Day: April 18, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Summer isn’t cruel to scripted-drama fans

This summer, the Freeform network will deliver a relatively rare commodity – new, scripted episodes.
It will bring back two series – the final season of “Grown-ish” and the overdue second season of “Cruel Summer” (shown here). It will also debut an animated show, “Praise Petey.”
Summers have fallen into a habit — plenty of scripted shows on premium cable (HBO, Showtime, etc.) and streamers, with the others sticking mostly to reruns and reality shows.
Now Freeform, a basic-cable channel, will make a small dent in that. It has: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2023

News and Quick Comments

“Snowfall” ends; Idris soars

In the fierce, six-year run of “Snowfall,” Damson Idris has mostly been ignored by awards voters.
That’s understandable. Idris’ job, which he did perfectly, was to play Franklin Saint (shown here in an earlier episode), a cool-eyed drug kingpin. Hollywood doesn’t give awards for stoic and stony.
But now all of that changes with the series finale, at 10 p.m. Wednesday (April 19) on FX, rerunning at 11:39 p.m. and 1:06 and 2:39 a.m., then going to Hulu. The steely exterior is gone; Idris gives a performance that’s … well, Pacino-esque. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2023

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 20: a “Good” rerun, a fond farewell

1) “The Good Doctor,” 10 p.m., ABC. This slot has been vacant since “Alaska Daily” ended ts season three weeks ago, but ABC keeps filling it well. In this rerun, Shaun faces a malpractice suit. His lawyer (Felicity Huffman) advises a settlement, but her researcher (beautifully played by Kennedy McMahon, shown here, the “Nancy Drew” star) disagrees. She’s autistic, as is Shaun, and this strong and moving hour is a pilot for a “Good Lawyer” series. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 18, 2023