Tuned In

Test Pilot: Kid Nation

Monty Brinton/ CBS Test Pilot is a semiregular feature this summer sharing my first impressions of the pilots for next fall’s shows. These aren’t reviews, since these pilots may be rewritten, recast and reshot before airing, and end up much better or worse. But, premature opinions are why God invented the Internet, so let’s get [...]

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Murdoch on Dow Jones & CNBC: Contract, Schmontract

Adweek looks at the TV angle to News Corp’s acquisition of Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, specifically the possible synergies for Rupert Murdoch’s new Fox Business Network. (Link via Romenesko.) What synergies? After all, Dow Jones has a deal that binds its employees to contribute only to CNBC for years. Unless, you know, [...]

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It's Not HBO. It's Basic Cable TV.

AMC’s Mad Men. AMC The New York Times’ Bill Carter rounds up the hot hot hot summer that basic cable TV has been having, with The Closer, Army Wives, Mad Men, Saving Grace, Damages and others becoming critical or commercial hits or both. The summer-is-the-season-for-cable story is a bit of a perennial, but cable does [...]