English Teacher TV show

Stories

Quirky series leads (slowly) to cable success

Imagine you’re a young writer/actor, long on ideas and short on opportunity.
You could take the approach of Brian Jordan Alvarez. He made a quirky, low-budget digital series; praise and a big-time cable series followed promptly.
Well, semi-promptly. Alvarez’s “English Teacher” (shown here) debuts at 10 p.m. ET Monday (Sept. 2) on FX … eight years after his “The Gay and Wonderful Life of Caleb Gallo” was named the year’s best web series.
“I had sort of tried to make my way through the studio system,” said Alvarez, 37. “And I had failed in a variety of ways. I really couldn’t figure out how to get through it.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 28, 2024
Stories

No retreat: FX plans a one-of-each fall

With some basic-cable channels in full retreat, FX remains fairly ambitious.
The network has set a plan for this fall with one of everything, It has an edgy comedy, a one-shot documentary, a documentary mini-series, a scripted mini-series and the return of the fierce drama, “The Old Man” (shown hre in its first season).
As streaming grows and cable declines, many key channels – TNT, TBS, USA, etc. — have been dropping scripted shows. Even FX Productions makes some shows — “The Bear,” “Reservation Dogs,” “Clipped,” etc. — that are only for Hulu, not for the FX network.
But there are still some key shows that will air first on FX, reaching Hulu the next day. Chronologically, they include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 10, 2024