Month: March 2020

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 22: Masterful “Women,” musical fun

1) “Little Women” (shown here), 8-11 p.m., PBS. Yes, the 2019 movie was masterful. Still, this 2018 mini-series is also first-rate. Given more time (but not more money), it has Louisa May Alcott’s special blend of unapologetic warmth and sentiment, alongside sibling rage and worldly ambition. Newcomer Maya Hawke (daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) is a superb Jo, in a tradition from Katharine Hepburn in 1933 to Saoirse Ronan in 2019. Emily Watson and Angela Lansbury offer fine support. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 20, 2020
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for March 23: Time for tears & rage

1) “This Is Us” season-finale, 9 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. As last week’s fascinating episode ended, Rebecca reluctantly agreed to go away for a clinical trial, trying to head off Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. That soothed one son (Randall), but may enrage the other (Kevin), who wants her near home. Now the two guys collide (shown here) at the first birthday party for Jack, the blind son of their sister Kate and her husband Toby. Expect something good; “This Is Us” has ended its seasons with deeply emotional jolts. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 19, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Country-music finds a socially-distant show

Here’s a fresh approach to the entertainment void created by the coronavirus:
On April 5,  musicians will offer intimate performances from their homes. That replaces the Academy of Country Music awards show (shown here last year, with George Strait and Miranda Lambert), usually a big Las Vegas spectacle; the awards had already been postponed until September. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 19, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 21: A world without sports

1) Sports override, everywhere. This was supposed to be an all-sports night – pro basketball on ABC, college basketball on CBS (and cable), figure-skating on NBC. Now all three are gone, replaced by reruns and newsmagazines. ABC has “Shark Tank” and “American Idol” (Hollywood Week begins) … NBC has “Ellen’s Game of Games” and “Dateline” … CBS has “FBI” (Sasha Alexander, shown here, as an endangered presidential candidate), “NCIS: New Orleans” (a theater explosion) and “48 Hours.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 19, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Virus specials pack together

As coronavirus dominates TV news, that reaches a new peak: Two virus specials – one on CNN, the other on PBS – will air at the same time (in some time zones), 8 p.m. Thursday (March 19).
In addition, Fox News Channel will have a special at 10 p.m. Sunday. The details are:
– “Coronavirus: Fact and Fears” will be 8-10 p.m. ET Thursday. That’s the second CNN special, hosted by Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta (shown here), to use a “town hall” approach on the subject. It will include Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Celine Grounder and an interview with a patient in the vaccine clinical trial. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 19, 2020
News and Quick Comments

More virus news: Streamers extend, Showtime delays

For TV viewers, the coronavirus impact brings some good news, plus more bad.
The good: Two screening services – Acorn (including a flashy new “Miss Fisher” mystery, shown here) and Sundance Now – have extended their free trial period from seven days to 30.
And the bad: Some shows are being delayed. FX is pushing back “Fargo”; Showtime has some shows going ahead and others not.
There have beenother virus-related TVnews lately, which you can find by hitting “news and quick comments.” The new ones are : Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 18, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 20: “Blacklist” is back … doubly

1) “The Blacklist” return, 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. After a three-month rest, this clever show is back with two episodes that are smart and twisty … but, in some ways, total opposites. Yes, both involve a valuable gold box; both link Red with an imposing blonde – Gillian Alexy in the first hour, Joely Richardson (shown here) in the the second. But the first hour is a smart art-theft tale; the second throws logic aside, for a fun throwback tale: People are in a mansion on a dark and stormy night, with no escape and much death. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 18, 2020
News and Quick Comments

A great show (“Fargo”) bumped by the virus

For the first time, perhaps, a major TV series has been set aside because of the coronavirus:
The next “Fargo” mini-series (shown here) won’t be this spring, after all. It was originally set to begin April 19; now the FX network will only say that it hopes the show will air some time in 2020.
Until now, the TV impact has mainly been confined to live or almost-live events: Basketball games were canceled … the Academy of Country Music awards moved to September … Jimmy Kimmel went to two weeks of reruns, with some other latenight shows skipping a studio audience. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 17, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 19: With no basketball, more laughs

1) “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. This was supposed to be when NBC’s overlooked comedies finally got noticed. CBS was turning to basketball, benching its own comedies for two weeks; NBC could shine … except, alas, basketball was canceled and the CBS comedies (via rerun) are back. Still, try NBC – “Superstore” at 8 p.m., the sometimes-hilarious “Will & Grace” at 9 and this dandy one (shown here). Jake meets his criminal friend (Craig Robinson), in a wild plot that zooms to Miami amid schemes. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 17, 2020