Mike Hughes

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 26: Lee leaps between shows

1) “Kevin Can F Himself,” 9 p.m., AMC, and “Quantum Leap,” 10 p.m., NBC. For tonight and two more weeks, Raymond Lee is the king of Mondays. On NBC, he’s the star, leaping into strangers’ bodies; tonight, he’s aboard a space shuttle. On AMC (shown here), his marriage crumbles during his affair with Allison — who plans to fake her death to escape her husband. “Kevin” juggles deliberately bad sitcom and solid drama; it has some pivotal scenes late in this hour. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 24, 2022
News and Quick Comments

“Bridgerton” flashes back to a young queen

So there will be a new Queen Charlotte, after all.
This one isn’t in England (where the real Princess Charlotte is further back in the heir-apparent list). It’s in the fictional world of “Bridgerton.”
The first two seasons (still available on Netflix) had Golda Rosheuvel (shown here) as the old — and rather grumpy — queen. Now, however, news comes of the prequel. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022
News and Quick Comments

The new season: Here’s an updated overview

(The new season is half-way here now. It officially began Sept. 19, but several shows will wait until early October; one new one arrives Nov. 4. With that in mind, I’m keeping the new-season overview here at the top and updating it. Here are three stories that I posted earlier; the first two have been rewritten throughout.)
A new TV season is here now. It has a few shows and a lot of promos. What it lacks is the old blend of Hollywood hope, hype and a sense of something big.
There have been big things lately, but not on the broadcast networks, the ones that send out shows for free (with commercials) over the air.
A “Game of Thrones” prequel on HBO collided with a “Lord of the Rings” prequel (shown here) on Amazon Prime, both spending mega-money – reportedly $200 million for 10 HBO episodes, $465 million for eight Amazon ones. What’s a mere broadcast network to do? Not much; consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022
Stories

“Monarch”: a regal mix of soap, stars & songs

Dottie Roman and Elizabeth II had a lot in common, you know.
Both were queens – one of country music, the other of the British empire. Both will remain visible – one via flashbacks, the other via stamps and money and such. And both planned their own funerals.
The differences are also important, of course:
— Dottie is fictional, portrayed by Susan Sarandon(shown here, center) in “Monarch,” at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox. Elizabeth, we’re told, was real.
— At her funeral, Dottie suddenly soared above the stage – a giant, holographic image, singing powerfully. Elizabeth didn’t … but it would have been really cool if she did. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 25: “Simpsons” starts, “Big Brother” ends

1) “The Simpsons” season-opener, 8 p.m., Fox. Homeris forlorn (shown here) after being mocked at a town hall. Then he finds a cause – a group with conspiracy theories about the zoo’s missing tortoise. It gives him, Marge says, “a chance to be a big fish in a small, weird pond.” It’s a funny episode, launching a string of openers: “The Great North” at 8:30, “Bob’s Burgers” at 9 and “Family Guy” at 9:30, with its versions of “Silence of the Lambs,” “American Beauty” and “Forrest Gump.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022
Stories

He rescued his sad mom … and his sagging life

Like many young actors, Scott Prendergast was drowning in debts and doubts.
He twas 35, with no money, no insurance and $27,000 in credit-card debt. “My mother was constantly having to step in and save me and fix my life,” he told the Television Critics Association.
Then a crisis turned everything around. Parts of that – 17 years later – are being re-created in “So Help Me Todd,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 29) on CBS.
Skylar Astin plays Todd, an unemployed detective who is hired by his mom, a big-time lawyer. Prendergast wrote the script and is a producer, which makes things complicated. “You’re basically casting a proxy of yourself,” he said. “And then someone is playing sort of a version of your mother.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Sept. 26: a light-drama revival

1) “So Help Me Todd” debut, 9 p.m. Thursday, CBS. There’s a sweet spot, where fun and crimesolving co-exist. TV lost it for a while, but “Todd” hits it perfectly in its opener … before getting a tad goofy in the next couple weeks. Margaret (Marcia Gay Harden) is a lawyer; Todd (Skylar Astin) is a private eye, with tech skills and no work. (They’re shown here.) He’s also her son; when he works for her, his freeform style collides with her diligence. Good mysteries are peppered with fun. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 22, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 24: Lizzo, “Leap,” lotsa crime

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Lizzo (shown here in a different show) doubles as host and music guest, in the final rerun, before next week’s season-opener. For this season, she and Billie Eilish were the only hosts to also do the music; coming up, however, Megan Thee Stallion will do both on Oct. 15. Miles Teller opens the season, with music from Kendrick Lamar; Brendan Gleeson is Oct. 8, with Willow. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 22, 2022
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Sept. 23: Streamers seize the spotlight

1) Streaming surge. In the first week of the broadcast season, streamers have grabbed much of the attention. Hulu alone has debuted a terrific comedy (“Reboot”), continued another first-rate comedy (“Atlanta,” shown here) and opened the season for a reality show (“The Kardashians”). Disney+ has launched a sci-fi series (“Andor”) and taken over “Dancing With the Stars.” There’s been much more, including Peacock’s “Meet Cute” movie. And today, Netflish adds several movies, including “A Jazzman’s Blues,” a Tyler Perry film with a juke-joint soundtrack. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 21, 2022
Stories

Love is elusive when you leap through time

Fictional romances are rarely convenient.
Lovers are separated by geography or war or politics or society. Still, they have it easy compared to Ben (shown here) and Addison in the “Quantum Leap” reboot.
“It’s like the long-distance relationship from Hell,” said Martin Gero, the series creator. “They’re separated by time and space …. They can’t touch.” At first, Ben doesn’t even recognize his fiancee Addison … and doesn’t recognize himself.
That unfolded in the series opener, which reruns at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 24) on NBC (and any time on Peacock), before the second episode at 10 p.m. Monday. Ben adapted a high-tech program that randomly flings him into the bodies of other people in other times. The first fling involved a decent chap who was, alas, a getaway driver.
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 21, 2022