Day: March 22, 2020

As “This Is Us” ends its season, its mini-trend continues

When “This Is Us” arrived, it was an anomaly. Now it’s a trend.
Well, maybe a mini-trend … or a micro-trend. At least, it’s made an impact.
“I feel really lucky,” producer Joan Rater told the Television Critics Association in January. “We get to tell these stories, thanks to shows like ‘This Is Us.’”
Her new show (“Council of Dads,” shown here in its waterfront Savannah setting) has a direct link: “This Is Us” has its season-finale at 9 p.m. Tuesday (March 24) on NBC; “Council” follows at 10:01, aiming for a similar audience. Read more…

Statlers’ song said it all

Who would have guessed that a Statler Brothers song, recorded 55 years ago, would neatly reflect our virus-shutdown lives?
But there it is, complete with a reference to Captain Kangaroo. In 1965, the Statlers sang these immortal words, written by their tenor, Lew DeWitt; approximately:
“Counting flowers on the wall, that don’t bother me at all; Read more…

“Daily Show” revises; latenight adjusts

A fresh version of “The Daily Show” will debut Monday (March 23), with a catchy title.
“The Daily Social Distancing Show” will be 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays on Comedy Central. It’s the latest answer to latenight’s effort to stay topical, yet stay safe.
As the coronavirus shutdown set in, latenight shows retreated to reruns. ABC even nudged Jimmy Kimmel back an hour, at least temporarily, to 12:35 a.m. weekdays; “Nightline,” with its virus reports, moved up to 11:35 p.m. Read more…

Best-bets for March 24: A double shot of warmth

1) “This Is Us” season-finale, 9 p.m., NBC. This richly layered drama manages to end each season with jolts of emotion. We’ll expect that tonight, much of it coming from the two brothers. As last week’s fascinating episode ended, their mom reluctantly agreed to go away for a clinical trial, trying to head off Alzheimer’s disease. That soothed Randall (Sterling K. Brown, show here), but may enrage Kevin. They collide tonight, at the first birthday party for Jack, the blind son of their sister Kate and her husband Toby. Read more…