Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief rundown:

• NBC’s broadcast of The Sound of Music Live! scored a 4.6 rating in the 18-49 demo and 18.5 million viewers, marking the network’s best Thursday performance since the ER series finale in 2009.
• Over on CBS, The Big Bang Theory earned a season low 4.6 rating and 15.26 million viewers, dropping a whopping seven tenths from its last original episode’s 5.3 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, December 5th, including Glee, Scandal, Elementary, The Vampire Diaries, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• A double-dose of Parks and Recreation—which had been preempted by NBC in order to juice ratings for its new comedies—returned to a 1.2 rating in the 18-49 demo and 3.37 million viewers, which is down 8% from its most recent episode’s 1.3 rating and ties the show’s series low.
• Alternatively, CBS’ The Big Bang Theory crushed every other program of the night with a 5.1 rating and 17.98 million viewers, rising 4% over last week’s 4.9 rating.
• ABC’s Once Upon a Time in Wonderland matched last week’s series low 0.9 rating and scored 3.71 million viewers, while Grey’s Anatomy also tied its series low with a 2.6 rating and 8.4 million viewers, down 4% from last week’s 2.7 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, November 14th, including The Vampire Diaries, Scandal, Elementary, Parenthood, and more.

Thursday evening’s Halloween TV ratings are in, and unsurprisingly most shows marked a significant drop in viewership.  Here’s a brief rundown:

• ABC’s Scandal tied last week’s season low 2.9 rating in the 18-49 demo and scored 9.23 million viewers, while Grey’s Anatomy tied its series low with a 2.6 rating and 8.88 million viewers, down 7% from last week’s 2.8 rating.
• Over at CBS, The Millers dropped 26% to a series low 2.0 rating and 8.57 million viewers, The Crazy Ones also dropped 17% to a series low 1.9 rating and 8.06 million viewers, and Elementary was down 6% from last week’s 1.8 rating to a 1.7 rating and 9.35 million viewers.
• NBC’s Sean Saves the World actually ticked up 9% to a 1.2 rating and 4.11 million viewers, while The Michael J Fox Show scored a series low 1.1 rating and 3.62 million viewers.  Parenthood was even with last week’s 1.3 rating and notched 3.97 million viewers.
• Finally, The CW’s The Vampire Diaries was down a whopping 28% from last week’s 1.3 rating to a 0.8 rating and 2.11 million viewers, while Reign matched last week’s 0.6 rating and scored 1.59 million viewers.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in, reflecting some stiff drops in viewership opposite Game 2 of the World Series.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• CBS’ Elementary finally saw a rise in viewership last night, scoring a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 demo and 8.59 million viewers.  That’s up three tenths over last week’s series low 1.5 rating.
• Over on ABC, Grey’s Anatomy also ticked up with a 2.8 rating and 8.53 million viewers, which is up one tenth from last week’s 2.7 rating.  If you’re looking to catch up on the long-running soap, Comcast VOD is currently the exclusive home of all previous episodes of Grey’s.
• The comedy juggernaut The Big Bang Theory garnered a season low 4.9 rating and 16.47 million viewers, dropping three tenths from last week’s 5.2 rating.  Nevertheless, it still managed to stand head and shoulders above everything else on TV last night.
• Also down was ABC’s much buzzed-about Scandal, which hit a season low 3.0 rating and 8.65 million viewers for a drop of three tenths.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, October 24th, including Parenthood, The Vampire Diaries, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, The Crazy Ones, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• Last night’s episode of Parks and Recreation—featuring a swell guest turn by Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany—marked a rise for the critical favorite comedy, scoring a 1.3 rating in the 18-49 demo and 3.25 million viewers.  That’s up 8% from last week’s 1.2 rating.
• The CW’s The Vampire Diaries was also up, earning an impressive 1.3 rating and 2.84 million viewers, which is up 30% from last week’s 1.0 rating.
• ABC’s spinoff series Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, on the other hand, plummeted 29% from last week’s 1.7 rating to a 1.2 rating and 4.5 million viewers.
• CBS’ better-than-you-think drama series Elementary notched a new series low 1.6 rating and 8.41 million viewers, which is down 16% from last week’s 1.9 rating.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, October 17th, including Parenthood, Reign, Scandal, The Big Bang Theory, and more.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The third season premiere of ABC’s Scandal notched a very impressive 3.6 rating in the 18-49 demo and 10.5 million viewers, scoring all-time highs in both categories and soaring a massive 71% from last year’s season opener.
• Fox’s Glee was down yet again, hitting a 1.6 rating and 4.5 million viewers for a drop of 20% from last week’s season premiere.
• Over on The CW, The Vampire Diaries returned to a 1.2 rating and 2.6 million viewers, which is down a hefty 25% from last year’s season premiere.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, October 3rd, including The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, The Michael J. Fox Show, Elementary, and more.

On the new CW series The Originals, a spin-off of the hit drama The Vampire Diaries, the Original vampire family’s bonds will be tested like never before.  Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan), the original vampire-werewolf hybrid, has returned to New Orleans, the city his family helped build, but was then exiled from.  Drawn back by a mysterious plot that is brewing in the French Quarter, Elijah (Daniel Gillies) follows his brother and learns that the rebellious werewolf Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin), a former one night stand of Klaus’, has also come to the Quarter, searching for clues to her family history while hiding the unbelievable news that she is carrying his unborn child, which would greatly displease his vampire protégé Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), who now has total control over the human and supernatural inhabitants of New Orleans.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, executive producer Julie Plec talked about how much fun it’s been to get to expand The Originals in this way, just how much the ideas for the story evolved as they developed it, when the whole pregnancy storyline came into play, what this all means for Hayley, how different the tone of this show will be from The Vampire Diaries, the storylines that they’ll explore this season, and how they came up with the idea to retell the story from their backdoor pilot from Elijah’s point of view for the season premiere.  Check out what she had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers. 

While she may now be juggling three shows on the same network at once now, Julie Plec still managed to bring out some good teases and previews for her first CW outing, The Vampire Diaries, during Saturday’s panel.  Moderated by Debra Birnbaum, the panel showed a recap clip of the previous seasons building up to the last season finale, and fans got a little taste of what to expect in the upcoming season.  The clips showed Silas/Stefan wielding his influence over a town square full of Mystic Falls locals, and some hope for Damon and Elena.

Along with Plec, EP Caroline Dries, and cast members Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Candice Accola, and Kat Graham were on hand to preview what expect for the next season.  Hit the jump for some highlights of the panel.

The CW’s popular fantasy drama, The Vampire Diaries, returned to Comic-Con for its fifth year, this time to discuss what’s next for the Mystic Falls gang when the show returns for Season 5.  We got a chance to sit down with the show’s stars—Kat Graham, Candice Accola, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder—and co-executive producer Caroline Dries for a roundtable interview.  They conversed about life after high school, if there’s a possibility for Damon and Katherine to rekindle their romance, how Bonnie will deal with being a ghost, whether Caroline ever had feelings for Klaus, Tyler’s return and much more.  Hit the jump for highlights from the roundtable interview.

Everyone at Comic-Con gets a swag bag, and it’s ridiculously big.  It’s one of the most visible and ubiquitous objects at the Con, and Warner Bros. has wisely taken ownership of it for years.  The bags are always plastered with advertising for the studio’s TV series and upcoming movies, and this year is no different.  The studio has announced that this year’s bags will feature the shows Arrow, The Big Bang Theory, The Following, Revolution, Supernatural, the Vampire Diaries, Teen Titans Go!, and the classic Batman TV series.  On the movie side, attendees can wear advertising for Godzilla, The LEGO Movie, and 300: Rise of an Empire.  Furthermore, the bags have detachable capes, a feature I can only respond to with this.

Hit the jump to check out images of the TV series bags/capes.  Please note that the bags can be cumbersome, but they also make for good seating on the grass next to Hall H.  The 2013 San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 18 – 21st.

The CW has announced the premiere dates for its Fall 2013 series.  As usual, the network is bypassing the typical third week of September premiere week and is kicking off its shows in early October.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast premiere on their new night, Monday, October 7th.
• Arrow returns for its second season on Wednesday, October 9th at 8pm, followed by new series The Tomorrow People at 9pm.
• The fifth season of The Vampire Diaries begins on Thursday, October 10th at 8pm, followed by the new period series Reign at 9pm.
• The highly anticipated Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals will premiere on Tuesday, October 15th, followed by Supernatural in its new night and timeslot of 9pm.

Hit the jump to read the full list of premiere dates.

Warner Bros. is bringing their usual onslaught of TV shows to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.  There are the usual suspects The Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, and The Vampire Diaries, the expected second-year returning programs such as The Following, Arrow, and Revolution, and a bevy of newcomers including Beware the Batman, The Tomorrow People, and Almost Human.  The press release doesn’t say where the programs will land, but my guess is that most will end up in Ballroom 20 (the second largest hall at the San Diego Convention Center) except for The Big Bang Theory, which played in Hall H last year, and the Sunday programming, which is always in Hall H because Ballroom 20 is closed.

Hit the jump for the line-up and more.  The 2013 San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 18 -21st.

Thursday evening’s TV ratings are in, and it’s season finales galore.  Here’s a brief look at the highlights:

• The emotional series finale of The Office scored a 3.0 rating in the 18-49 demo and 5.7 million viewers, which is up from last week’s 2.3 rating and marks the highest-rated episode of the show since January of 2012.
• The season finale of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, however, topped the night with a 4.4 rating and 14.78 million viewers.  That’s down half a ratings point from last week’s 4.9 rating but even with last year’s finale rating of 4.4.  The episode was the most watched program of the night, besting even the season finale of American Idol.
• Another season finale on CBS, that of Elementary, was up a tenth from last week’s series low with a 2.0 rating and 8.93 million viewers for the two-hour episode.

Hit the jump for the full ratings report for Thursday, May 16th, including Hannibal, Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and more.

One of The CW’s most anticipated new series for the upcoming fall season is The Vampire Diaries’ spin-off The Originals.  The sexy drama, set in the city of New Orleans, will follow Original vampires Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies) and Rebekah (Claire Holt), who quickly find themselves in the middle of tensions between the town’s supernatural factions, which are nearing a breaking point as the city’s leader, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis), commands his devoted followers and rules with absolute power.  The show also stars Phoebe Tonkin, Daniella Pineda, Leah Pipes and Danielle Campbell.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Daniel Gillies talked about how much fun he’s had on The Vampire Diaries, how he felt about Elijah’s relationship with Katherine (Nina Dobrev), the experience of shooting the backdoor pilot for The Originals in New Orleans, that the series itself will shoot primarily in Atlanta (where The Vampire Diaries is shot), and that he’s hoping for possible cross-over episodes between the two shows.  He also talked about the challenging experience of making his directorial debut, Broken Kingdom, which you can now view on Showtime, along with the documentary about his journey with the film, Kingdom Come.  Check out what he had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

Now that anchor series Gossip Girl and 90210 are off the schedule, the CW is reshuffling almost everything to give a push to new series (like putting Reign – a drama about Mary, Queen of Scots as a young woman in France — after veteran hit The Vampire Diaries).  Beauty and Beast, which had occupied that coveted post-Vampire Diaries spot before, has been moved to Mondays, and will air after new episodes of Hart of Dixie.  The changes also pair shows tonally, like new sci-fi series The Tormorrow People, which will premiere after the well-received Arrow (still on Wednesdays), and Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, which will air on Tuesdays with the shifted Supernatural.

Though the CW’s numbers can’t compete with the Big Four, the network knows its audience well, and employs social media better than most to promote its series.  Still, it could use a watershed must-see hit to really put it on firm ground.  For details on the new schedule, hit the jump.