Day: August 2, 2026

Stories

Canadian canine cop makes comfy TV

If you want a pleasantly adequate TV show, here are good elements — cops, canines and Canadians.
All of which point to “Hudson & Rex” (shown here), which starts its season at 8 p.m. ET Thursday (Aug. 6) on UPtv.
No, this isn’t one of the most famous TV shows (or one of the 200 most-famous) and it’s not on a famous network. UP reaches a little over half of U.S. TV homes, via cable, digital, Philo, Frndly and DirecTV. It likes shows that are upbeat (hence the name) and family-friendly. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 2, 2026

News and Quick Comments

“Chelsea” arrives, bridging the mystery gap

For fans of British-style mysteries, this is the gap month.
PBS’ Sunday shows wrapped on Aug. 2: “Patience” ended a good second season; “Grantchester” ended a great, 11-year run.
Now we wait through a stretch of reruns or pledge drives. On Sept. 6, things bounce back with “Marlow Murder Club” and “Marble Hall Murders.”
But what do we do in the interim? Try the Britbox streamer or the Ovation channel? Maybe even read a book?
Possibly, but here’s an alternative: The Acorn streamer (www.acorn.tv) chooses this ideal time for its new season of “The Chelsea Detective” (shown here). Each of the first four Mondays in August adds a movie-length tale; most have clever plots, all have interesting characters. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 2, 2026

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Aug. 4: a fresh twist for “Talent”

1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m.,, NBC. Now comes a fresh twist. The show has already sent 28 acts to the live episodes (starting Aug. 18); twelve are musical, five are acrobatic, others range from dancers to dogs. But the judges (shown here) have picked 23 acts for “callbacks”; they’ll perform for individual judges, hoping for the final spots in the live shows. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 2, 2026