Month: September 2021

News and Quick Comments

TCA awards get Smart and lasso Ted

Jean Smart’s career has reached a multi-universe: She’s being honored for her past AND her present.
Smart has won the Television Critics Association’s annual Career Achievement award. At the same time, she’s won the Individual Achievement in Comedy award, for her work in “Hacks” (shown here). The awards, announced at 2 p.m. ET today, were led by “Ted Lasso” for program of the year. 
This is the 37th year for the awards and the second straight in which the ceremony was canceled because of COVID concerns. However, Smart could still have her public moment: At the Emmy awards (8-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS), she’s nominated for lead actress in a comedy (“Hacks”) and supporting actress in a movie or mini-series (“Mare of Easttown”). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 15, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 17: “Red Shoes” in ballet and in drama

1) “Great Performances: The Red Shoes,” 9 p.m., PBS. Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of artistic obsession keeps getting award-winning adaptations. A 1948 movie won two Oscars and the 2020 stage production (shown here) of theBritish ballet won two Olivier awards. Set in old Hollywood (and using movie music by Bernard Herrmann), it has gorgeous visuals and choreography. But to follow the plot, you have to listen to all the spoilers the narrator offers before the story begins. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 15, 2021
Stories

Here’s a look at the new — well, new-ish — TV season

Summer is sagging, the pandemic is persisting and we need a fresh diversion.
We need the new TV season – new shows, new …. Well, maybe we can settle for “new-ish.”
The season officially starts Monday (Sept. 20), when all of the reruns and most of the summer reality shows vanish. But with some splendid exceptions — including “Ghosts,” shown here — this won’t seem terribly new. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 14, 2021
News and Quick Comments

New shows this fall: Here’s a round-up

It’s a small, sturdy crop – this year’s group of new shows on the broadcast networks.
There are only 11 scripted ones at the start of the season, about half the usual total. Many are spin-offs or reboots; most have sent only a rough pilot film, not ready for review. Still, a few shows already stand out. We’ll list them first, then the rest; afterward, there’s a list of broadcast’s new, non-fiction shows; each list is chronological:
The best
– “The Big Leap,” 9 p.m., Mondays, Fox (starting Sept. 20). The fictional notion makes little sense: A national dance show focuses only on contestants from Detroit … concluding with “Swan Lake.” (A reality show, setting up a ballet?!?) Once you get past that, you’ll find deep characters. Scott Foley (shown here) plays the cynical producer; Teri Polo plays someone in mid-life crisis. Other roles go to relative newcomers (led by Simone Recasner as a young single mom); you’ll quickly root for them. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 14, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 16: “Nine-Nine” ends; streamers begin

1) “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” finale, 8-9 p.m., NBC. “Nine-Nine” (shown here in a previous episode) started hot in 2014 – Golden Globes for best comedy and comedy actor (Andy Samberg), Television Critics Association nominations for best comedy and new show. Then things got bumpy: Fox cancelled the show after five seasons; NBC aired two more full seasons and this 10-episode summer one. After tonight, NBC heads into a fall line-up that will mostly be laugh-free in prime time. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 14, 2021
News and Quick Comments

Oh Joy: We can spend more money

Here’s what we all need (maybe) … a new way to spend money via our TV sets.
On Oct. 14, cable’s USA Network will debut “America’s Big Deal,” produced by Joy Mangano (shown here), It’s a little bit like “Shark Tank,” except that the businesses will be trying to sell the products instantly to viewers. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 13, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 15: championships for “Chef” and “Talent”

1) “MasterChef” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. This amiable show is strictly for home chefs. This year’s 15 contestants ranged from a student, 22, to a hospice nursing assistant, 59; they included a construction worker, an animal trainer and a lifestyle coach. Now we have the final three – Autumn Moretti (shown here), 27, a bartender; Suu Khin, 30, a food-blogger; and Kelsey Murphy, 32, a physical therapist. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 13, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 14: Finalists sing, dance, build stuff

1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. The ratings-leader is ready to pick a champion. Tonight, the 10 finalists perform and viewers vote; Wednesday’s finale (9-11 p.m.) will name the winner. Singers won in five of the first six years, then went two for nine. This year’s final-10 has three singers and a nurses’ chorus (shown here), plus two comedians, two magicians, an acrobat and a taekwondo team. They range from singer Victory Brinker, 9, to Josh Blue, 42, and already a “Last Comic Standing” winner. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 12, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept.13: supreme athletes, Supreme Court

1) “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox) and “American Ninja Warrior” (NBC) finales, 8-10 p.m. Next Monday, the new season officially starts. First, there’s a flurry of finales – these two, plus “Lego Masters” Tuesday and “MasterChef” and “America’s Got Talent” Wednesday. This edition of “Hell’s Kitchen” is confined to young pro chefs, 24 and under; tonight, that’s trimmed to two, who each lead the preparation of a five-course dinner. Also, “Ninja” (shown here in a previous episode) wraps its three-parter, as people face the final obstacle course. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 12: rock, “Rust” and Rams

1) “American Rust” debut, 10 p.m,, Showtime. As a soldier and as a Pittsburgh cop, Del (Jeff Daniels, shown here) was battered emotionally. He retreated to become police chief of a small town in rural Pennsylvania; there, it turns out, the problems are more personal and more painful: His sometimes-lover (Maura Tierney) faces foreclosure; her son becomes a murder suspect. Based on a much-praised novel, “Rust” is written and played with the sort of understated power that Daniels masters. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 10, 2021