Stories

Harmons combine to give Gibbs his prequel

After living with his dad’s show for more than half his life, Sean Harmon had
an epiphany: Hey, this really needs a prequel.
Now it has one: “NCIS: Origins” (shown here) airs its intense opener from 9-11 p.m. Oct. 14 on CBS, then settles in at 10 p.m. Mondays.
The idea came, Harmon recalled, as “a lightning bolt moment, when we were shooting episode 400 of ‘NCIS.’”
That one – which aired in November of 2020 – flashed aback to when Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a young widower, joining what would become the NCIS. Mark Harmon was in his 18th season as Gibbs and Sean (his son) had his seventh episode as young Gibbs. He was playing, he said, “a guy who’s got something broken inside, … at risk of going down a much darker path.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 7, 2024

Stories

Lonely hero is back, quietly tracking

Our screens used to be populated by quietly heroic loners.
There was Shane and Paladin and Johnny Yuma and more, including The Man With No Name. They roamed the Old West, sometimes saving people.
They vanished in the age of anti-heroes, but sometimes re-appear. The key show is “Tracker” (shown here) which returns at 8 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 13), to launch CBS’ belated fall season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 6, 2024

Stories

His irrational choice turned out well

Jesse L. Martin is becoming an expert on the wonderful weirdness of the human psyche.
In “The Irrational” – which starts its second season at 10 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 8) on NBC — he’s a professor who helps catch crooks while offering details about behavior..
“It’s like all these little nuggets,” said Travina Springer, who plays his sister. “Every episode, there’s moments like that.”
That’s ironic, because Martin (shown here) made one of life’s most irrational choices – becoming an actor. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 4, 2024

Stories

Pre-debate: wrestlers, movies and a small-town gem

Waiting for the vice-presidential debate, some viewers might fidget.
The event starts at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday (Oct. 1). At 8 p.m., the choices include … well, political previews on ABC, CBS, NBC and news channels.
Alternatives? I’d recommend “Murder in a Small Town” (shown here), 8 p.m.on Fox; it might be the season’s best surprise. But let’s look at the others first: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 28, 2024

Stories

Every vote counts? It depends on where you are

In a presidential election year, democracy hits overdrive.
Candidates and campaigns blitz to every state. Every issue is vital, every vote matters, every citizen is important, every ….
Oops, we meant to say every vote matters – IF it’s from one of the swing states. All citizens matters – IF they’re among the ones (less than 18 per cent of the nation) who live there.
“There are only about seven states that are going to make a difference in this election,” Polly Baca – featured in a PBS documentary at 10 p.m. Monday (Sept. 30) – told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 25, 2024

Stories

“Matlock” transforms into an essential pleasure

Strange things happened in our living rooms during the pandemic.
“Everyone was back on the couch, watching television and film,” Skye Marshall told the Television Critics Association. “And for the very first time as an actor, I felt like an essential worker.”
And strange things happened in TV offices, as people scrambled for new ideas … or, preferably, new old ideas. That’s sort of what sparked “Matlock” (shown here with Jason Ritter, Kathy Bates and Marshall) which is — like its title character — deceptively brilliant. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 20, 2024

Stories

Frasier’s back, bringing joyful pomposity

We expect streaming networks to deliver the odd and the obscure. Space men are good; dragons are better.
But Paramount+ also has one of the most familiar characters in TV history. Its “Frasier” sequel (shown here) starts its second season Thursday (Sept. 19).
Frasier Crane has already been in 481 TV episodes, dubbed into languages worldwide. “The guy who does the Spanish one is very good,” said Kelsey Grammer, who plays him.
And the reruns seem inescapable. “We go to England quite a bit,” Grammer told the Television Critics Association. There, “Frasier” has been a morning rerun “for 30 years, I guess. (My) kids are like, ‘Oh God, Dad’s on.’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 18, 2024

Stories

Here’s a breakdown of all the new broadcast shows

The new TV season is strong on mysteries (including “High Potential,” shown here), weaker on comedies, with a bit of non-fiction thrown in.
A previous story took an overview of the season for broadcast networks. Now here’s a show-by-show breakdown of what’s new; shows are listed chronologically, within each category.

MYSTERY
— “Moonflower Murders,” Sept. 15. In “Magpie Murders,” a book editor pondered two murders – one in a novel (set in the 1950s) and another in real life. Now she’s back at it. A book – based on a real-life murder – has hints about the real killer; one woman read it and fled. The six-week tale weaves cleverly between past and present, real and fictional. (9 p.m. Sundays, PBS).

— “High Potential,” Sept. 17. As a single mom with three kids, Morgan is a cleaning lady with little chance to flex her genius IQ. Now, however, she’s helping the police. Kaitlin Olson of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” stars. (10 p.m. Tuesdays, ABC.) Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 12, 2024

Stories

New season: small and slow, but promising

By American tradition, there are three big events each September.
It’s the start of the school year, the football season and the TV season.
Now the first two are here and in full form. But the TV season?
Most years, each big, broadcast network has about five new, scripted shows, most of them starting in September.
This year, there are four on CBS (including “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,” shown here), three each on NBC and Fox, two on ABC, one on CW. Seven start in September, four wait until October, one until Nov. 12. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 9, 2024

Stories

It’s time for mystery writers, nasty and nice

In a war of words, Anthony Horowitz could easily top Alan Conway.
Both are writers, but Horowitz is sharper, smarter and more real. Conway, his fictional creation, is an unpleasant chap.
He’s “the exact opposite of me,” Horowitz told the Television Critics Association. “And I have a lot of fun having a dig at him.”
Conway was killed in PBS’ “Magpie Murders.” He’s back (via flashbacks) in “Moonflower Murders” (shown here) at 9 p.m. on six Sundays, starting Sept. 15 — again implying that mystery writers are a nasty bunch. No one should marry one, he says, because they’re the most self-centered people in the world.
In real life, Jill Green did marry a mystery writer and seems happy about it. She and Horowitz have been married for 36 years; she’s the producer for many of his shows, including “Foyle’s War,” “Alex Rider,” “Moonflower” and more. “We can still argue in a room, … but I love it,” she said. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 8, 2024