Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Screen Time was back tonight after a two-week hiatus and Erin Medley and I wasted no time getting down to business. The first issue to be talked about – what we're going to be watching this summer. Let's face it, as much as the networks now claim to program 12 months of the year and as much as cable tries to step up and fill in the gaps, there is a whole lot less television happening during the summer than other times of the year. At least there is for me, Erin Medley still finds ways to fill primetime.
My first pick for a summer series is NBC's Person's Unknown. The show has only aired twice thus far, and the ratings are completely in the dumps, but it does star Alan Ruck and anything that stars Alan Ruck can't be all bad. The show actually has an awfully similar vibe to a summer series from 2001, Murder in Small Town X. That was a reality show not a scripted drama but they both have in common the idea of putting a group of strangers into an odd little town and having them try to work out a mystery (in this case it's how to leave). Both shows are even produced by FOX Television Studios which makes me wonder if someone over there has a long memory.
True to form, Erin Medley has been sticking more to reality fare. It's not that she's not excited for the return of TNT's original slate and some of USA's offerings, but her heart will always be with Wipeout, Big Brother, True Beauty, and that sort of programming… not that there's anything wrong with that.
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