Day: January 20, 2023

Best-bets for Jan. 22: strong night for PBS dramas

1) “All Creatures Great and Small,” 9 p.m., PBS. For three seasons, we thought we knew Siegfried, a stern veterinarian who makes steep demands on everyone, including himself. Now a beautifully crafted hour offers a fresh perspective. It flashes back to World War I, when he debated the fate of Army horses; then we see him in the ‘40s (shown here), trying to save one horse. The result is subtle and deeply moving, Read more…

Apple’s less-is-more approach brings quality

As Apple TV+ sets its line-up, one thing is clear: The less-is-more approach sort of works.
Other streamers are into more-is-more, the scheme that propelled Netflix. They spend billions and run up huge deficitts, to assemble lots of subscribers worldwide. Various reports put Netflix at 223 million subscribers, Amazon Prime at 200 million, Disney+ at 164 million and HBO Max at 77 million.
By comparison, Apple has fewer viewers (34 million last year) and fewer shows. But many of those shows have made an impact; they’re led by the Emmy-winning “Ted Lasso” and the much-praised “Schmigadoon” (shown here), “Severance” and “The Morning Show.”
Now Apple has announced that “Schmigadoon” will return April 7 and “Lasso” will be back sometime this spring. Meeting with the Television Critics Association, it set these dates: Read more…