Year: 2023

Best-bets for Aug. 12: We can marvel at a new hero

1) “Ms. Marvel” conclusion, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Fresh from its Television Critics Association award for best family show, this mini-series – originally on Disney+ — wraps its two-week rerun. Last week, we met Kamala Khan, a teen who played videogames and wrote fan fiction, especially about Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel). Then a bangle from her grandmother unlocked her own powers. Now (shown here) she’s traveling the world to learn family secrets. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Aug.14: Three finales and all-star special

1) “Stand Up to Cancer,” 8 p.m. Saturday, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and more. Every two years, forces combine for comedy sketches and talks, raising millions for cancer research. This show, the eighth, comes during the writers’ and actors’ strikes, so it will rerun sketches with Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Melissa McCarthy Bill Hader and more. It also reruns music by The Who, Brittany Howard and (shown here) the widow of Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer at 43. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 11: Happy birthday, hip hop

1) Hip hop birthday, Showtime. Hip hop – with its surge of DJs, rappers, break-dancers and more – began on Aug. 11, 1973, historians say, with a West Bronx party. Now Showtime celebrates with a marathon. That includes highlights of “Video Music Box” at 10 a.m., followed by a film about Cypress Hill (11:30), mini-series about Supreme Team at 1 p.m. and Wu-Tang Clan (shown here) at 4 p.m. and then a film about rapper Biz Markie at 8. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 10: Tough reality shows arrive

1) “The Challenge: USA” opener, 10 p.m., CBS. This is the final piece in CBS’ August surge. Spun off of a long-running MTV show, it takes 24 reality-show alumni to Croatia (shown here). Nine started on “Big Brother” and seven on “Survivor, including winners Michele Fitzgerald and Chris Underwood.” The show follows “Big Brother” on Thursdays and (for the next three weeks) on Sundays. Read more…

“Succession” tops TV critics’ awards

With its final burst of Emmy glory being delayed, “Succession” (shown here) has a solid concession prize:
It has won the top Television Critics Association award, as program of the year. It has also been named the best drama.
The awards were announced today (Monday, Aug. 7), with no accompanying ceremony, due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes. By comparison, the Emmys have been delayed indefinitely. Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 8: “Murders” starts; “Justified” continues

1) “Only Murders in the Building” season-opener, Hulu. The first two seasons have been terrific; each has drawn a ton of Emmy nominations, including ones for best comedy series and for Steve Martin and Martin Short as best actor. Along with Selena Gomez, they (shown here) play podcast buffs who find murders. This time, the victim was a theater star and Oliver (Short) dreams of reviving his own career. There are two episodes this week, with Meryl Streep in support. Read more…

Party time: On Aug. 11, hip hop turns 50

Hip hop has something that most music can’t claim – a specific birthdate.
Classical? Jazz? Polka? Country or rock or pop? They might point to a century and a continent.
But hip hop has a date – Aug. 11, 1973. And a location – 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in West Bronx. And a performer – DJ Kool Herc (shown here0, then 18 years old. And an organizer – his little sister Cindy Campbell, trying to make money for back-to-school clothes.
And now its 50th anniversary is Friday.
Television started the party early – a “Fight the Power” documentary series January on PBS … an epic Grammys medley February on CBS … a three-year project on Showtime … and more. On the birthday, Showtime has a marathon, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; the next day, A&E starts a three-Saturday artifact hunt, “Hip Hop Treasures.” Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 7: Reality shows are near their finales

1) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. It’s “fantasy suite” night, when Charity Lawson (shown here) invites the final three guys to separately each spend a night with her. (Historically, guys tend to accept these invitations.) Last week, she visited four home towns, then ousted Aaron Bryant. That leaves Joey Graziadel, a tennis pro from Hawaii; Xavier Bonner, a biomedical scientist from Ohio; and Dutan Olubeko, a medical specialist from Fresno. Read more…