ok, I'm going to be UPFRONT with you ...

Finally, I'm able to give an EWLYD style recap of my SECOND favorite TV Season (behind Fall season, of course) --

Broadcast Upfront Season!

For those of you that know what that is - good for you. For those that don't - you need to get with the program. The long and short of it is: TV networks, in this case - the main 5 Broadcast Nets - ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and ... *cough*  CW - hold big ol' presentations in the advertising mecca that is NYC, showing off what they have on tap for next season. "Please spend your money and place your ads in our shows ..." yadda, yadda, yadda. You get it, right? Cool. We're all up to speed.

I'm not going to give you a FULL read out of every new show and what they are about. You can find that here - Cynthia's Cynopsis Upfront info But I will let you know what each net is bringing to the table, and some of the more interesting things of note.

ABC Fall 2011 Primetime Schedule





Monday: Dancing with the Stars, Castle

Tuesday: Last Man Standing, Man Up, Dancing with the Stars Results Show, Body of Proof

Wednesday: The Middle, Suburgatory, Modern Family, Happy Endings, Revenge

Thursday: Charlie's Angels, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice

Friday: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Shark Tank, 20/20

Saturday: Saturday Night College Football

Sunday: America's Funniest Home Videos, Once Upon a Time, Desperate Housewives, Pan Am

EASILY, the thing I care most about is the new show Pan Am on Sundays, which I discussed in February  Remember?? I still feel the same way. So happy I get to see my darling Christina Ricci now week after week ... And what's more - the show actually looks pretty ok ... Take a look!

Other things to care about from ABC - The Outstanding Wednesday night Comedy Lineup remains almost entirely intact. The Middle, Modern Family, and the return of this year's mid-season addition Happy Endings, which is actually very good. You should check it out. *Note - Cougar Town HAS been picked up for another season (thank goodness!), but doesn't appear on the Fall 2011 lineup. Most likely will be swapped in after Suburgatory tanks. They SHOULD move Modern Family to 8:30 pm immediately after the Middle, put Cougar Town at 9, and then follow it with Happy Endings. Just saying.

CBS Fall 2011 Primetime Schedule    

    

Monday: How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, Hawaii Five-0

Tuesday: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, Unforgettable

Wednesday: Survivor: South Pacific, Criminal Minds, CSI

Thursday: The Big Bang Theory, How To Be a Gentleman, Person of Interest, The Mentalist

Friday: A Gifted Man, CSI: NY, Blue Bloods

Saturday: Rules of Engagement, Comedy-time Saturday (encores of other CBS comedies), Crime-time Saturday, 48 Hours Mystery

Sunday: 60 Minutes, The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, CSI: Miami

As usual, the network that needs the least help will have the least amount of new shows come Fall. That's CBS's honor once again this year. They'll continue to do fine with their procedurals. Jazzed that the awesome Hawaii Five-0 is back! ... If you aren't watching this, you're stupid. It's the procedural for those of us that don't have time for procedurals and just want a car chase and someone thrown through a window every 15 minutes. Brilliance! Plus, CBS's most noteworthy NEW entry is 2 Broke Girls, also on Mondays. A comedy with Kat Dennings, who I love like cold ice-cream on a hot Christmas morning. For that alone, I will watch.

NBC Fall 2011 Primetime Schedule

Monday: The Sing-Off, The Playboy Club

Tuesday: The Biggest Loser, Parenthood

Wednesday: Up All Night, Free Agents, Harry's Law, Law & Order: SVU

Thursday: Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, Whitney, Prime Suspect

Friday: Chuck, Grimm, Dateline NBC

Saturday: Encore programming

Sunday: Football Night in America, NBC Sunday Night Football

NBC Midseason 2012 Highlights

Sunday: Dateline NBC, The Celebrity Apprentice, The Firm

Monday: The Voice, Smash

Nothing NEW to care about on NBC. We've already heard The Voice. The new Grimm could be good. Detectives hunting down supernatural storybook monsters ... but it's trapped there on a Friday night, making the show's OUTLOOK pretty grim. The Playboy Club? A drama set in the 60's just like ABC's Pan Am, only this show DOESN'T have Christina Ricci. Fail. *Please note - 30 Rock IS returning to NBC, although not listed above ... hopefully after the flop of Whitney, starring Whitney Cummings who is as grating as she is unfunny. **Also note - Outsourced is NOT returning, which I'm pissed about, and the much talked about, action drama Wonder Woman was ultimately NOT picked up by NBC. So those of you who were anxiously awaiting that? - You were just spared cuz it was gonna suck anyway. Good to see the ol' Peacock learned its lesson after The Bionic Woman.

FOX Fall 2011 Primetime Schedule

Monday: Terra Nova, House

Tuesday: Glee, New Girl (wt), Raising Hope

Wednesday: The X Factor Performance Show, I Hate My Teenage Daughter (wt)

Thursday: The X Factor Results Show, Bones

Friday: Kitchen Nightmares, Fringe

Saturday: Cops, Cops, Encores/America's Most Wanted (specials)

Sunday: The OT (NFL post-game), The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, Allen Gregory, Family Guy, American Dad

FOX Midseason 2012 Primetime Schedule

Monday: House, Alcatraz

Tuesday: Glee, New Girl (wt), Raising Hope

Wednesday: American Idol Performance Show, I Hate My Teenage Daughter (wt)

Thursday: American Idol Results Show, The Finder/Bones (spring)

Friday: Kitchen Nightmares, Fringe

Saturday: Cops, Cops, Encores/America's Most Wanted

Sunday: Animation Domination (encores), The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, Napoleon Dynamite, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers

Fox's Terra Nova might be something, although it was supposed to be out THIS year. Quite often, delayed shows illustrate WHY when you actually watch them. But ... with Fox, you never know. Nova's big and actiony, so I'm down to take a look. X-Factor will be huge, and the new Napoleon Dynamite on Sunday looks promising, with the film's original cast doing the voices as an added plus. I'm guessing a "miss" with Alcatraz. Without another cop-like shows to pair it with, it's all alone out there. Remember The Chicago Code this season? Yeah, neither does anyone else. There's a Kiefer Sutherland drama called Touch that's in development for mid-season, but, again, knowing Fox, we won't see it till Fall 2012.

And last, but certainly not least ... (unless you are talking about actual HOURS of Prime ... or Network ratings, then Yes. It IS least)

The CW Fall 2011 Primetime Schedule

Monday: Gossip Girl, Hart of Dixie

Tuesday: 90210, Ringer

Wednesday: H8R, America's Next Top Model

Thursday: The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle

Friday: Nikita, Supernatural

Oh, CW. It retooled almost 50% of it's prime lineup, which is fine, and I'm actually impressed overall.  The Secret Circle, about teen witches, pairs up with the CW hit Vampire Diaries better than Nikita did, so it should benefit from that. Nikita & Supernatural don't do anything for each other on Fridays, but at least Supernatral (one of the best written shows on television - check it out and you'll see) has it's same timeslot from last year, which is ... better than nothing. But what CW REALLY did right? - The return of Sarah Michelle Gellar in the action-esque - Ringer, as well as the addition of Rachel Bilson to the CW family in the new drama Hart of Dixie. Very smart moves.

Now if they could only straighten up their senseless scheduling ...
Forget it. I'll do it ...

EJ’s “Cleaned UP” CW Fall 2011 Primetime Schedule

Monday: Gossip Girl, 90210

Tuesday: Ringer, Nikita

Wednesday: H8R, America's Next Top Model

Thursday: The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle

Friday: Hart of Dixie, Supernatural

They should leave at least ONE night intact from the previous season, and keeping Gossip Girl and 90210 together on Mondays makes as much sense as Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle. Ringer with SMG on Tuesday pairs the best with Nikita. Wednesday and Thursday are fine. And Heart of Dixie? Well it'll probably do the same number wherever you put it, and Friday at 8 will get that young female audience that is home watching TV at that hour anyway.

Your welcome.

Thanks to Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis Upfront 2011 Report for providing this info. You can read more in depth about these networks, all the new programs, as well as the new shows on Cable, by clicking the link provided.