Stories

Fox fills fall with reality, cartoons, more

Facing the prospect of a long writers’ strike, Fox seems ready to go either way:
— If the strike gets settled soon? The network plans two new dramas: One, based on a European hit, is about a doctor who has lost eight years of her memory; the other – not ready until mid-season – is a Hawaiian surf-rescue show. They join four returning dramas, plus one comedy.
— And if it lingers? Fox has “an embarrassment of riches” in animation (including Jon Hamm’s “Grimsburg,” shown here), said Michael Thorn, president of scripted shows, with six shows that were written well in advance. It also has a pile of games and reality shows.
“We knew there was a high probability of a strike,” said Allison Wallach, the president of unscripted shows. So the network has eight games or reality shows ready for the fall and beyond, not counting the six that will air this summer. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 15, 2023

Stories

NBC turns cautious: three new shows, lots of back-ups

In the not-so-distant past, every autumn brought a deluge of new network TV shows, each heralded as bigger and better.
Don’t expect that now: NBC has announced a line-up with only three new shows (including “Found,” shown here); that comes after CBS set one with only two.
That means NBC viewers won’t face much separation pain. Three comedies – “American Auto,” “Young Rock” and “Grand Crew” – have indefinite futures. Two dramas (“New Amsterdam” and “This Is Us”) have ended runs of five and six years; another (“The Blacklist”) has a 10th and final season ending this summer. Other shows– even “Lopez vs. Lopez,” blasted by critics – will be back sometime. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 13, 2023

Stories

CBS’ new (new-ish) line-up this fall adds just two shows

Facing the possibility of a long strike, CBS has a novel solution: It will start the fall season with virtually no new shows.
The line-up, announced today (Wednesday), has only two newcomers – a spin-off (shown here) of “The Good Fight” and a reboot of “Matlock,” this time with Kathy Bates in the Andy Griffith role.
Two other shows will arrive later: “Tracker,” starring Justin Hartley, will debut after the Super Bowl on Feb. 11; “Poppa’s House” is a comedy with Damon Wayans, Damon Wayan Jr. and Essence Atkins. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 10, 2023

Stories

“City on Fire” blazes with New York’s newcomers

Blazing through the “City on Fire” mini-series (ahown here) is an eternal notion: Move to New York City; transform your career, your life, your self.
That’s what Mercer, a key characters, tried. He’s from Texas; so is Xavier Clyde, who plays him.
He’s “the dreamer,” Clyde told the Television Critics Association. “He wants to be the next great American novelist and go to New York and make a difference. And I just wanted to live my dream of just doing this (acting) for a living. And to do that in one of the greatest cities in the world.”
Except dreams can evaporate. “City on Fire” opens (Friday, May 12, on Apple TV+) with a shooting; it later peaks with a citywide black-out. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 10, 2023

Stories

It’s a great celebration, Broadway-style

If you call yourself “great” every week, what do you do for a special occasion?
Well, it had better be something good or maybe almost great. Fortunately, it is. “Great Performances” is wrapping its 50th season with a Broadway blitz. At 9 p.m. on PBS, it has:
— May 12: An anniversary celebration filled with potent voices and frisky dancers. Sutton Foster hosts a romp through musicals, from Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber to Carole King and Sara Bareilles.
— May 19: “Richard III,” filmed in Central Park, with Danai Gurira portraying Shakespeare’s villainous hero. “Is there anybody else like this in contemporary drama?” Stephen Segaller, who supervises the show via the WNET station, asked the Television Critics Association. “Maybe Tony Soprano.”
— May 26: The opposite of Richard’s ferocity. It’s a rerun of Foster singing and tapping in “Anything Goes” (shown here), with a flimsy story connecting vibrant Cole Porter songs. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 7, 2023

Stories

Golden glimpses can be fun

Having now seen the past two British coronations on TV, I can assure you: The one today (Charles III) was way better than the previous one (his mom). That might be because:
— I was way too young to appreciate the previous one. Once I realized that none of those swords were going to be put to productive use, my interest waned.
— The telecast was better this time. In particular, it was in color.
At various points, Charles was on a golden carpet (ahown here) … was wearing a golden robe … and was being taken away in a golden carriage. Watching all of that gold, one thought persisted: Donald Trump must be quivering with jealousy. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 6, 2023

Stories

“Sam Now”: a real-life, missing-mom adventure

A quarter-century ago, a cinematic duo was created.
Reed Harkness was then 18 and had just found his dad’s old super-8 camera. Sam Harkness, his half-brother, was 11 and ready for anything.
“He was this very resilient kid,” Reed told the Television Critics Association. “He was always taking falls and then getting right back up again.”
They made goofy films with Sam as The Blue Panther, forever crashing, smashing and surviving. Then they made a dead-serious one about surviving something in real life: When Sam and his older brother Jared were in their early teens, their mother simply vanished.
In a way, Reed “spent 25 years making ‘Sam Now,’” said producer Lois Vossen. Her “Independent Lens” series will show the documentary (shown here) at 10 p.m. next Monday (May 8) on most PBS stations. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 1, 2023

Stories

“A Small Light” shines on Anne Frank’s heroes

As “A Small Light” arrives, we’re reminded of the large-scale heroism of everyday people.
At the core is Miep Gies, who risked her life for two years to hide Anne Frank’s family. “Miep is an ordinary person who ended up doing an extraordinary thing,” said Bel Powley (shown here), who plays her.
So are others in this four-week, eight-hour series, starting at 9 p.m. Monday (May 1) on the National Geographic Channel and reaching Disney+ the next day. They include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 27, 2023

Stories

Tom Jones is back — younger, sweeter, but still a sexy rascal

Tom Jones is back, still young and frisky and fond of the ladies.
This is the 18th-century rascal (not the rock singer) of movie fame. He still has a vigorous sex life – but it’s not as loose and lusty as people might remember. Did we mention that this is on PBS?
Fresh from Jane Austen’s chaste world, “Masterpiece Theatre” starts “Tom Jones” (shown here) at 9 p.m. Sunday (April 30). Suzanne Simpson, the “Masterpiece” chief, calls it “a big-hearted love story.”
But isn’t this the same story that was a bawdy, box-office hit and Oscar-winner in 1963? Yes, Gwyneth Hughes told the Television Critics Association, but there’s a difference. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 23, 2023

Stories

A passionate story percolated for decades

Some stories leap quickly from real life to the TV or movie screen.
Then there’s “Free Chol Soo Lee,” the involving documentary that debuts at 10 p.m. Monday on PBS’ “Independent Lens.” It percolated in Julie Ha’s mind for somewhere close to four decades.
That started with Korean-American reporter K.W. Lee, she told the Television Critics Association. “I was 18 years old and he inspired me to want to become a journalist.”
His stories helped spark a retrial. In 1983, after a decade in prison, Chol Soo Lee (shown here, center) was free.
Much later, in 2014, Ha went to the ex-prisoner’s funeral. “K.W, Lee stood up,” she said, “and he was clutching this Buddhist monk’s walking stick that Chol Soo had carved for him out of a tree. And he said, ‘Why is this story underground after all these years?’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 21, 2023