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ABC sets return of “Rookie,” “Mixed-ish” and new comedy

The last pieces of the new TV season are finally in place – almost.
ABC has set January starts for the return of “The Rookie” (shown here) and “Mixed-ish” and the debut of a comedy, “Call Your Mother.” That will finally return it to two nights (Tuesday and Wednesday) with comedies.
Now there are only two shows that were originally planned for fall, but remain in limbo. Both are on CBS – the second season of “Evil” and the Queen Latifah reboot of “Equalizer.” One show (ABC’s “Stumptown”) was set for fall, then canceled. The ABC moves are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 21, 2020

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Good news: A new way to see Charlie

The dire prospect of a no-Charlie-Brown season has now eased slightly.
In a last-minute change, two classic cartoons will air at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 Central) on PBS Kids and on some PBS stations. Both are on Sundays:
– Nov. 22: “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.”
– Dec. 13: “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2020

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Cable in 2021? TBS, TNT, TruTV try

After facing a brutal 2020, some cable channels are ready for better things in 2020.
TBS will lasunch the “Go-Big Show” – a competition that may grab cable’s wrestling fans – on Jan. 7. Then TNT will launch the second season of “Snowpiercer” (shown here), its ambitious fantasy drama, Jan. 25. The next day, TBS starts a new season of its “Misery Index” game show.
Eight days later, Tru TV will start the season for its “Impractical Jokers,” followed by the new “Fast Foodies” and “Impractical Jokers: After Party.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2020

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Country Christmas concerts boom ahead

Country-music people keep finding ways to have TV specials in a COVID era.
Now come two more announcements – a CBS special with Garth Brooks (shown here) and Tricia Yearwood, Dec. 20 on CBS, and the line-up for an intimate “CMA Country Christmas,” Nov. 30 on ABC. That comes shortly after CBS announced a Dolly Parton special, Dec. 6 on CBS. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 16, 2020

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Mid-season plans set: from old “Idol” to new “Masked Dancer”

Just as the fall TV shows belatedly arrive, there’s a bonus: Two networks – ABC and Fox – have announced mid-season plans.
For ABC, that ranges from “The Bachelor” on Jan. 4 to “American Idol” on Valentine’s Day. For Fox, it includes January starts for six scripted shows – five of them returning, plus a new comedy that Jim Parsons is producing, with Mayim Bialik (his “Big Bang” wife) as star – along with “Hell’s Kitchen” and the new (shown here) “Masked Dancer.”
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 10, 2020

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When do shows return? Let’s update, via ABC, CBS, Fox changes

The list of returning TV shows now gets a major update.
Newly arrived are the mid-season plans (January, mostly) for Fox and for ABC’s game and reality shows. That follows CBS’ news that its entire Friday line-up will start Dec. 4. And it follows ongoing arrivals, including “Young Sheldon” (shown here).
The only major shows still in limbo are ABC’s “The Rookie” and two CBS shows — “Evil” and the Queen Latifah reboot of “Equalizer. Here’s a revised list of season-opener dates, alphabetical by category. It sticks to primetime and to the five commercial broadcast network; others — cable, streaming, PBS — tend to have shows come and go throughout the year. It skips shows that were simply added to fill gaps this fall. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 7, 2020

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It’s charming-village time, yet again

A familiar story gets fresh twists in “The South Westerlies.”
That’s a mini-series that arrives Monday (Nov. 9) on the Acorn streaming service (www.acorn.tv). Despite a slow-start and an open-ended finish, it’s a journey worth taking.
And it happens to be a scenic journey. This is set in West Cork, an Irish area popular with tourists, with its jagged coastline and even a tad of surfing.
Kate Ryan (Orla Brady, shown here) used to love summers there, but now she’s strictly a city person, living in Dublin and ready for a promotion to Oslo. First, however, she’s assigned to spend some time in a West Cork village. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 6, 2020

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It’s a Sean-a-thon on Nov. 6

A Sean-a-thon is coming to cable on Friday (Nov. 6).
It’s a BBC America nod to Sean Connery, who died Oct. 31 at 90. His first three James Bond films will run back-to-back — “Dr. No” (1962) at 3:30 p.m. ET, “From Russia With Love” (1963) at 6 and “Goldfinger” (shown here) at 8:30.
Watch them in order and you’ll see the Bond films transform. “Dr. No” is a fairly straightforward, tough-spy tale. “From Russia With Love” also starts that way, adding some glitz in the later scnes. “Goldfinger” is sheer golden glitz, setting a pattern for decades to come.
You’ll see the transformation again on Nov. 29, when BBC America reruns those three movies, plus one apiece with Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. You also may agree on this: Craig and Brosnan are very good, but Connery is the ultimate Bond. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 31, 2020

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Waiting for CW shows? Be patient

It will be a slow roll-out – very slow, in some cases – for CW’s new-season shows.
Most will arrive in an eight-day stretch from Jan. 17 (“Batwoman,” now with a new star, shown yhere) to Jan. 24 (“Charmed”). But viewers will have to wait until Feb. 8 for “Black Lightning” and Feb. 23 for “The Flash” and the new “Superman & Lois.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 29, 2020

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Film captures a passionate, election-time Chicago

“City So Real” is epic in size, scope and ambition.
Its debut – 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) Thursday on the National Geographic Channel, before moving to Hulu on Friday – runs six hours. And that’s without commercials.
During that time, it tries to portray the entire city of Chicago. Mostly, it succeeds.
Steve James has used segments of Chicago as the backdrop for many of his films – “Hoop Dreams,” “The Interrupters,” “Life Itself” and “America to Me.” But now he wants to portray an entire city. Naturally, it t centers on an election (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 27, 2020