NFL 2018-2019 Season Preview:

2018-2019 NFL Preview:

NFC North: The Packers will again be on top of this division with a healthy Aaron Rodgers.

When you have a top 5 QB it hides the deficiencies your team may have like a weak offensive line or a bad defense. Letting go of Rodger’s favorite WR Jordy Nelson is a head scratcher but it kind of gets canceled out by adding All-Pro TE Jimmy Graham, who is probably the best TE they ever had, even better than Jermichael Finley. They helped out LB Clay Matthews by giving him help on defense in All-Pro DE Muhammad Wilkerson. Rodgers, Graham, WR Randal Cobb and their stable of RBS will help them have an elite offense to win this division. The Vikings still have the most talented overall roster but they have a new QB, new offensive coordinator, and they promoted their TE coach to become Co-Offensive Line coach after the death of Tony Soprano.  Their starting RB Dalvin Cook is coming off a torn ACL so they will be easing him in as they have a new offense system. Even if they upgraded at QB in Kirk Cousins it will take time for the whole offense to get a feel for the system and the new QB. But they have talented WRs Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs plus TE Kyle Rudolph which is probably the best set of skill players Cousins has ever had. They even added DT Sheldon Richardson a Pro Bowler to the 5 Pro Bowler players they already have on defense.

They definitely will make the playoffs but it will not be as easy as it was last year when Rodgers was injured. The Lions will always be a competitive team since they have one of the best QBs in Matthew Stafford and a talented offense with WRs Golden Tate and Marvin Jones Jr. They even added RB LeGarrette Blount to their stable of RBs so they have a lead back and can let RB Theo Riddick do his pass catching game.

Even with an improved offense they will always blow it in the end since they are a cursed franchise with no Super Bowl appearances. They even had 9-7 record last year didn’t have to deal with the Packers and still did not make the playoffs, but they will be hovering around .500 with a 3^rd place finish. They have the Bears who will be a last place team again even with the new offensive head coach. Chicago should only be worried about overall improvement from the offense and QB Mitchell Trubisky in year two, not their record. They improved with their skill players so RBs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen don’t have to do it all themselves.

They added WRs Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and TE Trey Burton.  They had too many games of him barely throwing the ball and games with 1 TD being cancelled out by an interception. New coach Matt Nagy hopefully can come up with a better playbook to help grow Trubisky, so he can take advantage of his new weapons and give him more confidence in throwing the ball/taking chances. There is nothing to lose. Their strength again will be this defense led by LB Leonard Floyd and DE Akeim Hicks which will be improved by the addition of rookie LB Roquan Smithplus they traded for LB Khalil Mack so he will make them way better on defense since he’s one of the two best defensive players in the league. This move will help them this year but its more about next year and beyond. The defense now does not have to hold the offense to less than 20 if the offense makes improvements under Nagy.

NFC East: It will be the Eagles division again this year since most of the team has come back and will get a full season from RB Jay Ajayi/a healthy season from LT Jason Peters, and QB Carson Wentz who both missed most of the season.

They can start Super Bowl MVP QB Nick Foles till Wentz is fully healthy and still be good a top team. They have the best offensive line, a good stable for RBs that only get better with RB Darren Sproles back and healthy with their good receiving core of Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor and Mike Wallace as their #3 receiver replacing Torrey Smith. They also still have one of the best defenses in football lead by S Malcom Jenkins, CB Jalen Mills and DT Fletcher Cox. They even added DEs Michael Bennett and Haloti Ngata to their line that still has DE Chris Long. Super Bowl repeat or bust for this team and they are one of the few defending champions who actually have a real shot since they still have the same team and a weakened conference with only three or four real threats. The Giants will surprise some teams this year since they have got a new head coach in Pat Shumar, they drafted RB Saquon Barkley who can be their best RB since Tiki Barber and improved their offense line with LT Nate Solder. They won 11 games two years ago with mostly the same core but last year had injuries to most of their WRs like Odell Beckham Jr, their offensive line did not protect QB Eli Manning and they gave up on their head coach.

Having a new environment under Shumar, an improved offensive line, healthy WRs in OBJ, Sterling Shepardand TE Evan Engram who broke many Giants rookie record/NFL records last year in year two he will help Manning succeed this year unlike last year. The other reason is they have some amazing players on defense in SS Landon Collins, CB Janoris Jenkins, CB Eli Apple, LB Olivier Vernon, LB Alex Ogletree and NT Damon Harrison. They will be fighting with the Cowboys for 2^nd place and wildcard with other 2^nd place teams like Minnesota, Carolina and Atlanta. Dallas still has a top offensive line, a top 5 RB and a good QB to guide them to being a good offense but the question is will they be a playoff team with five other good but not great teams fighting for wild card spots. The defense will be a huge question and is QB Dak Prescott capable of leading a team to the playoffs even if he has RB Ezekiel Elliot. The real issue is can he as QB win you games or not.

They also only had one WR last year of impact in Dez Byrant but they let him go so who will be that go to guy for Prescott now that TE Jason Witten is also gone after retiring? Will it be former Jaguar Allen Hurns or former Rams Tavon Austin who is more of RB then a WR. The defense will be what holds them back from being a playoff team. Washington no longer has QB Kirk Cousins enter in Alex Smith who is better at making decisions and doesn’t turn the ball over as much. Their best offensive player never can stay healthy with concussions and other major injuries. This means you cannot rely on TE Jordan Reed so this team should be a run first team. They have four good running backs with Chris Thompson the pass catcher, Fat Rob Kelley and Samaje Perine both looking good last year and they signed future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson. They will be a last team for awhile since their team isn’t that talented, their defense isn’t that great outside of CB Josh Norman who talks more than makes big plays.

This is a make or break year for head coach Jay Gruden but I doubt they will be better than a 3 win team as they got Alex Smith to manage the team as he is towards the back end of his career, and no real promising future for this team as the other three teams have franchise QBs or RBs. Don’t feel sad for Gruden he will probably end up coaching for his brother Jon in Las Vegas next season.

NFC West: The Rams will rule over this division for awhile as the Cardinals and Seahawks are on the decline and the 49ers aren’t there just yet. Another year of QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley and WR Copper Kupp under head coach Sean McVay can only getting scarier for defenses since they also added Brandin Cooks, a great WR.

They also added 3 All-Pro players to help DT Aaron Donald by adding NT Ndamukong Suh, CB Marcus Peters and CB Aqib Talib to Wade Phillips’ defense. Plus, they have one of the best kickers in the league in Greg Zuerlein aka Legatron which makes them complete on all sides of the ball and are the only real threat to stopping the Eagles from going back to the Super Bowl. The 49ers will be the 2^nd best team in this division after going 5-0 once they put in QB Jimmy Garoppolo as the starter last year. In a full season a QB with his talents can elevate a team to a better record despite the team around him since he won all of their games last year.

They have a pair of good WRs in Pierre Garcon and Marquis Goodwin, RB Alfred Morris will be the lead back and they have kicker Robbie Gould.  The only thing that will hold them back will be how good their defense can be and if CB Richard Shermanhas anything left after rupturing his Achilles last season. The Seahawks will again miss the playoffs this year and their fans should know this now instead of towards the end of the season. QB Russell Wilson is a great QB but only he can do so much if his offensive line is still bad and has no run game.

He only has one reliable weapon in WR Doug Baldwin after losing TE Jimmy Graham in free agency which means double teams galore for Baldwin. They are no longer the legion of boom with Sherman, Michael Bennett, Kam Chancellor and Jeremy Lane gone with only BC Byron Maxell and LB Bobby Wagner left. They can be competitive because of Wilson but that’s it. The Cardinals are in that in between period of they can be competitive with their veteran QB Sam Bradford or they can turn the keys over their first round draft pick QB Josh Rosen and start over with their new head coach Steve Wilks, which is a full rebuild. They always will have a talented team since they have good players on both side of the ball like WR Larry Fitzgerald, RB David Johnson who is hoping to prove he is healthy after missing the season on offense, and on defense CB Patrick Peterson and DE Chandler Jones.

Even if they don’t go all in on a rebuild they will be a last place for awhile as they will still have an uphill battle in this division as all three teams ahead of them have franchise QBs already in place.

NFC South: This will be another three team race since they all have great QBs in Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton. The Saints have the best QB, pair of RBs and WRS than the other teams when you have future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara coming off his impressive rookie year and Mark Ingram who can be a lead RB on any team (yes he is suspended for the first four games) and Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr and Cameron Meredith who will have a real QB throwing it to him.

Plus, they have the best coach in the division in Sean Payton with good defensive players in DE Cameron Jordan, LB Manti Te’o and CB Marshon Lattimore. The Falcons will still be a wildcard contender but outside of WR Julio Jones who else is head and shoulders above anyone on the Saints? Ryan is a good QB but most people like me think he is middle of the pack that only got paid since he has been consistent and they had no better options.

They have talented RBS in Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman but not better then Ingram and Kamara and they have a good young core on defense led by DE Vic Beasley and CB Desmond Trufant. But it is very hard to get back to the Super Bowl ask the Bills they went 3 times and never won so when you’re there you need to win and they did not. They will be fighting with 5 other teams including the Panthers for a wild card spot so it will not be an easy road this year for Atlanta. Carolina still has Newton, RB Christian McCaffrey coming off a good rookie year, WR Devin Funchess and TE Greg Olsen hopefully healthy for a full year. They even added WR Torrey Smith who is coming off Super Bowl championship and RB CJ Anderson to the offense.

Their defense is still anchored by LB Luke Kuechly but the question is can he stay healthy and they will be without their other LB Thomas Davis for six games after he got suspended. DE Julius Peppers is going to the Hall of Fame but is 38 and doesn’t play every down which is why they got Pro Bowler DT Dontari Poe. Their defense is old and injury prone compared to the young defenses of Atlanta and New Orleans which means again it will be on Newton to lead this team if they want to make the playoffs, With Norm Turner an offensive whiz, Newton and his offense will be better this year. You never know the Falcons always blow it somehow so maybe Carolina can take that wild card spot from them. The Buccaneers will continue to be a last place team since they had the 4^th best QB & coach in this division but what makes matters worse is QB Jameis Winston will be suspended for 3 games for his latest run in with the law. They will definitely go 0-3 during that stretch and will be lucky to win 5 games total most likely 3 based on their schedule with the shape their team is in. It is one thing if you have a talented player on defense or an offensive lineman who has run-ins with the law, but not your franchise QB as he is supposed to be a leader and he can’t lead if he is suspended which shows no maturity. They are men and are supposed to be led by another man and I am unsure if his team actually can follow him and consider him a leader. The idea of hiring Dirk Koetter to be the head coach so you did not lose him to another team and firing Lovie Smith has not worked out, since Winston hasn’t even with his talents grown every year as a QB which is what you wanted from Koetter rather than Smith who is all about defense.  He might be fired or left in this mess of a team in last place for the next few years even if they have talented skill players in WRs Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, and TEs OJ Howard, Cameron Brate.

QB Ryan Fitzpartrick isn’t a great alternative to Winston even if the defense has talented players to keep you in game like DT Gerald McCoy, LB Lavonte David, CB Brent Grimes and they traded for DE Jason Pierre-Paul. This season will be a mess even if Winston was not suspended since he hasn’t developed the way he should have.

AFC North: This will be another easy year for the Steelers as the rest of the division is no threat to them. When you have the best combination of a QB, RB and WR in the whole league you’re going to score a lot and win many games. Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown are the best you get for top offenses, and they even have JuJu Smith-Schuster who was great last year try stopping them.

Their defense is not as good as the past defenses of those Super Bowl teams but have some good players on it though in CB Joe Haden and DE Cameron Heyward. Their defense will be the thing that holds them back from winning in the playoffs even if they have a playoff bye, as they lost to the Jaguars last year. It will be a tossup on who finishes 2^nd since both teams have veteran QBS and veteran coaches. The Ravens did win 9 games last year but missed out on the playoffs, and QB Joe Flacco only had WR Mike Wallace to throw to.

They improved their receiving core by getting Willie Snead, Michael Crabtree and John Brown, which will help the run game since RB Alex Collins was great last year but teams knew they were going to him as much as possible. They also have a similar defense to Pittsburgh but they no longer have Hall of Famers like their Super Bowl team did but they still have LBs Terrell Suggs, CJ Mosley and FS Eric Weddle to scare other teams. Baltimore will be again fighting with Cincinnati for 2^nd place and a wild card spot. The Bengals will again be competitive based on having QB Andy Dalton throwing to WR AJ Green, TE Tyler Eifert who they hope is healthy, and RB Joe Mixon in year two.

They still have some good players like DT Geno Atkins and DE Carlos Dunlap on their defensive line, but like the two teams ahead of them it will be based on their QB play and offense that will lead them to the playoffs. One thing you can say the Browns did make improvements to their team by adding QB Tyrod Taylor to start the year and drafting their future QB in Baker Mayfield which has been their biggest issue. They also added WR Jarvis Landry and RB Carlos Hyde giving them more skill players so WR Josh Gordon doesn’t have to do it by himself. Todd Haley is to be their offensive coordinator.

They have a good young defensive core with DE Myles Garrett and SS Jabrill Peppers, plus they drafted CB Denzel Ward not to mention adding veteran LB Jaime Collins. These improvements at QB, WR, RB and adding to their defense makes them better but they still are going to be a last place team till Big Ben, Flacco and Dalton are no longer in this division. They are going in the right direction but maybe 5 wins is attainable this year if they spilt with Baltimore and Cincinnati.

AFC East: The Patriots again will get a first round bye and be in the Super Bowl again as it does not matter that they lost last year in the Super Bowl or that they lost some key players in the off-season. As long as you have QB Tom Brady and head Coach Bill Bellicheck you can’t tell me any other team in the AFC is going to challenge for the Super Bowl since the conference is weaker than the NFC.

WRs Brandin Cooks traded, Danny Amenolda left in free agency, and Julian Edelmen who missed all of last year will miss the first four games to a suspension (who they clearly did not need as you see how far they went). RB Dion Lewis and CB Malcolm Butler left for the Titans. Like last year even without key players on offense they still won games plus they get back a healthy WR Chris Hogan, added WR Cordarrelle Patterson and RB Jeremy Hill. Those additions plus having TE Rob Gronkowski, RBs James White and Rex Burkhead, things for Brady will not be a problem with all of these weapons. Since Bellicheck’s strength is defense they handle the loss of Butler since they have S Devin McCourty, LBs Kyle Van Noy and Dont’a Hightower on defense still. They will keep having lots of win since they are going to sweep at least two of their division rivals who will go with rookies at some point this year at QB. The team that will finish 2^nd and could split the series with New England is Miami since they already have a veteran QB in Ryan Tannehill, but he is coming off a torn ACL so expectations should be minimal. The Dolphins will be competitive since they have WRs DeVanteParker, Kenny Stills and added Danny Amendola, plus have RBs Kenyan Drake with veteran Frank Gore. Tannehhill is fortunate to come back to good skill players unlike other teams where it’s all on the QB.

They also still have a good enough defense thanks to LB Kiko Alonso and DE Cameron Wake but they lost NT Ndamukong Suh, but if anything happens to Tannehill, they can have another doomed season since Brock Osweiler is one of the options to fill in. The Bills and Jets are in the same position in drafting a QB in this year’s draft and when or not will they play their rookie QB. The difference is the Jets resigned QB Josh McCown and brought in QB Teddy Bridgewater(traded to New Orleans) while Buffalo brought in QB AJ McCarron(traded to Raiders) but have QB Nate Peterman, Mr. 5 interceptions in one-half-guy. So the Jets can afford to sit QB Sam Darnold since they have 2 veteran options at QB while Buffalo’s QB situation is not looking so good so they could play Josh Allen sooner than later. But both teams have good skill players that could make it easier on the rookie QBS. The Jets have four good WRs in Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse, Quincy Enunwa and brought in Terrelle Pryor. Plus they added RB Isaiah Crowell to add to having Bilal Powell.

The Bills still have RB LeSean McCoy, WR Kelvin Benjamin, and TE Charles Clay but also added RB Chris Ivory to the mix. These two teams will be fighting for last place but Buffalo has some better players on defense in SS Micah Hyde, CB Vontae Davis, LB Lorenzo Alexander and DT Kyle Williams compared to the Jets who have no Pro-Bowl or All-Pro players on defense this year.

Allen will start more games than Darnold since the Bills will need help at QB more than the Jets do, leaving the Bills to finish in last place.

AFC West: The Chargers will win the division this year based on having a complete team that has a good QB, RB, WRs and a great defense. QB Phillip Rivers is still a top 10 QB and is battle tested in a division of non battle tested QBs.

He has a good group of receivers like Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams plus they have a top 10 RB in Melvin Gordon/added Mike Pouncey to protect Rivers. Their great defense is led by DE Melvin Ingram, CB Casey Hayward and DE Joey Bosa. San Diego has a tendency to not show up in the 2^nd half but this team is different since they have a different head coach from when they kept blowing games to miss the playoffs or in the actual playoffs. With Rivers leading them they can win this division since Kansas City traded away QB Alex Smith in order to start QB Patrick Mahomes. This will be his first year starting games for the Chiefs so there will be growing pains for him and head Coach Andy Reid. I am not counting them out of the playoffs this year they will definitely compete for a wild card spot based on the strength of their defense and skill players. Any time you have RB Kareem Hunt, TE Travis Kelce and WRs Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins who they added this offseason you can set your QB up for success.

Their defense is still led by S Eric Berry and LB Justin Houston so they will compete for the division but end up with a wild card spot. The Broncos still have a great defense and good skill players but again they are going to waste another year because of their QB play. QB Case Keenum is better than Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch but he only looked good because the Vikings had a great defense, offensive line and skill players that made him look good. He is a backup for a reason well he was the 3^rd sting QB so the Broncos are fooled by his one good year and will miss the playoffs again. WRs Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders plus RB Devontae Booker that will help Keenum again on offense but will it be enough points when the defense is trying to hold teams to under 20 for Keenum.

LBs Von Miller, Brandon Marshall, rookie Bradley Chubb, CBs Bradley Roby, Chris Harris, and DE Derek Wolfe again wills this team to victory because of how good this defensive unit is. The Raiders have the most talented QB in his prime in the division who has unfortunately been hurt or had Jack Del Rio as his head coach whose specialty is defense. Enter Jon Gruden who is back coaching after all the rumors of which team would convince him to leave the MNF booth and is back with the Raiders. He is a QB guru who will help QB Derek Carr but the rest of the team is not so easy to fix.

The defense is a mess they were the 10^th worst defense in total yards given up last year. For the skill players they let WR Michael Crabtree walk and think by getting an older WR in Jordy Nelson is the way to replace him which means its all on WR Amari Cooper. Plus RB Marshawn Lynch is another year older with more mileage then most RBs plus signed an injury/been suspended for drugs RB in Doug Martin, which means they have no lead RB. Good luck to Gruden to fix this mess while they finish in last place.

AFC South: The Texans will be fighting with the Colts for first place since both teams now have their franchise QBs back in Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson. The way Watson played for Houston last year before tearing his ACL was nuts especially since WR DeAndre Hopkins actually had a competent QB throwing it to him. He also will still have Will Fuller to throw passes too and RB Lamar Miller as protection.

His defense is still great with DE JJ Watt hopefully back and healthy with LBs Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, CB Jonathan Joseph and they added the safety “Honey Badger” Tyrann Mathieu to their defense making it even better. Indianapolis might have Luck back but their offense line, defense and running game is not on the same level as Houston. Yes Luck can mask the deficiencies of a team like he did the three times he took his team to the playoffs but he has not thrown a pass in a real game since 2016. So he has to play at an elite level for this team to win the division or make a wild card spot, meaning this division is again up for grabs.

They lost RB Frank Gore but only added another TE in Eric Ebron not much help for WR TY Hilton who will still get double teamed since everyone knows Luck will be looking to pass to him. Looks like the ageless wonder K Adam Vinatieri will have to kick a lot more field goals this year. The Jaguars surprised everyone last year by making the playoffs, won their division and beat the Steelers in the playoffs before losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Like last year it will all be about their incredible defense and just running RB Leonard Fournette like ever play since you do not want QB Blake Bortles throwing it a lot plus he lost his two best WRs in Allen Hurns and Allen Robison this offseason making it harder on him.

Their defense is again led by CBs Jalen Ramsey,  AJ Bouye SS Barry Church, DE Calais Campbell and DT Malik Jackson. It will be the will of this defense and Fournette that will help them compete for a wild card spot since Luck and Watson are back making it harder to win this division. It was the year for the Titans to win the division with Luck out for the whole year and Watson missing most of it plus Bortles being the other starting QB. QB Marcus Mariota was the best QB in the division and they still did not make the playoffs and that was with DeMarco Murray on the team.

This team will be competitive with RBS Derek Henry and Dion Lewis plus their great TE Delanie Walker but don’t have any real weapons at WR which is what you need when you have a franchise QB. Their defense is improving around safety Kevin Byard and LB Brian Orakpo by adding CB Malcom Butler another former Patriot to add to already having CB Logan Ryan. They will always be in the division race if Luck and Watson are slow out of game/not fully healthy and because they have Mariota which Jacksonville doesn’t have which means any team can win this division. 

Broadcast Spring 2018 TV Review:

 Spring 2018 TV Review

NBC:

Timeless: There were a few time traveling shows to debut around the time that NBC debuted Timeless like ABC’s Time after Time, Fox’s Making History and the CW’s Frequency and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Only one other show besides Timeless is still on the air and that is the superhero show Legends of Tomorrow. You really fall for the characters and want them to succeed every time they go back in time.  The premise is a government funded project by Connor Mason the man who made the time machine that gets stolen by a man name Garcia Flynn. He has lost his wife and kids and thinks the people that are responsible are the hidden people in the government who really pull all the strings. He steals the time machine to go back in time to rewrite history to take down the people he thinks are responsible for his family’s death since he thinks these mysterious people have been pulling the strings throughout all of history. The government recruit an acclaimed historian name Lucy Preston to help them solve where and why Flynn is going back in time. She is joined by Wyatt Logan a US Army Delta Force operative and one of the lead engineers Rufus Carlin of the time machine project using a prototype of the time machine to race back in time to stop Flynn from changing history. The only issue with season 1 was the premise change towards the end of the season like who is the bad guy/who are they trying to stop/who they are working with that leads you to question the premise for season 2. The hope is they clear up the confusion of how season 1 ended and the new mission of who is the bad guy they need to stop and why. Plus they keep going back into the past where black people never had it easy and one of the three main characters is black so it is hard to blend in and get around history with that being an issue. I don’t like the will they won’t they between Lucy and Wyatt the two main characters don’t always have to get together. People can be friends and fight to save the day. It is truly one of the best Sci-Fi shows on TV/ one of the best TV shows on and I am glad NBC realized their mistake and renewed it for season 2 even if its 10 episodes in the spring. If they can clearly reveal the premise for season 2 there is no doubt that NBC will be smart to renew it for a season 3.

Verdict: Renewed for season 3 and hopefully can be a long running Sci-Fi show for 5-7 years. Update: Cancelled.

 AP-Bio: Glenn Howerton finally starts the lead in which will be his first sitcom to last more than one year that isn’t an ensemble of funny people like his days in Its Always in Sunny In Philadelphia. He stars as Jack Griffin as a disgraced Harvard philosophy scholar who lost his chance at tenure to his rival Miles Leonard and has to move back home to his parents home to teach AP Bio even though he doesn’t know anything about bio nor does he want to teach any. He realizes that a room of honor roll students could be useful so he uses them to finds way to take down his rival and get out of Toledo Ohio/get his tenure at Harvard. Patton Oswalt (King of Queens and Ratatouille) also stars the principal Ralph Durbin who tries his best to reign in Jack but at the same time wants his approval since he’s the cool principal which is one of the interesting things about the show, the relationship they have as employer and employee. Former SNL cast member/write Mike O’Brien who always had funny sketches even when he wasn’t even on SNL has created a very unique/original intriguing funny show that is even backed by the head of SNL Lorne Michaels and Seth Myers of SNL/Late Night. Plus it has a great theme song by the Ramones which is a lost art nowadays.

Verdict: Renewed for season 2 and hope it lasts as long as other sitcoms that were on NBC like Friends, 30 Rock and the Office Etc. Update: Renewed.

Champions: A unique but odd sitcom idea about a father who now is trying to be a father to his long lost son but with a twist. He isn’t lost and the mother told him she didn’t want him to be the father back then. Mindy Kaling of the Office and the Mindy Project wrote and executive produces while appearing as the mother in the show where the show is Indian based. She is Indian, her son is of course half Indian and the main character has a thing for dating Indian women hence his baby mama and his latest girlfriend. The lead is played by Anders Holm of Workaholics who takes over his father’s gym which is the 5^th largest gym in New York but gave up his dream of playing baseball professionally to help raise/support his younger brother when the father dies tragically. The mother left them years ago and his young brother was struggling in in public school so he needed his brother to pay for the fancy private school to help him. He lives and works with/his younger brother who is the idiot of the show/a child at heart. When his high school ex shows up with their son it ruins his idea of selling the gym and moving to Florida to start over. So he has to get the gym back, stay in NY, and oh yah raise a son he has nothing in common with/only met now. His son is only living with him in a two bed room apartment with three people since he needs a place to live since he got into a top acting school for high school kids but lives in Cleveland Ohio and Kaling is tired of single parenting it. It sometimes seems like a cheesy romantic comedy of the lead guy trying to win back his old high school girl friend but also try to be a great father by making up for lost time by trying to bond with a theater kid who doesn’t care for sports. The supporting cast that works in his gym each has other comedic credits such Yassir Lester of Making History, Fortune Feimster from The Mindy Project, and long time actor/voice actor Robert Costanzo famous for the animated Batman Series and many other shows. The hope is Kaling fixes the plot holes, the right combination of humor and with enough sincerity, to allow viewers to care about the characters, the odd quirks that don’t make sense and puts it in the right direction for a feel good story sitcom about a son and father brought together even if they have nothing in common. I am only giving the show a chance to correct itself out during its first year because of Holms’ acting seeing if he can be a lead after being a part of a trio of leads.

Verdict: Cancelled. It’s too clunky of a show they keep changing the premise/plot when we know it’s about him raising his kid but they always try to get away from that. It is better as a movie.

Marlon: Loosely based on his own life as a single dad of two that has his ex wife still in the picture and how they co-parent their own kids comes another successful project for one of the Wayans’ brothers, Marlon Wayans. Marlon’s character is social media mogul/owns his business has his own way  to raise his own kids which is always is going to be different from his ex wife Ashley. The other characters are his daughter and son plus his ex sister in law who still doesn’t like him. But the feeling is mutual between him and his ex sister in law. The last main character Stevie is living with Marlon who looks like a college professor but doesn’t have a job and annoys Marlon all the time. If you’re looking to watch something cleverly written and with a good amount of jokes this is the show to laugh your butt off.

Verdict: Renewed for season 3. Since it is a summer show that already has a season 2 coming there would be no reason to cancel a successful summer show.

Midnight Texas: Young physic Manfred Bernado runs away from a crime boss trying to kill him since his dead grandmother owed him money. So he seeks refuge in Midnight Texas which is a small town where the concept of normal is relative and is haven for vampires, witches, psychics, hit men and others with extraordinary backgrounds.  Midnight gives outsiders a place to belong. The town members form a strong and unlikely family as they work together to fend off the pressures of unruly biker gangs, questioning police officers and shades of their own dangerous pasts. The show is based off Charlaine Harris' book series. One of his problems is he can see the dead so of course he can see his grandmother who goes for advice as well. The good thing about the show is each episode was building up towards the show’s final episode IE dealing with the bad guy once and for all. Manfred has a love interest Creek who is just a regular girl but most of the town isn’t since there is a black vampire Lem who doesn’t suck on your blood he just feeds off your energy. Lem’s love interest is an assassin, Fiji a young witch who owns a major shop, Bobo the human protector of the mythological people and owner the Pawn shop, the pastor Emilio who watches over all of them and the pet cemetery is also a weir-tiger. Last but not least is the fallen angel Joe who has prophesied darkness heading towards Midnight since it had happened before in time. Since it is based on a graphic novel that I never read I can say it is one the most interesting Sci-Fi shows on TV out there is also very original. You like the characters as you watch season 1 as they grow together and you hope more of their back stories are explained in season 2 since there really is no character you wouldn’t like. I have no idea where season 2 will start off based on where they left from the end of season 1 but if it’s as good as season 1 that is a good sign for them to pick up season 3.

Verdict: Renewed for season 3.

Rise: Inspired by a true story, a working-class community is awakened when its high school theater program takes on an unconventional new leader. As dedicated teacher and family man Lou Mazzuchelli takes over the lagging department, he encourages his students to unleash their creativity and explore new means of self-expression. But even though the students discover talents and ambitions they never knew they had, not everyone in town is thrilled. Upset by challenges brought by change, enraged faculty and skeptical parents contest Mr. Mazzu's galvanizing efforts. But with passionate fervor running through the town's veins, no one can deny a revolution is underway. Something about this show grabs you in and you can only just hang on for the ride. It makes you want to care about the kids in the show and how Mr. Mazzu wants to change the way the school looks at school plays but how you look at yourself or how you look at your town. Josh Radnor is the lead and if you remember him from “How I Met Your Mother” you can only root for him to succeed in his love life in that show so in this show he plays a very similar character going against all odds to put this show on his own terms not someone else’s. Maybe we all want to watch a show about the underdogs/the ones who shouldn’t try come out on top at the end but we all want to see a good story unfold over a season. The writing is great because it feels like every episode picks up right after the major thing happened in the last. It is not just a mundane thing where every episode he is just teaching these kids in his English class, no it is a long journey that goes from the beginning to the end. They put on this show against all odds and we all want to see them succeed no matter what.  Mr. Mazzu is looking in you at what your best can be not just what you can be he can see the best in you even if you don’t.  He is trying to get the best out of these kids that others wouldn’t do and we all wish we had a teacher or a mentor who saw that potential in you and encouraged you. It is sad NBC cancelled it after one season based on how you get to this type of show. That’s how cruel the TV world is cancelling good and keeping bad on the airwaves.

Verdict: Renewed. I want to see more attempts at different plays they try even if it’s with different students each season. Update: Cancelled.

ABC:

Deception: The world’s great illusionist Cameron Black’s career was ruined by a murder conviction of his secret twin brother who he has been doing magic with for years got set up for murder. In order to find the person responsible for framing his brother he teams up with FBI to catch the world's most elusive criminals and solve crimes that seem to defy all explanation. He uses skills of deception, influence and illusion and he uses every trick at his disposal,  inventing new ones as necessary to ensure he can get the FBI’s backing to look into his brothers framing with the help of his illusionist team. Jack Cutmore-Scott who is famous from playing Cooper Barrett in the short lived Fox series is playing both Cameron Black and his twin brother which is one of the problems I have. Playing both characters is not that smart or clever it’s hard to believe he has a twin even if they have different personalities. It reminds me of Lindsay Lohan in Parent trap not like the Olsen twins in Full House or the Sprouse brothers in Suite life. Outside of that the other flaws are like most freshmen shows trying to figure out if they really going further if they get a few seasons since the goal of season 1 is to find the woman who framed his brother/get his brother out of prison. The show reminds me of Limitless another FBI show with a female agent working with a male consultant with special skills but not a romantic relationship but one of those great partnerships. Another reason to like this show is the supporting cast is great and each has a purpose like Vinnie Jones playing the world's greatest illusion builder, Dina his producer the person who essentially is in charge of everything and Jordan his tech guy. Kay Daniels and Cameron look like they have great chemistry in the show and that acting shouldn’t go unnoticed by Scott and Ilfenesh Hadera. The show also stars Amaury Nolasco of Prison Break fame who plays Kay’s real partner. The originality, casting and premise with all the cool special effects make it one of the better crime solving shows since there are too many that get stale, this is definitely a different one. 

Verdict: I would renew it and see if it could go five years by seeing if it takes more than one season to catch the person behind all of the illusionist crimes and framing his brother or if they will change the mission each year. Update: Cancelled.

The Crossing: So the idea for this show seems like a good Sci-fi show people coming from the future from a holocaust/war to escape it but it has way too many genres blended into that even after watching four episodes, you can’t not decipher what kind of show it is and how far it will go.  It has that Sci-fi element but it also has a crime solving element with local law enforcement where the main character Sherriff Judge comes into play and the homeland security agents including the main one Emma who is portrayed by Sandrine Holt (who was on MacGyver for one season among other credits). You also have the government conspiracy thing with we were not the first ones to cross over and those people are embedded in to the society that have altered history in hopes avoiding the war that happened 180 years into the future. You also have the premise of some of the people who crossed over that have superpowers like Reece who is played by Natalie Martinez of APB. It is also a show of about the reaming who crossed over on how they are going to survive and see if they can live a normal life. Plus it has the mother trying save her daughter and Jude’s strained relationship with his son based on his past as law enforcement officer. Maybe if you take one or two elements then maybe it could be a show or a movie but ABC took a chance since the creators of Lost made the show but I highly doubt it will get renewed or gets more episodes.

Verdict: Cancelled. Too confusing to figure out the plot, premise, the characters or where they want the show to go even if you watch five episodes. I feel bad for Martinez she has been a part of 5 shows before this as the lead that didn’t get more then 1 or 2 seasons. Update: Cancelled.

For The People: The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York -- also known as the Mother Court -- is the oldest district court in the nation, and the setting for the newest drama from the minds of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. Focusing on the lives and careers of the brand-new lawyers working for both the defense and the prosecution and handling some of the most high-profile and high-stakes federal cases in the country, "For the People" follows the talented professionals as their lives intersect both in and out of the courtroom. Britt Robinson of Tomorrowland, Longest Ride and other main roles in TV shows leads the group of young public defendants who think they can save anybody or win the cases because how can anyone put someone away? Both the prosecutors and public defendants report to their bosses who give them cases but also mentor them. Emmy and Tony nominated Hope Davis plays the mentor/boss of the defendants and she does more mentoring than the Ben Shenkman (of Law & Order and Royal Pains) who is all about the bottom line. When watching a courtroom show you only really care about the cases being tried and I like how it’s about these young people who starting at the beginning its not about a veteran lawyer where it’s the same old style every week. You want to see how they grow as lawyers by learning from their mistakes and how they grow or change as a person as the show progresses.

Verdict: Cancelled. Too many court room shows on TV if I want to root for Britt Robinson’s character. Update: Renewed. 

Alex INC:  Zach Braff stars in a new sitcom that doesn’t have to do with medicine. Based on the podcast "StartUp" from Gimlet Media, "Alex, Inc." this follows Alex Schuman as he embarks on the adventure of starting his own podcasting company. Having already found success professionally, as a radio journalist who wants to do more important stories then puff pieces. So since Alex isn't satisfied just coasting along and decides to do something crazy like quit his job and start over on his own terms despite being married with two children and is pushing 40. He quickly learns that building his own business isn't going to be as easy as he thought, but the payoff will be rewarding.  Michael Imperioli famously of The Sopranos stars as his cousin who has worked for Fortune 500 companies helps him by investing/running his company and a producer from his old job Deirdre Riordan comes over to help as well. The show has its laughs but it could be the writing or acting but it doesn’t have the same comedic feel that Braff had in Scrubs. The show is trying to be a slapstick comedy as Braff keeps injuring himself or a show about raising kids where you need to know what is up with his kids when the show should be about him and starting the company. Also he is playing a Jewish man but he is married to Indian women so his kids are half Indian but that never is brought up how they got together or why. Maybe I don’t like her acting either since it wasn’t spectacular in the Good Place that it made me go I need to see her more and have her a sitcom wife/mom. The subject matter of doing a podcast intrigues me since I got a degree in Radio-Journalism which is the character’s background but it never seemed to be the main interest even if that’s what the company was about. I root for Zach Braff always but this might have been a mistake to make this his return to acting for TV. Hope we see him again on TV again.

Verdict: Cancelled. The show seemed to be all over the place in types of show it was trying to be (family comedy or work comedy) and you lose interest in the main idea but not many laughs as well for a sitcom. The only positive thing was the kid who plays his son (Elisha Henig) has a future in acting since his story lines were always the funniest. Update: Cancelled.

Spiting up Together: So most sitcoms about a family/raising one is always is about a loving relationship between the parents but not this one. This one is about a divorced couple raising the kids without the hateful relationship between spouse and resentment from the children. Ellen DeGeneres serves as executive producer of this comedy that is based on a Danish series of the same name. Lena (Jenna Fischer from the Office) and Martin(Oliver Hudson of Nashville and Rules of Engagement-Son of Goldie Hawn) realized their marriage was over but didn’t want to go through the complicated untangling involved in filing for divorce so they devise a plan to raise the 3 kids they have without the bad parts of split custody. The plan is one lives in the house that deals with parenting and alternating weeks, while the other parent lives as a single person who stays in the garage apartment in back of the house. The garage-dwelling, "single" partner is free to date while having no responsibilities in the house or for the children. The "parent" partner is free to preside over the house and family as he or she deems best. Often the insight they gain allows them to see why their spouse felt unhappy in the marriage thus helping them to improve as a person. This increasingly improved person they become also becomes slightly more alluring to their ex-spouse making their complete separation seem less likely. Each kid has the typical problems of kids their age like the daughter being stuck in home full of guys being outnumbered, the older son dealing with girls and school and youngest just being the youngest. They also have a single aunt who spends lots of time with them who is played by Dianne Farr and a married couple who doesn’t know who to be friends with in the divorce. I would say this show is a very unique or original idea but it was already done overseas. But ABC tends to have the same type of family sitcoms or stupidly brought back Rosanne because they had no original ideas this is more original then anything on American TV. Also, you like rooting for the couple to eventually to get back together so if it gets a long run like 5 years, is the only way to end the show what we already know? Also Hudson and Fischer are good actors who grow to like in roles based on good chemistry not the typical divorced parents who hate each other’s guts.

Verdict: Renewed. It could be a long running sitcom but I don’t know how long you can drag on this premise without them getting back together. Update: Renewed.

CW:

Black Lighting: The DC live action universe on the CW has now expanded to five superhero shows. Black Lightning is DC Comics' second African American superhero and the first black hero in DC to get his own show who is played by Cress Williams (Prison Break and Friday Night Lights). The show isn’t an origin story like the Flash or Arrow nor is it in his heyday of being a superhero like Supergirl or Legends of Tomorrow, it has taken a different route. He is now the principal of a high school and hasn’t been Black Lighting in 9 years divorced with two kids. He retired from being a hero since it wasn’t helping out his marriage or raising his kids. He worked his way up the teaching ranks to be principal since he viewed that was the best way to save the community. The show starts off with him coming out of retirement only because the local gang “The 100” kidnaps his daughters but sees how bad the community is in from the 100 that he goes back to being Black Lighting. The season deals with his struggles going back to being a hero with his estranged wife, children and how to balance his day job with his night job. He also goes back to working with Peter Gambi his mentor who helped him hone his powers and trained him when he was just starting off being a hero back in the day. Another twist is he has to deal with his daughters developing powers(which is all based on the comics) but the main goal is to stop the 100 for good and take down his old nemesis Tobias an albino black guy who he thought had died in the past. Like all superhero shows in their freshmen season they have some issues that usually got solved once we all get into a rhythm of how the show works. Arrow is about stopping crime bosses-non major DC villains, Flash is about stopping bad super powered beings and Legends is about stopping people from changing the time line. This show is trying to fit the demographic of the show/character but is also trying to fit other avenues. We will see how season 1 ends before making a final judgment. We hope the attempt at making this show was a good idea or not but it has been a good experiment so far. The only thing I don’t like is the typical CW worrying about whose dating who and having to worry about it every episode. The oldest daughter is a medical student, a teacher at her father’s school, an activist and a superhero by night we don’t need to see who she’s dating or her love life, the show is about Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lighting. Verdict: Renewed since CW did renew all of the superhero shows.

Update: Renewed.

Fox:

Star: Another Lee Daniel’s music drama about musicians and the business of music but this one centers around three young women trying to make it in the music industry. The star of the show is Star who has been in and out of foster homes after his signing mother died from drugs who sets out to find her half sister Simone who is also has been in foster homes. They pair up with another talented girl who Star meets online named Alex Crain whose father happens to be a famous musician in his own right played by Lenny Kravitz. They are based out of Atlanta which is where Starr and Alex’s mom former music partner Carlotta Brown lives and runs a hair salon. They live there, work at the salon and work out on their music together and most songs are written by Alex. They are trying to make it big by getting a contract with a studio and have to deal with the typical drama of the music business, a shady manager named Jahil played by Benjamin Bratt, romances, custody battles and murders. Their ultimate goal is to have a record deal, make albums and tour the world. Update: They get a record deal in Season 2 but have to deal with all the problems and responsibilities on being a recording label plus the infighting between the band mates in the band. I should expect all of the unneeded drama, dating and characters who don’t deserve air time but this show is sometimes trying too hard to be dramatical when all we care is about the music they make, hearing their music and the growing as musicians and being successful throughout a show’s growth. They sometimes take too many steps backwards and have to work hard to get back to where they were previously. Plus I don’t care about Queen Latifah’s son/daughter’s drama or about Jahil when he isn’t even their manager anymore.

Verdict: Cancelled. I personally enjoy the music, the actors in the show and the show as a whole but I don’t want to say every show deserves to be renewed just because I like it since some shows aren’t the best. This show has lots of problems but since it is only half way through season 2 we will have to wait and see. Plus Fox is not going to cancel its follow up show after Empire unless the ratings are so bad and if they don’t cancel it this year it will probably be on as long as Empire stays on. Update: Renewed.

9-1-1: Now this one of the best shows I have ever seen and maybe because of the suspense in every scene or episode and the all-star cast.  Now you can say there are too many Cop/firefighter shows on TV but none are nowhere near this first responder type of show even if they are other first responder shows. For each character they took the time to create a genuine great back story and personal story of their current life. That takes into effect when telling every week’s episode without dragging the episode down. The show draws from real-life, high-pressure experiences of emergency response providers who regularly face heart-stopping situations that are often unpredictable, intense and uplifting at the same time. Any show lead by Angela Bassett as a detective, Peter Krause fire captain and Connie Britton as the 9-1-1 operator already is going to be good before you even watch it. It broke records for series premiers in Fox history and has already been renewed for season 2 with possible spinoffs.

So my Verdict is an obviously Renew. Update: Renewed.

LA-Vegas: In a long line of half hour sitcoms on Fox that have been put on Tuesday or Sunday it has so far kept the attention of mine because it supposed to be stupid but funny and makes you laugh which is the point of a sitcom. There is no need to take this show seriously because the show is and some of the characters are over the top stupid or crazy in their own little way. The series follows the lives of crew and passengers of a Jackpot Airlines that makes regular Friday-to-Sunday getaway flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The stories revolve around recurring themes of hope and disappointment. The show stars Dylan McDermott who is a former Air-Force pilot who is the captain of the flights, and your typical guy who thinks he is the best/cool but is really still getting over the pain of his divorces, so he puts up a façade.  His co-pilot is really dumb and seems like a little kid sometimes. The show also centers around flight attendant Ronnie and her life choices that made her be an over-working flight attendant on a low run airline and has to deal with all the different personalities of the co-workers and passengers. She has to put up with Captain Dave’s antics, her co flight attendant Bernard an older black guy (who (we know is gay but doesn’t talk about it like some do in shows), who barely works, and the passengers like Artem a child dentist who is also a shady/creepy bookie, the stripper Nicole, and British single dad professor at UCLA who takes the airline to see his kid over the week and their will they/ won’t they romance. 

Verdict: Renewed but for a limited amount of episodes. It is a good sign they kept it in its time slot and pushed Brooklyn 99 back to Sundays so it can stay on for the rest of the spring. So it can be on for a few years, if a show like the Mick has had two seasons you never know with FOX/if they ever make it three hour programming at night. Update: Cancelled.

The Resident: This freshman medical drama is nowhere near emotionally uplifting of a back-story and fight to be recognized like ABC’s medical drama The Good Doctor (about the Autistic Dr) but is it a close 2^nd for the correct amount of drama (romance), suspense, action, conflict, not showing all medical procedures close up, and intrigue into the life of resident in a hospital. It centers all around Dr Conrad Hawkins who has the personality of someone who wants to save the world and actually listens/cares to what is best for the patients and is played really well by Matt Czuchry that you can’t help but root for him every episode to save every one. But the show decided to not have the show start when he just begins, it shows him as a senior resident who has a long track record of being the guy who you root for since he knows all the regular patients, has been in the trenches long enough to know what the right thing is, and he can pass those things along to the new resident Dr Devon Pravesh. He is the wide eyed Harvard medical student who thinks everything is in a textbook and everything is all rainbows since they are things people don’t know about, how things are really run in hospitals. Conrad has to teach him to navigate not just from what he learned in school but to blend it with real life situations and not always trust your first intuition about it and that this hospital is mostly about making money, so how to navigate through the bureaucracy of the medical world. The nurse practitioner is on and off again girl friend Nic who like is trying to save the world but also knows the same cold hard truth about the medical business and she does things some times that could cost her job to save the patients. The other new resident Dr. Mina Okafor out of Africa is a gifted surgical genius but she doesn’t have the other aspect of being a good doctor the bed side manner and dealing with people/feelings. She butts head with the Chief of surgery Randolph Bell played by Bruce Greenwood on how to do surgeries or which one she wants to do since she thinks she can do everyone without fail. Conrad also has been butting heads with Dr Bell since Conrad wants to save everyone but Bell has to think what is best for the hospital’s bottom line dictated by the head of hospital’s bottom line. They are other doctors that each has their own story that fits well into the story lines as well.

Verdict: Renewed for Season 2. If Fox lets this show grow it can be the network’s ER or Grey's Anatomy but without it being too big of an ensemble cast since the show’s strength is Conrad, Nic and Devon the three main characters. Question is what night it will be on since it is in the Lucifer-Gifted/former Gotham time slot.  Update: Renewed.