FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (THURSDAY 1/22/26)
CW: Scrabble (Premiere) at 8pm
CW: Trivial Pursuit (Premiere) at 9pm
HBO: Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (Premiere) at 8pm
NETFLIX: Finding Her Edge (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Free Bert (Premiere)
PARAMOUNT+: Canada Shore (Premiere)
PEACOCK: Team Mekbots (Premiere)
SUNDANE NOW: London’s Gangsters (Premiere)
It might get trickier for talk shows to book political figures as guests. The FCC’s Media Bureau said Wednesday that talk shows will no longer automatically be treated as news programming, which is exempt from the agency’s political equal time rule. That rule requires broadcast stations to provide comparable time and placement to opposing candidates, regardless of party. Late-night talk shows have been considered exempt since 1996, when the FCC ruled that an interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger on “The Tonight Show” qualified as news. In new guidance, however, the FCC said it “has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late-night or daytime television talk show currently on the air would qualify for the bona fide news exemption.” Commissioner Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democrat, criticized the move as “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Elle,” prequel to the 2001 movie starring Reese Witherspoon, has a premiere date: Wednesday, July 1 on Prime Video. And the MGM Studios and Hello Sunshine series has already earned a vote of confidence, landing a second-season renewal. “’Elle’ captures the heart, confidence, and optimism that made Elle Woods an enduring cultural icon, while giving audiences a fresh and deeply personal coming-of-age story,” said Peter Friedlander, Global Head of Television, Amazon MGM Studios. “Ordering a second season speaks to our belief in the creative vision and the incredible team behind the series.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season five of Apple TV space drama “For All Mankind” launches Friday, March 27. New episodes airs weekly through May 29.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions” returns Sunday, March 1 at 8p. What’s cooking for season seven? Top-seeded chefs in every division will be food world icons, but their identities will remain a secret until competition kicks off. Two weeks earlier, on February 15, 16 chefs vie for the final eight positions on “Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Docuseries “True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here,” hosted by Hilarie Burton-Morgan (“One Tree Hill”), returns for season three on Thursday, February 19 at 10p on SundanceTV and streaming across AMC+ and All Reality.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” returns to Hulu for season four on Thursday, March 12, as the sisterhood faces threats from family secrets, unraveling marriages and growing reality show fame.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Reelz has renewed “On Patrol: Live” for a 90-episode season five, along with spinoff series and “OPL” lead-in “On Patrol: First Shift.” “In today’s fragmented media landscape, a pick-up of 90 episodes – 360 hours of live television – is virtually unheard of; yet REELZ has done this for four consecutive years as ‘On Patrol: Live’ continues to deliver for the network and create one of the most engaged and loyal audiences in television,” said Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Bravo’s “Ladies of London: The New Reign” debuts Thursday, March 5 at 9p. The series starring British socialites and American expats is a revival of Bravo’s 2014-17 reality show, “Ladies of London.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Netflix has ordered a reality series starring influencer Alix Earle and her family. “I share a lot of my life on social media, and people think they know everything there is to know about me and my family, but honestly, there’s still so much more,” said Earle. “We are so happy to partner with Netflix on this show about our fun, loving, sometimes chaotic modern family, and how we always show up for each other through it all.” Those unfamiliar with Earle’s Get Ready With Me videos on TikTok might recall her “Dancing With the Stars” stint. The new series is produced by Fulwell Entertainment (“The Kardashians”), which knows a thing or two about chaotic families.
(Source: Cynopsis)
In what it calls a “landmark deal,” the BBC will start making original content for YouTube, showcasing “the best homegrown storytelling and news from across the BBC.” While the BBC has not previously produced original series for YouTube, its main account on the streaming platform, which hosts trailers and clips, has more than 15 million subscribers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Kristen Bell (“Nobody Wants This”) will take a third turn as host of the Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA, streaming live on Netflix on Sunday, March 1 at 8p. “I’ve enjoyed hosting the show every time, so it was an easy decision to come back for a third,” said Kristen Bell. “What I’m most excited for is the fact that I’ll be doing what every actor does best…sing :)”.
(Source: Cynopsis)
A crossover event with NBC’s “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” has been set for Wednesday, March 4. Per the logline, “Firehouse 51 is called to an airfield when a passenger jet suddenly goes silent mid-air, triggering a high-stakes emergency. Their discovery cracks open a bigger and deadlier mystery — one with consequences that could ripple far beyond the runway and put countless lives in jeopardy.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Thalia is doing a fourpeat as host of “Premio Lo Nuestro 2026.” The awards show airs Thursday, February 19 at 7p on Univision, UniMás, Galavisión, and Vix.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Nice move: ABC’s “High Potential,” shifted from 10p to 9p when it returned on Tuesday, January 6 for its midseason premiere, drew 12.33 million total viewers and 1.97 rating among Adults 18-49 after seven days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms, according to Nielsen. That topped the show’s fall season average among viewers (+3%) and its fall finale (+7%). On linear over seven days, the police procedural delivered a season high with 8.68 million total viewers, ranking as the No. 1 scripted program of the week across broadcast and cable, and earning the second highest audience to date for the series.
(Source: Cynopsis)
January 6 was good all around for ABC – the season four debut of “Will Trent” at 8p earned 8.91 million total viewers and 1.05 rating among Adults 18-49 in Live+7 data, +12% above last season’s finale episode in viewers, while at 10p, “The Rookie” season eight opener delivered its best ratings among both total viewers (9.35 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.97) in over six years.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Over at Fox, the premiere episode of “Best Medicine” has collected over 10.8 million multiplatform viewers since its debut on January 4. On its post-NFL premiere night, the comedy drama drew 3.69 million.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Samsung TV Plus announced it has surpassed 100 million monthly active users globally, with streaming hours increasing 25% year-over-year. The service offers over 4300 channels globally.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Keely's Korner 