If you could hear what people are thinking would you consider that a blessing or a curse? Paramedic Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik, "The Timekeeper") isn’t sure either but for now he’s going to try to use his gift to help people in crisis.
The Listener is a new summer series on NBC that combines the crime genre, the medical genre and the paranormal genre all in one show. In the pilot episode, which airs on June 4, Toby and his partner “Oz” Bey (Ennis Esmer) are on their way to work when Toby receives a telepathic hit and envisions …read more

Peacock network execs have said all along Heroes was never in any danger, despite flagging ratings. They’ve now made it official, as they continue their trend of announcing their plans two weeks before the other networks pitch shows to advertisers.
NBC will wait two weeks to announce the scheduling for its shows, so we’ll be waiting to see if Heroes remains on Monday nights. And if so, what shows will share that night with it. The Christian Slater spy vehicle My Own Worst Enemy was NBC’s big plan for Monday nights last season but it quickly vanished. Combined with Heroes’ …read more

The networks are deciding less is more when it comes to popular shows such as 24 and Lost, opting to film fewer episodes than previous years. Advertising Age said NBC will follow suit, likely cutting the number of Heroes episodes down to 18-20 after doing 25 this season.
Those episodes are also expected to run closer together to minimize storyline interruptions. That’s probably a good move with shows as plot-twisty as genre shows tend to be.
It’s no coincidence the move comes as Heroes continues to struggle in the ratings. Cable networks pioneered the smaller episode count and it does help …read more

In a development that will probably not shock anyone, NBC is moving struggling drama Kings off the schedule until June. The Hollywood Reporter said the low-rated retelling of the biblical story of King David will return June 13 and run through July 25.
A move to Saturday nights did nothing for the show’s ratings, so after four Saturday airings it’s taking a lengthy break. At this point, you probably do not need me to tell you things don’t look good for this show. But for the record, things don’t look good for this show. NBC’s new Saturday night regular lineup …read more

While not officially the deathmarch yet, this is definitely a “sickly shuffle.” Entertainment Weekly reports that NBC is moving low-rated drama Kings from Sunday nights to Saturdays at 8 p.m.
NBC usually airs repeats anyway on Saturdays so Kings won’t have any high expectations to deal with. The modern-day retelling of the Biblical story of David and Goliath pulled its lowest rating ever Sunday with 3.6 million viewers.
The move will create another block of unscripted television as two-hour editions of Dateline:NBC will replace Kings as the lead-in to Celebrity Apprentice. It’s been a long TV season for NBC as its …read more

For the second time in three episodes, NBC’s struggling drama Heroes fell to an all-time ratings low. Only 6.5 million people tuned into Monday’s ep according to The Insider.
Those are the same kind of numbers that got Jericho booted from CBS’ lineup, but NBC brass have continually said they are sticking by the troubled show. In happier times, there was even talk of a Heroes spinoff. That idea, of course, went the way of the dodo after the show’s second season, also subpar ratings wise.
Even a planned Heroes videogame got shelved as the license continues cooling off at an …read more

Despite a lot of pre-show press and generally favorable reviews, NBC’s Kings had a lackluster debut Sunday night. The Hollywood Reporter said the two-hour premiere was on par with other failed NBC offerings such as Crusoe and Chopping Block.
About six million people tuned in to see NBC’s sci-fi themed retelling of the story of King David. It’s another depressing debut for NBC, whose 2008-09 TV offerings have failed to produce any breakout shows.
One of NBC’s standbys has been reality shows like Celebrity Apprentice, which didn’t really play well with Kings. As the Reporter’s James Hibberd notes, there would be …read more

Though its ratings haven’t approached its first season watercooler benchmarks (and may never again at this point), Heroes is coming back next year. That’s what NBC Entertainment President Angela Bromstad told the Hollywood Reporter. She knows the show’s future has been the subject of much speculation.
There is also talk that the network could set a firm end date for the show. That strategy is believed to have helped Lost and Battlestar Galactica tremendously.
While Heroes isn’t the powerhouse it used to be, it is still one of a struggling network’s highest rated shows. And it has a strong presence internationally …read more

I thought the Heroes ads last night were pretty inspired. As a matter of fact, if Heroes, Chuck or any other NBC show doesn’t draw this week it won’t be for lack of advertising.
But cute ads aside, Heroes begins its newest story arc tonight at 9 p.m. ET with a tale of Fugitives. The government is hunting down people with superpowers and I will now pause for my comic shop guys and gals to accuse Heroes of stealing more storylines from the X-Men.
If Heroes were on a network that had any other dramas people were watching, this show would …read more

All you need to know about the current state of TV is that tonight Stargate Atlantis airs for the final time, and Howie Do It begins its circle of (hopefully short) life.
NBC’s announcement that it will air five hours of Jay Leno in primetime every week is cause for concern among TV viewing faithful. Nothing against Leno, I find some of his stuff very funny. And I know NBC dreaded nothing more than seeing Leno turn up on another network against Conan O’ Brien.
But a major network is effectively waving the white flag on trying to program the 10 …read more