TV Prep Time (or Here Are Some Helpful Links About Scheduling Your Viewing)

I can’t believe how fast the summer is flying by! I remember when I was younger and my mom would tell me that time goes by faster the older you get. It’s true.

TV networks are starting to get ready for the fall tv season. And if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I’m a little OCD when it comes to my prep work for the new shows.

I noticed that the website where I get my fall tv schedules have put up some of their information already, and I thought I’d share the links and some helpful tips on how to use them. And if you aren’t an actor, as long as you enjoy watching some tv shows, you might find this helpful as well!

First of all, here’s the link to a print out of the tv lineups for networks shows in the fall.

How is this helpful? First of all, you can use it to see if any of the shows you watch regularly have changed time slots. You can also see if there is anything that you aren’t able to record (I can only record 2 shows at once on my DVR, so if I like to watch 3 that air at the same time I have to watch one on Hulu).

For actors trying to do your research, you can plan out when you can watch certain new shows (since you should be trying to watch at least one or two episodes of everything on tv). I use this to plan what shows to watch and take notes on each day of the week. Unless I’m personally super excited for a new tv show (it happens plenty), I will schedule time to watch a show the day or two after it airs. That way I’m not staying up super late to catch a new show and take notes. Sometimes when taking notes, I will watch a show all the way through once, make some quick notes, and then go back to the beginning and watch it again for more detailed notes (like character family relations). I don’t always do this, but for some dramas, it’s hard to get everything I need in one viewing.

The second link is for the premier date schedule for all tv shows. You might recognize the grid from this picture in a previous blog post.

I always print out this schedule and keep it near my tv. This shows when each show is coming back for the fall. So even if there are 6 new shows I need to watch on a Monday, perhaps only one or two are premiering in a particular week. When I have this printed out, I highlight the premier dates of all the new shows that I need to watch. I’ll either print out a second sheet to highlight the shows that I already watch (and just am antsy to start watching again), or I’ll sometimes highlight it in another color.

Using both of these sheets, I can coordinate my DVR (and Hulu if necessary) so that I’m ready for the new tv season. The only change that I’m making this year is to digitally record all of my notes. In the past, I’ve used notebooks and hand-wrote everything. This year, I’m creating notebooks in Evernote to track and organize all of it. I’m not sure if I’ll like it more than handwriting (something about writing it down and not typing it seems to make me remember it more), but I’m willing to test it out!

I hope that for all of you actors, this helps you get more prepared for the fall tv season! If you have any questions about anything, please ask. I’m more than happy to share my knowledge with fellow actors. I don’t believe that we are really ever competing against anyone but ourselves in the audition room.

And for you non-actors reading this, I hope that you now know when all of your shows are coming back, and maybe you’ve learned something too!

Now I’m off to print and highlight the heck out of those pages!

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So Much Entertainment So Little Time (or Scheduling Leisure Time) The New TV Season (or Starting My Research Early This Year) The TV Season (or I Watch TV Like My Job Depends on It) Can I Cut The Cord? (or Trying To Change How I Research TV) Lots Of TV (or What Season Is It?) Busy Time (or Scheduling Again)