Commentary

For The 'TV Blog,' Ad-Supported TV Is Where It's At

Today marks the fourth Monday of the new fall season and, as always, the TV Blog is all in.

So far, every one of the new fall shows introduced by ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW since September 19 (the de facto official start of the fall TV season this year) have come under the foggy lens of the TV Blog microscope.

Why? Because these networks and their shows are brought to you by advertising. That’s still a thing, right? You betcha! 

This is why the TV Blog traditionally emphasizes ad-supported TV shows over the non-commercial world of subscription streaming. That -- and the fact that MediaPost covers the advertising business (and happens to be the best in the world at doing so). 

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That said, plenty of streaming series have come up for consideration here, despite their lack of advertising.

But wouldn’t you know it? The streamers are getting into the ad game too. So pretty soon, TV will once again be the big, all-inclusive advertising universe that it was originally designed to be.

Who could have predicted that the streaming services would eventually find their way into the ad business? Well, I don’t want to brag (OK, maybe a little) -- but I did.

In that same spirit, and being a creature of habit, the TV Blog refuses to throw in the towel on the fall TV season just because some people think it is an anachronism. 

With that in mind, how are the fall shows doing here so far? A quick review: First up was “Monarch,” the only new scripted show for Fox this fall.

This is the prime-time soap about a country music dynasty starring Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins as matriarch and patriarch. Our review here was non-committal and indifferent -- the equivalent of a shrug.

Then came the new “Quantum Leap” on NBC. The TV Blog called the premiere episode “a straight-up mess.”

“The Rookie: Feds” on ABC was described as “ludicrous,” “improbable” and “far-fetched.” And yet, the far-fetched lead character played by Niecy Nash-Betts had charisma to spare.

The TV Blog was disappointed with “So Help Me Todd” on CBS, in which a lawyer mother wages a constant battle with her detective son. 

“Their relationship is one hot mess -- a point that is driven home in the pilot episode like a hammer driving a nail,” opined the TV Blog.

In a similar vein, the father-battles-daughter legal drama on The CW called “Family Law” came up for review the very next day. This sentence sums up the TV Blog’s review: “Of the two shows, ‘Family Law’ comes out ahead.”

After that, came “East New York” on CBS, which was praised in our headline as “A Stellar Example Of A Great Network TV Show.”

Then came CBS’s brawny firefighter drama “Fire Country.” The “raging fires and the fierce, urgent battles to contain them are the best features of the show,” said our review.

ABC’s “Alaska Daily” came in for praise for its accurate portrayal of newspaper life, and for its star, Hilary Swank, who demonstrates in the show why she won two Oscars.

The TV Blog was not bowled over by The CW’s new western series “Walker: Independence.” For some reason, “Walker” will always mean Chuck Norris to me.

Next up, two more CW shows -- “The Winchesters” (pictured above), about a pair of 20-somethings who hunt demons; and “Professionals” which may or may not be a drama about mercenaries (The CW press site doesn’t say) -- both premiering this week on Tuesday.

And on November 4 comes the new George Lopez comedy “Lopez Vs. Lopez” on NBC. After that, who knows?

“The Winchesters” premieres Tuesday (October 11) at 8 p.m. Eastern on The CW.

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