Code Black, Wednesday, 10pm, CBS
Based on a documentary, Code Black is a medical drama set in the most notorious ER in the nation, where the staff works with limited time and resources to save lives. Marcia Gay Harden, Bonnie Somerville, Raza Jaffrey and Luis Guzman star.
I will never learn. There is a rule in television show predicting and its NEVER DOUBT CBS THEY ALWAYS WIN. This will probably be a hit. It will probably win multiple Emmys and revitalize the medical drama series for years to come. It should be a slam dunk to return next season. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut, even though you know you will probably be wrong.
GONE BY: National Shower With A Friend Day (February 5th)
People Are Talking, Friday, 8:30pm, NBC
Mark-Paul Gosselaar stars in this comedy about two couples who are best friends and neighbors. As they go through life side-by-side, they can’t help but analyze and obsess about everything from sex and race to the fact that the new babysitter might be a porn star, Meaghan Rath, Tone Bell and Bresha Webb also star.
What people are talking about this show? Read that synopsis and try to convince me that anyone other than Franklin & Bash fans will watch it.
GONE BY: National Pick a Pathologic Pal Day (December 10th)
Angel From Hell, Thursday, 9:30, CBS
Glee’s Jane Lynch stars as Amy, who claims to be the guardian angel of Allison(Maggie Lawson) life. Together, the duo forms an unlikely friendship — even though Allison can’t decide if Amy is actually just crazy. Kyle Bornheimer and Kevin Pollak also star.
Jane Lynch is a very funny and talented actress. She deserves to be awarded MVP on practically every show she has turned up on. The reason she works well is that she shows up in supporting roles, knocks it out of the park, and is done. She hasn’t been the lead in any movie or television show since she broke into the business 25 years ago. Coincidence? I dont know.It is CBS but its also up against the second half of Scandal and The Blacklist. This one might get lost in purgatory.
GONE BY: National Do a Grouch a Favor Day (February 16th)
Limitless, Tuesday, 10pm, CBS
Based on the 2011 film of the same name, this drama stars Jake McDorman as Brian Sinclair, who, after discovering the power of the mysterious drug NZT, is coerced into using his new abilities to solve weekly cases for the FBI. Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter, Hill Harper and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio also star.
Limitless was a moderate hit in theaters way back in the spring of 2011 and I know Bradley Cooper is an executive producer. He is even listed as a recurring character, but does anyone think he is going to be on the show for more than two episodes? The man is a movie star! He doesnt have time for CBS dramas! My guess is that the same people who thought Thor and The Hulk were going to end up on Agents of Shield every other week are going to tune in and be disappointed. The the success of show show will hinge on its star, McDorman. He might not be mainstream enough to create an early buzz.
GONE BY: National Pack Your Lunch Day (March 10)
Life in Pieces, Thursday, 8:30pm, CBS
Written by Better Off Ted’s Justin Adler this comedy explores one family through the separate stories of its different family members. Dianne Wiest, James Brolin, Zoe Lister Jones, Colin Hanks, Angelique Cabral, Thomas Sadoski and Betsy Brandt make up the ensemble cast.
This feels like a watered down, poor mans Parenthood. (Actually, this show shouldn’t be on the list but I like round numbers and wanted to ax 10. Sorry, Mr. Streisand!)
GONE BY: National Empanada Day (April 8th)
Make sure you return next week for 10 Shows Guaranteed to Get a Second Season, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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I agree with most of your predictions. The only two that I disagree with you on are Code Black and Life in Pieces. I don’t think Code Black will be very good, but we all know that a show doesn’t have to be good in order to draw in the automatons who kept 2 1/2 Men on the air for as long as it was and Two Broke Girls from being canceled. It will draw the ratings and probably last quite a few seasons before fading away into nothing. The fact that Life in Pieces is written by the same writer as Better Off Ted is a huge positive in my mind because in my opinion, Better Off Ted is one of the greatest shows to only last a few episodes in the history of television. The fact that CBS is promoting Life in Pieces so much tells me that they’re banking on it a lot which will give it a pretty long leash.
Hail Mary- my guess is that Code Black makes it to season two exactly because of what you said: CBS’s minion viewers. I dont have the same confidence in Life in Pieces. Its a good concept but the cast doesnt scream, “We are worth your time!”
Time will tell.
Thanks for commenting!
Wow these all seem so…generic. Come on TV producers!
Love these lists by the way, always look forward to them.
Cody- you’ve inspired me. Next year, I will sneak in a fake generic show I will create into the list. See if anyone notices!
Thanks for commenting and visiting the site.
No way Quantico or Minority Report get canned.
The rest, absolutely, but not those two.
IN FACT, Mr. Chapman, I challenge you! If either of them doesn’t get a second season, I will donate $50 to the charity of your choosing. I challenge you to do the same to a charity of my choosing if either gets renewed!
Quantico survives, but Minority Report doesn’t. I wrote about it when it was announced at the Fox Upfronts last Spring. It’s the kind of show that Fox loves to cancel. It’s going to prove to be too expensive for its ratings, and the scuttlebutt is that they don’t really know in what direction they want to take the show. The summer was FILLED with reshoots, so throw it on the pile with Firefly and Terra Nova.