News and Quick Comments

“Tough” fills part of CBS’ summer void

After seeming to abandon the first two months of summer, CBS has shifted slightly:
Beginning July 2, it will air the new season of “Tough as Nails” (shown here) at 8 p.m. Sundays and Fridays.
That Friday slot was once slated for a new reality show, “Superfan,” starting June 9. Then – with the possibility of a writers’ strike delaying the new season – CBS changed its plan: Its four summertime reality shows would wait until July 28, Aug. 2, Aug. 9 and Aug. 10, and would extend well into the fall.
That left the network with two months of reruns, colliding with new reality shows on its competitors. Now “Tough as Nails” will fill some of that void. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 22, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Blige’s songs, with love and pain, guide two movies

For an actor, it can be imposing to step inside a Mary J. Blige production … and inside a Blige song.
“It reminds me of my mom,” Ajioba Alexus said. “Because we would dance to Mary J. Blige’s songs in the kitchen.” Now she stars in two Lifetime movies (shown here, with co-star Da’Vinchi), produced by Blige, that use titles of those songs
— “Real Love” was Blige’s first hit back in 1992 – four years before Alexus was born. It was No. 7 on Billboard’s overall chart and No. 1 on its rhythm & bluyes chart. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 14, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Tony telecast: Yes, TV can still be fun

For three splendid hours, we were reminded how much fun TV can be.
These were the Tony Awards that almost didn’t happen. Only a compromise allowed the show to go on (scriptless) during the Writers Guild strike; flaws and all, it was terrific.
And yes, there were flaws. It was a mostly humorless night … the acceptance speeches were repetitious … a “tribute” to John Kander and Joel Grey was bizarre … and host Ariana DeBose didn’t sing.
But the big moments overwhelmed all of that. We were reminded that musicals – Broadway (shown here with a previous performance of “New York, New York”) and beyond – can be spectacular, and that TV can do a great job of showing them off. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 12, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Jesus’ life becomes a primetime series

Having dumped its superheroes, the CW network is now going with the ultimate hero.
Gone are Superman, Batman, Stargirl, Arrow, The Flash and more. Arriving is Jesus.
On July 16, the mini-network will air “The Chosen” (shown here) on Sundays. The show, first funded by crowdsourcing, already has 25 episodes (from three seasons) CW plans to air the last of those on Christmas Eve. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 10, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Tonys plan to pack night with music

With lots of time on its hands, this year’s Tony Awards ceremony will be awash in music.
The telecast will be 8-11 p.m. ET Sunday (June 11) on CBS, with some West Coast stations airing it twice – at 5 and 8 p.m. PT. There will also be a preview show at 6:30 PT on Pluto, hosted by Julianne Hough and Skylar Astin.
With the writers strike continuing, there won’t be a script. That leaves plenty of time for music from the casts (including “Shucked,” shown here), the host (Ariana DeBose) and others. Alongside the awards (for musicals and plays), there will be: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 8, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Podcasts and murders combine for fun (again)

(This is an updated version of the “Based on a True Story” review)
In the modern media world, two genres have entwined.
There are true-crime podcasts and there are streaming networks’ comedy-dramas. Mix them together and you have a delight.
First was “Only Murders in the Building,” the Steve Martin gem that starts its third season Aug. 8 on Hulu. Now comes Peacock’s “Based on a True Story” (shown here) with its entire first season Thursday (June 8). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 6, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Nashville adds a burst of summer music

There’s another burst of music coming into TV’s rerun/reality summer.
The “CMA Fest” airs each summer on ABC, but this year it will be sooner (July 19) and longer (8-11 p.m.) than it used to be.
It’s being billed as the 50th anniversary and again has Dierks Bentley (ahown here) and Elle King hosting. This time, they’re joined by Lainey Wilson. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 5, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Good news: “Miracle Workers” finally returns

“Miracle Workers” is finally returning … a half-year later than expected.
TBS has set the show to start its fourth season on Monday, July 10. This time (shown here), its stars (Daniel Radcliffe and Geraldine Viswanathan) are post-apocalyptic warriors, trying to settle into suburbia.
That follows the offbeat approach of the show. In the first season, they were in the afterlife, trying to prove humans were worth saving. In the second, he was a prince and she was expected to follow the family profession of shoveling feces. In the third, they were on a wagon train headed west. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 1, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Arnold’s action-adventure is fun … for a while

In this new streaming age, how many episodes do you need?
Many shows try 10; eight is popular, occasionally six. (For whatever reason, even numbers usually prevail.) But for “FUBAR” (shown here) – which arrived recently on Netflix – I would have suggested 1.5.
Okay, maybe 2.5, because the final hour is kind of fun. But the rest is flawed.
“FUBAR” is a big deal for any streamer. Here is a major movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and one-time governor, starring in an eight-hour mini-series with all the things he does best – action, explosions and moments of dry irony. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 30, 2023

News and Quick Comments

A marvelous show has warm, witty finale

A marvelous TV show has its final episode today (Friday, May 26).
Like most great ones, it’s leaving too soon. Unlike some, it has an exceptionally good finale.
Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (shown here) departs after five season, during a week overloaded with departures. On Sunday, HBO’s “Succession” ends after four; the following Wednesday (May 31), Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” ends after three.
These decisions were all apparently voluntary. But they don’t seem fair in a world that gave nine seasons to “Alice,” 12 to “My Three Sons” and 14 to “Ozzie & Harriet.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 26, 2023