Day: September 11, 2020

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Sept. 14: Country awards, Emmy awards

1) Academy of Country Music awards, 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. With a five-month delay, this found ways to do live, social-distanced music. Performers will be scattered over three spots – the Grand Ole Opry’s past and current home and a nightclub. And there will be plenty of them. Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani (shown here) do “Happy Anywhere”; Carrie Underwood does a medley of women’s hits. Also: host Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Trisha Underwood, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2020
Stories

Drew Barrymore: She’s done it all … and is happy to talk

Heading into her new talk show, Drew Barrymore has one big advantage.
She’s already seen it all, done it all, been it all. And most of that was decades ago.
“I hosted (‘Saturday Night Live’) when I was 7 years old,” she reminded TV critics. Then came the wilder years, when she was “blacklisted at 12. (When) you’re on the cover of the Natonal Enqurier at 13 years old for being institutionalized, there’s not much people can throw your way.”
All of that is deep in the past. Now she’s 45, thrice-divorced, with two young children and a life she once described as “almost a nun.” And she’s ready to talk; she always has been. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 13: Dutch cop, American football

1) “Masterpiece: Van der Valk” debut, 9 p.m., PBS. The season’s first scripted show is a winner – a smart and well-crafted mystery with fresh settings. All the key people are British, including the novelist who created the characters and the actors who play them, led by Marc Warren (shown here). Still, this is set in Amsterdam, providing a fresh look … and a lot of bicycles. The opener starts with a wild bike chase, then shows the main crime. It pauses for humor (as Van der Valk meets his new aide), then eyes art, politics and romance. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2020
News and Quick Comments

ABC comedies return next month

There will be some laughter this autumn, after all.
ABC says its Wednesday situation comedies — including “The Conners,” shown here — will start their seasons on Oct. 21 and 28. They’ll be virtually the only sitcoms (not counting reruns and cartoons) in primetime.
Networks have assembled makeshift line-ups for the fall, strong on reality shows and a few dramas. For sitcoms, however, the field is smaller: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2020