Thanksgiving Week TV: Is ‘Shark Tank,’ ‘Bones,’ ‘Grimm,’ ‘Nikita,’ or ‘Blue Bloods’ new tonight?
Over the past year or so, Friday nights have become more of a haven for popular scripted programming than ever before. NBC has pushed themselves to add another hour of drama, Fox has opted to move their fan favorite “Bones” to the night, and “Shark Tank” and “Blue Bloods” have become pretty solid when it comes to the 18-49 demographic and total viewer figures, respectively.
But what is going to be new tonight during the holiday? While there are some programs braving Black Friday (which is not typically a good night for numbers, since most are either out shopping, traveling, or going to bed after waking up at 4:00 a.m. to get some deals), some networks have decided to put some new episodes on the air. This is the last edition of our Thanksgiving Week TV series, where we try to navigate for you what can be a very difficult time figuring out what is actually new on TV, and what are repeats.
New tonight – NBC is good destination for you, since both “Grimm” and “Dracula” are going to be airing new episodes. This is part because they both premiered in late October rather than September, and they can afford putting an episode on here so that they have at least a solid block that airs this fall. Also, “Dracula” is just burning their episodes off since the numbers are pretty terrible.
Speaking of shows with bad ratings simply being left on the air, Fox is airing an hour of “Raising Hope” at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and The CW has on the second episode of “Nikita’s” final season. These are on more for either syndication purposes or, in the case of “Nikita,” just giving fans closure. The networks are not exactly expecting huge numbers.
What’s off the air – All of the shows that traditionally fare well on Fridays are either in repeats or preempted for holiday programming, whether you are talking about “Shark Tank,” “Bones” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Undercover Boss,” or “Blue Bloods.” The most interesting preemption is “The Carrie Diaries,” which should be a sign that The CW is going to at least consider renewing the show for another season.
Photo: CBS