Month: August 2024

News and Quick Comments

Florida noir? “Bad Monkey” nails it

There’s a genre that we might call “Florida noir” and “Florida Gothic.”
Or we might not. “Noir” and “Gothic” imply darkness and gloom; Florida implies blue skies, clear water and open possibilities.
That contrast helps propel these tales. They include some of the novels by Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry and Elmore Leonard and occasional mini-series. Last year was Netflix’s “Florida Man”; now the delightful “Bad Monkey,” with Vince Vaughn (shown here) is Wednesdays on Apple TV+, starting Aug. 14. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 13, 2024
Stories

Hallmark joins the plus party, in a big way

No one would accuse Hallmark of being trendy or jumpy.
The company has been around for 114 years, still family-owned. For years, its cable channels seemed to keep re-making the same movie.
But now it’s joining TV’s biggest trend – streaming services with a “+” in their names. And it’s doing it in a surprisingly ambitious way with everything from a mini-series (“Holidazed, shown here with Erin Cahill) to reality shows.
“Hallmark+ will be more than just a streaming platform,” Mike Perry, the Hallmark CEO, said. “It will be the very best of Hallmark all in one place.”
Details arrived Aug. 14 (see separate story), but the general idea was sketched earlier, at Television Critics Association sessions:
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 10, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 12: NBC’s summer shows return

1) “American Ninja Warrior,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. For 17 days, NBC’s summer shows were sidelined by the Olympics. Now they’re back, led by “Ninja” (shown here) on Mondays and “America’s Got Talent” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Also: “Chicago” and “Law & Order” reruns (Wednesdays and Thursdays) and “Saturday Night Live.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 10, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 9: musical fun, Ferguson tragedy

1) “Descendants: The Rise of Red,” 8 p.m., Disney Channel, repeating at 9:45. At first, this seems like it will be wonderful. There’s a vibrant musical chase scene with Red (Kylie Cantrall), then a potent song by her evil mom (Rita Ora, shown here). After that, this settles for being OK, with a time-travel plot, up-tempo songs and a so-so ending. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 7, 2024