Stories

Reluctantly, he discovered fresh vistas

This is the sort of job many sane folks would cherish.
It’s a travel show to Italy, Costa Rica, Maldeves and more. It “visits some of the world’s most beautiful and intriguing destinations,” said Rita Cooper Lee of Apple TV+.
And it centers on Eugene Levy (shown here) … who says he really didn’t want to go.
“I’m not a great traveler,” Levy told the Television Critics Association. “I don’t have a great sense of adventure. I’m not curious by nature. I’m not proud of any of this, but it’s just a fact.” Which fits “The Reluctant Traveler,” an eight-week debuting Friday (Feb. 24) on Apple. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 23, 2023

Stories

An ’80s epic starts a compelling (and final) season

Eight years ago, an unknown English actor met a well-known American producer-director-writer.
Damson Idris had done a few plays, a few TV episodes, one movie; he knew nothing about the chaotic 1980s era in South Central Los Angeles. John Singleton knew everything about it.
They ate Jamaican food in South Central and talked. And then? “He waited for me to get home,” Idris told the Television Critics Association, “before calling me and telling me, ‘Hey, you got the part.’”
That’s the lead role in “Snowfall” (shown here with Idris), the fierce and compelling drama starting its sixth and final season. Its first two episodes – 10 and 11:11 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 22) on FX, then going to Hulu – conclude with a sensational scene pitting Idris (as Franklin) against Amin Joseph (as Jerome, his uncle). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2023

Stories

She left a comfy career … and found TV stardom

In the wobbly world of acting, Liza Lapira had found a balance.
She had a day job she liked (as a store manager) and a boss who let her leave for auditions. She did theater and had some TV roles, all while living in her home town of New York, near family and friends.
“I had a really great life,” she recalled by phone. “It felt a little safe and comfortable.” So she left.
These days, that move seems wise – especially if you watch CBS on Sundays. In December, she starred in “Must Love Christmas,” the best of the year’s holiday movies; now “The Equalizer” (shown here) – a ratings hit – is finally back in its 8 p.m. slot. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 17, 2023

Stories

Life is sunny again for “Magnum” fans

For a while, “Magnum P.I.” fans were perplexed.
Their show – seemingly a ratings success – was ending. And then it wasn’t.
Then again, the shows stars were also confused. “It was a shock that the show was going to go away in the first place,” Jay Hernandez said. “I was genuinely just confused as to why. (Then) I was surprised that it found another home.”
That’s on NBC, which has an all-Magnum night this Sunday (Feb. 19). Reruns from the CBS days are at 7 and 8 p.m., with new episodes at 9 (shown here) and 10. Eric Guggenheim, the producer, said he kind of knew the show would continue somewhere. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 13, 2023

Stories

In a changing world, meet-cute rom-coms persist

Twice a year – at Christmas and Valentine time – TV has a romantic-comedy immersion.
Some elements persist in most films. “There’s nothing better than a meet-cute in a rom-com,” said Jonah Feingold, writer-director of “At Midnight,” which has just arrived on Paramount+.
Tben there’s the meet-angry. As Monica Barbaro (shown here with “At Midnight” star Diego Boneta) put it: “We love rom-coms where two characters do not like each other at first …. It’s almost like they are fighting their feelings.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 11, 2023

Stories

Here’s a guide to a super day — plus alternatives

On Super Bowl Sunday, we’re expected to set real life aside.
There’s no time for parenting, pets or pragmatic chores. We’re supposed to focus on football, plus commercials, music (shown here with Rihanna) and more.
With that in mind, here’s a guide for the casual viewer. At the end, we’ll include some alternatives. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 7, 2023

Stories

Amid the tears, humor keeps emerging

As “A Million Little Things” starts its final season (shown here), most of the little things have slid aside.
The show has become a tangle of big things – divorce and despair, romance and recovery, cancer and paralysis and dementia and more.
And in the midst of that, it has kept its humor. This series, said creator DJ Nash, is “telling the audience that we are going to cry, but we’re goint to laugh even more.”
Both parts, tears and laughter, start with Gary, played by James Roday Rodriguez. Last season ended with news that his cancer is back; the new one starts with him recording messages to his unborn child.
It’s a tricky time to also go to for laughs, but that fits the actor. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 6, 2023

Stories

“Not Dead”: a lively view of an obituary writer

As “Not Dead Yet” debuts on ABC, we’re reminded of a key literary fact:
Few art forms can match the combination –facts and flair, done on a deadline – of an obituary.
“This tight little coil of biography, with its literary flourishes, reminds us of a poem,” obit-writer Marilyn Johnson wrote in “The Dead Beat” (HarperCollins, 2006). “Certainly, it contains the most creative writing in journalism.”
And now – after piles of shows about cops and cowboys and such – there’s one about an obit writer. “Not Dead Yet” (shown here) debuts at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 8) on ABC, then settles into the 9:30 slot. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 3, 2023

Stories

“Ark” tries the youthful lure of space tales

Over the past four decades, Dean Devlin has seen large chunks of show business.
He was an unnoticed TV actor, guesting briefly on “Fame and “Happy Days” and such. He was a movie writer-producer, scoring big with “Independence Day” and “Stargate.” He drew criticism from others (and himself) for special-effects epics … then redeemed himself with “Leverage.”
Still, he said, some emotions persist. He’s felt that on “The Ark” (shown here), which debuts at 10 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 1), on Syfy: “Walk on the set, you’re suddenly 12 years old again. It’s like, ‘I’m on a spaceship!’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 30, 2023

Stories

Documentaries near their Hollywood moment

As the Academy Awards near, the nominees have a descending order of fame.
At the top this year are the stars – actors (Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, Judd Hirsch, etc.), a director (Steven Spielberg) and some songwriters (Lady Gaga, Rihanna). And near the bottom, every year?
“You are the lowest on the totem pole as a short-doc filmmaker,” Cynthia Wade said
That’s the short-documentary category. She won it in 2008 (for the 39-minute “Freeheld)” and had her moment on global TV, being handed an Oscar by Tom Hanks; she was nominated again in 2013.
This year, hers was one of four National Geographic Channel films that made the short list of consideration for the two documentary categories. It wasn’t nominated, but another Nat Geo one, Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love” (shown here) was nominated as best feature-length doc. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 28, 2023