Year: 2023

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 2: Leap into new dramas and more

1) “Quantum Leap” season-opener, 8 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. After a good first season, “Leap” started filming this second one before the strikes. It also changed tone: Now Ben (shown here in first season) is stranded, without his fiancee’s hologram to help him. And now there’s humor; he has just crash-landed with a chaotic crew. It’s a sharp hour with excellent guest stars, including the stars of “Manifest” (Melissa Roxburgh) and “Midnight, Texas” (Francois Arnaud). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Latenight shows return Monday (Oct. 2)

The latenight shows are finally returning, with new episodes.
Most of them — ABC’s Jimmy Kimnmel, CBS’ Stephen Colbert, NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (shown here) and Seth Meyers – plan to start Monday (Oct. 2). Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” arrives two weeks later, leaving only “Saturday Night Live” undecided.
Those changes follow the return of HBO’s weekly shows, with Bill Maher on Friday (Sept. 29) and John Oliver on Sunday (Oct. 1). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 30: This was Kelce, pre-Swift

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m, NBC. Before he became a pop-culture figure (by dating Taylor Swift), Travis Kelce (shown here0 was merely a football star. Three weeks after his Kansas City Chiefs beat his brother Jason’s Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, he hosted the episode that reruns today. It also includes Jason and the music guest, Kelsea Ballerini. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2023
Stories

She found a fictional world of crime, a real world of horses

For a young actress in her first big role, this was a new world.
Emma Naomi (shown here with Ben Miller) was in Belgium to co-star in “Professor T,” the mystery series that airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on PBS. What struck her about the place?
“The horses,” she said. “There are horses everywhere.”
She’s a city kid who grew up in London, the daughter of two nurses. For “T,” she was often living in Antwerp, which seemed familiar enough; “it’s a fashion capital, lots of coffee shops.” Still, many of the locations took her into the horse-filled countryside. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 27, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 29: Cesar’s songs; pageant’s woes

1) “A Song for Cesar,” 10-11:30 p.m., PBS. Cesar Chavez (shown here), friends says, loved to dance. He savored jazz and comedy; he was “this guy with an urban soul.” So his farmworkers’ movement rippled with music – from the back of flat-bed trucks, then in arenas. This vibrant film offers brief bursts of music. Much of it is way too brief; still, it’s fascinating to see the show bounce between a white-haired musician and his young self, almost 60 years ago. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 27, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 28: Hell, love and country music

1) “Hell’s Kitchen” opener, 8 p.m., Fox. After lots of flash and hype about the American dream, we meet the contestants – an appealing bunch of dreamers. At one extreme is a young Texan (shown here, left), now a chef in Chicago, who’s also a professional quidditch player. At another is a Mississippi chef, a single mom raising her six children and her sister’s three. They make their specialties and Gordon Ramsay seems genial enough. Next week, he’ll start screaming. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 26, 2023
Stories

“Dogs”: impressive young actors from random places

This is clearly not the way Hollywood works.
“Reservation Dogs” (shown here) was filmed in small-town Oklahoma, using lots of locals. It starred four young indigenous actors, two making their professional debuts. Its style was casual and natural and …
And then it all worked. The show has its series finale Wednesday on Hulu, where people can watch all three seasons. It has won a Peabody Award, two American Film Institute Awards and nominations from the Golden Globes, the Television Critics Association and more.
Much of the credit goes to its creators (Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi) and its other writers and directors. But some goes to that surprising cast. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 25, 2023
Stories

Less hype, less hope, but lots of shows: The season starts today (Sept. 25)

New TV seasons used to arrive on wave of hope and hype. This one, however, just sort of arrived.
The official season starts today, Sept. 25, without much fuss. The writers’ (which reached a tentative agreement on Sept. 24) and actors’ strike (ongoing) have blocked most new, scripted shows.
Still, there are things to catch – a few good shows (including “The Spencer Sisters,” shown here) and a lot of adequate ones. Here’s an updated look in three main categories – dramas, comedies and reality shows – followed by a sampling of shows from streaming networks. We’ll start with the most promising genre, dramas. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 25, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 27: Reality-show giants begin and end

1) “Survivor” opener, 8-9:30 p.m., CBS. This is the 45th edition, filled with people who obsess on the show. Indeed, there are three lawyers … and two of them lie about their profession, so they won’t be considered schemers. Returning is Bruce Perreault, who was seriously injured in the previous opener; now there’s another rough challenge (shown here) and another person needing medical attention. It’s a fun start, right up to the closing surprise. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 25, 2023