any show out of this class has long-term potential to grow, even in raw ratings. If you look at the biggest hits on television right now, most peaked in a season other than the first. That goes for the power shows Empire, The Big Bang Theory, The Voice, NCIS, Modern Family, even smaller hits like The Goldbergs and The Middle. Do we have anything out of this class? To me, Superstore and Chicago Med are the two most promising shows of the freshmen class, though unfortunately for them they definitely have their work cut out for them next season. Are the days of a show growing in raw ratings more or less over? We'll have to wait and find out next season.

Do you see any potential breakout hits out of this season's freshmen class? Because let's face it, a lot of these shows renewed had mediocre ratings. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!