For the past month I’ve been joining Arlene Byson on SiriusXM’s “Canada Talks” for a weekly chat about what’s new in television. This Monday, Arlene (right) wondered if groundbreaking shows such as Breaking Bad are chipping away at broadcast network ratings.
There is no doubt that Walter White and Company have had an impact. One look at the social network buzz and you could tell Sunday’s edge-of-your-seat episode of Breaking Bad was by far the water cooler show of the week.
We also talk about the new Monday Fox series Sleepy Hollow, which Globe and Mail TV columnist John Doyle informed me was the brain child of Canadian Phillip Iscove. The 33-year-old Ryerson grad, who once worked at a downtown Toronto video store, dreamt up the idea of having Ichobod Crane leap forward into modern times along with his adversary, the headless horseman. He pitched his idea to veteran producer Alex Kurtzman (Fringe), who took it to Fox’s Kevin Reilly, and before you can say Washington Irving, a show was born. Read Doyle’s feel-good account of Iscove’s road from dreams to network reality here.
I also yak about new Tuesday comedies: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (funny) and Dads (not funny) and set up two Fox sitcoms returning Tuesday, New Girl and The Mindy Project. Mindy plays an OB/GYN, so Arlene asks, what’s with all the doctor shows? I actually have an answer. You can listen in here.
If you have a satellite radio, you can catch me weekly on Bynon’s “Canada Talks” Mondays at 5:45 p.m. ET, on SiriusXM’s channel 167.
