It was a coup for both Fox and fans that the creator and stars of "The X-Files" reunited almost 14 years after the show went off the air. But everyone wondered whether fans would actually show up. The answer was yes. It not only opened big, but it also ended up being the highest-rated show of the 2015-2016 TV year.
And, of course, Fox wants more. For the fans' sake, we hope it doesn't take another 14 years.
It was clear that "Blindspot," which stars Jaimie Alexander ("Thor"), was a top priority for NBC when it scheduled the show's premiere after its highly rated "The Voice." In turn, "Blindspot" took the lead in ratings above every new show that had premiered at the time. It ended up being the third-highest-rated show of the TV year.
In the spirit of franchises like "NCIS" and "Law & Order," Dick Wolf's third "Chicago Fire" spin-off really had to prove itself worthy of the franchise. That it did. Despite mixed reviews from critics, fans voted with their remote controls. NBC is already developing a fourth show, "Chicago Law."
"Supergirl" was probably the biggest show of the season in terms of hype. Every step of the casting search for the girl of steel was reported on. And critics wondered whether older-steering CBS should enter the youthful superhero game. Well, "Supergirl" leaped over all those expectations to tie "Blindspot" as the season's highest-rated premiere. It's now the sixth-highest-rated new show of the TV year.
Early sentiments toward Ryan Murphy's "The People v. O.J. Simpson" weren't so enthusiastic. Since expectations were low and many believed it would be an over-the-top, cheeky look at the trial, very few took it seriously. Then FX released screeners for the show, and things turned. Yes, some of what people expected from Ryan were there, but it was also intense, beautifully paced, well acted, and smartly written. Critics praised the show, and fans made it the year's most watched new show on cable.
"Parks and Recreation" alum Aziz Ansari talked up a good game about stereotyping in casting, and being pigeonholed into roles, and why that led him to create his own show, "Master of None."
Well, he delivered. Critics rallied around the show. And it earned Ansari his first Golden Globe nomination.
Developed and then rejected by Showtime, the musical comedy "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" landed at the pay channel's sister network, The CW, where it was retooled from a 30-minute comedy into a one-hour show.
The odds were stacked against the show. It was created by and starred an unknown in Rachel Bloom and had already bounced around networks, and who knew whether it would fly on the youth-skewing CW?
Well, it worked out. Critics loved it, and Bloom's performance won CW's second Golden Globe award.
Starz took a risk creating a series from a movie with as much cult cred as "The Evil Dead." It would be an easy flop if fans ended up hating it. But Starz is showing a lot of confidence nowadays, especially since it replaced Showtime as the No. 2 pay cable network last year.
And fans and critics alike loved the revival. That's good news for Starz, which renewed the series for a second season before it even premiered.
As other networks filled their schedules with single-camera comedies like "The Office" and "Modern Family," it felt as if CBS were single-handedly keeping multicamera shows alive with "Two and a Half Men," "The Big Bang Theory," and "2 Broke Girls."
But the network has been trying to woo younger viewers lately, and it brought on only single-camera shows this year: the family comedy "Life in Pieces" and "Angel From Hell." "Angel" got its wings clipped fast, but "Life in Pieces" has certainly proved itself. It ended up in this year's five highest-rated shows.
Steve Harvey has bounced back from crowning the wrong beauty queen to hosting the TV year's second-biggest ratings hit. More than 12 million viewers have been tuning into NBC's kids variety show, "Little Big Shots." Never underestimate the draw of cute kids.
Netflix did very little promotion of its true-crime documentary series before it premiered on December 18 aside from releasing the first episode on YouTube. But for two weeks, the good press, social media, and word of mouth propelled "Making a Murderer" into becoming one of the biggest national conversations we've known in a long while.
An estimated one in five TV-viewing adults was watching "Making a Murderer" during the week of December 28, according to Symphony Advanced Media. That's impressive for a show that no one knew about two weeks prior.
I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
Next Story