1) “All Creatures Great and Small,” 9 p.m., PBS. For three seasons, we thought we knew Siegfried, a stern veterinarian who makes steep demands on everyone, including himself. Now a beautifully crafted hour offers a fresh perspective. It flashes back to World War I, when he debated the fate of Army horses; then we see him in the ‘40s (shown here), trying to save one horse. The result is subtle and deeply moving, Read more…
As Apple TV+ sets its line-up, one thing is clear: The less-is-more approach sort of works.
Other streamers are into more-is-more, the scheme that propelled Netflix. They spend billions and run up huge deficitts, to assemble lots of subscribers worldwide. Various reports put Netflix at 223 million subscribers, Amazon Prime at 200 million, Disney+ at 164 million and HBO Max at 77 million.
By comparison, Apple has fewer viewers (34 million last year) and fewer shows. But many of those shows have made an impact; they’re led by the Emmy-winning “Ted Lasso” and the much-praised “Schmigadoon” (shown here), “Severance” and “The Morning Show.”
Now Apple has announced that “Schmigadoon” will return April 7 and “Lasso” will be back sometime this spring. Meeting with the Television Critics Association, it set these dates: Read more…
Being nice to your neighbors is always important, we’re told.
But it’s especially important if your neighbor is Hollywood’s all-time box-office champion. That sort of explains why Harrison Ford has a supporting role (ahown here)n in “Shrinking,” the witty new Apple TV+ show.
“Harrison’s my neighbor and so I knew him a little bit …. He’s a good dude,” Bill Lawrence told the Television Critics Association, sounding fairly casual about living near Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. A dozen years ago, Aubrey Plaza and Michael B. Jordan were supporting players in NBC-produced shows (“Parks and Recreation” and “Friday Night Lights”). Now they’re movie stars, wth their first turns as “SNL” hosts. Next week, is Jordan, with Lil Baby as music guest; this week (with Sam Smith as music guest) is Plaza, who has soared with “Emily the Criminal” (shown here), “White Lotus” and more. Read more…
In the olden days, primetime TV wasn’t into binges or serials or tangled story lines.
Often, it had anthology series. Some had hosts – Ronald Reagan, Rod Sterling, Loretta Young, Alfred Hitchcock, Old Ranger – and some didn’t; most had stories that were quick and self-contained.
Now comes a nod to the past. “Accused” (shown here) debuts after football Sunday on Fox, then settles into its spot at 9 p.m. Tuesdays. Each hour offers a separate courtroom trial, with ample flashbacks.
“An anthology, to me, is the perfect antidote to … ‘bingeing,’” producer Howard Gordon said. Read more…
1) “The Godfather” (1972), 12:30 and 9 p.m., AMC. Francis Coppola’s gem had a passionate story, crisp dialog, strong visuals and some of Hollywood’s best actors, led by Al Pacino, Marlon Brando (shown here) and James Caan. Then “The Godfather, Pari II” (1974) – at 4:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. — added Robert De Niro. The original film is No. 2 (behind “Citizen Kane)” on the American Film Institute’s all-time list; “Part II” is No. 32, the only sequel in the top 100. Read more…
1) “Accused” (shown here), 9:01 p.m. Tuesday, Fox. After a grim and disturbing opener Sunday, this anthology bounces back sharply. In a skillful directing debut, Marlee Matlin guided talented actors, some who are deaf, as is Matlin. The story involves a deaf baby and a drastic decision. Even when a character makes a huge mistake, we’re rooting for her. That’s a hallmark of this series, which offers neatly nuanced portraits of people in swirling situations. Read more…
1) “That ‘90s Show” (shown here) debut, Netflix. For eight years, “That ‘70s Show” gave us nostalgia, humor and some fresh young stars. Now Topher Grace and Laura Prepon return briefly as Eric and Donna, but the focus is on their smart and snarky teen, spending the summer with her grandparents (Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp). She meets the son of Kelso and Jackie, who – no surprise here – turns out to be flirty and charming. Read more…
1) “Nature,” 8 p.m., PBS. Here’s a fresh approach, centering on a tree that prospered for five centuries in the Scottish highland. The hour imagines the natural history around it and adds some human history – farmers, rebels, even the future Queen Mary. The notion is a stretch, but it offers gorgeous scenes (the generic Scottish scene here isn’t from the show), plus insights into evolving nature. Read more…
PASADENA — On the way to becoming a TV star and producer, Melissa Rauch (show here) was strongly impacted by laundry appliances – twice.
Really. These days, she stars in the revived “Night Court” (8 p.m. Tuesdays, NBC, starting Jan. 17), a show she and her husband willed into existence, in the midst of a pandemic and a baby boom.
But long before that, there were times when she scrambled for comedy gigs. “There were stand-up nights in a laundromat,” she recalled. “People would be doing their laundry next to you.”
And much earlier, Rauch found herself being mocked for her height, or lack thereof. Her mother’s suggestion was to have fun with it; they concocted a story: “I would tell people that I was playing hide-and-seek in the dryer and someone accidentally turned it on.” It was a clever notion that, alas, backfired: “Now I was the weird kid who shrunk in the dryer.” Read more…
