Year: 2022

Best-bets for Aug. 12: feel-good night from Chen, chefs

1) “Secret Celebrity Renovation,” 8 p.m., CBS. Nathan Chen (shown here) grew up in Salt Lake City, the son of a research scientist and a medical translator. His own interests were elsewhere – piano, ballet, gymnastics and, especially, figure-skating. He’s won three world championships and Olympic gold and holds the all-time best under the current scoring system. Now he returns home to help create a skaters’ lounge in the Salt Lake City Sports Complex. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 11: baseball’s field of memories

1) Baseball, 7 p.m. ET, Fox. Baseball (shown here) may be slow and stodgy, but it has acres of history. The National League began in the wild-West era; that was 1876, the year Custer and Hickok were killed, Earp became sheriff and Bell made the first phone call. Now two of the original eight teams – Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds – meet on the Iowa diamond created for “Field of Dreams.” They’re about 40 games below .500 (combined), but bring a living history. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 10: “Dance” ends, “Alien” returns

1) “So You Think You Can Dance” finale, 9 p.m., Fox. Two gifted dancers (shown here with host Cat Deely), trained in opposite styles, remain. Keaton Kerrmode, 20, is a husky guy who was a 190-pound running back and safety in small-town Indiana; he’s a contemporary dancer. Alexis Warr, 21, trained in the Utah dance studio where Derek Hough began, then backed him on tour. She hopes to be the show’s first ballroom champ. Read more…

Coming to Hulu: more, more and (yes) more

If you’re summarizing Hulu’s current line-up in three words, it might be “more,” “more” and “more.” And then maybe a little more.
At a time (late summer) when some networks nap, the streamer has a surge. There are a few big stars – two Steves (Martin and Carell) and, later, one Oprah. There are also names — Emayatzy Corinealdi, Chris Estrada, Travante Rhodes, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai – you haven’t seen on many movie marquees.
Part of the surge is due to airing two major, second-season shows in the summer:
— “Only Murders in the Building” has new episodes Tuesdays, through Aug. 23. Its first season drew 17 Emmy nominations, including best comedy and comedy actors (Steve Martin and Martin Short, shown here with Selena Gomez).
— “Reservation Dogs” has new ones Wednesdays, through Sept. 28. Its first season won Peabody and American Film Institute awards. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 9: A great game returns

1) “Password” debut, 10 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. For 61 years, off and on, this game has provided quick, slick fun. The new version has Keke Palmer hosting, with Jimmy Fallon (also the producer) playing each time; they’re shown here. Tonight, he’s with Jon Hamm (who’s especially good), then at 9 p.m. Wednesday, he’ll be with Heidi Klum. In the modern trend, people work way too hard at being cheerful. Still, these are smart, likable souls who make an old game feel fresh in its 60s. Read more…

Mysteries sprawl across Australia

Couples seem to “meet cute” in movies and TV shows.
Not this time. Instead, they nearly collide.
Two strangers are driving opposite ways on a narrow Australian road, neither paying much attention. Soon, one vehicle is upended; so are two lives.
That’s in “Darby and Joan” (shown here), the eight-part mini-series on the Acorn streaming service, with two parts each Monday, starting Aug. 8. It has flaws, especially in the early parts, but gradually clicks. Read more…

Brunson’s “Abbott” tops TCA awards

It’s been a splendid first season – well, partial season – for Quinta Brunson and “Abbott Elementary.”
The ABC comedy debuted at mid-season and has had only 13 episodes so far. But in the Television Critics Association awards, it was named best comedy, best new show and program of the year; also, Brunson (shown here) won the award for individual achievement in comedy.
That’s a multi-tasking individual. In the Emmy Awards, she’s the first Black woman with three comedy nominations – as best actress, as producer and as writer of the pilot film. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 8: “Saul” ends (almost), “Darby” begins

1) “Better Call Saul,” 9-10:17 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 11:17. Only two episodes remain in this great prequel. Last week, we finally re-met the “Breaking Bad” guys, Walter and Jesse. They redid the scene when they first met Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk, shown here) — also known as Gene and, later, as Saul — the shifty lawyer for their emerging drug business. Now he’s ready to work with them. Tonight, AMC says, a discovery will raise the stakes. Read more…

It’s a quick leap: from warehouse worker to TV star

Americans have a special fondness for working guys who suddenly get a shot at the top.
They savor folks like Chuck Wepner, the liquor salesman and battered boxer (billed as “The Bayonne Bleeder”) who suddenly fought Muhammad Ali for the title; he knocked him down, went almost 15 rounds and inspired the movie “Rocky.”
And now there’s Chris Estrada (shown here), whose TV show (“This Fool”) debuts its entire, 10-episode season Thursday (Aug. 12) on Hulu. When it was first hatched, he said, “I was still working at warehouse.” Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 7: “Elizabeth” ends, others will soon

1) “Grantchester,” 9 p.m., PBS. We’re down to the season’s final two episodes, with mysteries to solve – including a good one tonight – and personal crises to face. Geordie, the cop, descended into alcohol and gloom; his wife ousted him and brought in her good-hearted niece, Bonnie. Will the vicar (shown here, center, in a previous season) likes Bonnie, but dallies with a temptress who is engaged to Geordie’s boss. Some of that will be confronted now, with the rest next Sunday. Read more…