Let’s think of this as another quick – and unsettling – reaction to the writers’ strike:
ABC announced today (Wednesday) that “Dancing With the Stars” (shown here) will return to the network.
In fact, it will sprawl across three entities: Episodes will air live on ABC and Disney+ , then show up the next day on Hulu.
As the strike began Tuesday, some quick consequences included: Read more…
On the first day of the writers’ strike, two bits of news seemed especially ominous:
— “Saturday Night Live” is dumping this week’s new episode … and, probably, the rest of the season. It would have been a big night, with Pete Davidson hosting.
— “FBoy Island” – previously a summertime distraction(shown here) – will be in the regular-season line-up for the CW network. So will its spin-off, “FGirl” Island.” Read more…
The last time TV covered the coronation of a British monarch, it did a sturdy job.
The pictures were black-and-white and kind of fuzzy, but we got the idea: A young woman we knew little about had become the royal head of a thriving empire.
Since then, TV has had a lot of time – 69 years, 11 months and five days – to improve its work. Now – with crisp, pretty pictures on endless networks – an old man (shown here) we know too much about is crowned as the royal head of a shrinking empire.
The coronation of King Charles III starts at 6 a.m. ET Saturday (May 7) and may last for two hours or so. (Even that is an hour less than the previous one.) Most networks are planning to cover it from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.; here’s a round-up: Read more…
The Fox network will go into next season without two of its top dramas – “The Resident” and “9-1-1.”
For viewers, however, there’s a key difference: “Resident” is apparently finished, but “9-1-1” (shown here) will simply jump to ABC.
Both shows have filmed six seasons and faced the usual tug: Costs nudge up, while ratings stagnate.
Complicating that are two other factors for “9-1-1”; the show is: Read more…
Let’s imagine that Elmore Leonard, Janet Evanovich and Dave Barry brainstormed.
We’ll assume that alcohol or chemical enhancements were provided, The result might be “Florida Man” (shown here), the surprisingly good, seven-part mini-series that arrived recently on Netflix.
Leonard was a Detroit novelist who occasionally moved his focus down to Florida, with a surplus of eccentric character; his “LaBrava” was an award-winner and“Maximum Bob” briefly became a TV series. Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels (set in New Jersey) are filled with odd characters; Barry is the Miami humorist whose first novel, “Big Trouble,” was big on Florida quirks.
Throw them together, mix thoroughly and you have “Florida Man.” Read more…
“Fatal Attraction” is back – now longer and deeper, but still fatal.
It has eight parts now, with the first three arriving Sunday (April 30), taking its characters (shown here) on a wild ride. “We love a twisty-turny show that … gives use something new and fun to think about,” showrunner Alexandra Cunningham told the Television Critics Association.
That’s on Paramount+, which had a sort of treasure hunt. It scoured the massive library of Paramount films, looking for ones to reboot as series or miniseries. So far, that’s involved: Read more…
A young woman will soon probe her own murder … again.
That happened in “School Spirits,” which has just finished its eight-week run on Paramount+. Now it happens again in “The Rising” (shown here), which debuts at May 29 on CW.
Actually, “Rising” was there first. Based on a 2017 Belgian series, it debuted a year ago on British TV; one of its co-stars is Solly McLeod, now starring in PBS’ lusty “Tom Jones” remake. (“School Spirits,” by comparison, is based on an upcoming graphic novel.)
Clara Rugaard, 25, stars in “The Rising” as Neve, who’s unhappy to learn she’s dead. She uses her new, supernatural powers to try to learn who killed her. Read more…
In the quarter-century since his death, Tupac Shakur’s fame has flourished.
He would have appreciated that, filmmaker Allen Hughes said. “He was a myth-builder.”
Now Hughes’ documentary adds a second legend.: “Dear Mama” – starting at 10 p.m. Friday (April 21) on FX, then going to Hulu – is a compelling “dual narrative” of Shakur (shown here) and his mother, Afeni.
“Afeni was unapologetically truthful,” said Jamal Joseph, a producer of the film and her former Black Panther colleague. “She never sugarcoated anything. Aveni was that person who could be cussing you out one minute and in tears the next.” Read more…
This summer, the Freeform network will deliver a relatively rare commodity – new, scripted episodes.
It will bring back two series – the final season of “Grown-ish” and the overdue second season of “Cruel Summer” (shown here). It will also debut an animated show, “Praise Petey.”
Summers have fallen into a habit — plenty of scripted shows on premium cable (HBO, Showtime, etc.) and streamers, with the others sticking mostly to reruns and reality shows.
Now Freeform, a basic-cable channel, will make a small dent in that. It has: Read more…
In the fierce, six-year run of “Snowfall,” Damson Idris has mostly been ignored by awards voters.
That’s understandable. Idris’ job, which he did perfectly, was to play Franklin Saint (shown here in an earlier episode), a cool-eyed drug kingpin. Hollywood doesn’t give awards for stoic and stony.
But now all of that changes with the series finale, at 10 p.m. Wednesday (April 19) on FX, rerunning at 11:39 p.m. and 1:06 and 2:39 a.m., then going to Hulu. The steely exterior is gone; Idris gives a performance that’s … well, Pacino-esque. Read more…
