Month: July 2021

News and Quick Comments

From Bradys to Bunkers: TV transformed

A half-century ago, the fictional Carol Brady was living TV’s version of don’t ask, don’t tell.
he married Mike Brady and merged their families as “The Brady Bunch” (shown here with Alice, the housekeeper). He had three sons and was widowed; she had three daughters and, well … ???
The plan was for her to be divorced, said Lloyd Schwartz, a “Brady Bunch” producer and the son of creator Sherwood Schwartz. ABC said no. “Divorce was a taboo topic on television, so they said, ‘Let’s just leave it so you don’t know.’”
Schwartz relates that in “History of the Sitcom,” which CNN airs at 9 p.m. Sundays. Its two-hour  opener (July 11) offered a quick, slick ride through depictions of family and sexuality. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 12, 2021
Stories

“Schmigadoon” brings quirky musical joy

In the year that Broadway sleeps, musicals keep bubbling up inside our TV sets.
There’s been “The Prom” and “Jim Jam” and “In the Heights” and more. And now comes the biggest project yet – also the goofiest and most fun.
“Schmigadoon” (shown here) arrives Friday (July 16) on Apple TV+. “It is a love letter to the Golden Age of musicals,” Cinco Paul, who created it with Ken Daurio, told the Television Critics Association.
In many loving families, of course, people make fun of each other. So “Schmigadoon” is ready to mock all the old musical traditions … then break into another big-deal song and dance. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 12, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 14: “Trouble” returns, basketball continues

1) Basketball, 9 p.m. ET, ABC. It’s the fourth game of the best-of-seven championship series, with the Phoenix  Suns leading the Milwaukee Bucks, 2 games to 1. The Bucks (shown here with Giannis Antetokounmpo) were champions a half-century ago, lost three years later, then didn’t reach the finals for 46 years. The Suns were there twice, losing in 1976 and ‘93. There’s a preview at 8:30 ET and a transplanted “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (hosted by Anthony Anderson) at 8. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 12, 2021
News and Quick Comments

Wiig has two roles here, one great and one …

It would be best to watch Kristen Wiig’s new movie with a large, loopy audience.
Date night would be good; bar night would be better. Alas, neither is likely.
Intended for movie theaters, “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” was stopped by COVID. Ater a video-on-demand run, it has just debuted on Hulu. Home viewers will love some parts, but others will leave them going: “Huh?!?”
At the core are two terrific characters (shown hee), created by people who know comedy. Wiig was the go-to star of “Saturday Night Live” for years, then became a movie star. Annie Mumolo has had supporting and voice roles on TV and has written a few small movies and one big one. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 13: baseball’s best, comedy’s cleverest

1) “Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail” debut, 10:30 p.m., TBS. The third “Miracle Workers” season is unrelated to the others – except in everything that counts. It has the same stars, the same ceator (Simon Rich) and the same quirky and clever humor. This time, Daniel Radcliffe is a clergyman, floundering in the frontier; Geraldine Viswanathan is a zestful parishioner in a drab marriage. Steve Buscemi (shown here with Radcliffe) is the wayward guy who claims he can lead their wagon train west. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2021
News and Quick Comments

Need new, scripted shows? They’re coming July 11

At first glance, our summer TV line-ups already seem to be loaded.
There’s a ton of reality shows, a half-ton of game shows. There are oceans of sharks. ABC has the basketball finals and NBC is waiting semi-patiently for the July 23 start of the Olympics.
Is there anything missing? Yes, actually. New, scripted shows have been scarce … until now.
They’ll arrive in one gulp on Sunday (July 11). That night has the debuts of three series(including HBO’s “White Lotus,” shown here) and the season-openers of two more; that’s five new, scripted shows … plus one that looks at past comedies. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2021
Stories

Mega-Magnolia emerges from amiable Texans

It’s an imposing task, one that might suggest Oprah, God or Disney: Create an entire network, built around one force.
That’s what the Magnolia Network is trying. On July 15, it becomes a streaming network inside Discovery+, fashioned around the design and renovation sensibilities of Chip and Joanna Gaines; a half-year later, it will also be cable channel, replacing DIY.
Such mega-projects have been tried before – the Oprah Winfrey Network, the Disney Channel, the Christian Broadcast Network – but they demand a lot. “It feels like an unquenchable amount of content, that you have to provide that machine,” Chip told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 12: Rage at the “beast,” laugh at Sheldon

1) “The Beast Must Die” opener, 10 p.m., AMC. Americans know Cush Jumbo from “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight,” but now she’s back in England for a sensational performance. She plays a teacher whose 6-year-old son was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The cop working the case died; his replacement (well-played by Billy Howle) is sincere, but overwhelmed. With a new look (shown here), she’ll investigate, even infiltrating the world of the prime suspect. It’s a powerful, six-week series. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 10, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 11: Summer slump? No, this night is packed

1) “Masterpiece: Unforgotten” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. For three seasons, this formula has worked well: Cassie (Nicola Walker, shown here) and her police team tackle a long-ago murder. We also meet some seemingly unconnected people; over six episodes, the connection becomes clear. This time, however, is different: Emotionally battered by previous cases, Cassie wants to retire; she has to stay three more months, or forfeit her pension. The result brings deep layers of emotion and, at times, pain. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 9, 2021
Stories

A poet’s life was enriched by crime

Most poet laureates manage to elude pop-culture fame.
Sure, we’ve heard of a few of them – in England, William Wordsworth and Alfred, Lord Tennyson; in the U.S. some Roberts (Frost, Lowell, Penn Warren). But ask a friend to recite a poem by Colley Cibber or Allen Tate or Randall Jarell.
Still, the late Cecil Day-Lewis (England’s laureate, 1968-72) made two notable contributions: 1) His son, Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis; and 2) “The Beast Must Die,” a novel that has become an Argentine movie, a French movie and now a British mini-series, starring Cush Jumbo and Billy Howle (shown here), that debuts at 10 p.m. Monday (July 12) on AMC. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 9, 2021