Year: 2020

Stories

Laurie’s out in space and back in comedy

PASADENA, Cal. – Hugh Laurie is back to the world he once mastered – comedy that’s dark and droll and odd and … well, very British. Also, very funny.
“That’s where my heart will always be,” Laurie said.
He’s been other things lately – from a crabby doctor to a nasty arms dealer – but comedy was first. Now “Avenue 5” – an HBO show from the “Veep” creator – returns him there. “It brought back for me … the thrill, but also the fear of trying to do something funny,” Laurie said. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 16, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 18: Beauty via Australia, J-Lo

1) “Seven Worlds, One Planet,” 9 p.m. ET, BBC America, rerunning at 12:32 a.m. Here’s the start of a gorgeous nature show … but not the start that was expected. Each week, this focuses on one continent; it planned to start with the U.S., then switched to Australia (shown here), now facing rampant wildfire. That’s mentioned, but mostly we get stunning scenes – a rare view of a dingo hunting … the awesome expanse of the Aussie desert … and sharks herding swarms of fish toward shallow-water death. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 16, 2020
News and Quick Comments

It’s nature (and nature filmmaking) at its best

PASADENA, Cal.  – You can say what you want about the British.
You can mock their food, their politics, their odd insistence that “football” is a game in which no one catches, tackles or scores
.But let’s agree on this: These people make good dramas, smart mysteries and (shown here) superb nature films.
At the current Television Critics Association sessions, we’ve seen proof of that. One streaming service (Acorn) ranges from the steely drama of “Blood” to the giddy mysteries of “Agatha Raisin.” Another (Britbox) ranges from the sharp “Vera” mysteries to Martin Freeman’s complex “Confession.”
But we’ve also seen more proof of just how good the BBC Natural History Unit is. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 15, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 16: A good place for comedy

1) “The Good Place,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. One of TV’s best shows – an Emmy-nominee (and Television Critics Association winner) for best comedy series – is almost done now. There are only three episodes left … and its format changes yet again. Today, a half-hour earlier than usual, Michael (Ted Danson) has a new way to see who gets the good afterlife. That gives people access to everyone’s records – even their own. That brings trouble … and a rare burst of wisdom from Jason (third from left). It’s another clever episode, Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 14, 2020
Stories

LA cops get a two-headed makeover

PASADENA, Cal. – Television seems determined to give Los Angeles law enforcement a makeover.
Two series – both scheduled for Thursdays, a month apart – put offbeat people in charge.
First was Fox’s “Deputy,” which arrived at 9 p.m. on Jan. 2. Stephen Dorff is Bill Hollister, a cowboy type, suddenly named Los Angeles County Sheriff.
Next is CBS’ “Tommy” (10 p.m. Feb. 6). Edie Falco (shown here) is Abigail Thomas, the city’s new police chief.
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 13, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Showtime has shameless, homeless, dreadful plans

PASADENA, Cal. – “Shameless” is the latest TV series to know its endgame
.Showtime announced today that the series (shown here) will be back this summer for an 11th and final season.
That follows another Showtime series ending its run. On Feb. 9, “Homeland” starts its eighth and last season with a characteristically tough hour: Carrie (Claire Danes), back from imprisonment and torture, is plunged into a new mission, amid doubts about her memories and sanity.
Her show ends its run on April 28 … the same night that a once-dead show returns to life. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 13, 2020
Stories

“This Is Us” is back and “sideways”

PASADENA, Cal. – “This Is Us” is finally back from its long holiday nap.
And it expects to start out by jolting viewers … again. “This is about to kind of go a little sideways,” Sterling K. Brown(shown here)  told the Television Critics Association this weekend
The show returns at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 14) on NBC, with what producer Dan Fogelman calls “a really special episode directed by … Yasu Tanida, who’s been our (cinematographer) for the entire run of the series. He’s a talented and beautiful guy.”
This follows a two-month break, following a Nov. 19 episode that gave viewers plenty to worry about. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 13, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 15: Tough times in war and peace

1) “68 Whiskey”(shown here) debut, 10 p.m., Paramount. We’re at a field hospital in wartime, where earnest medicine co-exists with loose attitudes. That worked wonderfully in “MASH,” not so well in this blunt and heavy-handed show. It stars with a sex scene (lots of noise, little warmth), then has a brutal fight. Eventually we get to know the central characters – three medics, one black, one white, one Latina. It’s OK, but nowhere near what we expect from its producers, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 13, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 14: Intensity and “Jeopardy”

1) “New Amsterdam” return, 10 p.m. NBC. Fresh from a two-month break, here’s a high-octane hour. Three prisoners stabbed their guard; now they’re armed and loose in the hospital, stirring panic and extremes: One surgery is done by a wounded doctor, another by a doctor with a broken leg; also, Max and Dr. Sharpe (shown here in a previous episode) are held at gunpoint. Despite the chaos, the best moments are quiet: Some are with Dr. Kapoor and the woman he secretly loves; others bring deep emotion as Dr. Frome and his husband teeter close to a break-up. It’s a terrific episode. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 13, 2020