The Blacklist, Blindspot, Fire, PD and Med gets Renewal, But Timeless is Timeout

NBC has announced Thursday that The Blacklist will be back for a fifth season, so grab another drink and a fedora hat for the Fall.

The 22 episode renewal comes as Season 4 gets ready for a showdown between Reddington and his confident-turned-enemy Mr. Kaplan.

The series creator Jon Bokenkamp tells TVLine that Mr. Kaplan "will undermine (Red's) criminal empire in ways he never expected" and "intends to take him apart piece by piece" in the season's final installments.

The Blacklist has average thus far this season 5.4 million weekly with a 1.0 demo rating, down 20 to 30 percent from Season 3.

You can catch the Two hour season finale next Thursday at 9/8c on NBC. No word about the spinoff series The Blacklist: Redemption on getting renewed.

Meanwhile, Wednesday was with joy and heavy hearts for fans.

First, on Wednesday night, NBC has renewed Chicago Fire and it's spinoff series Chicago PD and Chicago Med learned from TVLine. Fire will be heading into it's sixth season while PD in it's fifth and Med in it's third.

No decision on Chicago Justice, but I think that too will get picked up.

Blindspot gets pulled out of the bubble category as it gets picked up for a third season. The renewal comes as the viewership dropped sharply when last season's #1 hit show moved from Mondays at 10pm to Wednesdays at 8 for Season 2.

But for fans of Timeless the news comes to shock and with heavy hearts that the series won't get picked up for a second season.

Eric Kripke, the executive producer/co-creator confirmed the news on Twitter saying that the "odds are long, but trying to find another home" for the series.

The show average 4.6 million total viewers and a 1.1 demo rating, it was NBC's No. 6 rated drama, matching fellow freshmen Chicago Justice and the recently renewed Taken and besting out on The Blacklist, Blindspot and Shades of Blue. But the series has had an enjoyed boost in the DVR.

The show's season 1 finale left in a cliffhanger, with Lucy discovering that her mother Carol is part of the mysterious Rittenhouse organization.

Great News "Snowmageddon of the Century"/"Serial Arsonist"

"Snowmageddon of the Century"

When the whole staff can't wait to get home after a long week, a snowstorm stranded them in the office.

When the staff is on their last legs at the end of the week, they only want to finish the show and go home for the weekend. But when Carol wishes for a miracle about getting the staff and crew together, a snowmageddon leaves the staff and crew stuck.

Carol tries to get everyone closer, but no one wants to do this. It goes from bad to worst when Carol steals the staff of Morning Wined Up (a Kathie Lee and Hoda parody morning show) bottles of wine. When she handed them the bottles of wine, it became a second-holiday party, and everyone was doing some hilarious and awkward stuff.

Meanwhile, Katie gets to work with Chuck on a lead story, but Portia gets into Katie's head about how he wants to sleep with her. Katie tried to figure out how to handle it, and it was taken by kissing him, but it wasn't what he wanted. He told her that he was trying to test the waters as he has a young 20-something-year-old girl he likes to go out.

As everyone is still partying, Greg gets the call about how they will go live in 22 minutes to cover the winter storm. Everyone freaks out but comes together and puts on an excellent show, even though the introduction was slightly off.

This was one hell of an episode. I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end, and at one point, this was going to be one of these supersize episodes for some reason. We finally learned about Greg's Cat, who happens to be his girlfriend named Cat and not an animal. The cast was fantastic, and I don't think everyone played equally in performance. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

"Serial Arsonist" 

When a reporter is arrested, Katie takes over as field reporter.

When The Breakdown field reporter covers an arson fire and is caught for the arsonist, Greg searches for a reporter quickly. Carol thinks that Katie would be great for it, but Katie doesn't want her mother to make decisions for her like she did for a talent show.

After seeing the audition for reporters, Greg begs Katie to fill in, and she does, but after one night, everything goes into her head, and she finds out that her mother got input into her reporting.  Katie tries to give her mother payback, and instead of reporting live, she performs her act on the talent show. When Greg sees it, he freaks and puts the music video of Chuck and Justin's new theme song for the show as a replacement, which is catchy but crazy.

"Serial Arsonist" was another excellent episode. Heelan and Martin were great again in this episode. The writing was good. She was loved when Katie finally did her talent show ribbon dance. That was hilarious! Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch Great News on Tuesday nights at 9/8c on NBC.

Great News "Chuck Pierce Is Blind"/"War is Hell"

"Chuck Pierce is Blind" 

When Chuck announces that he's taking a day off from The Breakdown due to an award he's getting, Katie and Greg celebrate until Greg is reminded of the promises he made to everyone.

"Chuck Pierce is Blind" is probably one of the show's funniest episodes. Mostly, it's coming from John Michael Higgins' performance as Chuck, who announces that he's taking one day off due to an award he's getting but tells Carol that he's getting eye surgery.

With Katie and Greg being happy that they get a Chuck Free Day, Greg gets everyone from the crew to put their two cents into the show, from Portia's version, Justin's kick-ass, to even Beth, the weather lady given her climate rant (which was hilarious!).

Greg can't take it anymore, and when he sees what the show looks like, he and Katie call Chuck to get him back. After telling him someone will fill in for him, which gets him back to the studio even though his condition isn't good for him to see.

When Chuck comes back, and the program begins, everyone notices Chuck's eyes and how he's reading Portia's lines, thanks to Carol reading the script to him. It was one hell of a scene that I was crying while laughing.

This episode was a nonstop laughing machine of an episode. Higgins steals the episode, hands down. I even watched Adam Campbell and Nicole Richie shine in this episode too. I thought the writing was outstanding. Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

"War Is Hell" 

When Katie's boyfriend returns, she thinks Carol is judging the boyfriends again.

When Katie's boyfriend, Trip, returns from covering a story in Syria, Carol discovers they are a secret couple. Katie tries to get her mother to stop judging her boyfriend like the other ones she has had. That was until Katie discovers that Trip is rich and finds that he isn't absorbing as he calls himself Trippy.

Meanwhile, with Trip returning, Chuck explains how he used to cover the dangers of war in other countries. But when Greg and Justin find out why Chuck doesn't go, Chuck proves to them that he can. And also sends all three to HR for one of the most awkward and hilarious HR meetings scenes.

"War is Hell" was an excellent episode. I thought that Martin and Heelan were outstanding once again in this episode. Also, Higgins stills the episode again. The writing was not as perfect as the previous episode, but it was still good. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch Great News on Tuesday nights at 9/8c on NBC.

Kevin Can Wait "Sting of Queens Part Two" Season Finale

In the part two of the two part season finale of Kevin Can Wait, partners will get closer, a position would be taken away and a business goes out pretty fast.

The episode starts off the next day when Vanessa comes to pick up Kevin for their undercover trip to Boston. When they get up to Boston, Vanessa takes advantage by letting Kevin sleep in by using a white noise machine app, because it helps Kevin sleep so peacefully. Kevin soon realizes and meets up and the two fight over the case again.

When word of the business wasn't what they expected, Kevin realizes that the art might be fake but they're sneaking in drugs. When Vanessa goes look around, she gets caught, Kevin tries to stop him by swinging but it didn't work but made one hell of a scene that was literally the funniest scene of the episode.

Vanessa tied up and Kevin handing upside down, the two finally talk about their beef with one another. As soon as Kevin is free, he tries to untie Vanessa and apologizes to her for embarrassing her on television years ago in 2007. But as soon as they try to call for help, the couple comes back with guns pointing at them but the guy's girlfriend pulled a fast one on him and tells him she's FBI so she takes the credit.

Meanwhile, Donna gets word of the position, she didn't get it and blows over it pretty badly. After talking to Kevin about it and hearing that he might want to go back to the force and knowing that Chale's new job is solid. She quits her job.

Chale on the other hand, a day in the new job, he learns from another employee that the business is tanking and the investors have pulled out. Pretending to Kendra that things are good and he gets dropped off at work.

But when the family comes together and Donna tells them that she quit her job, she also misunderstood that Kevin wanted to get back to the police force again and freaks out. But when Kevin finally says something nice to Chale and his new job, probably not the best time but at the moment, he tells them without saying anything as the episode ends.

This was a very good episode. There were some really good moments, Donna freaking out of not getting the job, Kevin handing upside down was too funny. Just watching Kevin and  Vanessa was literally my favorite part of the episode. James and Remini haven't lost their chemistry. Not to mention Hayes puts on a really good performance too. The writing was very good as well. Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

Overall Season: 8/10. I thought this season was very good. Was it at a level of other new comedy like The Good Place and Great News? Probably not, but it's near but I'll say this that Kevin Can Wait is one of those family traditional situational comedies that you really don't need to think it over. It's a simple family comedy that you can sit and laugh with family and friends like other shows like King of Queens, and Everybody Loves Raymond. The cast was amazing, mostly Kevin James and Erin Hayes really work well on screen. The other cast members were really good too. I can't wait to see what Season Two will bring.

World Coming Down? The Blacklist "Philomena"/"Dr. Bogdan Krilov"

Hold on to your seats folks, it seems like that this season will end pretty big.

"Philiomena" 

As Kaplan released the dead bodies that she had cleaned from Red, the hunt is on to find her before more damage can be done.

With a whole lot of dead bodies brought back from the icy grave,  Kaplan goes after what will hurt Red the most, his closest assists and one by one she takes them down. She gets help by Philiomena, who's a clever bounty hunter than dog the bounty hunter. This one's like the black widow of bounty hunter expect for the killing.

Red and Dembe go after Kaplan but comes short, with Liz and Samar going after Philiomena who was taking her next target Marvin Gerard. That scene with Gerard and Kaplan talking about how this whole thing she has done was pretty chilling.

But the real chill comes mostly through the episode during the investigation from one of Ressler's partners, Julian Gale, who's been investigating Reddington for a long time tries to get Ressler in the game of getting Red but don't really tell him about how his task force was to help Red.

Liz and Samar captures Philiomena and tries to get her to talk where Kaplan is because Liz wants to protect her. After a short talk, she tells where she's going and tells Red but they tell Red about the investigation of the bodies that Kaplan has released to the FBI. Soon, Red and Dembe leave to fine Kaplan.

This was a very good episode and it's just building up to a huge ending I think. The performance from Enrique Murciano as Julian Gale was pretty good as a creep FBI agent who think that even though all of these dead bodies deserved to get killed that he thinks they deserved respect. There were some chilling scenes, but mostly the one when after Liz tells Red that he can not come up if he isn't going to find Kaplan and not kill her and when she headed up to her apartment, she sees Kaplan bouncing Agnus alone. The writing of this episode was very good and a real build up. Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

"Dr. Bogdan Krilov" 

Talk about going back to memory lane.

When Red gets word that Kate is going after Dr. Bogdan Krilov, the man that erased Liz's memories years ago. But what Kaplan was really doing was setting up Ressler as he gets a call aout a witness in the Reven Wright case that he still won't let go that really turns out to be a set up and tries to mess with his memories.

Krilov makes Ressler believe that Hitchin was the one (who turns out to be right but with no proof). They set him up to make him believe that he met with her and talked and even followed her to her place. But as he sneaks in to her place, he tries to make her talk but Liz gets there in time to save him but not for long as he gets taken into custody for threatening Hitchin, which is what Kaplan wants as she tries to break up the Task Force.

Meanwhile, Kaplan tells one of Red's associates the truth about his son's death but when Red gets there and explain his actions, what looked like a dicing situation turns into his favor with one of his own was working under the associate so he could keep an eye out. Red and Dembe escape and gets hitch hike in a pick up truck as they try to catch up with Kaplan meanwhile, Liz meets with Gale finally and has a real conversation about the murders and Reddingotn that makes me wonder one thing: does he too work with Kaplan?

This episode was so good that even I fell for some of the twist once again like Ressler's memory and Red's tight situation. Yeah I know it's the Blacklist but I still get fooled at times. There were some good moments like Red and Liz about wiping her memory, also Liz and Krilov standoff trying to get him to talk by using his own drug to talk. Also Gloria Reuben coming back was great. Kind a wish that her and Cooper could share a scene it would be a very nice little ER reunion. The writing was very solid and good. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch The Blacklist Thursday nights at 10/9c on NBC.

Mother-Daughter Love: Great News 'Pilot"/"Bear Attack"

"Pilot"

Great News hits the mother-daughter relationship with a nail on the head in the best way possible. 

The series is about Katie, a producer at a local news station who does only puff pieces but wants to do more, but when her mother, Carol, whom she is very close to, comes in wanting to do an internship, it'll drive Katie to crazyvillie. When Greg hires Carol as Chuck's intern, Katie tries to get her fired, but it backfires when Carol has a connection with Chuck after forgetting his snack time. 

When Carol finds out about how Katie doesn't want her, she tries to convince her to come back, and also, after her hurricane lead story is downgraded, she gets her mother in a story as baby boomers returning to the workplace. 

The show makes fun of the inner and outside of the new media I enjoy. It's still got that 30 Rock vibe, but it's still perfect. The cast is fantastic, from Briga Heelan and Andrea Martin as Katie and Carol to Nicole Richie and John Michael Higgins as the two anchors of different ages. The writing was very, very good, probably an excellent pilot since The Good Place.
Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

"Bear Attack"

When a dangerous story comes, and Katie wants it, Carol leashes out her helicopter parenting to take effect. 

When a bear escapes the zoo, Katie wants to chase the story, but when Carol learns about what happened to someone, she becomes the helicopter parent once again and tries to get Katie away from the story. 

Carol tries to get Greg, the executive producer, to stop Katie from covering the story. After Kaite learns that Greg took her out, she tries to protect it, but Carol tries to diverge the situation. Katie catches on and tries to get to the zoo on a bike, but she hasn't learned how to ride a bike. And after many attempts, Carol shows her how, and soon, she rides off. 

Meanwhile, with The Breakdown losing in the ratings against another news program, Greg thinks that Chuck and Portia should talk at the end of the news about something they have in common. After several meetings with HR, the two finally found common ground with a topic: lemonade. It's either the Beyonce album or the drink, but it's familiar ground for discussion anyway. 

Katie did get that story, but also part of the footage when The Breakdown showed her riding the bike and crushing as she tried to stop. 

This episode was terrific. I thought that Bear Attack was hilarious and was just another well-written episode. As much as Heelan and Martin were great, Richie and Higgins were hilarious in this episode. I love the scene when they are in Greg's office, and as they try to find shared topics, they find one that could ruin their program: talking about their rival program. Also, the scene with Chuck trying to speak with Portia at the anchor desk as a warm-up ended up with an HR meeting. Funny!! Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Great News on Tuesday nights at 9/8c on NBC.

Walking Down Memory Lane: Kevin Can Wait: "Sting of Queens: Part One"

In part one of a two part season finale, it's been a reunion ten years in the making and it just feels like the good ole days.

In "Sting of Queens Part One," Kevin is pulled out of retirement to go undercover with fellow cop, Vanessa Cellucci (played by Leah Remini),  as they play a married couple (how about that?!). When the two meet at a diner, they make the couple that they're meeting with interested in doing business and later meets them at their place to carry their business agreement.

After a day, they meet at the couple's hotel room and after getting on their good side they asked them to come with them for a retreat in Boston, but Kevin tries to decline but thinks that Vanessa could handle it but when they didn't want to do business without Kevin, he decides to come.

Meanwhile, Chale gets a well paid job, way over and decides to go spending on his family but I expect something to break in the next episode. And Donna hopes to get a new position at the school.

But the real focus on this episode was really the reunion of Kevin and Leah since it's been ten years since the final episode of King of Queens. The first scene seeing them together was like walking down memory lane, also the diner episode was hilariously funny. Plus the scene in the couple's hotel and the gum. I was literally crying laughing. It's like those two never lost a step.

I enjoyed this episode very much. Probably the reunion was much of the episode and probably should be since it was one of the funnest things in this two part episode. Even the second episode looks like a hoot from the previews. Overall, I give this episode a 8.5/10.

You can catch Part Two of the season finale of Kevin Can Wait next Monday at 8/7c on CBS.