1) All night, CBS. Don’t look for cop shows tonight; CBS is fullyin feel-good Friday mode. That starts at 8 p.m. with “Secret Celebrity Renovation”; Boomer Esiason helps renovate the home of his high school football coach. At 9, Cedric the Entertainer hosts the amiable “Greatest #AtHome Videos.” And at 10, Jane Pauley hosts a “Pet Project” (shown here)special, viewing people and their pets. Read more…
Somewhere under the Starfleet’s shadow, Paramount+ stretches for an image … and for an audience.
It has the pieces: In virtual press conferences with the Television Critics Association, it introduced a cartoon series for grown-ups, a “Star Trek” for kids (shown here), a drama from the “Yellowstone” creator and two comedy-dramas – one of which seems eternal.
\“What is it – three different networks now?!?” Devvon Gregory said. He’s the new head “The Game,” a pro-football series that had three seasons on CW … took a year off … had six more on BET … then was dormant for six more. Now it starts a new season Nov. 11 on Paramount+. Read more…
There are some near-miracles that only great talent can achieve.
Now “Impeachment” – the compelling mini-series that opens at 10 p.m. Sept. 7 on FX – has accomplished two of them: It makes us like Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones. A lot.
You can credit the sharp script by playwright Sarah Burgess, adapting the story of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky (shown here in real life). And credit two gifted actress.
Playing Lewinsky is Beanie Feldstein, who drew paise in “Booksmart” and “What We Do in the Shadows.” Playing Jones is Annaleigh Ashford, a Tony-winner who is perfect in “B Positive.” Read more…
1) “CMA Summer Jam,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. For two summers, the Fan Fest was cancelled because of COVID. This second time, however, the gap was filled by a two-day Nashville concert. Darius Rucker sang on a new downtown stage, Eric Church on a pedestrian bridge, Dierks Bentley at his club, others at an amphitheater. There are Lukes (Bryan and Combs) plus Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Gwen Stefani, Miranda Lambert (shown here), Jimmie Allen, Dwight Yoakam, Mickey Guyton, Thomas Rhett and more. Read more…
1) “Superstar: Richard Pryor,” 10 p.m., ABC. Pryor (shown here) had a life filled with tragedy. Raised in his grandmother’s brothel, he was abandoned by his mother at 10, expelled at 14, jailed by the Army at 18. Then he soared in show business – both in the mainstream and with R-rated wit. Trouble persisted – seven marriages, three heart attacks, a freebasing accident – but so did his skill. He won the first Mark Twain Prize and was named (by both Comedy Central and Rolling Stone) as the best stand-up ever. Read more…
1) “Generaton 9/11,” 9-11 p.m Tuesday, PBS. There were 105 babies born in the U.S. after their fathers died because of the Sept. 11 attack. This compelling documentary introduces six of them (along with one man who was 3 when his dad died). At 19, they are a varied group, from the intense – a criminal-justice student planning to be a lawyer, an ROTC student planning to be a soldier – to an athlete and to a musician (Megan Fehling, shown here) who rereads “Catcher in the Rye.” They push ahead with promising lives. Read more…
1) “Housebroken” season-finale, 9:01 p.m., Fox. Clever enough for grown-ups, yet silly enough for kids, this animated show has been a summer surprise. Honey (Lisa Kudrow) is a wise poodle who holds group-therapy sessions (shown here) for neighborhood animals. Beneath her calm exterior is a lust for the wild world of Coyote. Now she has a night with him … and a change-of-heart. She and Chief – a St. Bernard with no cares and few thoughts – are in mortal danger; the group tries to save them. Read more…
Let’s think of this as “Three Amigos Go Manhattan.” Only with a murder mystery. And a new amigo.
“Three Amigos,” in 1986, was the first pairing of Steve Martin and Martin Short; the third star was Chevy Chase. Now comes “Only Murders in the Building,” a droll, 10-part series that starts Tuesday (Aug. 31) on Hulu; the third star (shown here) is Selena Gomez.
Yes, one of these is not like the others. Martin is 76, Short is 71 … Gomez is 29. “I had no idea who they were,” she joked, at a Television Critics Association virtual press conference. Read more…
The teen-agers featured on PBS would seem to have little in common.
Ronald Milam was an athlete; Nick Gorki was a cheerleader. Luke Taylor is an ROTC cadet, planning to be a soldier; Megan Fehling plays the guitar and re-reads “Catcher in the Rye.” Dina Retik promotes togetherness; Claudia Szurkowski (shown here) says she “loves to argue.”
But “Generation 9/11” (9-11 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31, rerunning on Sept. 10) points to a much bigger link: Each is 19; each was born after his or her father died on Sept. 11, 2001. Read more…
The website was down for a couple days of technical fix-ups, but now we’re back during a busy time. I wanted to briefly mention:
— The death of Ed Asner today (Sunday, Aug. 29) at 91. This was someone who mastered both comedy and drama … inside the same character. Playing Lou Grant, he won three Emmys for comedy (“Mary Tyler Moore Show”) and two more for drama (“Lou Grant”). He could range from crusty to lovable; he laughed once when I mentioned that he holds the Jewish record for the most times playing Santa Claus.
— The upcoming debut of “Come From Away” (shown here), Sept. 10 on Apple TV+. More on that in a minute.
— And the surprise: “Manifest” is returning . Netflix will give it a final, 20-episode season, with the details pending.
Read more…
