Month: May 2021

News and Quick Comments

Cable’s “TNets”: silly, serious summertime

While money men work out the future, the former Ted Turner networks have basic plans for now.
The billion-dollar stuff – merging Warner and Discovery channels – is for later. For now, the “TNets” range from the silliness of “Wipeout” and “Go-Big Show” to the dead-serious “Snowpiercer” (shown here) and “Claws.”
Coming is what Brett Weitz, general manager of TBS, TNT and TruTV, calls “a very packed summer.” That will range from the comic “Miracle Workers” to the crime drama “Animal Kingdom,” and will include a fresh twist to movie night.
TBS’ “Friday Night Vibes” will have Tiffany Haddish hosting films and chatting with friends; that starts June 18 with a Juneteenth celebration that includes a “Creed” double-feature. “She’s such a pro …. I can’t wait to see who she gets to hang with her each week,” Weitz told reporters. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 19, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 21: Van Dyke adds color, “Tank” adds a dinosaur

1) “The Dick Van Dyke Show – Now in Living Color,” 8 p.m., CBS. Here are two episodes from a great comedy (shown here in a promo photo), now with color added by computer. The second – from the final season– lets Mel (Richard Deacon) finally stand up to Alan (Carl Reiner), his boss and brother-in-law. The first was co-written by Garry Marshall, recalling a real-life time when he had to secretly rewrite a play. Marshall would go on to produce “Happy Days,” “Laverne and Shirley, “Mork and Mindy” and more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 19, 2021
News and Quick Comments

“Evil” and “SEAL” jump to streaming network

There is still room for evil in our media landscape.
Or, specifically, for “Evil” – the series that disappeared 16 months ago. Its long-delayed second season will skip CBS and jump directly to the Paramount Plus streaming service.
No date has been set for the move, but another show will wait until this fall. That’s when “SEAL Team” (shown here) has a special on CBS, then jumps to the streamer. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 19, 2021
Stories

ABC doubles up on reality this fall

Repeating a trick it learned during the pandemic, ABC will have two reality shows on consecutive nights this fall.
It will be “Dancing With the Stars” on Mondays and an extra “Bachelorette” – right after the summer one – on Tuesdays.
The latter will provide a lead-in for a promising drama-with-music: “Queens” (shown here) at 10 p.m. Tuesdays, has Eve and Brandy in a story of a former hip-hop band, re-uniting. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 18, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 20: An old comedy ends, a new one continues

1) “Last Man Standing” series-finale, 9 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. It’s been a strong run for this comedy – nine seasons, spanning 10 years and two networks. The farewell, however, reminds us of that this is a very ordinary show, with forced humor salvaged (barely) by likable characters. The 9 p.m. episode – a “camping boot camp” – is so-so. The 9:30 one gives some awful lines to Jay Leno, but also has its moments, using a stolen truck (shown here) as a metaphor for a canceled show. The truck, at least, is a classic. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 18, 2021
Stories

Fox’s fall line-up: second (and third and more) chances

Are most of us desperate to rebound, to recover, to have a second chance at life?
The Fox network seems to think so. Introducing his fall line-up to reporters, programming chief Charlie Collier talked of a time for “second chances and re-invention.”
His new shows keep reflecting that: Three women rethink their lives after a friend’s death (“Pivoting”) … A Cambodian doctor rebuilds her life after becoming a cleaning woman for U.S. mobsters (“The Cleaning Lady”) … People desperate for a second chance try a dance show (“The Big Leap,” shown here).
Even a reality show (tucked neatly after “The Masked Singer”) has a re-invention theme: Performers don’t compete as themselves, but as their avatars. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 19: “Chicago” dramas, good and bad

1) “Chicago P.D.,” 10 p.m., NBC. Easily the best of NBC’s three Chicago shows, “P.D.” (shown here in a previous episode) offers a taut hour that spills into next week’s season-finale. Samantha Miller (Nicole Ari Parker) is a police reformer who joined the show this season; now her son needs help, in what seems like a quick case, then grows. One bit of inaction strains credibility; also, viewers will be disappointed that this is the rare “P.D.” episode that doesn’t wrap things up. Still, it’s a strong, solid hour that will bring them back next week. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2021
News and Quick Comments

It’s boom-or-bust time for fall line-ups

This used to be a grand TV tradition, a time when careers might soar or crumble.
It’s the week of “upfronts,” when networks announce their fall schedules to advertisers. It will be NBC and Fox on Monday (May 17), ABC on Tuesday and CBS on Wednesday; some shows will make the cut, others (including “All Rise,” shown here) won’t.
And if this doesn’t seem as big as it used to? Well, nothing does, really. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 18: As six shows conclude, Superman returns

1) “Prodigal Son” series finale, 9 p.m., Fox. This gothic drama ends in its fashion – deep, dark, nasty, sometimes wildly over the top. At the core is Martin (Michael Sheen), a surgeon and serial killer. Last week, we learned that his prison doctor (Catherine Zeta-Jones,shown here with Sheen) is just as cruel. After he escaped, she took him hostage … then added his son, a police profiler. Now the guys have escaped and find a convenient case to solve. There’s much more, in an hour that combines brilliant acting and fiercely excessive plot twists.
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 16, 2021
News and Quick Comments

ABC adds diversity for fall and beyond

For ABC, the new TV season will have a diverse look.
Of the four new shows the network has announced, three have predominantly Black casts. That includes a “Wonder Years” reboot (shown here) that now has Don Cheadle voicing the grown-up narrator, recalling a 1960s childhood in Montgomery, Ala.
That news comes shortly after ABC canceled two Black-themed shows (“For Life” and “Mixed-ish”) and three others (“Rebel,” “American Housewife” and “Call Your Mother”). The network’s other shows have been renewed, including some – “The Rookie,” “Home Economics,” “Big Sky,” “American Idol,” “A Million Little Things” – that might have been close calls.
ABC will present its line-up to advertisers at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, but sent news over the weekend about four new series. They are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 15, 2021