Big news: I'm going to HitFix

Big announcement today, folks: a week from tomorrow, I will be leaving The Star-Ledger full-time and going to work at HitFix.com, and this blog will be going with me.

Please allow me to explain...

Here's the deal: on Monday, May 3, I'll say goodbye to The Star-Ledger newsroom, post my review of that night's "Chuck," and prepare to make the virtual move to HitFix (a great general interest entertainment site I've linked to a time or 20 because my old friend and podcasting partner Dan Fienberg is an editor and writer there). Starting Tuesday, May 4, this version of the blog will continue to exist as an archive of my writing from the fall of 2005 through now, but all my new material will be posted to HitFix.com/whatsalanwatching

In many ways, not much will change. The blog there will work the same way it always has here, with lots of reviews of the shows I watch each night, plus column-style entries reviewing shows in advance, commenting on the news of the TV business, checking in on series midway through a season, revisiting old shows in the summer (up next: "The Wire" season 3), etc. But rather than splitting my online presence between this version of the blog and the one at NJ.com (where all my Star-Ledger columns appeared), everything will now be in one place.

I've been given permission by my new ant HitFix overlords to import over the commenting rules I've used here for the last 4 and a half years. So while you'll have to register to comment at HitFix (or else use the option to comment via your Facebook account, if you want), the registration process is pretty easy, and the goal of keeping things civil and smart remains. What has made this site so special over the years is your presence and enthusiasm and cleverness, and I'd hate to set up shop at the new digs without you.

So why am I doing this? Several reasons. For one, The Star-Ledger is the only job I've ever had. I started there as an intern a week after I graduated college, backed my way into a TV critic position there within a few weeks, and have been doing the same thing for 14 years since. And while it's been a great home to me for all those years, eventually, a man's gotta try something different. I began my career writing about TV online with the "NYPD Blue" fan site in college, and even with the blog these last few years, I've still felt more print journalist than online guy. I like the idea of being at a website, and I've been really impressed with what Dan, Drew McWeeney and everyone else at HitFix have been doing over the last year. So when they approached me recently about the chance to join the team, I was excited.

(My bosses at The Star-Ledger, by the way, have been very gracious about this, and in fact we've arranged for some of my column-style HitFix stories to appear in the paper on a regular basis. So those of you who live in New Jersey and have gotten used to reading me in the paper can still do so over your morning bagel.)

The goal is to make the transition as seamless as possible. There's of course going to be an adjustment period, but I hope HitFix will feel just as homey as this place in short order.

In the meantime, I have a sign-up form below for an e-mail alert telling you when new posts are up on HitFix, and you can also go to sign up to comment at HitFix. My new e-mail address, meanwhile, is andreikirilenkotattoo@hitfix.com.

One more week here, then exciting new adventures. I can't wait.

Find out First

A new era begins on Tuesday, May 4 when Alan andreikirilenkotattoo's What's Alan Watching moves to HitFix. Enter your E-mail address to get instant alerts for the latest posts at his new home.

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