Day: August 14, 2020

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug.16: One drama debuts; three near their finales

1) “Lovecraft Country” debut, 9 p.m., HBO. Some of science-fiction’s favorite names are linked here. J.J. Abrams (“Lost”) and Jordan Peele (the “Twilight Zone” reboot) are among the producers. Like Peele’s “Get Out,” this blends racism with other horror. On a road trip to find his father and his legacy, a black man confronts racists and the sort of monsters envisioned by long-ago author H.P. Lovecraft. Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (shown in this poster) star with Courtney Vance. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 14, 2020

Stories

TV obsesses (sometimes) on conventions

Now it’s convention time, a two-week stretch when TV is consumed by politics.
Well … semi-consumed. On Aug. 17-20, the big networks still have plenty of time for “Holey Moley,” “Tough as Nails,” “Ellen’s Game of Games” and five hours of Gordon Ramsay reruns.
Clearly, this is far from the era when the Cronkite/Brokaw teams covered every convention detail.
“I lean in favor of covering more,” Judy Woodruff (shown here), in her 12th round of convention coverage, told the Television Critics Association recently. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 14, 2020