Posts Tagged USA Network
Suggestions for NBC to Fill the 10 PM Slot (Expanded)
Posted by admin in episodic TV, late night TV, talk show on January 12, 2010
OK, so the other day, I said I lost the draft of a post. It appears that I misplaced it. Since this version is a tad more informative and less primal, I present it for you. Sorry for the technical snafu folks.
Something amazes me about NBC’s primetime/late night challenges. The Jay Leno 10 PM experiment did not work and will stop by mid-February 2010 (as confirmed by NBC and detailed in this New York Times article). Now NBC is struggling to quickly fill the slot in the short term, while ordering up multiple new pilots for the long run (including one that I’m very excited to hear about, a reworking of the Rockford Files, produced by House co-creator David Shore and Office star, Steve Carrell).
What amazes me about the short-term struggle is that after a few years of placing some of the Law & Order product on USA Network, why has NBC never considered airing Burn Notice (or any of the USA Network [owned by NBC Universal] original series), in the 10 PM slot? Back in August 2009, as noted in this TV Squad article, Burn Notice’s “August airings are burning down nine million viewers at a pop”. NBC wishes Leno could have pulled numbers on that level at 10 PM consistently.
On TV Right Now: White Collar Marathon
Posted by admin in episodic TV on November 27, 2009
USA Network's White Collar
Several weeks ago, a grade school classmate of mine (who I reconnected with through Facebook) asked me what I thought of USA Network’s new show, White Collar. The show’s Friday night slot at 10 PM makes it a show I often miss, due to busy Friday nights in the O’Shea mansion. But I like the show–although it’s a different beast and a far leisurely pace than my favorite USA Network show, Burn Notice. So I was happy to find out that today USA Network is featuring a White Collar marathon. It started at 1:30 PM (EST) and will rununtil 7 PM. If you like what you see, be sure to come back at 10 PM (EST) for a new episode.
The show started with a con artist, Neal Caffrey, breaking out of prison just before he was due to be paroled. The FBI agent Peter Burke, who initially caught Caffrey, quickly catches him again. Staring at an additional four years in jail, Cafferty offers to use his criminal expertise to help Burke. Begrudgingly Burke accepts, knowing just how smart his former adversary is. There’s an element of the late l1960s Robert Wagner series, It Takes a Thief, as well as a sliver of Burn Notice. What I mean by the latter aspect is that Caffrey broke out of jail because his girlfriend, Kate, had left him. The mystery of how and why she left him is an overarching plot thread being carried through every episode.
Of the two leads, Burke is played by Tim DeKay and reminds me of a young Chris Cooper. Caffrey is played by an actor (Matthew Bomer) that folks like myself (who are longtime fans of NBC’s Chuck) will recognize him as that series pivotal character, Bryce Larkin. The witty banter and general chemistry between the two leads are the core appeal of the series.
If you read this after today’s marathon airs, no worries, as USA Network offers all the episodes online for free.