Month: November 2022

Best-bets for Nov. 15: “FBI” star returns

1) “FBI,” 8 p.m., CBS. No matter where she works, Missy Peregrym has been an audience favorite. A preacher’s kid from Canada, she did “Black Sash” and “Reaper” on WB-turned-CW, was a new cop in ABC’s “Rookie Blue,” then became Maggie, a top FBI agent. She missed six episodes this fall, after having her second child on June 6. Now Maggie (recovering from sarin-gas exposure) returns (shown here), facing a double homicide and perilous undercover work. Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 14: tough times in fact and fiction

1) “American Experience: Taken Hostage,” 9-11 p.m., PBS; concluding Tuesday. For 444 days, Americans were held hostage in Iran. The crisis engulfed the final year of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, ending just as Ronald Reagan was being inaugurated. This richly detailed film views the ordeal of the hostages, but also goes back to see decades of American links with the autocratic shah, leading to protests (shown here) and his overthrow. Read more…

Let’s have a timely new “Father of the Bride”

The movie “Father of the Bride” has already been made twice – first with Spencer Tracy and then (shown here) with Steve Martin. So let’s try it again:
The setting this time is Florida and the time is … well, this Saturday, Nov. 12. The bride’s name is Tiffany, after the place where rich people buy glitter to impress each other. And the wedding will be at her father’s resort.
By custom, a wedding is all about the bride. This time, however, that’s problematic. For this father of the bride, it’s always all about him.
At a reception, the father’s speech or toast should be five minutes or less, filled with kind words. But that’s not his style; he likes to talk for two hours or more, mostly about himself and about people he’s mad at. Read more…

It’s a guy in the Rocky-Rambo-“Yellowstone” mode

Two kindred spirits, a generation apart, have merged in the macho-man TV world. There’s:
— Sylvester Stallone, 76. He created John Rambo and Rocky Balboa, 40 and 46 years ago.
— Taylor Sheridan, about 52. Four years ago, he created John Dutton and “Yellowstone.”
Now they’ve combined for “Tulsa King,” which has a two-part arrival: On Sunday (Nov. 13), it debuts on the Paramount+ streamer; a week later, its first two episodes will be on cable – 9 and 10 p.m. Nov. 20, right after “Yellowstone,” on the Paramount Network. “We’re both steeped in the alpha tradition where, you know, life is hard,” Stallone told the Television Critics Associatioon. Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 13: A double day for “Yellowstone” creator

1) “Yellowstone” season-opener, 8-10:27 p.m., Paramount Network, rerunning at 10:27. Ominous music looms through this two-parter, even during John Dutton’s inauguration as governor. Big things – tragedies (large and small) and triumphs — are ahead. It’s hard to empathize with a governor whose only concern is his own property. But when he’s perfectly played by Kevin Costner (shown here), with surgical-sharp dialog and epic visuals, we can’t help it. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for Nov. 14: zombies and holiday joy

1) Thanksgiving episodes, Wednesday, ABC. Comedies are at their best during Thanksgiving dinner; now three shows have their turns. On “The Conners” (8 p.m.), Jackie frets about her mother’s health and Darlene scrambles to find a job. On “The Goldbergs” (8:30), Beverly (shown here) prepares for her first holiday as a widow … and an unexpected relative arrives. “Home Economics” (9:30) also has an unexpected guest — Tom’s lone superfan, who is also his half-sister. Read more…

CBS plans a Carey Christmas

CBS has re-discovered Christmas – and has Mariah Carey (shown here) to prove it.
The network announced today (Nov. 10) that it will have a two-hour Carey concert, at 8 p.m. Dec. 20. She’ll sing in Madison Square Garden, including her perennial hit, “All I Want For Christmas is You.”
The show will also spread across the rest of the Paramount universe – on Paramount+ and rerunning at times (not yet announced) on MTV. Read more…

Best-bets for Nov. 11: potent Veterans Day choices

1) “Band of Brothers,” 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., History. As Veterans Day begins, History reruns HBO’s compelling portrait (shown here with Damian Lewis) of one World War II unit. It follows with a “Salute to Service” special at 8 and 11 p.m., with “Hacksaw Ridge” (2016) at 9. The true story of a pacifist who won a Medal of Honor as a medic, “Ridge” drew Oscar nominations for best picture, star Andrew Garfield and director Mel Gibson. Also at 9 p.m., PBS profiles the USO. Read more…

Mid-season brings a flood of debuts and season-openers

So now we know what we might be doing during a long, cold winter.
We can stare at our TV sets, catching lots of shows that are new or semi-new or, at least, re-arranged.
This week, ABC, NBC and Fox announced their mid-season plans. Combined, in January and February they’ll have five new drama series (two of them about missing-persons units), three new comedies (including “Not Dead Yet,” shown here with Gina Rodriguez), three new reality shows and about a dozen season-openers, plus some shows changing nights. Read more…