Apparently a robust Twitter following doesn't guarantee success at everything one tries in life. It seems the elimination of Cody Simpson and his partner Witney Carson on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" the other night shocked people not because Simpson is a popular young singer with decent moves but because he has approximately 6.55 million followers on Twitter.

For many, April 15 is among the worst days of the year. But this year, it comes with an unexpected thrill -- a new television franchise that is easily the best new program of the year to date and will likely retain that distinction throughout the year. We don't know how we'll react to the new shows that will debut on broadcast, basic and pay cable in the next 8 months, but it will take some major magic for any to surpass the new FX limited series franchise "Fargo."

I'm wondering why the marvelous "Mom" is ending now, six weeks before the end of the "traditional" broadcast season. It would seem that a show like "Mom" -- which has more than lived up to the promise of its premise and pilot and will likely land an Emmy for one of its two leading ladies -- would have been scheduled to stretch into the May sweeps period. Every character on the "Mom" canvas is dealing with the repercussions of bad luck and worse choices, which makes it as profound a reflection of reality as anything else on broadcast television right …

At first blush it looks as if CBS made a safe choice in Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman. But we have an entirely new mystery to speculate about: Who did CBS hire? Will the new host of "Late Show" be anything like the satirical character whom we have all come to know so well on his Comedy Central gigs, or will he be the "real" Stephen Colbert -- someone most of us hardly know at all?

If what I saw last night was any indication -- and as a long-time supporter it pains me to say this -- there is simply no hope for Fox's "American Idol." Lately, it is so easy to find fault with this once glorious show that it hurts.

With every passing day, overnight ratings for broadcast series seem to mean less and less. Although DVR usage and VOD viewing have a lot to do with this, something I will call Future Viewing Potential is now a huge factor too. As the upfront approaches and broadcast networks announce which shows are returning next season, there will likely be more low-rated series in the mix than ever before. This is not because they are currently propelling their respective networks to new heights of ratings glory. It's because their FVP potential suggests they are smart investments for the future.

NBC's "Days of Our Lives" made history last week with its story line about the wedding of two gay men -- a story that had never been told on daytime television.

Seconds after CBS made the announcement last Thursday that David Letterman will be retiring in 2015, reporters and critics who cover television were madly tweeting their thoughts about who should replace him and why. While the press immediately got to buzzing about which funny middle-aged white man should replace him, I found myself musing about things CBS might do to mix up a daypart that is currently suffering from a uniform sameness that is rendering it less than the sum of its lookalike parts.

Year after year, the annual Discovery Communications upfront event impresses me with the breadth of its offerings and the consistent bold moves that have come to define each of its networks and its brand overall. Yesterday's presentation at Jazz at Lincoln Center spanned eight networks -- Animal Planet, TLC, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Velocity, Destination America, the Discovery Channel mothership and OWN -- and dozens of specials and new and returning series. Collectively, the programs represented the impressive results that come with thinking outside the box.

At a time when branding and identity are crucial to the success of television networks, is it wise for one to put together a programming slate that suggests a bit of a split personality? As CMT demonstrated at its 2014 upfront presentation, the answer may be a resounding "yes" if both personalities seem perfectly suited to its audience. Such was the case with much of the new programming the network revealed yesterday for advertisers and members of the press in a mid-day event at The TimesCenter in New York City.