New TV season 2022

News and Quick Comments

The new season: Here’s an updated overview

(The new season is half-way here now. It officially began Sept. 19, but several shows will wait until early October; one new one arrives Nov. 4. With that in mind, I’m keeping the new-season overview here at the top and updating it. Here are three stories that I posted earlier; the first two have been rewritten throughout.)
A new TV season is here now. It has a few shows and a lot of promos. What it lacks is the old blend of Hollywood hope, hype and a sense of something big.
There have been big things lately, but not on the broadcast networks, the ones that send out shows for free (with commercials) over the air.
A “Game of Thrones” prequel on HBO collided with a “Lord of the Rings” prequel (shown here) on Amazon Prime, both spending mega-money – reportedly $200 million for 10 HBO episodes, $465 million for eight Amazon ones. What’s a mere broadcast network to do? Not much; consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022
Stories

The new season: Here’s a preview

(As the new season nears, I wanted to put my three season-preview stories in one easy-to-find spot. Here they are; I’ve updated them slightly and will continue to. First, an overview of the broadcast networks, which used to dominate each fall.)
A new TV season is ready to go..
It has a starting date (Sept. 19), a few shows and a lot of promos. What it lacks is the old blend of Hollywood hope, hype and a sense of something big.
There have been big things lately, but not on the broadcast nrtworks, the ones that send out shows for free (with commercials) over the air.
A “Game of Thrones” prequel on HBO collided with a “Lord of the Rings” prequel on Amazon Prime, both spending mega-money – reportedly $200 million for 10 HBO episodes, $465 million for eight Amazon ones. What’s a mere broadcast network to do? Not much; consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 12, 2022
Stories

What’s new this fall? Here’s the line-up

Here’s a round-up of new fall TV shows.
In each category, we start with broadcast, which used to dominate each fall. (A separate story offers an overview of the broadcas5 networks; also, their schedules are listed under “Quick News and Comments.”) We list basic cable next, then pay-cable and finally streaming. In those sub-categories, they’re chronological.
DRAMA (with music)
— “Monarch,” Fox. Trace Adkins and Susan Sarandon play country-music stars, with their own label run by their son. One daughter has the looks and ambition for stardom; the other has the talent. Then big events change everything. The music is great, the drama is soapy and Nashville stars drop in; shown here is Shania Twain’s brief visit in the second episode. (Debuts about 8 p.m. ET Sept. 11, after football; then 9 p.m. Tuesdays, starting Sept. 20). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022
Stories

New-season preview: a tough ride for networks

A new TV season is ready to go..
It has a starting date (Sept. 19), a few shows and a lot of promos. What it lacks is the old blend of Hollywood hope, hype and a sense of something big.
There have been big things lately, but not on the broadcast nertworks, the ones.that send out shows for free (with commercials), over the air
A “Game of Thrones” prequel on HBO collided with a “Lord of the Rings” prequel on Amazon Prime, both spending mega-money. Disney+ launched a pile of new shows on one day (Sept. 8). Mere broadcast networks — with pleasant new shows like “So Help Me Todd” (shown here) — can only make a so-so counter-attack; consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022