Month: March 2021

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for March 29: flurry of finales, debuts

1) “United States of Al” debut(shown here), 8:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. For six dangerous years, these men were close. Riley was a Marine; Amalwir (“Al”) was his Afghan translator, friend and sometimes protector. Now, after three years of bureaucracy, Al reaches the U.S.; culture shocks begin on both sides. Unlike many Chuck Lorre shows – “Big Bang,” “B Positive” (now moving to 9:30), “Mom” – this doesn’t have big laughs. Like all Lorrte shows, it has lots of little laughs, plus some deeply likable characters. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 26, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 28: Zoey and Jackie return

1) “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” return, 9 p.m., NBC. After a seven-week pause, this odd delight steps into a new night, with Zoey(shown here in a previous episode) in a funk. She worries about a brother she likes, a co-worker she dislikes and friends who are opening a restaurant. She worries a lot; that happens when you can hear people’s thoughts via pop songs. She also clings to a sweet memory of her late father. But for all the gloom, this hour also has a large and joyous song-and-dance number and a great ending. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 26, 2021
Stories

Bacon masters a verbal volcano of schemes and hate

Jackie Rohr is a verbal volcano. Words spill out – sometimes clever, often caustic and conniving.
He’s racist, misogynist and nasty; he’s also an FBI agent in 1993 Boston. As played by Kevin Bacon (shown here with Aldis Hodge) in “City on a Hill” – which starts its second season at 10 p.m. Sunday (March 28) on Showtime – he’s one of TV’s most memorable characters.
And yes, there are viewers who admire the fact that he gets things done.
“These are not things I personally feel about the man,” Bacon told the Television Critics Association. “He’s not really a person (I would) like or respect or want to spend time with. He’s a (feces), really.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 25, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 27: Awards have Murphy, Misty, Maxwell, more

1) NAACP Image Awards, 8 p.m., CBS, BET, MTV, VH1 and more. After a decade of being on only one cable network, this returns to broadcast and beyond. Viola Davis is up for best actress in a movie (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and TV (“How to Get Away With Murder”) and for entertainer of the year, alongside Regina King, Tyler Perry, D-Nice and Trevor Noah. Maxwell performs, Eddie Murphy (shown here in “Coming 2 America”) and Misty Copeland get special awards and presenters include Leslie Jones and JB Smoove. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 25, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 26: Streamers have Ducks, Falcon

1) Streaming. This is a busy day for the streamers. At the same time that Disney starts “Mighty Ducks” (see next paragraph) and continues Marvel’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (shown here), others have series. Amazon Prime has animation for grown-ups, launching “Invincible”; Hulu has horror, with the season-finale of “Into the Dark.” Others have non-fiction – “Cocktails and Tall Tales with Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy” debuts on Discovery+; “Nailed It” starts a new Netflix season, now with duos doing the baking. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 24, 2021
Stories

After a two-decade pause, he’s back on the radar

Two opposite forces seemed to tug at Emilio Estevez.
Like his dad (Martin Sheen), he’s a serious soul, in search of large causes. Like his brother (Charlie Sheen), he has starred in pop-culture movies.
And then … well, the serious side took over. “To a lot of people, it had seemed like I had sort of dropped off the radar,” Estevez, 58, told the Television Critics Association.
Now, after two-decades, he’s back on view with “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” (shown here), which starts Friday (March 26) on Disney+. It follows a movie trilogy that has also spawned an animated series and the name of a Disney-owned pro hockey team. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 24, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 25: Comedy night has sorta-super finale

1) “Superstore” series finale, 8-9 p.m., NBC. For six seasons, this has been a likable (if inconsistent) view of the rag-tag workers at a big-box store. Now the chain plans to close most of its stores; at corporate headquarters, Amy (America Ferrera, shown here in a previous episode) tries to help her former colleagues. They want to make this a “perfect store” – not easy when random body parts are found (again). There are some fairly funny moments (as usual) … and then “Superstore” has a terrific finish, giving viewers just what they’ve wanted. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 23, 2021
Stories

Twyla Tharp: 80 years of artful movement

Twyla Tharp’s life has covered much of the dance universe.
It’s involved Broadway and ballet, Beethoven and Baryshnikov and the Beach Boys. It’s included one movie (“Hair,” shown here) that rippled with dance and another (“I’ll Do Anything”) that cut every dance scene.
“It’s a wildly, wildly diverse, unbelievable career,” Steven Cantor, whose “American Masters” profile airs at 9 p.m. Friday (March 26) on PBS, told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 22, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 23: young writer, young Rock, more

1) “American Masters: Flannery,” 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. For a brief spurt, Flannery O’Conner (shown here) strayed far from her rural-Georgia roots. She went to the Iowa Writers Workshop and tp a writers colony in New York, getting praise and friendship from literary masters. Then she was diagnosed with lupus, which her father had died of; she retreated at 27, spending her final 12 years with her mom. Her two novels and 37 short stories kept a Southern Gothic tone, becoming classics. Here’s an excellent profile. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 21, 2021