Stories

Fox this fall: no wrestlers, lots of rescuers

There will be a new feel to the Fox network this fall – no wrestlers, but lots of rescuers, no “Family Guy” (for now), but lots of football.
That’s as Fox hopes to be what Rob Wade, its CEO, calls an “independent, right-sized network.” It’s the only one of the big-four not with a movie studio and a big streamer.
The network has been tryiing to produce animated shows, instead of just buying them from outsiders. This fall it will have two – the returning “Krapopolis” and the new “Universal Basic Guys.’ That leaves “Family Guy” off the fall schedule for the first time in about two decades . It will be back at mid-season, Michael Thorn, the programming chief, promised. “We’ll give it a great re-launch.”
Fox has also finished its five-year deal with the WWE. It will try to fill the no-wrestling gap on Fridays with college football.
It will also stuff action into Mondays. “9-1-1: Lonestar,” which didn’t appear in this strike-shortened season, will be at 8 p.m. Mondays, followed by “Rescue: HI-Surf” (shown here) hich Thorn calls an “absolute adrenaline rush.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 13, 2024

Stories

A “beloved” soul ponders his death

It isn’t easy to face questions about your imminent death – even a fictional death.
Still, Lance Barber did that with his usual ease. In February, the Television Critics Association asked about the possible passing of his his “Young Sheldon” character, Sheldon’s dad George (shown here).
“I had fingers crossed from the beginning. (hoping) I would make it to the end,” he said.
Then he almost did. Last Thursday (May 9), a week before the show ends its seven-year run, viewers received a jolt: In the final minute, two friends arrived to say George had died of a heart attack.
Now that consumes the show’s finale. After reruns (including the pilot film) at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Monday, the last episodes are 8 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday (May 16). One focuses on the funeral, the other on the aftermath. Both manage a rare feat – being deeply and subtly moving, while also including humor. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 13, 2024

Stories

Lots of TV news: super-streamer, “The Bear,” “Frasier,” “Ted,” more

As the season winds down, TV is filled with fresh news.
That includes a super-streamer combination, a “Law & Order” shift and a return of such shows as “The Bear” (shown here), “Ted” and (via spin-off) “Orphan Black.” Details include:
— Two large streamers plan to offer a combined deal this summer. One side already has Disney+ and Hulu; now it will offer a super-streamer combination with Max, which was created when Discovery gobbled up Warner Brothers. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 9, 2024

Stories

Summer’s Sunday surplus: Sly, “Snowpiercer,” etc.

Summertime TV is looking less sparse now.
CBS has announced a schedule that includes “Big Brother,” “Let’s Make a Deal” and transplanted episodes of Sylvester Stallone’s “Tulsa King” (shown here).
That news came on the same day as others – the final “Snowpiercer” season, on AMC, and hard-rock biographies on A&E. Both are on Sundays, when PBS has its dramas.
Add some previous news and you have a shot at a no-rerun summer. Details include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 7, 2024

Stories

ABC summer: Sunday movies, weekday games

This summer, ABC will go with a plan that worked during the strikes.
It will turn Sunday back into a movie night – starting with “Inside Out” (shown here) and possibly including lots of Disney films. That will let game shows sprawl across the weekdays, alongside “The Bachelorette.”
That line-up will tiptoe around the pro-basketball finals, which dominate June: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 4, 2024

Stories

CBS’ fall line-up: prequels and familiar crimesolvers

CBS has set a fall schedule filled with the familiar.
It will have two prequels (one of which is also a sequel), two familiar crimesolving names (Matlock and Dr. Watson) and few surprises.
The biggest surprise may be the omission of two shows (“NCIS: Hawaii” and “So Help Me Todd”) … and the name of the show that takes over the Sheldon space. It’s “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.”
That one (shown here) is a sequel to “Young Sheldon,” but still a prequel to “The Big Bang Theory” … and will occupy the same timeslot (8 p.m. Thursdays) both of those shows had. “Ghosts” will remain at 8:30, with “Elsbeth” at 10. Now “Matlock” – with Kathy Bates taking the Andy Griffith role as a folksy old lawyer – replaces “So Help Me Todd” at 9. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 2, 2024

Stories

A smaller Billy wraps a big success

During the five-year run of “Bob (Hearts) Abishola” (shown here), lives have transformed.
Folake Olowofoyeku became a star, Gina Yashere became an American, Chuck Lorre became rich (well, richer). And Billy Gardell became barely more than half his size.
“I was in a place with my health that I needed to make a severe change,” Gardell told the Television Critics Association. He did, with bariatric surgery and careful living.
The Gardell we’ll see on the series finale (8:30 p.m., May 6, on CBS) is about 5-foot-11, 207 pounds. There were times when he apparently topped 370. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 30, 2024

Stories

“Veil” brings Mossy intrigue to spy life

Two real-life stories – involving a retiring grandma and a retired spy – helped propel “The Veil” (shown here), the deeply layered mini-series streaming on Hulu.
The first comes from Steven Knight, who wrote the six-parter: A British friend, he told the Television Critics Association, “had a grandmother, and she was 65, and she was retiring. She called everyone to Sunday lunch (and) said: ‘For the past 35 years, I’ve been an MI6 spy.’”
Yes, Grandma was a British spy, sort of like James Bond. Then there’s the other story, from producer Denise Di Novi.
The French spy agency, the DGSE, is intensely quiet, she told the TCA. But one night, at a hotel bar, a retired agent “had too much to drink and started telling me these things about how difficult it was that they had to start working with other agencies.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 27, 2024

Stories

Gina’s fierce fun ripples through “Bob” comedy

On the “Bob (Hearts) Abishola” set, people were semi-celebrating a semi-successful run.
The show has spent much of its five seasons in the top-25 of Nielsen ratings. It’s been a rare throwback to the days when comedy was king.
So members of the Television Critics Association directed questions to its stars (Billy Gardell, Folake Olowofoyeku) and producer Chuck Lorre — who made one thing clear: “We would have never gone far with the show had we not found Gina.”
That’s Gina Yashere, ready for her close-up. In the show, she’s Kemi, a noisy friend who’s there for a few quick laughs. In the second-to-last episode (8:30 p.m. Monday, April 29, on CBS), she finally gets the focus (shown here), with a Las Vegas wedding.
But the core of the show – including its culture conflict – springs from Yashere.
“They found me on Google,” she said later. “I turned it down. But my best friend and my brother said, ‘You’re being stupid.’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 24, 2024

Stories

After 40 years (throat permitting), Bon Jovi rocks on

Like a good father should, John Bongiovi Sr. took his son to a some music teachers.
One was at the school, one was private, both said the same: The kid was not a singer.
Except now he is one. As Jon Bon Jovi (shown here), he’s one of the top-selling rock frontmen. His band has soared beyond 100 million records; five of his Grammy nominations (including his one win) are for vocals.
“I pride myself on having been a true vocalist,” he said. “I’ve sung with Pavrotti. I know how to sing; I’ve studied the craft for 40 years.”
That adds to the poignancy of a four-part documentary that debuts Friday (April 26) on Hulu and Disney+. Alongside a history of his band, it focuses on Bon Jovi struggling with vocal issues – trying other steps and then resorting to surgery. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 21, 2024