Mike Hughes

News and Quick Comments

Fox’s summer starts early, with games and balls

If you’re in a hurry to see summer-TV shows, then Fox is your network. It starts one on May 16 and willl add five more before the end of the month.
And if you don’t want summer shows? Alas, the other networks also begin soon.
NBC starts “America’s Got Talent” on May 28 … ABC adds Sunday movies on June 2 (starting with “Inside Out”), but holds everything else until a spurt starts with “Bachelorette” on July 8 ….CBS builds its summer around the three-a-week “Big Brother,” starting July 17.
By then, Fox’s shows will be deep into their run. The network has one new show (“The Quiz With Balls”), four season-openers (including “Food Stars,” shown here with Gordon Ramsayand Lisa Vanderpump) and two shows that are returning after filling in during or shortly after the strikes. The line-up — chronologically, with at least one more show expected — is: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 8, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 10: new Who, old Hamlet, more

1) “Doctor Who” season-opener, Disney+. In its 61 years, this show has had stops, starts, cancellations, revivals … and 14 stars. It has also had bursts of British wit … especially since Russell Davies became showrunner in 2005. Now the time-trekking show has a new streaming home, plus the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa, 31, a Rwanda native) and a new companion (Millie Gibson, 19); they’re shown here. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 8, 2024
Stories

Summer’s Sunday surplus: Sly, “Snowpiercer,” etc.

Summertime TV is looking less sparse now.
CBS has announced a schedule that includes “Big Brother,” “Let’s Make a Deal” and transplanted episodes of Sylvester Stallone’s “Tulsa King” (shown here).
That news came on the same day as others – the final “Snowpiercer” season, on AMC, and hard-rock biographies on A&E. Both are on Sundays, when PBS has its dramas.
Add some previous news and you have a shot at a no-rerun summer. Details include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 7, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 9: Fox finales, CBS fun

1) “Next Level Chef” finale, 8 p.m., Fox. This started with five professional chefs, five who just did social media and five who cooked at home. Then the pros faded quickly; only one reached the final seven. That’s Zach Laidlaw, 34, who is now in the final three. He faces Christina Miros (shown here with Gordon Ramsay), 35, a home chef, and Gabi Chappel, 29, a social media chef. One of them will win $250,000 and a mentorship. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 7, 2024
News and Quick Comments

Broadway spree begins: Hamlet, Audra, Purlie, more

Each year, PBS does something others overlook: It celebrates Broadway.
There used to be lots of TV people who did that, from Ed Sullivan to Rosie O’Donnell. But for now, it’s mostly this one burst — four Fridays on PBS (May 10-31) and then the Tony Awards on CBS (June 16).
In that stretch, PBS will offer two plays (“Hamlet,” shown here, and “Purlie Victorious”) and two concerts, stuffed with Broadway tunes. One has Audra McDonald, the all-time Tony-leader, alone and another has her joined by lots ofother stars. “I’m the only one I’ve never heard of,” powerhouse baritone Michael Ball says during the concert.
These shows offer awesome talent … but still aren’t for everyone. For instance: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 6, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 8: a grizzly, a vampire and a heist

1) “Nature,” 8 p.m., PBS. Her name is “Grizzly 399” and her following is huge. She’s “the most famous bear that ever lived,” we’re told, using humans in the Grand Tetons National Park to shield her cubs from predatora. At about 24, she had quadruplets, which are rare; at 27 (a year past the average life span), she had her 23rd cub. It’s a remarkable story, often told through Tom Magnesen, the ace photographer who took this photo. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 6, 2024
Stories

ABC summer: Sunday movies, weekday games

This summer, ABC will go with a plan that worked during the strikes.
It will turn Sunday back into a movie night – starting with “Inside Out” (shown here) and possibly including lots of Disney films. That will let game shows sprawl across the weekdays, alongside “The Bachelorette.”
That line-up will tiptoe around the pro-basketball finals, which dominate June: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 4, 2024
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 6: lots of finales, some forever

1) “NCIS” season-finale, 9 p.m., CBS. Probing the innards of a ship (shown here), the team finds three bodies. When Parker and Knight (Gary Cole and Katrina Law) investigate, thay’re trapped inside, as it’s about to be sunk. We’re betting they survive; “NCIS” seems unsinkable. It will be back next season, its 22nd; it will be joined then by a prequel (Mark Harmon narrating Gibbs’ early adventures) and by “NCIS: Sydney.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 4, 2024
News and Quick Comments

CBS’ fall schedule: Stick with the steady viewers

As younger viewers drift away, TV networks pondered alternate solutions:
1) Go after them. Copy what the streaming networks are doing. Get guttier and grittier. Interweave some tough stories that stretch over eight or 10 hours.
2) Don’t chase them; they won’t be back anyway. Service the viewers you still have.
That second one has worked fairly well in the Nielsen ratings for CBS. Now it ripples through the play-it-safe line-up the network has announced for fall, including a “Matlock” reboot (shown here). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 3, 2024