Daniel The TV Addict
• Is thankful of the proliferation of online streaming services. Be it Netflix and Hulu to Canadian counterparts CraveTV and Shomi, TV Addicts such as ourselves have never had it so good!
• Is thankful for genetically blessed talent that is Greg Berlanti. From dysfunctional family dramas (EVERWOOD! JACK & BOBBY!) to super series after super series (THE FLASH! ARROW! SUPERGIRL!), this man just gets me.
• Is thankful for comedy. While hour-long-dramas often get the brunt of the attention as a result of their amazing action or dense mythology. Nothing puts a smile on our face after a long week — often littered with sensless tragedies across the globe — like a few minutes spent with the familiar faces of MOM, Stephen Colbert, Tim Allen (LAST MAN STANDING), the Griffin Family (FAMILY GUY), the Dunphy-Pritchett clan (MODERN FAMILY), THE GOLDBERGS, Josh Thomas (Pivot’s PLEASE LIKE ME), to name a few.
• Is thankful of the proliferation of online streaming services. Yes again. And why shouldn’t I be? After-all, not only has the increased competition afforded more jobs for talented writers, actors, producers and behind-the-scenes creative types, but has done the unthinkable: Allowed for reboots and re-imaginations of shows we thought were long dead and buried. Ie. GILMORE GIRLS, THE X FILES and STAR TREK. Speaking of which…
• Is thankful that after far too long a hiatus, fans are finally going to get a new episodic STAR TREK. Thank you Les Moonves and CBS. Please don’t screw this up. #livelongandprosper
• Is thankful for AMC’s INTO THE BADLANDS. True, we’re only two episodes in, but daaaaaamn has any show started on such a thrilling note since the early days of LOST? Talk about bloody well done. Emphasis on the bloody!
• Is thankful for THE GOOD WIFE, which like a fine wine (or George Clooney), continues to get better with age.
• Is thankful for Twitter! Whether it’s providing us with a pipeline to television news and headlines as they happen, or acting as the ultimate running commentary while we’re watching our favorites, twitter has become so much more than the social media fad du jour, but rather, an invaluable viewing partner for any TV Addict.
• Is thankful for theTVaddict.com’s roster of contributors both new and old. Thus, without any further adieu, let’s hear what they’re thankful for…
Clarissa
• Thankful that the industry is embracing the digital world and non-traditional producers like Netflix or Hulu, thereby exposing fans to some great new shows and new ways to watch
• Thankful that networks are giving shows more of a chance before pulling the plug. It used to be dangerous to get attached to a pilot in case it got cancelled quickly (RIP LONESTAR), but now networks are giving shows more time to prove themselves or allowing shortened first seasons instead of giving them the axe after a few weeks
• Thankful that we get a chance to see some shows resurrected. The practice doesn’t always work, but seeing something like THE X-FILES back in action is awesome, especially when the premiere episode was so good (seriously, you don’t want to miss it!)
Jessenika Colon
• I’m thankful to the ARROW production team for selecting Matt Ryan to reprise his role as Constantine. He did a fantastic job and I hope to see him return to the series soon!
• I’m thankful to the writers of GOTHAM for making season two so dark, twisted, and bloody.
• I’m thankful to Marvel for JESSICA JONES. It’s so excellently written, a great example of feminism, and has an excellent cast!
Alan Eggleston
• Thankful for JJ Abrams who brought us LOST! and FRINGE and a host of imaginative new talent that he unleashed on television that even to this day make TV more interesting and fun to watch.
• Thankful for a host of new dramas on broadcast television recently like THE BLACKLIST, BLINDSPOT, LIMITLESS, QUANTICO, and THE PLAYER that have brought us intriguing new characters in challenging new situations that surprise and entertains us like never before.
• Thankful for fourteen seasons of MYTHBUSTERS and cable/satellite channels that provide an avenue for broadcast of science and speculative-interest programs for viewers who enjoy a technology and science turn.
Luciana Mangas
• Thankful for the influx of strong female characters as leads of great TV dramas in the past decade, such as Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), Felicity Smoak (ARROW), Sarah, Alison, Helena, Cosima, Rachel and all the clones (ORPHAN BLACK), Olivia Dunham (FRINGE), Clarke Griffin (THE 100), Kate Beckett (CASTLE) and so many other great women, who have graced our TV screens every week and provided excellent role models (for the most part) for young women out there.
• Thankful for so many new quality dramas – both from non-traditional producers like Netflix and major networks – in the past couple of years like THE FLASH, THE 100, BLINDSPOT, QUANTICO and JESSICA JONES, just to mention a few.
• Thankful for this amazing bridge that social media has become between the audience and the TV shows’ cast and crew, breaking that invisible wall that seemed to exist between them. It brings fans closer to the people they admire and helps to build a two-way street when it comes to TV experience.
Brianna Martinez
• Thankful to the DAREDEVIL coordinator and director that choreographed and shot perhaps the best one shot fight scene I’ve seen and the Netflix/Marvel team for bringing both Daredevil and Jessica Jones to “TV.”
• Thankful that ARROW has given us original Team Arrow interspersed with the expanded team, Diggle’s story this season, an awesomely creepy big bad in Damien Darhk, Curtis Holt’s introduction, Felicity’s reign as CEO (and emotional moments with her mother), and thankful for the way they’ve handled a more well-balanced Oliver. Basically, thankful season four has turned out the way it has so far.
Victoria Nelli
• Thankful to the executive that green-lighted CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND. That adorable, weird, little show has completely hooked me. Also, where had Rachel Bloom been? She is too hilarious and wonderful not to be on our TV screens every week!
• Thankful to the writer’s of SCANDAL for keeping the pace this season. With such a jaw dropping and twist filled season last year people were expecting it to take a slower turn this season, it’s done the complete opposite. I never knew I wanted to see Liv come clean about her and Fitz until it happened. The winter finale proved that this show is by no means slowing down.
• Thankful that Amazon FINALLY released a trailer for the second season of TRANSPARENT. No series displayed more truth and raw emotion this year that TRANSPARENT and it was so exciting and long overdue to finally see how our favorite family is doing. December 11th cannot come fast enough!
Melissa Smith
• Thankful for the crews that make television a joy to watch and hear. The “sound geniuses” on ARROW and SUPERNATURAL headed by Michael E. Lawshé create a weekly soundscape worthy of a $200MM feature film. The stunt crew on ARROW makes the fight choreography look like the Bolshoi Ballet. The camera crew, editors and visual effects folks on PERSON OF INTEREST, THE ORIGINALS and NCIS: LOS ANGELES use every technique from slight nuance to huge explosions to create a weekly visceral smorgasbord. The sum of its parts, a television show is as good as the crew, and the result is on the screen
• Thankful for casting directors who think outside the box who give us the adorable-yet-creepy children on SUPERNATURAL to the not-a-pretty-boy-but-wow-can-he-act approach on many shows, today’s casting directors realize that it is talent, not beauty, that delivers phenomenal performances
• Thankful for this new “Golden Age of Television.” No longer is there a stigma for the best talent in the industry to work in television. The first Golden Age aired shows like PLAYHOUSE 90 and PHILCO TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE featuring the talents of incredible directors like Arthur Penn, George Roy Hill, John Frankenheimer and Sidney Lumet, writers including Rod Serling, Paddy Chayefsky, Don Mankiewicz and Horton Foote, and acting luminaries ranging from Lillian Gish and Grace Kelly to Steve McQueen and Cliff Robertson. The same quality, arguably, can be found on television today