Day: May 13, 2020

TV’s fall line-ups? It’s “involuntary stability”

TV networks have reached a fresh phase. We’ll call it “involuntary stability.”
Gone (for now) are the quick cancellations. Viewers may like this phase; networks try to seem happy.
When CBS announced that it has renewed 23 shows, Kelly Kahl, its entertainment president, said the network is in an “incredibly stable position.”
Then Fox was the first network to set its fall schedule (including Kim Catrall’s “Filthy Rich,” shown here). Charlie Collier, its entertainment CEO, talked of “relative stability”; Marianne Gambelli, its advertising president, praised “consistency” and “stability.” Read more…

Best-bets for May 15: Performing en masse and in isolation

1) “Great Performances: Bernstein’s Mass,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Even during this social-distance time, we can savor the epic power of supersized music. Leonard Bernstein wrote this powerful piece for the 1971 Kennedy Center opening; this performance (shown here) is from last July at the Ravinia Festival, near Chicago. Paolo Szot (a Tony-winner for “South Pacific”) is superb, backed by the Chicago Symphony, a children’s choir, a vocal quartet, a 22-person “street chorus” and, yes, a marching band. Read more…