How to find out about new TV shows without having to check various websites or actually watch TV

September 7, 2009 9:25 PM

Is there an RSS feed that can inform me about new TV shows that are coming out, and only new TV shows?

Since I watch almost all of my television by DVR, I don't often see commercials for new shows anymore, and then I hear from friends that I should watch X show about 6 weeks after it starts...too late to get into it. They tell me to watch episodes on Hulu or other such sites, but my internet connection isn't fast enough for that, and where I live I have no faster option.

This post was helpful for identifying when shows I watch come back for a new season from a hiatus, but doesn't do anything to identify new shows I may be interested in. I don't particularly want to subscribe to a general TV feed like from TV guide, since that contains loads of information I have no interest in. I just want something that tells me what new program is coming out, and contains an explanation or description of that show, or a link to such information. Any thoughts?

posted by saladpants to computers & internet (7 comments total)

What you'd want is a semi-annual season review, but nobody's going to bother putting together a website for two or three posts a year. You might be able to find a blog or two that has a pilot episode category or new season highlights tag, but I don't know of any off hand.

So we turn to automation. The obvious automation is to take bittorrent site rss, filter for episode 1, and sort by total swarm size, but that doesn't personalize any, like amazon or netflix will. I know one guy who claims piracy has exactly this information problem as a hidden cost; but he doesn't seem imaginative enough to figure out that this too can be automated.
posted by pwnguin at 11:34 PM on September 7

My go-to guide for TV news is The Futon Critic. I don't think they have an RSS feed dedicated to new shows, but looking now, I see they have both a guide to new shows and a general RSS news feed. Since new TV show information is fairly seasonal, I would probably suggest bookmarking the new shows guide and checking in a few times a year around new-show-season, if you can't find a feed specifically matching what you're looking for.
posted by KatlaDragon at 12:02 AM on September 8

P.S. A combination of the Futon Critic's DevWatch section on shows in various stages of development plus its MyFuton tracking service might come a little bit closer to what you're looking for here.
posted by KatlaDragon at 12:07 AM on September 8

My favorite source (although probably not the best one) for details on shows that will be premiering is Entertainment Weekly. It seems to be pretty comprehensive, and it's been good about giving suggestions based on other shows you might like. I know it doesn't fit your criteria for it being an RSS feed, but maybe you could set yourself an e-reminder to start checking newsstands for it at a specific time? I'm pretty sure it comes out in the summer, to gear people up for the new seasons in the fall.
posted by scarykarrey at 8:28 AM on September 8

(And it looks like this year's Fall Preview Issue will be released on September 18th)
posted by scarykarrey at 8:36 AM on September 8

Epguides.com has this feed for "newly added" US shows: http://epguides.com/menu/added.xml
They have another for all regions, as well as recently canceled shows AND for DVD releases.

They really excel at having lots of TV data that is in its raw form and not just made to look pretty or hyped.
posted by soelo at 9:28 AM on September 8

MyTVrss lets you build a single custom feed for all the shows you watch.
posted by scalefree at 7:21 PM on September 8