Stories

Work/home balance? Try a coup and a birthday party

For decades, Mariana van Zeller (shown here) has reported about scary people in scary places.
“She really is the bravest person I know,” Courteney Monroe, the president of the National Geographic Channel, told the Television Critics Association.
But she still feels fear and regret. “As a working mom who travels all the time, I live with this eternal guilt of not being there at important moments,“ van Zeller said..
That peaked last summer, in an embattled desert country. The story will be on the season-finale of “Trafficked,” at 9 p.m. Wednesday (March 20) on National Geogeraphic; van Zellar gave the TCA a verbal preview. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 18, 2024

Stories

Mondays become great-photography day

For fans of great photography, Mondays have become the must-see-TV day. That’s when the National Geographic Channel:
— Had the epic African series “Queens,” which then went to Hulu and Disney+.
— Will have its usual strong coverage on Earth Day, April 22.
— And now has a series, simply called “Photographer.”
In six episodes on three Mondays, the series (also on Disney+) will feature people who share a few traits. They have “dedication and discipline and an audacity to refuse to be held back,” Chai Vasarhelyi, who produces the series with her husband (and fellow photographer) Jimmy Chin, told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 15, 2024

Stories

Opposite lives? Well, maybe not

There are roughly 3.7 zillion different routes to being an actor. At first glance, the stars of PBS’ new Alice & Jack” seem to have taken opposite ones.
For Domhnall Gleeson, 40, it looks quick and obvious. His dad, Brendan Gleeson, is a prominent actor, complete with an Oscar nomination (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), five Golden Globe nominations and a Harry Potter role, as Mad-Eye Moody.
And Andrea Riseborough, 42? Her parents were a car salesman and a secretary.
Now they trace 15 years of a sometimes-romance, in a six-parter that debuts at 10 p.m. Sunday (March 17), after the season-opener of “Call the Midwife” and the start of Helena Bonham Carter’s “Nolly.” But their careers aren’t as opposite as they seem. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 13, 2024

Stories

Streaming surge: Oscar films, two mini-series, more

In the olden days, the Academy Awards were followed by a rush to movie theaters.
And now? We’ll just amble to our living rooms, where most things are streaming.
Yes, the key Oscar-winners are there. Peacock has “Oppenheimer” and “The Holdovers,” Hulu has “Poor Thiings” (and adds “Anatomy of a Fall” on March 22), Max has “Barbie,” Amazon Prime and MGM+ have “American Fiction,” Netflix has the delightful winner for best live-action short, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
But even without the Oscar films, this is a packed weekend for streamers. Three music-based films arrive Thursday – Taylor Swft’s concert film on Disney+, a Brian Jones/Rolling Stones documentary on Hulu and the “Girls5Eva” series on Netflix. They’re joined by two seven-part mini-series – “Apples Never Fall,” Thursday on Peacock, and “Manhunt” (shown here), Friday on Apple TV+. Let’s look at those two: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 12, 2024

Stories

Thinking big, “9-1-1” sinks a ship

If you’re the new guy (in town, in school, at work), you want to make an impression.
You might bring treats or buy drinks … or maybe capsize an ocean-liner. That’s what “9-1-1” does at 8 p.m. Thursday, to mark its move to ABC.
The show thinks big. “We’ve done an earthquake (and) a tidal wave,” Peter Krause (shown here dancing with Angela Bassett, pre-crisis) told the Television Critics Association. “Now we’re doing ‘The Poseiden Adeventure.’” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 11, 2024

Stories

Viewers keep finding a wondrous “Alien” world

Gradually, it seems, people are finding “Resident Alien.”
They’re finding it on Syfy (10 p.m. Wednesdays) and Peacock and Netflix. They’re finding that it’s odd and funny … and really quite busy. “I started re-watching the show from the beginning,” Chris Sheridan, the show’s writer-producer, told the Television Critics Association. “And I’m reminded at how much story we’ve done up to this point.”
And that’s in barely 30 episodes. “Resident Alien” (shown here) aired 10 in 2021, 16 in 2022 and zero in 2023, before returning on Valentine’s Day of 2024. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 10, 2024

Stories

Oscar night: This one could be fun

As Oscar night approaches, things seem promising. On a night with Barbie (shown here) and Oppenheimer and Kimmel, this could be fun.
The Academy Awards used to be great fun – clever monologs, big music numbers, sly presenters and (remember these?) movies people had seen in theaters.
Then things deteriorated. There were three dreary years, 2019-21, with no host (and, in one case, no primetime songs). There was little to watch except tedious speeches.
The result was harsh: In 1998 (Billy Crystal hosted, “Titanic” won), 55.3 mllion people watched in the U.S.; in 2021 (no host, “Nomadland” won), that was 10.4 millon. But now the fun returns. Here’s an overview of this Sunday, March 10: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 6, 2024

Stories

Laughs emerge, amid crime-soaked Tuesdays

So you’re looking for a little fun on a Tuesday. You flip on your TV at 8 p.m. and find – well, the FBI … and the GBI … and some drug-dealers.
Clearly, there’s a void here for NBC’s only comedies to fill. “Night Court” (shown here) and “Extended Family” face CBS’ “FBI,” ABC’s “Will Trent” (a Georgia Bureau of Investigation cop) and Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady.” Alongside that tough turf, we get: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 4, 2024

Stories

Female forces create epic “Queens” series

In its formative years, nature-on-TV was a BBC artform. Its masters were English and white and, especially, male.
For “30 years, I worked in wildlife filmmaking,” Vanessa Berlowitz said. Whenever “I looked around, I didn’t see women.”
As she said this, she could see plenty of them. She was one of eight women telling the Television Critics Association about “Queens” (shown here), a documentary epic on Hulu, Disney+ and (at 8 p.m. March 4 and 11) the National Geographic Channel. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 3, 2024

Stories

Sudden surprise: explosive role for gifted actor

For an actor, the notion of “career plannng” is sheer whimsy.
Just ask Matthew Jeffers (shown here), who delivers a stunning, Emmy-worthy performance in the latest “Walking Dead” spin-off.
“When I moved to New York, I envisioned … this happening – going from 15th-century England to post-apocalyptic America,” he deadpanned.
Nobody really imagines that,.but it happened. After co-starring in a Shakespeare in the Park production of “Richard IIII” in New York, he soars in the second episode of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live”; it airs at 9 p.m. Sunday (March 3) on AMC and streams on AMC+. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 1, 2024