HD Heads-Up: January 22

Ahead of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow TVNZ OnDemand premiere, The Hollywood Reporter has published a beginner’s guide to the “superhero mash-up“, which it likens to “taking a bunch of comic book shows and putting them into a blender, with the end result being a delicious but jam-packed DC Comics smoothie. There’s more than one show’s fair share of heroes, some villains switching teams to become heroes (begrudgingly), and enough time-travel to confuse even the most seasoned of superhero fans. It’s fun, but it’s a lot to take in without any pre-show preparation” …

The dispiriting decline in quality primetime drama on TV1 continues. We’ve just endured five nights of the overwrought, overrated Doctor Foster and next week the network lets loose two formulaic newcomers from the US: Blindspot (in what used to be a premium drama slot, 8.30 Sunday) and Code Black (8.30 Wednesday). The former’s cast includes Sullivan Stapleton, who’s having a better post-Strike Back strike rate than Philip Winchester — the latter’s The Player, which TV1 expressed from the US late last year, was axed after nine eps whereas The Blacklist-like Blindspot has been renewed for a second season. Watch for previews of Blindspot and Code Black from Doug Coutts …

The whereabouts of The Simpsons on TV2 is turning out be as big a mystery as the ongoing absence of House of Cards’ third season in this market. Yesterday I tipped Friends would move to 5.00 on TV2 to make way for The Simpsons at 6.00. Close but no cigar – Friends will move back an hour next month but re-runs of another popular sitcom, details of which are embargoed, will replace it. I’m still picking season 27 of The Simpsons will soon be part of TV2’s Sunday entertainment line-up …

TV Line’s 2016 pilot season guide includes an extraordinary number of reboots, revivals and spin-offs, from 24: Legacy and The A-Team to Celebrity Deathmatch, a Bewitched sequel and an Agents of SHIELD sister show. Bear in mind less than half of last year’s pilots on TV Line’s grid were greenlit as series, and six that did have already been axed. There’s also this take from Variety on what lies ahead …

HBO has commissioned Crashing, a comedy series starring Pete Holmes as a comedian who crashes on other comedians’ couches when he has nowhere to live after his wife leaves him. It’s a semi-autobiographical take on the comedian’s life, from which he’s already mined material for his You Made It Weird podcast …

Despite the rise of Netflix, which has topped 75 million subscribers worldwide, live TV remains the primary video medium in the US, Nielsen reports. In 24 of the top 25 designated market areas, adults 25-54 watch more than three hours of live TV a day …

Not just more pixels but better pixels: that’s the mantra for HDR, which “promises to be the best big thing” in TV tech. Tech Hive covers its potential in its 2016 TV buying guide. “The difference between SDR and HDR is far more impressive than the jump from 1080p to 4K, and the barrier to enjoying it is much lower than that presented by 3D TV” …

One of the first services to support HDR is Netflix, which will stream new seasons of Marco Polo and Daredevil in both the HDR10 and Dolby Vision formats. “You can expect a nice step up in picture quality from Netflix’s current 4K streaming,” Flat Panels HD reports …

Lightbox chief executive Kym Niblick tells StopPress that despite Netflix’s enormous spending clout, it isn’t intimidating for Lightbox to bid against it for content: “Netflix tries to set up global deals, but what we’re finding is that studios really aren’t that interested in helping Netflix out. They’re making more money out of regional deals, whether they’re with TVNZ, Lightbox or Sky” …