Day: August 5, 2019

ABC returns to minis and “Mermaid”

LOS ANGELES – ABC is brushing off a long-dormant notion – big-deal mini-series.
The network once soared with “Roots” and more, but in recent years all of the broadcast networks have mostly avoided movies and minis. Now ABC president Karey Burke has announced:-
– “Little Mermaid,” becoming the network’s first live musical. Auli’i Cravalho (shown here) of “Moana” has the title role, with Queen Latifah as Ursula and Shaggy as Sebastian.
— An ongoing anthology, “Women of the Movement.” That starts next season with Mamie Till, who became active after the murder of her son, a civil-rights activist. By the end of that mini, she’ll meet Rosa Parks (which she did in real life, Burke said), who will be the subject of a mini the following season. Read more…

Kimmel’s busy with old and new TV

LOS ANGELES — Two notions from TV’s glory days, “All in the Family” and live television, will return – twice.
Jimmy Kimmel announced Monday that he’ll produce two more specials next season for ABC, one at Christmastime, the other next spring.
This season, Kimmel linked with Norman Lear and Will Ferrell to produce a live special using old scripts from “All in the Family” (shown here with Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei) and “The Jeffersons.” Those could be the shows included again – both are produced by Lear, 97 – but “everything isn’t tied down yet.” Read more…

Best-bets for Aug. 7: Shows start, stop, reboot

1) “BH90210” debut, 9 p.m. Fox; rerunning at 8 p.m. Friday. Summer is the time to try something odd, toying with TV’s reality. Fox does that Sundays (with “What Just Happened?”) and now has a new twist. Former “Beverly Hills, 90210” stars –Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling (shown here), plus Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley, Brian Austin Green, Gabrielle Carteris and Ian Ziering – play versions of themselves. After a fan fest, they talk about rebooting the series. Soon, old feuds and romances are re-ignited. Read more…