Stories

She made news and politics a joyful world

Here’s a handy tip for fans of documentaries:
Whenever possible, watch profiles of Texas women. Those films – like their subjects – offer rare blends of strength and joy.
There have been terrific ones about Ann Richards (the former governor) and Mollie Ivins (the former newspaper writer and “60 Minutes” commentator). And now we have, “Shaking It Up: The Life and Times of Liz Carpenter.”
That’s available on PBS’ World Channel (9 p.m. ET March 7, 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. March 8), on PBS apps and on some stations during the current pledge drive. It’s worth finding. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 28, 2025

Stories

Two forces, MTM and Lear, crafted golden comedies

(This is the seventh chapter of a book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” For the previous chapters, scroll down in “Stories.”)
In a logical world, “I Love Lucy” would have launched a revolution in clever comedies.
TV, of course, lacks logic. It would be a couple decades before Mary Tyler Moore (shown here), Archie Bunker and others propelled the first golden age of comedy.
During the “Lucy” years, networks mostly had minor comedies, often bearing characters’ names. There was “Stanley” and “Sally,” “Willy” and “Meet Millie.” There was “Hey Jeannie” and “It’s Always Jan,” “Dear Phoebe” and “Honestly Celeste,” “Leave It to Larry” and “Meet Mr. McNutley.” And that’s not to mention “Colonel Humphrey Flack” and “Adventures of Hiram Hoke.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 28, 2025

Stories

Oscars are here; so are lots of alternatives

There was a time when networks froze in the shadow of the Oscars.
Academy Award night on ABC drew swarms. Some 39 million viewers watched “Annie Hall” win best-picture in 1978 … 48 million watched “Forrest Gump” win in ‘95 … 55 million watched “Titanic” win in ‘98.
Other networks ducked away, sometimes offering reruns or bad movies or such … but not any more. Flip the dial Sunday (March 2) and you’ll find strong choices everywhere. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 25, 2025

Stories

Keeping things steady: CBS has flurry of renewals

In a TV world where shows can vanish quickly, there’s some good news:
CBS has renewed nine more of its shows for next season. Also, PBS has renewed “Miss Scarlet” for a sixth season.
The CBS moves follow four previous renewals, plus three new shows. Two of the new ones are spin-offs (including “Sheriff Country,” shown here); this is not a network for chaotic change. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2025

Stories

The world loved “Lucy” … and TV transformed

(This is the sixth chapter of a book-in-progress, “Television, and How It Got That Way.” For the previous chapters, scroll down under “stories.”)

As the 1951 season began, TV had a split personality.
Yes, there were promising signs from Sid Caesar, Ed Sullivan and lots of live dramas But there were also remnants of TV’s primitive start.
Look around prime time that fall and you’d find wrestling (twice) and boxing (twice). You’d find the “Georgetown University Forum” and “Johns Hopkins Science Review”; “Youth on the March” and “American Youth Forum.” You’d find “Marshall Plan in Action,” “Film Filler” and “Lessons in Safety.”
And into that shaky field – on Oct. 15, 1951 – “I Love Lucy” (shown here) debuted. It instantly fulfilled “every promise of the often harassed new medium,” a Hollywood Reporter critic wrote, adding: “It should bounce to the top of the rating heap in no time.“ Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2025

Stories

CW finds there’s life beyond Canada

Amid a sea of clever Canadians and tidy budgets, here’s a slight detour:
The CW network is adding a show that’s smart, fun and (surprisingly) American. “Good Cop/Bad Cop” (shown here) debuts at 9 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 19), the perfect companion to the 8 p.m. “Wild Cards.”
For CW, this is part of a quick makeover. The network had been best known for slick superhero shows. It lost money, but its co-owners (Paramount and Warner Brothers) did well be then selling the same shows overseas.
Then CW was sold to people who had no interest in loss-leaders. They dumped all of the scripted shows (except “All American”), kept some unscripted ones and mostly started over. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 17, 2025

Stories

After just 26 years, a new soap arrives

As she molded the glittery world of “Beyond the Gates” (shown here) Michele Val Jean suspected it might be an empty exercise.
After all, there hadn’t been a new daytime soap opera since 1999. Soaps were being canceled, not created.
“There were 13 on the air,” she said. “Now there are four – and one is streaming.”
But now it’s happening: At 2 p.m. Feb. 24, “Beyond the Gates” debuts on CBS. We’ll meet the Duprees, who are rich, Black, ambitious and – this is a soap, after all – troubled. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2025

Stories

Way back: when TV was black-and-white and golden

Imagine scriptwriters losing all of their favorite moves.
No car chases, no foot races. No bursts, blasts, infernos or explosions; hardly any zombies, vampires or space ships.
With such deprivation, writers would have to resort to wit and character and nuance and such. That’s how the first golden age of TV drama began.
Shows were done in small spaces with large cameras. They were done live; there was no room for error … or for second-guessing.
“We had technical freedom, creative freedom, financial freedom,” director Fielder Cook told journalist Gordon Sander, adding: “Nobody could come and take it away from us, because nobody knew how to do it but us.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 14, 2025

Stories

Sorry, Mike: Obscurity ended with “White Lotus”

There is something to be said for benign obscurity.
Just ask Mike White, whose “The White Lotus” (shown here) starts its third season at 9 p.m. ET Sunday (Feb. 16) on HBO and Max. “I’ve never worked with this kind of scrutiny,” he said.
In the old days, life was simple. He wrote and acted in indie films that were often loved by movie buffs and ignored by others.
Then came “White Lotus,” about strangers in a resort. It won 10 Emmys, including three for White – best writer, director and limited series.
HBO promptly decided it wasn’t limited, after all. It could keep coming back – each time with new people in a new resort in a new country. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 12, 2025

Stories

“SNL” seems eternal; so does Kenan

As “Saturday Night Live” enters its golden years, it keeps reloading.
Consider the current cast: When Sarah Sherman was born, the show was already in its 18th season; Marcello Hernandez was born in the 22nd season, Jane Wickline in the 24th.
None of the regulars has lived in a world without “SNL,” but Kenan Thompson (shown here) came close. He’s 46 and has spent almost half his life as an “SNL” star.
And even before that, he was on a show that was a lot like it. “We would say, like, ‘We’re in the “Saturday Night Live” for kids,’” Thompson recalled in 2007. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2025