“The Masked Singer” Leads Fox to Wednesday Victory; Beloved Sitcom “The Brady Bunch” Turns 50

Happy 50th Birthday to the TV Clan Called Brady!
For a look back at “The Brady Bunch,“ click here

Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/26/2019 – ON THIS DAY – Three classic sitcoms debuted on this day: “The Beverly Hillbillies” in 1962, “Gilligan’s Island” in 1964, and “The Brady Bunch” in 1969. “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch” came from the same creator, Sherwood Schwartz, who also wrote both theme songs…Also debuting: the original “Hawaii Five-O” on CBS in 1968; the original “Knight Rider” on NBC in 1982; and “Jane and the Fatman” with William Conrad on CBS in 1987…The first of the four “Great Debates” between Republican candidate for president Richard Nixon and Democrat John F. Kennedy aired in 1960. An estimated 70-million viewers tuned in…In 1986, Patrick Duffy as Bobby Ewing returned from the dead on the original “Dallas” on CBS. It was all a dream!…Celebrity Birthdays: Singer Olivia Newton-John is 71; actress Linda Hamilton (“Beauty and the Beast”) is 63; “Little House on the Prairie” star Melissa Sue Anderson is 57; actor James Caviezel is 51; tennis player Serena Williams is 38.

Did You Know?
“Gilligan’s Island,” which aired for three seasons, was actually renewed for a fourth season. But when CBS changed its mind about canceling western “Gunsmoke” (which had slipped out of the Top 30), it needed the primetime real estate and those seven stranded castaways were given the boot. “Gunsmoke” moved from Saturday to Monday and ultimately finished that next season ranked in a tie with CBS sitcom “Family Affair” at No. 4 overall.  “Gunsmoke” remained on the network until 1975, airing for 20 seasons. And “Gilligan’s Island” segued into four made-for television movies and two animated spin-offs (“The New Adventures of Gilligan” and “Gilligan’s Planet”).

Household Rating/Share
Fox: 5.8/10, NBC: 5.0/ 9, CBS: 3.5/ 6, ABC: 3.1/ 5, CW: 0.5/ 1

Percent Change From Year-Ago Evening:
Fox: +41, CW: no change, NBC: – 6, ABC: -16, CBS: -17

Ratings Breakdown:
The second season premiere of “The Masked Singer” led Fox to opening Wednesday overnight victory, with a 5.8 rating/10 share in households from 8-10 p.m. Comparably, this was 41 percent above the year-ago combination of dramas “Empire” and “Star.” Look for a victory for Fox as well in adults 18-49 (and all the key demos).

NBC had a night of positive news care of the season premiere installments of the “Chicago” trio: “Chicago Med” (#2: 5.3/ 9 at 8 p.m.), “Chicago Fire” (#2: 5.2/ 9 at 9 p.m.) and “Chicago PD” (#1: 4.6/ 9 at 10 p.m.). The compatibility of three dramas, no doubt, is flawless.

For the remainder of the overnight analysis for Wednesday, September 25, click here

Live+Same Day Ratings
Monday 9/23/19: Click here

Source: Nielsen Media Research

2019 College Football Week 5 TV and Announcer Schedule
Two undefeated American Athletic Conference teams clash as the Memphis Tigers host the Navy Midshipmen (ESPN, Sep. 26 8 p.m. ET). Memphis (3-0, 0-0 AAC) is 1-3 all-time against Navy.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish look to bounce back from a 23-17 loss to Georgia on Sep. 21 by going against the Virginia Cavaliers (4-0, 2-0 ACC) who have started 4-0 for the first time since 2004 (NBC, Sep. 28 3:30 p.m. ET).

For the week five college football regular season schedule (including dates, start times, TV networks and scheduled announcers), click here

2019 NFL Regular Season Week 4 TV and Announcer Schedule
The Green Bay Packers host the Philadelphia Eagles on the first Thursday Night Football game on Fox and Amazon Prime (Sep. 26 8:20 p.m. ET) this season. Green Bay downed Denver 27-16 in Week 3 to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2015. Philadelphia dropped its second straight match on Sep. 22, falling short of Detroit by three points on its home field.

A pair of 2-1 NFC North clubs collide in Chicago as the Bears host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 action (CBS, Sep. 29 4:25 p.m. ET). Taylor Gabriel had a hat trick of touchdowns as Chicago beat Washington 31-15 on the Sep. 23 edition of Monday Night Football, while Minnesota hammered Oakland by 20 points in Week 3.

For the following is the complete Week 4 NFL regular season schedule (including dates, start times, TV networks and scheduled announcers), click here

Nick Cannon to Host Daytime Talk Show
On the heels of the trio of new syndicated daytime talk shows hosted by Kelly Clarkson, Tamron Hall and Mel Robbins comes word that Nick Cannon will be joined the category. Cannon, who currently hosts “The Masked Singer” on Fox and “Wild N’ Out” on MTV, will host and produce a new nationally syndicated talk show with Lionsgate Debmar-Mercury, launching in 2020.

Cannon, of course, also hosted “America’s Got Talent” on NBC, and he briefly filled in for Wendy Williams on her namesake show (also from Debmar-Mercury) while she was on hiatus.

Showtime Orders Drama “Ripley”
Showtime has greenlit drama “Ripley,” which is based on Patricia Highsmith’s quintet of Tom Ripley novels. In the series, Andrew Scott (“Fleabag”) as Tom Ripley is a grifter scraping by in early 1960s New York who is hired by a wealthy man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. Tom’s acceptance of the job is the first step into a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.

Steven Zaillian (“Schindler’s List,” “The Night Of”)” will write and direct the entire first season, which will consist of eight episodes.

“Ripley” is co-produced by Showtime and Endemol Shine North America in association with Entertainment 360 and FILMRIGHTS. The executive producers are Steven Zaillian, Garrett Basch, Guymon Casady, Ben Forkner, Sharon Levy and Philipp Keel of Diogenes. Andrew Scott will serve as a producer on the series.

A Brief History of “The Brady Bunch,” which Debuted 50 Years Ago Today
If you grew up in Flushing, Queens, in the 1970s like I did (my neighbor was Fran Dresher pre-“The Nanny” and the typical style in one of those cramped apartments was plastic over the furniture), you will remember your reaction to classic family sitcom “The Brady Bunch.”

You probably wondered why your bickering parents were not like Mike (Robert Reed) and Carol Brady (Florence Henderson). You craved a groovy house like the one this blended gang lived in — complete with that orange and avocado colored kitchen. And, of course, you also wanted a jovial housekeeper like Alice (Ann B. Davis).

While not a hit by the traditional Nielsen standards (“The Brady Bunch”) never finished any of its five seasons ranked in the Top 30), it was nonetheless a magnet for kids and teens. For any pre-adult not living in the idyllic Brady environment — and, let’s face it, that was most of us — the show was an escape.

It was a world where any typical problem among the Brady siblings — Greg (Barry Williams), Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Peter (Christopher Knight), Jan (Eve Plumb), Bobby (Mike Lookinland) and Cindy (Susan Olsen) — was always resolved with love and tenderness and a goofy laugh track by the end of each episode.

To be honest, I wanted to be a Brady. And I bet some of you did too. For more, click here

PI Podcast with Douglas Pucci
This week, Douglas reviews new ABC series “Mixed-ish,” “Emergence” and “Stumptown.” To listen, click here

“This Is Us” on NBC “Jumps the Shark” on Season 4 Opener – Click here

Fall TV Preview 2019: What to Watch (and What’s Not Worth It) – Click here
 
“Friends” at 25 – Click here

2019 Emmy Awards: And the Winners Were… Click here

Best of the Worst: The History of Bad TV in 10 Shows – Click here

The Top 25 TV Shows of the 1970s, click here

Season four of “Mysteries of the Abandoned” will open on Science Channel on Thursday, October 3 at 9 p.m. ET. The logline: From the scorched remains of a Latvian prison known for torturing its inmates, to a rusting cableway leading deep into the mountains of South Africa, these decaying structures are the echoes of history, each shell with its own story. These and other long forgotten structures will be deconstructed and rebuilt with advanced CGI. Joining the regular team of experts including Jim Meigs, Lynette Nusbacher and Rob Bell, this season will be military historian Geoffrey Wawro and Michele Mitchell of New York University.

Two-hour special “Uncovered: Killed by Hate” will be telecast on Oxygen on Sunday, October 20 at 7 p.m. ET. This newest installment explores some of the nation’s most brutal cases, by taking an in depth look at the cases of Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr., the Charlottesville riots, Blaze Bernstein and the Portland train attack.

Season two of drama anthology “Tell Me a Story” will open on streamer CBS All Access on Thursday, December 5. Created by Kevin Williamson, the series takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Exploring an entirely new set of fairy tales and characters, the 10-episode second season will feature the stories of three legendary princesses – “Beauty and the Beast,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” – like you’ve never seen them before.

The new season of docuseries “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” will open on Bravo on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 9 p.m. ET. Returning for this 10th season are Teresa Guidice, Melissa Gorga, Margaret Jossphs, Dolores Catania, Jackie Goldschneider and Jennifer Aydin. Danielle Staub returns as a friend (or enemy, perhaps) this season.