Day: May 1, 2021

Fey slides to the streaming side with musical fun

New people keep jumping to the streaming side of television … including some who were doing just fine without it.
Now “Girls5Eva” (shown here) arrives Thursday (May 6)  on Peacock, mixing brash comedy and bubbly songs. It’s produced by Tina Fey, whose previous shows have prospered on NBC, in movie theaters, even on Broadway.
Why switch to a streaming network? Some people do that so they can use adult material, but this show is “really pretty clean and watchable,” Fey said.
Better reasons? Streamers offer more flexibility in the length of episodes – “which, with music, is a huge help,” said Robert Carlock, Fey’s producing partner – and in the number of them. “You can make a boutique amount of episodes,” Fey said. Read more…

Best-bets for May 3: Tan and superheroes on an Idol-less day

1) “American Masters: Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Tan (shown here) was a successful business writer, working on “all the subjects I had no interest in.” She was interested in people – and had known some vivid ones. Her sweet-spirited father and brother died of brain tumors, leaving her, she said, as “a very angry girl … with this crazy, suicidal mother.” Later, fictionalizing slightly, she wrote “The Joy Luck Club”; she had a best-seller at 36, with more to follow. Here’s a fascinating proile. Read more…