This fall, CBS may be sticking to the safe, solid and secure.
The network has announced three new shows. The dramas take a familiar concept (“The Equalizer,” now with Queen Latifah, shown here) and a familiar character (the “Silence of the Lambs” heroine); the comedy is from a top producer, Chuck Lorre. Read more…
Alongside all those music-from-home moments, TV will soon have one full-scale, screaming-fans concert special.
Taylor Swift (shown here) has her “City of Love Concert” at 10 p.m. May 17 on ABC, following the “American Idol” finale, from 8-10 p.m. Read more…
1) “Asian Americans,” 8-10 p.m. today and 8-11 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. Spanning centuries, here is a richly researched story of pain and (eventually) triumph. Americans needed Chinese workers to build the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s, then hit them with the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. In the 1940s, they sent 120,000 Japanese (the majority of them U.S. citizens) to internment camps. These stories are told vividly Monday. Tuesday includes triumphs and the rise of activist movements (shown here). Read more…
1) Mother’s Day movies, cable. Is this our revisionist view of motherhood? FX has “Bad Moms” (2016, shown here) at 8 and 10 p.m.; Lifetime includes “Mommy Group Murders” (2018) at 4 p.m. and “Mommy Is a Murderer” (2020) at 8. Moms come across much better in “I Remember Mama,” at 8 p.m. ET on Turner Classic Movies. Irene Dunne and three of her co-stars received Academy Award nominations. Read more…
As Mike Nakayuma tells it, enlisting in the military “was not a deeply thought-out decision.”
Soon he was in Vietnam, heading into the jungle to induce firefights. A month away from going home, he was seriously wounded. “I thought, ‘I’m going to die.’” he says in “Asians Americans,” the compelling, five-hour documentary Monday and Tuesday (May 11-12) on PBS.
At the field hospital, the others were treated; he asked when it would be his turn. “They said, ‘Oh, you should have told us you were American. We thought you were a Gook.’” Read more…
The COVID-19 shutdown may have a dramatic effect on love, lust and life.
Now TV is jumping in with shows from the producers of “Good Trouble” (shownn here) and “Orange is the New Black.” Both will be taped in the actors’ homes, using remote technology – a method that’s been tried for drama (“All Rise”), comedy (“Parks and Recreation Reunion,” “Saturday Night Live”) and music. They are: Read more…
1) “Line of Duty,” 11 p.m., AMC. To Americans, Keeley Hawes is the star of classy PBS dramas, from “Our Mutual Friend” to the “Upstairs Downstairs” reboot and “The Durrells in Corfu.” In England, however, she often does intense crime shows. Now AMC is rerunning this terrific series. As the six-week second season begins, Hawes is a cop (shown here), suddenly getting an emergency call. The early and late scenes in this opener pack a fierce jolt; in between is a solid drama, centering on a gifted actress. Read more…
For frustrated TV viewers, the pandemic may bring one plus – fewer cancellations of current shows.
At least, that’s the indication from CBS’ announcement today (Wednesday). In one swoop, it has renewed 18 shows … to go along with five that were previously renewed.
The virus shutdown came just as shows are usually shooting pilot films, leaving a question: Would networks take a gamble – grabbing a show without a pilot – or simply keep what’s already there? Read more…
1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m.. NBC. The show’s 150th episode is stuffed with guest stars – Tom Wopat as a warden, Fisher Stevens(shown here) as an ex-con working in a toy store, Al Roker as … well, Al Roker, but an intense version. The main story – a seemingly impossible suspect – is far-fetched, but intriguing. Alongside that are divided loyalties for both Dembe and Liz. It adds up to a strong and well-crafted hour. Read more…
TV keeps finding new ways to create social-distance entertaiment.
Coming next weekend (May 15-16) are a video show and (really) a graduation ceremony, with the Obamas (shown here) as speakers.
Before that, the emphasis will be on at-home music. On Sunday, ABC has “Disney Family Singalong II” at 7 p.m. and “American Idol” from 8-10 p.m.; on Monday and Tuesday, NBC has “The Voice.” Then come the variations: Read more…
