Year: 2024

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Oct. 7: “Tracker” leads a spurt of openers

1) “Tracker” season-opener, 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS. Three weeks later than usual, CBS launches its fall season. It starts with a ratings-leader, a solid show with Colter (Justin Hartley) tracking people. This opener spends a lot of time setting up an ongoing story and a re-mix of the office team (shown here, with Velma and Reena); then it solves its case-of-the-week quickly. It’s a fairly good start to what could be a terrific season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 3, 2024
News and Quick Comments

After fading away, award show tries a comeback

The American Music Awards had a foolproof route to high ratings.
It honored popular people, many of whom performed on the show. Viewers saw Michael moonwalk, Prince rock, Mariah soar. It couldn’t fail.
And then it did. Ratings crashed; the AMA’s almost vanished. The next awards (in May of 2025) will be the first in 30 months.
Before that, a special – 8-10 p.m. ET Sunday (Oct. 6) on CBS – will be the first step in a comeback attempt. It will have lots of new performances (including Jennifer Hudson, shown here), plus clips that go back 50 years Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 3, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 5: scares, laughs and football

1) Horror films. On the first weekend of October, cable is in Halloween mode. On the light side, Freeform has the clever “Beetlejuice” (1988, shown here) at 6:45 p.m. and the bland “Haunted Mansion” (2023) at 8:50. Heavier? AMC has “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” at 8 a.m. — then five films that followed it. The 1980 original is 8 p.m., with sequels at 10 and midnight. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 3, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 4: mambo, “Murder,” “Minds”

1) “Mambo Legends, 10 p.m. , PBS. A propulsive sound emerged in 1940s and ’50s New York. It merged big-band horns with Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms, under the leadership of Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and Machito. Now some of their musicians have revived the sound with the Mambo Legends band (shown here). This film has snatches of great music, plus a portrait of the era. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 2, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 3: Tierney joins NBC’s drama night

1) “Law & Order” season-opener, 8 p.m., NBC. Maura Tierney was at the heart of NBC’s must-see Thursdays, playing Abby for on “ER” for a decade. She dropped out of “Parenthood” in 2009 because of breast cancer, but her comeback includes “The Affair,” “American Rust” and this summer’s “Twisters.” Now, at 59, she’s the new homicide chief (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 1, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Oct. 2: “Sullivan’s” returns, amid strong dramas

1) “Sullivan’s Crossing” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. As the first season ended, Maggie returned to her life as a Boston surgeon. Then life crumbled at this little Canadian resort. A note from Cal (who’s shown here with Maggie) was intercepted before it got to her; her dad was hospitalized and forgot his foreclosure crisis. Now she rushes back, in an emotional hour. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 30, 2024
News and Quick Comments

Two Aussies help fill American comedy void

Let’s thank some Aussies for filling our comedy void.
The second season of “Colin From Accounts” (shown here) has arrived in one bunch at Paramount+, with eight episodes. A couple of them are merely OK, but the rest are moving (occasionally) and funny (often).
Americans used to be known for comedy. We gave the world Lucy and Cosby and Bunker and Seinfeld, “Friends” and “Frasier” and the “Big Bang” gang.
But lately? The big-four networks combine for 81 primetime hours; but if you exclude cartoons, it goes like this: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 30, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 30: rescuing minds and/or surfers

1) “Brilliant Minds,” 10 p.m., NBC. This second episode shows how good – and how demanding – this show can be. The first seemed heightened, trying hard to grab us. But it set the basics: Zachary Quinto as someone like Dr. Oliver Sacks, the brilliant and eccentric neurologist. Tonight’s episode throws a lot past us, but Quinto (shown here) helps make it feel human and tangible. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2024
Stories

Pre-debate: wrestlers, movies and a small-town gem

Waiting for the vice-presidential debate, some viewers might fidget.
The event starts at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday (Oct. 1). At 8 p.m., the choices include … well, political previews on ABC, CBS, NBC and news channels.
Alternatives? I’d recommend “Murder in a Small Town” (shown here), 8 p.m.on Fox; it might be the season’s best surprise. But let’s look at the others first: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2024