Month: September 2022

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 11: musical “Monarch,” historical monarchs

1) “Monarch,” about 8 p.m. ET (after football), Fox. Eight days before the new season starts, here’s the first arrival. It links good music (often soft and subtle) and bad soap opera (sometimes loud and blunt). Trace Adkins (shown here) and Susan Sarandon play the leaders of a Nashville dynasty. They have one daughter who looks like a star (Anna Friel) and one who sings like one (Beth Ditto), plus a business-like son. Then a big event changes everything. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 9, 2022
Stories

Here’s a potent (and personal) look at hazing

As he talks about hazing, Byron Hurt (shown here) is left with tough questions:
Why did he hit people? Why did he let people hit him?
“There was a real strong connection between the culture of masculinity and the … violence we see in hazing culture,” he said.
Now he’s directed “Hazing,” which airs at 10 p.m. Monday (Sept. 12) on PBS. The documentary includes two men who were deeply impressed by football and by family heroes: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 8, 2022
News and Quick Comments

Royal coverage continues through Sept. 19 funeral

After the quick rush of monarchy coverage, there’s more coming this weekend.
On Friday (Sept. 9), ABC has two primetime hours about the late Queen Elizabeth II (shown here), from 9-11 p.m. Also, CBS’ Norah O’Donnell will be in London for her 6:30 p.m. newscast.
Then CBS continues coverage on Sunday: At 9 a.m., Jane Pauley anchors a 90-minute special; at 7 p.m., “60 Minuts will include an update. In addition, PBS has collected reruns in its pbs.org website. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 8, 2022
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Sept. 12: Emmys, finales, debuts

1) Emmy awards, 8-11 p.m. today, NBC. Kenan Thompson (shown here) hosts, planning to have a big opening number. He’s not much of a monologue guy, but he’ll have lots of other “Saturday Night Live” people (past and present). They include Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon and Vanessa Bayer. Others range from Will Arnett to Natalie Zea and two people from “Squid Game,” a first-year show that’s up for best drama. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 8, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 10: from “SNL” fun to 9/11 pain

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Simu Liu, one of the newest members of the superhero universe, hosts this rerun, with Saweetie as music guest. Liu was born in China, but spent much of his childhood in Canada, where he did a TV comedy, “Kim’s Convenience.” But his fame came with the action film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (shown here); the character is expected to return in a sequel and in an “Avengers” movie. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 8, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 9: Ukrainians’ musical freedom soars

1) Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Even in wartime, Ukrainians find room for music. Canadian-Ukrainian conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson leads a group that incliudes refugees plus Ukrainians who perform in their own country or abroad. The concert has Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony, the Seventh Symphony of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov and a Chopin concerto with Ukrainian piano virtuoso Anna Fedorova (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 7, 2022
Stories

What’s new this fall? Here’s the line-up

Here’s a round-up of new fall TV shows.
In each category, we start with broadcast, which used to dominate each fall. (A separate story offers an overview of the broadcas5 networks; also, their schedules are listed under “Quick News and Comments.”) We list basic cable next, then pay-cable and finally streaming. In those sub-categories, they’re chronological.
DRAMA (with music)
— “Monarch,” Fox. Trace Adkins and Susan Sarandon play country-music stars, with their own label run by their son. One daughter has the looks and ambition for stardom; the other has the talent. Then big events change everything. The music is great, the drama is soapy and Nashville stars drop in; shown here is Shania Twain’s brief visit in the second episode. (Debuts about 8 p.m. ET Sept. 11, after football; then 9 p.m. Tuesdays, starting Sept. 20). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022
News and Quick Comments

New season: Here’s the schedule

Here’s the fall schedule for the five main commercial broadcast networks. (A separate story offers an overview.) Most shows debut the week of Sept. 19; exceptions have their starting dates in parentheses:
— MONDAYS: ABC: “Bachelor in Paradise” (Oct. 3), 8 p.m.; “The Good Doctor” (Oct. 3), 10. CBS: “The Neighborhood,” 8 p.m.; “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30; “NCIS,” 9; NCIS: Hawaii,” 10. NBC: “The Voice,” 8 p.m., “Quantum Leap” (NEW, shown here), 10; Fox: “9-1-1,” 8 p.m., “The Cleaning Lady,” 9; CW, “All American,” 8 p.m., “All American: Homecoming,” 9. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 8: Football begins; Pinocchio arrives

1) Football, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC. The colleges had their week in the spotlight, but now the pros take over. The season opens with the Los Angeles Rams (shown here) at home – the same spot where they won last year’s Super Bowl. The Rams (12-5 in the regular season) host the Buffalo Bills (11-6). The pre-game show starts at 7 p.m. ET, sometimes cutting to J Balvin’s nearby concert. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022
Stories

New-season preview: a tough ride for networks

A new TV season is ready to go..
It has a starting date (Sept. 19), a few shows and a lot of promos. What it lacks is the old blend of Hollywood hope, hype and a sense of something big.
There have been big things lately, but not on the broadcast nertworks, the ones.that send out shows for free (with commercials), over the air
A “Game of Thrones” prequel on HBO collided with a “Lord of the Rings” prequel on Amazon Prime, both spending mega-money. Disney+ launched a pile of new shows on one day (Sept. 8). Mere broadcast networks — with pleasant new shows like “So Help Me Todd” (shown here) — can only make a so-so counter-attack; consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022