Day: April 13, 2020

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 15: Three seasons end, one begins

1) “Chicago P.D.” season-finale, 10 p.m., NBC. The seventh season ends (earlier than planned) with a quietly powerful episode. It starts with trying to catch thugs selling mini-Uzis. There are complications – there usually are – and then the real plot takes over. We won’t spoil any twists, except to say it’s a deep dilemma for Atwater, superbly played by LaRoyce Hawkins (shown here). The advice he gets – from his boss and from an ex-alderman (Wendell Pierce) now in prison – is complex and layered. So is the story. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Bad/good news: Seasons ending early; some finales are first-rate

The coronavirus shutdown is starting to have another TV impact – shorter seasons and quicker finales.
It’s a subtle change — two or three fewer episodes, before the reruns begin – with a redeeming factor: This week, two of NBC’s season-finales – “New Amsterdam,” at 9 p.m. Tuesday and “Chicago P.D” (shown here with Jason Beghe) at 10 p.m. Wednesday (April 14-15) – are terrific. Two others – “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Fire,” 8 and 9 p.m. Wednesday – are so-so, but we’ll settle for two out of four. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2020
Stories

Brady’s bunch: Teens tackle comedy

Wayne Brady now has his comedy six-pack – one of the youngest comedy groups ever.
How young? All six together are 92 years old … still, for instance, five years younger than comedy producer Norman Lear.
Those teens were picked for “Wayne Brady’s Comedy IQ,” at 8 p.m. ET Mondays on BYU TV, a cable and streaming channel. In the opener, Brady worked with a dozen kids, before picking his six. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2020