Mike Hughes

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Jan. 11: New shows, new Batwoman

1) “Batwoman” season-opener, 8 p.m. Sunday, CW. This could have crumbled when Ruby Rose (shown here) quit the title role. Instead, it’s better than ever. We won’t spoil any surprises, but the bat suit ends up with Ryan (Javicia Leslie, the sister on “God Friended Me”), a homeless, jobless ex-con (she says she was framed) with martial-arts skills. Passionate and energetic, she’s worth rooting for. Meanwhile, Alice – the hour’s one over-the-top character – schemes, disguising Tommy as the missing Bruce Wayne. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 8, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 9: Pro play-offs begin

1) Football, all day. The new playoff plan has tripleheaders today and Sunday. The six winners – plus the Chiefs and Packers, who have byes – return next weekend, two steps from the Super Bowl. Today has the Bills and Colts at 1:05 p.m. ET on CBS and the Rams and Seahawks at 4:40 p.m. on Fox. At 8:15, NBC has Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay (shown here) facing Washington, the only play-off team with a losing record. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 7, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 8: Magicians and idealists

1) “Frontliine,” 9 p.m., PBS. Breaking its usual pattern, “Frontline” is showing a film it didn’t make. That’s partly a bad thing; “A Thousand Cuts” has a scattered approach, without the direct power we expect from “Frontline.” Still, this has an important story: Maria Ressa (shown here) is a Filipino native who became a New Jersey teen, a CNN bureau chief and founder of the Rappler reporting website in the Philippines. As Rappler questioned President Rodrigo Duterte, he attacked “fake news” and “presstitutes.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 7, 2021
Stories

Splendid Sundays resume on PBS

For a decade, TV viewers knew what to expect from PBS.
A lush “Masterpiece” series would settle into Sundays each January and beyond. There were six seasons of “Downton Abbey,” three of “Victoria,” one of “Sanditon”
And now? “All Creatures Great and Small” (shown here, 9 p.m., starting Jan. 10, check local listings) has much in common with “Downton,” including the same director. But it has a crucial difference:
“We have made a lot of excellent British television stories about people who are rich,” said Samuel West, who co-stars as Dr. Siegfried Farnon. This show, by comparison, “is ground-level stuff.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 7, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 7: Comedies, new and old, abound

1) “Mr. Mayor” debut, 8 and 8:30 p.m., NBC. After making lots of money, Neil (Ted Danson, shown here) had empty time. So, of course, he ran for mayor of Los Angeles. Now that he’s been elected, he needs … well, projects and plans and such. This is a clever shows that takes sly pokes at trendiness and (in the second episode) adds some broader humor. Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” duo, produce, with Holly Hunter and Bobby Moynihan in support. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 5, 2021
News and Quick Comments

Thursday-comedy stars converge for “Mr. Mayor”

Neil Bremer has all the key qualifications to be mayor.
He’s tall and silver-haired, with an agreeable countenance and an affable manner. He has everything except … well, plans, proposals, projects and such. Maybe he’ll think of some later.
He’s the central character in “Mr. Mayor,” which debuts at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 7) on NBC. It has all of NBC’s key Thursday people: Ted Danson (shown here) stars; Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are producers.
You may remember NBC Thursdays: That used to be “must-see TV”; then it became “might-see TV” and then sort of “whatever.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 4, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 6: It’s game(s) night on TV

1) “Name That Tune” debut, 9 p.m., Fox. This is a night when ancient game shows suddenly return to prime time. “Tune” began on radio in 1952, moved to primetime -TV (NBC and then CBS) the next year, then slid to daytime and two syndicated runs – one with the future Kathie Lee Gifford as vocalist. Now it’s back, with Jane Krakowski (shown here) as host and Randy Jackson as the producer and bandleader. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 4, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Here’s a portrait of dreams, large and small

We hear a lot about “the American dream” – especially when a pandemic might sideswipe it.

But what is that dream? PBS “American Portrait” reminds us how varied it can be.
It can be something huge. A young Alaskan dad links with a friend to start their own airline; a student struggles to get into medical school – a chance that was denied to her mother in Afghanistan.
Or it can be more basic: A young construction worker (shown here) and his girlfriend, dreamig of some day having a house and a family. Those three stories are at the core of the “Portrait” opener, at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 5). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 4, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 5: A busy night, from Alaska to Zoey

1) “Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist” season-opener, 8 p.m., NBC. The second season starts six weeks after Zoey’s dad died. Deep in mourning, she hasn’t returned to work and hasn’t seen either of the guys in her love life. She also hasn’t experienced her ongoing quirk – seeing people express their hidden emotions via pop songs. When Zoey (Jane Levy, show here) does return, there are big changes – including a new co-worker, played by the delightful Harvey Guillen of “What We Do in the Shadows.” It’s a great start. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 3, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 4: “Bachelor” begins, “Finest” ends

1) “The Bachelor” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Back in June, ABC announced its first Black “Bachelor.” Now, after COVID delays, we meet Matt James (shown here), 29. At Wake Forest, he was a receiver (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) who had injuries and then a strong senior year – 40 catches, 401 yards and a brief pro try-out. He got an economics degree, works in New York and also started a project teaching kids about food and exercise. In the opener, he meets 32 women, including two lawyers, a pharmacist and a ballerina. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 2, 2021