Big Little Lies season 2 starts tonight!

HBO

Tonight at 7:00 on NBC it's a special Deal or no Deal.  Up at 8:00 on CBS it's the 73rd Tony Awards, ABC has the 6th season premiere of Celebrity Family Feud, Hallmark has the 5th season premiere of The Good Witch, NBC has game 6 of Stanley Cup Finals and on Travel it's the 1st season finale of Paranormal Caught on Camera.

Up at 9:00 on ABC it's the 4th season premiere of $100,000 Pyramid, HBO has the 2nd season premiere of Big Little Lies, Showtime has the 4th season finale of Billions, Cooking has the 7th season premiere of Carnival Eats, TNT has the 3rd season premiere of Claws, Food has the 10th season premiere of The Great Food Truck Race, History has Secrets in the Sky: The Untold Tory of Skunk Works, Science has the series premiere of Legends of the Deep, Reelz has Elton John: Ten Days that Rocked, and Travel has the series premiere of Ripley's Believe it or Not!

At 10:00 on Travel Legendary Locations returns and moves to a new time slot, TLC has the series premiere of Smothered and on ABC it's the 4th season premiere of To Tell the Truth.  At 10:30 on Disney XD it's the 3rd season finale of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.  On Fuse at 11:00 it's the series premiere of Sugar and Toys.

Fashion Police, VMA special tonight

E! Online

Tonight at 8:00 on E! it's the VMA Fashion Police special.  At 9:00 on Discovery it's the 3rd season premiere of Diesel Brothers, ID has the 1st season finale of Gone and on TV One it's the original telefilm When Love Kills.

Up at 10:00 on Discovery it's the 1st season finale of Carspotting, DA has the 2nd season finale of Ghosts of Shepherdstown and on DFC it's the 1st season finale of Reno, Set, Go!.  AMC moves Loaded to its new time slot at 11:00.

I Cut the Cord!

I did it, I finally cut the cord & for the most part it's not affecting me at all.  I have had so many people ask me about it that I wanted to share my experience & knowledge & detail my setup.

So as you know I'm a TV junkie so I never thought I'd be able to cancel cable considering how much stuff I watch.  Just to put it into perspective, I record everything & when I was going to cancel I went through & deleted all of my series recordings so after I removed everything that I dumped or was cancelled after last season there were 99 series recordings left.  That's a lot of shows to still watch when you don't have the convenience of cable, or so I thought but I know now that's not the case.

Obviously I record a lot of TV, I record everything really so that I can skip commercials & watch more shows in less time.  I did all kinds of research because I knew there had to be DVR's that work with an HD antenna and I was right.  Of course you've got Tivo which has always had a great reputation and they have a couple of different options for OTA (over the air) DVRs with varying prices but my biggest issue with Tivo is that I could only watch my shows on the TV that the Tivo is connected to.

I did more research and I ended up going with the 4 Tuner Tablo.  The Tablo is very unique in that I can watch my DVR anywhere, anytime and here's how it works.  I connected the Tablo to the TV in my guest room which gets the best HD antenna reception.  The Tablo is connected via wi-fi to my network & then I have a 2 TB portable hard drive connected to the Tablo.  I can access not only the DVR but the live TV feed from that antenna through the Tablo app on my Roku, phone, computer, etc.  Being a 4 tuner means that I can record 4 shows at once which is great...come prime time in the fall that's certainly a possibility!  So sometimes I will have some spotty playback or buffering but I know it's because of the wi-fi so come the fall season I'm sure I'll be dealing with it more & might add a powerline adapter to my setup.  Basically I plug one into a wall outlet & hard line it to my router & then I plug another one in the wall near the Tablo & hard line into it which creates a hard line connection from the DVR to the router.  One other thing I really like about the Tablo is the guide that it offers and it's free for the first 30 days but you have an option to purchase.  I went ahead & purchased the lifetime guide for $150 ($4.99/mo, $49.99/year) as it covers every Tablo you may ever own on your account & having the guide makes life so much easier.  Here's some photos to show you what Tablo looks like (on Windows 10 though all apps are very similar).

Prime Time Guide

Live TV Guide

Recordings

Well that covers all of my local stations and the big networks but what about the insane amount of Bravo, Hallmark, Logo, A&E, AMC, FX, TBS, TV Land and more that I also watch?  Well, I went through my options on Hulu and they just weren't enough, obviously I'm willing to jump through hoops or take extra steps to watch some shows but having to use 10 different apps a night just seems a bit cumbersome.  As you saw in my previous posts, I tried PlayStation Vue and I also tried Sling and opted to go with Sling primarily for the channel options & pricing.  Both of these offer a free trial so I suggest you give them both a whirl to find out what's for you.  Believe you me as any other competitors show up I'll be going with a free trial on all of them.  Below are a couple of screen shots of the Windows 10 Sling guide & DVR.  When watching on Roku the guide can also be toggled to a grid version rather than the channel view guide.

Sling Guide (By Channel)

Sling My TV (shows DVR, My Channels & favorites)

For those few shows I'm not able to get from Sling, Hulu, other app I pay for, or antenna I can record it to my friend's DVR from my phone & watch it when I'm at their house or online when I can cast it from my phone to the Chromecast that is connected to my TV.

So basically I had to buy a good antenna ($25+, I had a hand me down that gets slightly better reception than what I bought), a Tablo ($190-276), an external hard drive ($55+), Sling TV service and bump my internet service up a notch while I already had a Roku ($40+) on every TV and Hulu service.  All in all it was a large investment up front but luckily for me I had an Amazon card & was able to get 95% of what I needed there so I was able to start saving from day one where some folks might be waiting upwards of 10 months to recoup their expenses.  Obviously I watch more TV than the average person so you might not need so much when it comes to your setup and might be able to cut the cord for less. 

There is a good chance that I've provided information you don't need & haven't touched on something you do want to know so feel free to comment & I'll reply best I can as it relates to my experience.

Show Renewals for 2017/2018

Renewals by Network (organized by show below)

Network	Show
ABC	“Agents of SHIELD”
ABC	“American Housewife”
ABC	“The Bachelor”
ABC	“Bachelor in Paradise”
ABC	“Black-ish”
ABC	Celebrity Family Feud”
ABC	“Dancing With the Stars”
ABC	“Designated Survivor”
ABC	“Fresh Off the Boat”
ABC	“The Goldbergs” – through Season 6 in 2018-19
ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy”
ABC	“How to Get Away with Murder”
ABC	“Match Game”
ABC	“The Middle”
ABC	“Modern Family” – through Season 10 in 2018-19
ABC	“The $100,000 Pyramid”
ABC	“Once Upon a Time”
ABC	“Quantico”
ABC	Scandal”
ABC	“Shark Tank”
ABC	“Speechless”
ABC	“To Tell the Truth”
CBS	“48 Hours”
CBS	“60 Minutes”
CBS	“The Amazing Race”
CBS	“The Big Bang Theory” – through Season 12
CBS	“Big Brother” – through Season 20
CBS	“Blue Bloods”
CBS	“Bull”
CBS	“The Bold and the Beautiful”
CBS	“Code Black”
CBS	“Criminal Minds”
CBS	“Elementary”
CBS	“Hawaii Five-0”
CBS	“Kevin Can Wait”
CBS	“Life in Pieces”
CBS	“MacGyver”
CBS	“Madam Secretary”
CBS	Man with a Plan”
CBS	“Mom”
CBS	“NCIS”
CBS	“NCIS: Los Angeles”
CBS	“NCIS: New Orleans”
CBS	“Scorpion”
CBS	“Superior Donuts”
CBS	“Survivor”
CBS	“Zoo”
CW	“The 100”
CW	“Arrow”
CW	“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
CW	“The Flash”
CW	“iZombie”
CW	“Jane the Virgin”
CW	“Legends of Tomorrow”
CW	“Masters of Illusion”
CW	“The Originals”
CW	“Penn & Teller: Fool Us”
CW	“Riverdale”
CW	“Supergirl”
CW	“Supernatural”
CW	“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
FOX	“American Grit”
FOX	“Bob’s Burgers”
FOX	“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
FOX	“Empire”
FOX	“The Exorcist”
FOX	“Family Guy”
FOX	“Gotham”
FOX	“Hell’s Kitchen” – through Season 18
FOX	“The Last Man on Earth”
FOX	“Lethal Weapon”
FOX	“Lucifer”
FOX	“The Mick”
FOX	“New Girl”
FOX	“The Simpsons” – through 2018-19
FOX	“So You Think You Can Dance”
FOX	“Star”
NBC	“America’s Got Talent”
NBC	“Better Late Than Never”
NBC	“The Blacklist”
NBC	“Blindspot”
NBC	“Chicago Fire”
NBC	“Chicago Med”
NBC	“Chicago PD”
NBC	“Days of Our Lives”
NBC	“The Good Place”
NBC	Great News”
NBC	“Law & Order: SVU”
NBC	“The Night Shift”
NBC	“Superstore”
NBC	“Taken”
NBC	“This Is Us” – through Season 3
NBC	“Timeless”
NBC	“Trial & Error”
NBC	“The Voice” – through Season 13 in fall 2017
Syn	“Harry”
Syn	“Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court”
Syn	“Live with Kelly” – through 2019-20
Syn	“The Real”
Syn	“The Wendy Williams Show” – through 2019-20

Renewals by Show

Show	Network
“48 Hours”	CBS
“60 Minutes”	CBS
“The 100”	CW
“Agents of SHIELD”	ABC
“The Amazing Race”	CBS
“America’s Got Talent”	NBC
“American Grit”	FOX
“American Housewife”	ABC
“Arrow”	CW
“The Bachelor”	ABC
“Bachelor in Paradise”	ABC
“Better Late Than Never”	NBC
“The Big Bang Theory” – through Season 12	CBS
“Big Brother” – through Season 20	CBS
“Black-ish”	ABC
“The Blacklist”	NBC
“Blindspot”	NBC
“Blue Bloods”	CBS
“Bob’s Burgers”	FOX
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”	FOX
“Bull”	CBS
“The Bold and the Beautiful”	CBS
Celebrity Family Feud”	ABC
“Chicago Fire”	NBC
“Chicago Med”	NBC
“Chicago PD”	NBC
“Code Black”	CBS
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”	CW
“Criminal Minds”	CBS
“Dancing With the Stars”	ABC
“Days of Our Lives”	NBC
“Designated Survivor”	ABC
“Elementary”	CBS
“Empire”	FOX
“The Exorcist”	FOX
“Family Guy”	FOX
“The Flash”	CW
“Fresh Off the Boat”	ABC
“The Goldbergs” – through Season 6 in 2018-19	ABC
“The Good Place”	NBC
“Gotham”	FOX
Great News”	NBC
“Grey’s Anatomy”	ABC
“Harry”	Syn
“Hawaii Five-0”	CBS
“Hell’s Kitchen” – through Season 18	FOX
“How to Get Away with Murder”	ABC
“iZombie”	CW
“Jane the Virgin”	CW
“Kevin Can Wait”	CBS
“The Last Man on Earth”	FOX
“Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court”	Syn
“Law & Order: SVU”	NBC
“Legends of Tomorrow”	CW
“Lethal Weapon”	FOX
“Life in Pieces”	CBS
“Live with Kelly” – through 2019-20	Syn
“Lucifer”	FOX
“MacGyver”	CBS
“Madam Secretary”	CBS
Man with a Plan”	CBS
“Masters of Illusion”	CW
“Match Game”	ABC
“The Mick”	FOX
“The Middle”	ABC
“Modern Family” – through Season 10 in 2018-19	ABC
“Mom”	CBS
“NCIS”	CBS
“NCIS: Los Angeles”	CBS
“NCIS: New Orleans”	CBS
“New Girl”	FOX
“The Night Shift”	NBC
“The $100,000 Pyramid”	ABC
“Once Upon a Time”	ABC
“The Originals”	CW
“Penn & Teller: Fool Us”	CW
“Quantico”	ABC
“The Real”	Syn
“Riverdale”	CW
Scandal”	ABC
“Scorpion”	CBS
“Shark Tank”	ABC
“The Simpsons” – through 2018-19	FOX
“So You Think You Can Dance”	FOX
“Speechless”	ABC
“Star”	FOX
“Supergirl”	CW
“Superior Donuts”	CBS
“Supernatural”	CW
“Superstore”	NBC
“Survivor”	CBS
“Taken”	NBC
“This Is Us” – through Season 3	NBC
“Timeless”	NBC
“To Tell the Truth”	ABC
“Trial & Error”	NBC
“The Voice” – through Season 13 in fall 2017	NBC
“The Wendy Williams Show” – through 2019-20	Syn
“Whose Line Is It Anyway?”	CW
“Zoo”	CBS

Show Cancellations for 2017

Cancellations by Network (organized by show below)

Network	Show
ABC	“American Crime”
ABC	“The Catch”
ABC	“Conviction”
ABC	“Dr. Ken”
ABC	“Imaginary Mary”
ABC	“Last Man Standing”
ABC	“Notorious”
ABC	“The Real O’Neals”
ABC	“Secrets and Lies”
ABC	“Time After Time”
CBS	“2 Broke Girls”
CBS	“American Gothic”
CBS	“BrainDead”
CBS	“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”
CBS	“Doubt”
CBS	“The Great Indoors”
CBS	The Odd Couple”
CBS	“Pure Genius”
CBS	“Ransom”
CBS	“Training Day”
CW	“Frequency”
CW	“No Tomorrow”
FOX	“APB”
FOX	“Making History”
FOX	“Pitch”
FOX	“Rosewood”
FOX	“Scream Queens”
FOX	“Sleepy Hollow”
FOX	“Son of Zorn”
FOX	“You the Jury”
NBC	“Aquarius”
NBC	“The Blacklist: Redemption”
NBC	“Emerald City”
NBC	“Powerless”
PBS	“Mercy Street”
Syn	“Celebrity Name Game”

Cancellations by Show Show	Network
“2 Broke Girls”	CBS
“American Crime”	ABC
“American Gothic”	CBS
“APB”	FOX
“Aquarius”	NBC
“The Blacklist: Redemption”	NBC
“BrainDead”	CBS
“The Catch”	ABC
“Celebrity Name Game”	Syn
“Conviction”	ABC
“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders”	CBS
“Doubt”	CBS
“Dr. Ken”	ABC
“Emerald City”	NBC
“Frequency”	CW
“The Great Indoors”	CBS
“Imaginary Mary”	ABC
“Last Man Standing”	ABC
“Making History”	FOX
“Mercy Street”	PBS
“Notorious”	ABC
“No Tomorrow”	CW
The Odd Couple”	CBS
“Pitch”	FOX
“Powerless”	NBC
“Pure Genius”	CBS
“Ransom”	CBS
“The Real O’Neals”	ABC
“Rosewood”	FOX
“Scream Queens”	FOX
“Secrets and Lies”	ABC
“Sleepy Hollow”	FOX
“Son of Zorn”	FOX
“Time After Time”	ABC
“Training Day”	CBS
“You the Jury”	FOX