Stories

The Vidal sisters shared some joy … temporarily

Last year, there was joy in the Vidal world.
Both sisters were cast in ABC pilots. “We freaked out,” Christina Vidal told the Television Critics Association in January.
Their shows got orders as mid-season replacements. She and Lisa went to New York for the “upfronts,” when actors meet advertisers. “It was like the biggest, craziest party in New York …. It was so exciting, a dream come true.”
And then? By coincidence, both halves of the dream faded. Lisa Vidal’s “The Baker and the Beauty” ran this spring, got weak ratings and was canceled; Christina’s “United We Fall” (shown here) fell into limbo and then into the summertime Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 6, 2020

Stories

For ghostbuster/crimebuster, some new twists

In a long career, Ernie Hudson (shown here) has ranged from crimebusting to ghostbusting.

He’s been steady, solid, dependable; the world around him, however, keeps quaking.

Part of that involves national tumult, but other parts are strictly show-business. “I’m in awe,” said Hudson, 74. “We’re reaching people in different ways now.” Consider his current shows: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 1, 2020

Stories

Reiner mastered the modern sitcom

Carl Reiner packed a lot of lives into 98 years.
He was the perfect straight man for Sid Caesar and Mel Brooks, the ideal mentor for Steve Martin. He wrote seven movies, directed 15 of them (including “Oh, God” and four of Martin’s films), acted in tons more. He wrote a novel and memoirs.
But TV viewers will mainly remember Reiner, who died Monday, for one thing: He created the predecessor for sharp situation comedies rooted in real life.
That was “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (shown here in a colorized episode). It “was one of the few smart sitcoms of the 1960s,” David Bianculli wrote in “The Platinum Age of Television” (Doubleday, 2016), “a decade in which the genre was awash with flying nuns, talking cars and subservient witches and genies.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 30, 2020

Stories

A 4th of July void? TV has an answer

For four decades, “A Capitol Fourth” has had a cozy place in holiday plans.
It was a choice – a traffic-free, mosquito-free way to catch music and fireworks on the 4th of July. Some years, it was PBS’ most-watched show.
And now? Suddenly, it’s gone from being “a choice” to being almost “the only choice.” With cities canceling fireworks — and with only one other network (NBC) stepping in – “Capitol Fourth” (shown here in a previous year, with Kelli O’Hara) gets a fresh focus.
“So many people have called, wanting to be part of this,” said Michael Colbert, the producer. “We have 15 new performances – the most we’ve ever had.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 27, 2020

Stories

Gloria’s glorious life gets fresh focus

In some ways, a show about Gloria Steinem’s life seems easy and obvious.
It’s been a big, bold life, one that helped transform society. Now it shows up on stage … on TV … and, soon, in movie theaters.
“She’s everywhere,” said Christine Lahti, who portrayed her on stage and in “Gloria: A Life,” at 9 p.m. Friday, June 26 (check local listings) on PBS. “And she needs to be everywhere.”
But doing a show about her, with Steinem (shown here) looking on? That’s not so easy. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 24, 2020

Stories

PBS offers masterful documentaries

Two documentaries arrive Tuesday, with nothing in common … except for first-rate craftsmanship.
One is a joyous profile of Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison (shown here); the other is an angry look at convicted drug entrepreneur John Kapoor. Together, they show how good PBS’ non-fiction can be.
The network had already planned to make this the summer of women’s history, leading to the 100th anniversary (Aug. 26) of the women’s vote; it had also planned gay-rights specials linked to Pride Month. Then it quickly added black-history and coronavirus reports.
The Morrison profile straddles both the black and women’s themes; the Kapoor one is prime “Frontline” – deep, dark and angry. A look at both: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 21, 2020

Stories

ABC decides “Black-ish” lives matter

This is a hectic time for ABC’s shows – especially the ones that try to make us laugh.
Suddenly, “Black-ish” (shown here) is back on the fall schedule … “Call Your Mother” is off it … Jimmy Kimmel is taking the summer off … And next month, something fairly rare – a new summer sitcom – will debut.
All of those came in separate announcements, during a time when forces – from COVID shutdowns to protest coverage – keep bringing change. They are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 19, 2020

Stories

ABC this fall: Three new, lotsa old

For TV viewers, this fall will seem a lot like last fall.
ABC today (June 17) announced a schedule that has only three new shows — which still puts it at the top of the list. CBS will have two new ones … NBC will havbe one (a “Law & Order” spin-off) … Fox and CW will have makeshift line-up in the fall, with the big shows returning later.
The network also does some shuffling, including moving “The Bachelorette” (shown here with Clare Crawley) to fall. Such moves were needed because the coronavirus shutdown came just as producers were getting ready to shoot pilot films. The networks could: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 17, 2020

Stories

CW adds more summer pick-ups

While other networks recede into reruns this summer, the CW is trying an alternate route.
It keeps buying shows that have aired somewhere else, but haven’t been on a U.S. broadcast network.
Now it has added four more – three British, one Canadian. It has also set the second half of its summer schedule.
The British newcomers included a horror mystery show (“Killer Camp,” shown here), a reality competition (“Taskmaster”) and a reality show (“Being Reuben”) about a 14-year-old Welsh boy who became a social-media star as a singer and make-up expert. The Canadian show (“Fridge Wars”) has people scouring unknown contents of a refrigerator to assemble a meal. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 17, 2020

Stories

Ann Richards: A supersized soul ruled Texas

Texas has always had its supersized souls. From Sam Houston to Lyndon Johnson, from Molly Ivins to the Bushes, it seems to savor larger-than-life people.
And Ann Richards fit in neatly. “She was a very positive person,” Holland Taylor said. “She believed the world rolls forward.”
Taylor wrote and starred in “Ann” (shown here), a one-woman show. Now it’s part of a two-Friday package – “Ann” at 9 p.m. June 19 (check local listings), Christine Lahti as Gloria Steinem on June 26 – in a PBS summer that leads to Aug. 26, the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.
Put those Friday shows together and you’ll see that the women’s movement has drawn opposite people. Verbally, Richards was easy, breezy and outgoing; Steinem is not. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 16, 2020