So what are your thoughts on the latest season of Mad Men everyone?

After 18 months off air the pressure was on for this series of the 60’s set ad agency series to really blow viewers away. So has it?

Well not really for me. That’s not to say I’m not enjoying the season so far – it’s still very good of course – but I also don’t think it’s the show’s best. And I’m afraid I’m going to have to lay the blame at the feet of Mad Men’s pivotal new character, Megan.

Now let me say up front that overall I do like the character of Megan – and I think actress Jessica Pare has done a terrific job with what could have been a one-dimensional character. Megan has had some terrific moments / scenes along the way – the famous serenading scene at Don’s birthday party, the all out argument in the diner, Megan saving the day with Heinz to name just three examples. Overall she’s an asset to the show.

However Megan has become so big a part of Mad Men now that she’s effectively squeezed out all the other female characters of the show. Betty is rarely seen, Joan has been completely on the sidelines since she returned to the office and Peggy has had a few nice moments but seems to be treading water as a character. Meanwhile Megan grabs a juicy storyline EVERY SINGLE WEEK!

Click here to view the embedded video.

In part it’s understandable. Don Draper is the central character of Mad Men and Megan is his wife so of course she’s going to be a big part of the show. Plus she’s a new(er) character, offering plenty of fresh storyline potential.

But for me the women of Mad Men were always the strongest part of the show. I love seeing Peggy trying to make her way in a man’s world and Joan gradually losing her power as her own looks start to fade. But this season has barely moved either character forward. And while I understand that Betty’s divorcee status marginalizes her character, would it kill to see a bit more of Mad Men’s finest bitch?

One other side effect of Megan’s presence is that Don is largely happy these days. Sure there was that explosive diner blow up, but Don genuinely seems in love most of the time and is certainly not sleeping around as in seasons past. But am I the only person who thinks a happy Don is a somewhat less interesting Don?

As for the rest of the cast, again they’re largely on the sidelines. Pete is unhappy in his marriage and sleeping with his neighbor’s wife. Roger is still lazy and lost. And we’ve barely seen or heard from Ken and Harry all year.

Maybe there’s a grand plan behind all the Megan storylines that will become apparent down the line. I remember how frustrating fellow AMC series The Walking Dead was last year when the cast spent endless weeks looking for Sophia – a meandering storyline that finally paid dividends in the mid-season finale. Perhaps there’s a similarly big ending planned for Meghan. I’m half wondering if she’s going to meet a sticky end in the series finale given all the reminders of death that have been cropping up across the season…

But what do you think? Is Megan getting too much screen time? And how are you finding this season of Mad Men in general? Comment away…

When Does It Start:

In A Nutshell: Clint Eastwood’s wife scores her own reality show. Yep, take that in!

What’s It About: Meet Dina Eastwood. She’s married to a Hollywood legend but also has a ‘busy’ life of her own. There’s Clint’s daughter Francesca and their own 15-year-old kid Morgan – both headstrong and opinionated. Plus Dina is busy with her own pet project – mentoring a South African boy-band called Overtone who she’s now relocated to the States. Dina’s brother is the band’s ‘manager’ so expect plenty of sibling rivalry there! And of course there’s Dina’s life as part of Hollywood royalty. Am I the only person feeling bad for Clint Eastwood right about now?

Click here to view the embedded video.

 Plus Points: I’m sure E! have been high-fiving themselves for a while now, unable to believe that they actually scored a reality show with Clint Eastwood’s wife! And though it’s clear that the legendary actor himself won’t be making too many appearances on the show this is still quite a casting coup. The Eastwood name clearly still carries substantial cache and carries more credibility than say the Kardashians. Personally I’m just amazed that the fairly press shy Clint gave his blessing to the show. What was he thinking?

Mrs Eastwood And Company will doubtless be the usual slick and polished E! production. You already know what the storylines are going to be. Let me take a guess – the band has a showcase, Morgan starts dating and Dina doesn’t approve, Dina has a magazine shoot and runs late, etc. E! can churn these shows out in their sleep – and yet they almost always score ratings success. Don’t expect Mrs Eastwood to buck the trend…

On The Downside: What is it with celebrity moms called Dina?

Scanning through Dina Eastwood’s Wikipedia page it’s hard to figure out what exactly it is that she does. Dina seems to have been a small time news anchor / reporter (which is how she met Clint) and now, alongside managing Overtone, is also on the board of trustees of a Californian museum. Not exactly a glowing resume is it.

My instinct tells me this is yet another desperate-to-be-famous Hollywood wife trading on her husband’s reputation to try and raise her own celebrity profile. One glimpse at the trailer and you can already see what’s in store – Kardashian style family shenanigans, faked emotional moments, ridiculously contrived jeopardy and a few quick glimpses of Clint to add some credibility to the whole project.

Please explain to me what Dina Eastwood knows about managing a band? Talk about a contrived – and frankly silly – storyline. It’s clear that the Eastwood family with just two on-screen daughters wasn’t big enough for a reality show so the series has brought in the members of Overtone to fill out the ranks. To me it reeks of desperation. Still at least the band are getting exposure – it’s a win win for them! But talk about fake…

Of course that’s all typical E! I’ve long had a problem with the network’s obsession with the rich and semi-famous and the dubious standards the networks promotes via its current and former shows (The Kardashians, Ice Loves Coco, The Girls Next Door). Which is a shame as the network does have some fun shows – True Hollywood Story, The Soup and Fashion Police for example. I guess I just have a problem with people who are rewarded when they actually haven’t done anything for their success. And please don’t tell me what the Kardashians ‘do’ is actually work!

Prediction: I’d love to see the end of these C-list celebrity reality shows but the E! audience laps them up. Expect Mrs Eastwood to do big business and run and run…

When Does It Start: Wednesday 9^th May at 10pm EST on Bravo

In A Nutshell: It’s The Amazing Race meets Top Chef as 12 chefs embark on a culinary race around the globe.

What’s It About: 12 chefs travel around the globe, competing at each stage in a series of culinary tests based around the countries they’re visiting. The contestants must learn local customs – and recipes – before facing a kitchen cook off, where the losing contestant is sent packing. Hosting the show are celebrity chefs Curtis Stone (Top Chef: Masters) and Cat Cora (Iron Chef America)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Plus Points: Okay first up I have to give kudos to Bravo for at least attempting a big, splashy show rather than unveiling yet another ‘aren’t rich people fabulous’ docu-series. I’ve been a vocal critic of the network and its obsession with the 1% for a while now and Around The World In 80 Plates is at least an ambitious and bold move in the right direction. Screw the Real Housewives!

I’m a Curtis Stone fan (random fact – I actually passed him outside my apartment building a few months ago) and think that’s he’s warm, engaging and very watchable. I also like that he doesn’t play into the Gordon Ramsey shouty chef cliché. Plus I used to love The Amazing Race and enjoyed Food Network’s similarly themed Great Food Truck Race so the DNA of 80 Plates is definitely to my taste.

Bravo have done a decent job of promoting Around The World and the ratings bar will be far lower on the cable network than if this were a broadcast network series. 80 Plates could be a smart way to extend the channel’s foodie brand away from the fading Top Chef franchise…

On The Downside: ANOTHER food show on Bravo? I mean seriously!

After 9 seasons of Top Chef and its spin off shows, Top Chef Masters and Top Chef: Just Desserts AND the recently announced Top Chef Juniors, is there still really an audience for more cooking shows on the network? Personally I think Bravo has become as over-reliant on the Top Chef franchise as they have on the Real Housewives series – and eventually it’s going to cause some serious ratings problems down the line. Even the network now realizes that they’ve been trying to force feed certain genres – food, design, fashion – down their audience’s throats!

Around The World looks expensive and you do have to wonder how big the show’s budget was. It actually feels more like a network show and I wonder if the series was originally developed as an NBC series (obviously NBC owns Bravo) that got passed over to Bravo during development. With all the logistics of international travel, filming permits, accommodation, flights, pricey hosts, etc this has to be the most expensive show on the network’s slate. But I have a feeling it won’t score even a fraction of the ratings of an average Real Housewives episode. Let’s remember that Stone’s last cooking competition series – America’s Next Great Restaurant – flopped for NBC a year ago (with the winner’s restaurant chain quickly folding) Did Next Great Restaurant cause NBC to rethink their own future cooking series?

I used to be a big Bravo fan but over the last couple of years I think the network has definitely lost its way, replacing substance with style and dropping its production standards badly. Check out my recent appraisals of Tabatha Takes Over and Kathy Griffin for more! Around The World In 80 Plates is a welcome return to the Project Runway formats the network used to excel in but I can’t help feel the whole concept feels reheated. Is there anyone out there still eager for an Amazing Race style cookery show? We’re not exactly talking groundbreaking here!

Prediction: I suspect 80 Plates will perform respectably for Bravo – but given its sky-high budget, don’t expect a second season…

This is one my Brit friends should find quite amusing…

If you’ve been watching Game Of Thrones since its 2011 launch you’ll doubtless recognize the character of Bronn, the morally dubious sidekick of Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage – arguably the standout star of the show).

Bronn is deadly, rough and pretty grubby and is played by a Brit actor called Jerome Flynn, who’ll likely mean nothing to US viewers. However back in the UK Jerome Flynn is very well known. Years ago he starred in a popular Brit drama called Soldier, Soldier, alongside a guy called Robson Green and in one of the show’s episodes the characters had to perform a cover of the karaoke classic Unchained Melody.

Viewers loved the performance and wanted Robson and Jerome to release it as a single but the two were hesitant. However a certain Simon Cowell came along and persuaded the pair to head to the studio and officially cover the track. The resulting single spent 7 weeks at number one in the UK!

But it doesn’t end there. Boosted by the duo’s success, Cowell kept the cash cow going for a while longer, and managed to wring a further two number one singles out of the guys – and two number one albums. But the guys also became a bit of a punchline in the UK – representing much of what was wrong with the music industry to many people.

A couple of years later the guys essentially went their own ways and slightly fell out of favor with the British public. Their music career may have made the pair some money – and household names – but it didn’t help their credibility as actors. That said Robson Green has barely stopped working since his musical success with several big series under his belt. But Jerome Flynn largely disappeared from public view.

Until now of course… thanks to Game Of Thrones, Flynn is back in the public eye with a meaty role on a critically acclaimed drama. And where’s that Simon Cowell guy these days – ha!

Anyway if you fancy comparing then and now – here’s Flynn in Game Of Thrones…

Click here to view the embedded video.

And here he is back in 1995 as part of Robson And Jerome singing Up On The Roof… he’s the blonde guy of course. But be warned it ain’t pretty!

Click here to view the embedded video.

When Does It Start: Sunday April 22^nd at 10pm EST on HBO

In A Nutshell: Julia Louis Dreyfus is the Vice President of the United States. Hmm, I wonder who inspired this one…?

What’s It About: Former Senator Selina Mayer has accepted the post of Vice President. But what’s it really like working in the ‘least effectual post’ in the most powerful office in the world? Selina and her colleagues find out as they handle erupting scandals, media intrusion and the usual office backbiting in this scripted but improvised mockumentary series.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 Plus Points: It’s always a good sign when a trailer makes you laugh and I have to admit I did three times at the Veep trailer. Which is surprising as I haven’t found the TV trailers for the show especially funny.

The series is based on a British show called The Thick Of It and was originally developed as a pilot for ABC (which according to the show’s creator was dreadful!) Now tweaked and reformatted for HBO, Veep should hopefully retain the cult cool of the original. Behind the scenes the show boasts some of Britain’s top satirists including the notorious Chris Morris, well known for his Sacha Baron Cohen style pranks in the UK.

Julia Louis Dreyfus obviously brings her Seinfeld audience to the table, but for me she’s actually a slightly unfamiliar star. Seinfeld never took off in the UK where I used to live and I only briefly sampled Julia’s CBS show, The New Adventures Of Old Christine, which despite staying on the air for 5 whole seasons never really became a hit!

I think moving to HBO is a smart move for Dreyfus, allowing her to be edgier and cooler, while possibly bring a new audience to the pay cable network. But you also have to ask if Dreyfus is cool enough for HBO? This is the network of Game Of Thrones, True Blood and Girls. Is Julia just too much of a mainstream sitcom star for pay cable success?

On The Downside: I’ve already remarked here on the site what a scheduling nightmare Sunday nights have become – and that’s just for audiences! Veep will face competition from The Borgias on Showtime and Mad Men on AMC. The show inherits an audience from Game Of Thrones which doesn’t seem like the best of fits, and leads into the heavily hyped Girls, which despite critical raves premiered to modest ratings last week.

Plus let’s be honest HBO just isn’t what it used to be. With the exception of True Blood in the summer – which I would say has now lost its must see factor – the network doesn’t have a bona fide smash hit. In fact I would venture the network has been somewhat overtaken by its competition. Nowadays plenty of cable networks have their own HBO-style shows so all the channel has to offer is more swearing and nudity and frankly, smaller audiences!

Then there’s the subject matter. Veep is certainly timely in an election year but are audiences already tired of the real thing after sitting through a Republican primary and with 6 months of election coverage on the way?

Prediction: HBO has always been more about quality than ratings so if Veep can stay creatively strong expect it to run and run.

As regular Remote Patrolled readers will know, for me CBS is one great TV wasteland – and a series of massively squandered opportunities.

I currently only semi-watch one CBS show – The Big Bang Theory. I don’t consider it appointment TV but I think the show is clever and funny and my partner’s a huge fan. But elsewhere on the network? Ugh…

I find the Monday night comedy block horribly broad and bland – from the overrated How I Met Your Mother to the dreadful Two And A Half Men and the painful Mike And Molly (aka how to waste the talents of Melissa McCarthy). I shudder at the template procedurals like NCIS, NCIS: LA, Unforgettable and The Mentalist. CSI lost much of its cool when it became a McDonalds like franchise. And while I’m a reality fan it’s hard to get too excited by The Amazing Race season 20 and Survive season 24.

For me CBS is old, bland and totally risk averse (it’s 2012 and the net hardly has any gay characters on screen). And now, as if to prove my point this weekend the network is unveiling its latest show. Guess what – it’s a police procedural! Shocker!

I was planning to write a Coming Soon feature on NYC 22 but frankly I just don’t have the energy! CBS’s development process feels like a conveyor belt – they just keep churning them out with little attempt to surprise, provoke or challenge their audience. The network may as well just rename itself as Court TV given how reliant it is on crime solving series.

To be honest NYC 22 doesn’t actually look that bad! The show follows a group of rookie police officers, who predictably receive a rude awakening once they hit the streets for real. The show’s produced by Robert De Niro, who’s always been a hit and miss talent in my view, as well as author Richard Price, of whom I’m a fan (I loved Samaritan and Freedomland).

Click here to view the embedded video.

 But am I the only person who thinks this whole genre is exhausted? ABC already did exactly the same show, Rookie Blue, and while the show is coming back for a third season, it’s a marginal performer at best.

I’ve written countless times here at Remote Patrolled of how bored I am by police, legal and medical series. It’s one of the reasons I find cable dramas more interesting – they’re willing to explore new worlds. And it’s why I’ve found the 2011-12 TV season so much more exciting than last year as the broadcast networks took a cue from cable and developed some distinctly different shows – Revenge, Once Upon A Time, Suburgatory and Smash to name a few. Sure they didn’t all work – The River and Pan Am came were both disappointments – but at least the networks took a chance.

The fact that CBS is premiering NYC 22 so late in the season and with little publicity seems to suggest they don’t have much confidence in the show either. But who knows. This is a network that probably can’t even spell the word ‘imagination’. I have a feeling when the Fall rolls around we’ll see plenty more procedurals on the Eye network. And why wouldn’t we – CBS is still number one by a long shot in total viewers.

But I do think the network is heading for a fall down the line. Any channel that rests on its laurels and becomes complacent is entering dangerous territory. And as for NYC 22, well let’s just say I don’t expect this one to stick around for long either. Even crime fans can only handle so much police action on their screens…

When Does It Start: Wednesday 11^th April at 9.30pm EST on ABC

In A Nutshell: Naïve Manhattan newcomer moves in with a bitchy con artist – and an unlikely friendship is formed…

What’s It About: June is new to New York City and eager to live a big life in the Big Apple. But when her dream job falls apart around her she finds the day-to-day reality rather less appealing. Suddenly homeless she ends up shacking up with Chloe, a con artist who makes a habit out of scamming her roommates. Meanwhile, down the hallway, lives Chloe’s ex, former Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek. Think of it as a bitchier, more ironic Three’s Company!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Plus Points: Scheduling is key in TV and Apartment 23 is getting a plum spot as part of ABC’s Wednesday night comedy block. The new comedy will be inheriting a huge audience from Modern Family and then itself leads into the bitchy and delicious Revenge – a perfect fit. Heck if Modern Family can make even the over-rated Happy Endings a semi hit, Apartment 23 should have no trouble establishing an audience.

Reviews of the Don’t Trust The B**** pilot have been generally positive and I have to say the trailer for the show made me laugh. Krysten Ritter’s character Chloe feels like one of those terrific bitchy supporting characters – like Karen Walker or Amanda Sommers – who’s suddenly been given a lead role. I just hope the show can sustain the tricky task of making Chloe a mean girl – but also funny and likeable. That’s a tough line to straddle.

Of course Apartment 23 has also been attracting a lot of headlines for the inclusion of Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek, playing a twisted version of himself, a la Matt LeBlanc in Episodes. After several years out of the spotlight this feels like a good time for Van Der Beek to reinvent himself and I think he’s built up some strong audience goodwill via all those Funny Or Die spots. (By the way am I the only one who finds it interesting how well the Dawson’s cast has done compared to the teen stars of says Beverly Hills 90210 and The OC?) Awareness of Apartment 23 is fairly solid and the show should at least premiere well.

On The Downside: I know I always say it but it’s never a good sign when a show premieres this late in the TV season – and this year has been brutal to the newbies. So far we’ve seen Missing underperform (despite good overall numbers the 18-49 figures are appalling), GCB struggle, and the River and Bent outright bomb. Only Smash has performed decently in 2012 and that’s due in large part to The Voice – and the fact that NBC spent a small fortune on promoting it! Apartment 23 has been given strong promotion by ABC but the fact is it’s getting harder and harder to promote new shows on network TV. If Apartment 23 can score more than 6 million viewers a week it’s likely a keeper.

That 9.30pm slot brings clear benefits but it’s also proven somewhat cursed! Cougar Town never really became a hit and Happy Endings hasn’t built on the buzz it started to attract last year. Maybe audiences don’t want to sit through a fourth comedy in a row after The Middle, Suburgatory and Modern Family? Or maybe ABC just hasn’t found the right show yet? I just hope Apartment 23 does decent business so that Revenge can finally secure a worthy lead in, instead of the toxic Happy Endings!

Prediction: The press and promotion should secure Apartment 23 a solid start – will positive word of mouth do the rest?

First up – and launching this weekend – is Last Chance Driving School, a new series I recently finished Executive Producing for A&E.

Last Chance Driving School is set at a Queens driving school run by husband and wife Sven and Maria Ruppaner, who actually met when Sven gave Maria driving lessons many years ago! The company is a family run business full of big characters and plenty of drama. Over the course of five episodes we take viewers inside the day to day running of the school – and behind the wheel as we follow a series of learner drivers in the process of taking their lessons – and their tests! Check out the trailer below highlighting three of our drivers – Irena, Johnny and Sabina…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Best of all, Last Chance Driving School is a very real reality show. You all know I’m a big fan of authentic reality and I can hand on heart tell you that we worked very hard to make LCDS as genuine as possible. These are real drivers in real situations making real screw-ups! All of our learner drivers cars were rigged with multiple cameras and we were following behind in a crew vehicle – and I can tell you we had some seriously scary near misses. Looking at the edit I found myself flinching at how close some of our calls were. Trust me – I’d never want to be a driving instructor!

Our three main instructors for the show were Sven, Carlos and Pete. Sven is the boss of the company and a non-stop source of un-PC commentary and put downs; Carlos is the nice guy who comes unstuck when he comes upon our nightmare student Sabina; and then there’s Pete aka The Legend – who’s just reality TV gold. And wait until you meet the students: Selena – who suffers from a serious case of road rage; Sharron – a truly terrible driver (but an adorable person!) who can’t even steer straight; Jasmine – the nervous driver who ends up in the middle of a real life car crash; and Carla – the Brazilian spitfire who answers back to all our instructors.

If you’re a fan of Parking Wars I think you’re going to love Last Chance Driving School. The show is launching Saturday 14th April at 10pm EST on A&E with back to back episodes. So please spread the word and check it out – I’m seriously proud of the show and think you’ll find it very entertaining…

Let me know what you think everybody!

When Does It Start: Wednesday 21^st March at 9pm EST on NBC

In A Nutshell: Uptight career woman meets irresponsible bad boy… guest what happens next!

What’s It About: Alex (Amanda Peet) is a no nonsense lawyer still reeling after her husband was sent to jail for insider trading. Pete (David Walton) is the rough around the edges contractor she hires to renovate her kitchen. The two instantly clash as Alex learns more about Pete’s womanizing ways and pushes him away. But maybe this reckless bad boy is just what she needs in life…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Plus Points: Let’s be honest Bent couldn’t be more unoriginal if it tried! The idea of the uptight, sexually frustrated career woman who just needs to get laid is one of the biggest, laziest and most offensive clichés out there. And yet Bent has actually been receiving some pretty decent reviews, with critics singling out star Peet and the show’s writing as wining factors. Many top shows have taken unoriginal premises and made them sing – so maybe we shouldn’t underestimate Bent?

I’m actually quite a fan of Peet’s, who first came to my attention in the truly terrible movie The Whole Nine Yards. Peet was the best thing about that film and has been consistently strong in many of her follow up projects – but she’s never really found that star-making role like a Rachel Green or a Grace Adler. And I have a feeling Bent won’t break that unlucky streak either.

Lending support on the sidelines is Jeffrey Tambor as Pete’s dad, Walt. Tambor still carries a cult fan base with him from his Arrested Development days – maybe they’ll cross over to the NBC sitcom? Of course that didn’t help the likes of Portia De Rossi (Better Off Ted) and Will Arnett (Running Wilde) with their respective sitcoms.

On The Downside: Wow – where to begin! Bent certainly has the odds stacked against it…

For starters Bent airs on the hit starved NBC, whose whole slate is in a pretty pitiful state at the moment (with the exception of Mondays and possibly Fridays).

Then there’s the fact that the show is airing late in the season, with pretty much zero publicity and against the ratings juggernaut that is Modern Family. Oh and Bent will also be inheriting it’s audience from the ratings disasters that are Whitney and Are You There, Chelsea – both of which struggle to attract more than 4 million viewers a time. And it leads into the barrel scraping Rock Center (which last week managed just 2.61 million viewers!) You get the idea!

Plus it’s never a good sign when a show only has 6 episodes in the can and the network decides to air them back-to-back. Talk about burning off a show!

Then there’s that stale premise which is hardly going to attract viewers, especially with a familiar but far-from-starry leading lady and a co-star who no one has ever heard off. Romantic comedies haven’t fared well on the broadcast networks recently – remember Love Bites, Mad Love and Traffic Light – and I can’t see Bent bucking the trend.

NBC is in a tough place at the moment where its midweek ratings are so low it doesn’t have the promotional power to launch a new series. Smash has done well by virtue of its Voice lead in and Grimm has succeeded on Fridays largely because the bar is set so low. But Bent is one of those shows that will come and go in the space of a few weeks, never to be heard of again. And what the heck is up with that name!

Prediction: The last thing NBC needs right now is a generic comedy series. Don’t get too attached to Bent – it’ll be gone before April is even out.

When Does It Start: Thursday, March 15^th at 8pm EST on ABC

In A Nutshell: It’s Taken the TV series – but with Ashley Judd playing the Liam Neeson role.

What’s It About: On the surface Becca Winstone is an ordinary suburban mom. But there’s more to Becca than meets the eye. In a previous life she was a CIA agent, until the murder of her agent husband Paul (Sean Bean) left her a single mother. Now her son Michael has been kidnapped while on a study trip to Rome and Becca must use all of her former training, skills and contacts to track him down…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Plus Points: Well first up the Missing trailer looks pretty darn good – fast paced, glossy, high concept – it has all the makings of a hit.

Then there’s Ashley Judd who’s only really hit it big as an actress in two movies – Kiss The Girls and Double Jeopardy. In both roles Judd played a tough talking ass kicker, so Missing is definitely playing to her strengths. The question is can Judd rediscover her old audience when she hasn’t had a hit movie in almost 13 years?

Missing filmed last summer in locations around Europe and the production value is all there on the screen. Plus the addition of Sean Bean, hot of the success of HBO’s Game Of Thrones and arguably a bigger star than Judd herself these days, may garner some interest… just a shame that his character is dead. Or is he?

On The Downside: It’s always a worrying sign when a TV series has been sitting on the shelf for a long time and such is the case with Missing which should really have debuted in the Fall but instead has been left languishing while waiting for a slot on the ABC schedule. I mean can Missing really be any worse than The River? Surely not!

ABC is launching Missing in the Thursday night 8pm ‘action’ slot that was previously occupied by Charlie’s Angels. As you doubtless recall that misguided retread only lasted 7 episodes before ABC pulled the plug. And Angels received 10 times more publicity and press than Missing. Do audiences really want to see an action show at 8pm on a Thursday night I wonder? Would Missing have benefitted from a later time slot?

Missing is also facing some incredible competition. At 8pm it’s kicking off the entire ABC Thursday night schedule without a lead in and going up against American Idol (weakened but still strong), The Big Bang Theory (bigger than ever) and The CW’s hottest show, The Vampire Diaries. Plus it’s a serialized show that viewers are going to need to watch every week to keep up with the story – so if Missing doesn’t debut big it’s going to be dead in the water by April.

Prediction: I think Missing is an interesting concept but I think it’s going to struggle big time.