Mike Hughes

Stories

Fox’s fall line-up: second (and third and more) chances

Are most of us desperate to rebound, to recover, to have a second chance at life?
The Fox network seems to think so. Introducing his fall line-up to reporters, programming chief Charlie Collier talked of a time for “second chances and re-invention.”
His new shows keep reflecting that: Three women rethink their lives after a friend’s death (“Pivoting”) … A Cambodian doctor rebuilds her life after becoming a cleaning woman for U.S. mobsters (“The Cleaning Lady”) … People desperate for a second chance try a dance show (“The Big Leap,” shown here).
Even a reality show (tucked neatly after “The Masked Singer”) has a re-invention theme: Performers don’t compete as themselves, but as their avatars. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 19: “Chicago” dramas, good and bad

1) “Chicago P.D.,” 10 p.m., NBC. Easily the best of NBC’s three Chicago shows, “P.D.” (shown here in a previous episode) offers a taut hour that spills into next week’s season-finale. Samantha Miller (Nicole Ari Parker) is a police reformer who joined the show this season; now her son needs help, in what seems like a quick case, then grows. One bit of inaction strains credibility; also, viewers will be disappointed that this is the rare “P.D.” episode that doesn’t wrap things up. Still, it’s a strong, solid hour that will bring them back next week. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2021
News and Quick Comments

It’s boom-or-bust time for fall line-ups

This used to be a grand TV tradition, a time when careers might soar or crumble.
It’s the week of “upfronts,” when networks announce their fall schedules to advertisers. It will be NBC and Fox on Monday (May 17), ABC on Tuesday and CBS on Wednesday; some shows will make the cut, others (including “All Rise,” shown here) won’t.
And if this doesn’t seem as big as it used to? Well, nothing does, really. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 17, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 18: As six shows conclude, Superman returns

1) “Prodigal Son” series finale, 9 p.m., Fox. This gothic drama ends in its fashion – deep, dark, nasty, sometimes wildly over the top. At the core is Martin (Michael Sheen), a surgeon and serial killer. Last week, we learned that his prison doctor (Catherine Zeta-Jones,shown here with Sheen) is just as cruel. After he escaped, she took him hostage … then added his son, a police profiler. Now the guys have escaped and find a convenient case to solve. There’s much more, in an hour that combines brilliant acting and fiercely excessive plot twists.
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 16, 2021
News and Quick Comments

ABC adds diversity for fall and beyond

For ABC, the new TV season will have a diverse look.
Of the four new shows the network has announced, three have predominantly Black casts. That includes a “Wonder Years” reboot (shown here) that now has Don Cheadle voicing the grown-up narrator, recalling a 1960s childhood in Montgomery, Ala.
That news comes shortly after ABC canceled two Black-themed shows (“For Life” and “Mixed-ish”) and three others (“Rebel,” “American Housewife” and “Call Your Mother”). The network’s other shows have been renewed, including some – “The Rookie,” “Home Economics,” “Big Sky,” “American Idol,” “A Million Little Things” – that might have been close calls.
ABC will present its line-up to advertisers at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, but sent news over the weekend about four new series. They are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 15, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 17: stars of pop and pulpit

1) “American Experience: Billy Graham,” 9-11 p.m. today, PBS. Graham (shown here) was a Southern farm kid, 6-foot-2, with blue eyes, a strong voice and an amorous nature. He quit Bob Jones College because he wanted to date girls. At another Bible school he met a missionary’s daughter; they were married 64 years, with five children. Graham was a classic evangelist, this terrific film says, but overstepped political lines. The Watergate tapes were “a crushing experience,” triggering apologies and moderation. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 15, 2021
Stories

After filling our TV for decades, Tim Allen steps back

Tim Allen has been living inside our TV sets for three decades.
He started “Home Improvement” in 1991 and will end “Last Man Standing” (shown here in an early promo photo) at 9 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday (May 20) on Fox)In a 30-year stretch, he spent 17 years with those two shows; also, TV kept rerunning his movies – especially “Galaxy Quest” and all the “Toy Story” and “Santa Clause” tales.
Now Allen’s overload stretch is ending; this will require some adjustment. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 15, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 16: Great “Zoey” leads finale flurry

1) “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” finale, 9 p.m., NBC. If this show isn’t renewed, then … well, it will have had a great series-finale. And if it does return? For the second straight year, it’s given us an amazing season-finale. Zoey (shown here in a previous episode) – who hears people’s thoughts via pop songs – is with Simon now, but has strong feelings for the departing Max. That leads to some vibrant song-and-dance moments at the nightclub … and then to the surprising (and rather superb) finish, Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 14, 2021
News and Quick Comments

CW goes seven-nights-a-week this fall

The CW, TV’s mini-network, will match the big guys in one area:
Beginning in October, it will add Saturdays, giving it primetime shows, seven nights a week.
At two hours a night, that’s 14 primetime hours a week. Fox has 15; ABC, CBS and NBC each have 22.
That will start Oct. 2, with the first half of the “iHeartRadio Music Festival” (shown here with Justin Timberlake in a previous year), an annual event that concludes the next night. After that, nothing has been set; next week, the networks start to unveil their fall line-ups. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 14, 2021
News and Quick Comments

“Friends” finally sets its reunion

“Friends” fans will finally get their reunion – a year later than first planned.
HBO Max says it will have the special on May 27. It will be unscripted, with all six stars (shown here), plus assorted guests, including Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Cindy Crawford, Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon and James Corden; Ben Winston, who produces Corden’s late-night show, will produce and direct. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / May 13, 2021