Stevie Wonder Gets the Party Started at CW’s Upfront
The legendary Stevie Wonder performs at CW’s upfront In recent years, the CW has always kicked off its Thursday morning upfront with a top musical act like the Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry or Jared Leto’s 30 Seconds to Mars, but never has the network hosted such an iconic performer as Stevie Wonder. The R&B legend made a surprise appearance at the presentation at New York City Center in Midtown Manhattan to the delight of the...
Revivals, Send-offs and Superheroes Slated for Showtime and the CW
It’s been more than a decade since “The L Word” signed off on Showtime, and details of the revival of the groundbreaking LGBTQ show about a group of lesbian friends living in Los Angeles were a highlight of the cable network’s presentation at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour last week. “The L Word: Generation Q” mixes returning characters with a younger cast including trans actor Leo Sheng and looks at the generational...
It’s Expansion Time for the CW and Showtime
This week got off to a very strong start for two network presidents, the CW’s Mark Pedowitz and Showtime’s David Nevins. Their respective networks shared a day at TCA’s summer press tour held at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Pedowitz got the party started by discussing the network’s recent decision expanding to a sixth night on Sundays, adding two hours of primetime programming. He said the addition of a new night got a terrific reception...
Highlights of TV’s Annual Upfront Programming Presentations
The dust is still settling from last week’s series of major network presentations for the 2018 TV upfronts. Despite the uncertainty in the air about potential mergers between CBS and Viacom, AT&T and Time Warner and even Disney and Fox with a rival Comcast bid coming into play, top executives across the board espoused an attitude of optimism about the future. Here’s a chronological snapshot of what went down during the whirlwind...
The New ‘Will & Grace,’ ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ and ‘Menendez Murders’ Previewed at TCA
Even as news from outside the doors of the Beverly Hilton, including Disney pulling future programming from Netflix in favor of its own subscription service and Facebook producing original content roiled the traditional television ecosystem, networks continued to put their best and their brightest front and center for the second half of the Television Critics Association summer press tour. New and returning shows were presented by...
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