Stories

Cheerleading isn’t cheery in intense “Dare Me”

Humans have a knack for turning fun into competition and one-upsmanship.
Dancers compete. So do singers and cooks and more. Even cheerleaders can’t simply be cheery.
That emerges in “Dare Me,” an intense novel that’s now a drama series (shown here), starting Sunday (Dec. 29) on the USA Network. Teen cheerleaders struggle to be at the top of the pyramid, literally and figuratively.
Alison Thornton, 20, one of the co-stars, sees it that as logical. “I think I understand the competition, because of all the dancing I did,” she said. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 27, 2019

Stories

She thrives (and weds) amid New Year chaos

Maria Menounos (shown here) will be back on Times Square this year, amid crowds, chaos and commotion.
Whatever happens, it’s bound to be easier than 2017, her first time with Fox’s New Year’s Eve.“It was the coldest (Eve) in New York ever,” she recalled. “And it was after I had brain surgery.”
One thing more: She was getting married – live, on the air – surprising everyone, including her parents. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 22, 2019

Stories

Here’s a guide to Christmas-week TV

Sure, it feels like the Christmas-TV season has already gone on forever.
The holiday movies started in November – or was it October? – and are unrelenting.
Still, coming up is when we need shows the most.By Friday, most kids – and many adults – will be on vacation. They need to be distracted, before they find all the presents and eat all the cookies.
So here’s a guide to TV, from Dec. 20 through Christmas morning (shown here with Ally Brooke at the Disney parade, taped in advance) and the final Grinchy moments. We’ll start with the kids: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 16, 2019

Stories

This new Scrooge is deeper, darker and Scroogier

For 176 years, Ebenezer Scrooge has been grumping, grumbling and bah-humbugging.
Dead-serious actors — Patrick Stewart, George C. Scott, Alastair Sim, Reginald Owen – have played him. Albert Finney and Kelsey Grammer have sung him. His story has been done by the Muppets. the Smurfs, Jim Carrey and more.
Now a new “Christmas Carol” (shown here with Andy Serkis and Guy Pearce) arrives Thursday (Dec. 19) on FX, rerunning often. “It is slightly darker and more twisted than previous versions,” said Joe Alwyn, who plays Bob Cratchit.
Or maybe much darker and MUCH longer. Consider Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 15, 2019

Stories

Tiny star soars in a BIG hall

If we ever need to give all the Christmas jobs to one person, Kristin Chenoweth could try
.She has the voice of an angel, the height of an elf and, seemingly, the disposition of Santa Claus. If she can learn to make toys and pull a sleigh, she’ll be perfect.
This month, viewers have already seen her sing in Nashville and act in a Hallmark movie (which reruns often). Now a concert (shown here) – Dec. 16 on PBS, Dec. 19 streaming – has her on the big stage … literally. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 10, 2019

Stories

Kennedy Center Honors can by funky and cute

One of TV’s annual gems returns Sunday (Dec. 15) – a little different than in its past.
Yes, “The Kennedy Center Honors” telecast again includes a classical-music figure. It always does; this time, it’s conductor Michael Tilson Thomas.
But now it also has the funky fun of Earth, Wind & Fire … plus Elmo and Oscar and friends … and two eternal ingenues, Sally Field (shown here with Burt Reynolds) and Linda Ronstadt. That’s a big change from the start in 1978. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 9, 2019

Stories

That’s progress: Small cost, big quality

When it’s time to make a pilot film, TV people open up the bank vault.
The “Game of Thrones” pilot has been reported at $5-to-10 million. “Lost” was reportedly $10-to-14 million, including buying an old plane.
Now meet “Work in Progress,” which debuts at 11 p.m. Sunday. “We spent a little under $30,000 on the pilot,” said director-writer-producer Tim Mason.
That version, he said, is what will debut on Showtime. It has no dazzle and no airplane, but it does have the humor and drama of Abby McEnany (shown here), a Chicago comedian and actress. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 5, 2019

Stories

“Reprisal” star: tough and frilly

The modern world says people can fit any image.
They can be dark leather or pink fluff … or both, switching from day to day. A prime example came when Abigail Spencer (shown here) arrived to talk about “Reprisal.”
Here is a rough, sometimes brutal series. “I grew up on (Quentin) Tarantino films,” said creator Josh Corbin, “and I am a fan of the violent genre.”
Early in the opener (Friday, Dec. 6, on Hulu), his heroine (Spencer) is slapped, slugged and dragged; later in the hour, she’s lethal. It’s “a role that is typically written for a man,” Spencer said.
It’s suitable for leather and chains. And while Spencer was describing it (to the Television Critics Association, in July), she was wearing a prom-worthy dress, pink and fluffy. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 4, 2019

Stories

New Scrooge (and more) joins Christmas flurry

The Christmas mega-list keeps getting more mega.
Last week, I had a long list of holiday movies and specials and such. Since then, more have been added.
FX has an ambitious — and very dark — “Christmas Carol,” with Guy Pearce and Andy Serkis (both shown here) as Scrooge and Christmas past. AMC has added a cartoon marathon Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, plus lots of showings of Will Ferrell’s “Elf.” And on Christmas Day, Britbox will have James Corden’s new “Gavin and Stacey” Christmas movie. Here’s the list, updated to Nov. 30: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 30, 2019

Stories

Have yourself a Moody Christmas

Each December, we know what to expect from TV movies and specials.
“It’s ‘Oh, we’re going to stand around a Christmas tree,’” Elizabeth Perkins said.
There are plenty of those shows …. but now there’s “The Moodys.” Charlie Collier, the Fox programming chief, calls it a “single-camera, dysfunctional family comedy.”
Perkins plays the mom … and an opening scene (a flashforward) has her firing a BB gun at the tree; Denis Leary (they’re shown here) is the dad. “He’s irreverent,” she said. “He’s always willing to go there.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 30, 2019