Mike Hughes

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for May 1: lots of finales … and a king

1) “A Million Little Things” (shown here) series-finale, 10 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. In the spirit of “This Is Us,” this has found strong drama in regular lives. Well, almost regular This show started with a suicide, then piled on some new crises. One character became paraplegic, two had cancer. There was deceit, despair, Alzheimer’s … plus redeemng bursts of humor and joy. Now the show ends as it had planned to — after five seasons, with most of the friends together. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 27, 2023
Stories

“A Small Light” shines on Anne Frank’s heroes

As “A Small Light” arrives, we’re reminded of the large-scale heroism of everyday people.
At the core is Miep Gies, who risked her life for two years to hide Anne Frank’s family. “Miep is an ordinary person who ended up doing an extraordinary thing,” said Bel Powley (shown here), who plays her.
So are others in this four-week, eight-hour series, starting at 9 p.m. Monday (May 1) on the National Geographic Channel and reaching Disney+ the next day. They include: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 27, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 29: old “SNL,” older movies

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. There’s one more rerun tonight, before “SNL” returns to new episodes … unless a writers’ strike scuttles the rest of the season. Pedro Pascal (shown here), the star of “The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us,” hosts, with Coldplay as music guest. Next Saturday (barring a strike) has Pete Davidson, two days after his “Bupkis” series debuts on Peacock. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 27, 2023
News and Quick Comments

The new attraction is still hot, still fatal

“Fatal Attraction” is back – now longer and deeper, but still fatal.
It has eight parts now, with the first three arriving Sunday (April 30), taking its characters (shown here) on a wild ride. “We love a twisty-turny show that … gives use something new and fun to think about,” showrunner Alexandra Cunningham told the Television Critics Association.
That’s on Paramount+, which had a sort of treasure hunt. It scoured the massive library of Paramount films, looking for ones to reboot as series or miniseries. So far, that’s involved: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 26, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 28: Good-bye to comedy and music, hello to Peter Pan

1) “Grand Crew” season-finale, 8 and 8:30 p.m., NBC. The latest attempt at Friday comedies is ending. Such shows once thrived on ABC; Fox revived the idea – then switched to wrestling. Now NBC has moved “Lopez vs. Lopez” to Tuesdays and is closing the season for “Grand Crew” (shown here in a previous episode), which has improved sharply in its second season. In tonight’s first episode, Noah finds an all-consuming romance; in the second, everyone goes to a wine-tasting. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 26, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 27: a long farewell for Corden

1) James Corden farewell, 10 p.m. and 12:37 a.m., CBS. Arriving from England nine years ago, Corden brought intelligence, enthusiasm and a terrific producer. Ben Winston has gone on to produce the Adele specials, the “Friends” reunion, two Tony nights and seven Grammy shows. He and Corden have worked wonders. Now their farewell has Adele in a “Carpool Karaoke” (she and Corden are shown hre in their previous one), Tom Cruise in a “Lion King” number and Will Ferrell and Harry Styles as the last late-late guests. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 25, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Dead women keep probing killers

A young woman will soon probe her own murder … again.
That happened in “School Spirits,” which has just finished its eight-week run on Paramount+. Now it happens again in “The Rising” (shown here), which debuts at May 29 on CW.
Actually, “Rising” was there first. Based on a 2017 Belgian series, it debuted a year ago on British TV; one of its co-stars is Solly McLeod, now starring in PBS’ lusty “Tom Jones” remake. (“School Spirits,” by comparison, is based on an upcoming graphic novel.)
Clara Rugaard, 25, stars in “The Rising” as Neve, who’s unhappy to learn she’s dead. She uses her new, supernatural powers to try to learn who killed her. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 24, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for April 26: fun with Carol, “Lies” and more

1) “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. On Burnett’s 90th birthday, we get a cascade of clips, songs and praise. That’s a fine idea, even if the mix is wrong. There’s way too much praise (repetitious and sort of monotonous) and way too few clips of Burnett and friends in her series (shown here) and specials. Even with the mis-blend, however, this is a delight. It includes music from Katy Perry, Billy Porter, Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch and more. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 24, 2023
Stories

Tom Jones is back — younger, sweeter, but still a sexy rascal

Tom Jones is back, still young and frisky and fond of the ladies.
This is the 18th-century rascal (not the rock singer) of movie fame. He still has a vigorous sex life – but it’s not as loose and lusty as people might remember. Did we mention that this is on PBS?
Fresh from Jane Austen’s chaste world, “Masterpiece Theatre” starts “Tom Jones” (shown here) at 9 p.m. Sunday (April 30). Suzanne Simpson, the “Masterpiece” chief, calls it “a big-hearted love story.”
But isn’t this the same story that was a bawdy, box-office hit and Oscar-winner in 1963? Yes, Gwyneth Hughes told the Television Critics Association, but there’s a difference. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 23, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Bet-bets for April 25: Comedies migrate to Tuesdays

1) “How I Met Your Father,” 10 and 10:30 p.m., Freeform. Here’s a small-but-worthy trend: A few shows from streaming networks re-appear on cable, where more people can see tbem. FX did that with “Under the Banner of Heaven” and on Thursday will start Steve Carell’s compelling “The Patient.” Here’s a lighter choice: Hilary Duff(shown here) is looking for love, in a variation of “How I Met Your Mother.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 23, 2023