Mike Hughes

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
News and Quick Comments

Zoey is back — bright, bubbly and amiably odd

To savor “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” – which starts its second season Tuesday (Jan. 5) – you must buy into one tiny little premise and …
OK, it’s actually a huge premise: Zoey was listening to her headphones inside a CAT scan. There was an earthquake, creating an anomaly. Now, of course, she keeps seeing people expressing their deepest personal thoughts via pop songs.
Yes, that’s a lot to accept. But we’ve seen a teen-ager gain the strength of a spider … and a guy turn into a hulk when he gets angry … and (in one cartoon series) a boy turn into an automobile. Unlike some of those shows, this one offers warmth, humor and intelligence.
“Playlist” (8 p.m., NBC), which has the TV’s brightest color palette, could have settled for silliness. Instead – with the writing and with the casting of Jane Levy (shown here) – it makes Zoey smart and caring. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 2, 2021
News and Quick Comments

“Bridgerton”: Elegance and decadence entwine

On Christmas Day, the mega-movies suddenly crowded into our streaming services.
It was “Wonder Woman 1984” on HBO Max, “Soul” on Disney+ and (two days earlier) George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky” on Netflix. It was so crowded that we could almost overlook the other Christmas arrival – “Bridgerton,” an eight-part Netflix mini-series.
Still, “Bridgerton” (shown here) shouldn’t be ignored. It’s part classy Jane Austen and part tawdry Harlequin novel; it’s part classic-style period piece, part revisionist … and all Shondaland. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 1, 2021
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 3: Kat, Carter and a masterpiece

1) “Call Me Kat” debut, 8 p.m., Fox. Like any good daughter, Kat got a college degree and a good job; then, alas, she quit and used her money to start a cat cafe. Her mom (Swoosie Kurtz) is displeased, but Kat (Mayim Bialik, shown here with Cheyenne Jackson) seems happy with life, her co-workers and her cats. Jim Parsons, Bialik’s “Big Bang” husband, is producing this, based on a British comedy. It’s lightweight, but it has likable people (including Leslie Jordan, Kyla Pratt and Cheyenne Jackson) and a goofy, throwback appeal. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 1, 2021
Stories

Bialik detoured into stardom (again)

In the new comedy “Call Me Kat,” life has taken a detour.
Kat didn’t expect to be the owner of a cat cafe. No one does.
But Mayim Bialik, who stars, understands the neat randomness of life. She is, after all, a neuroscientist who returned to acting, almost by accident.
“I was running out of health insurance,” Bialik (shown here with co-star Cheyenne Jackson) told the Television Critics Association. “I went back to acting so I could literally just get enough for insurance to cover my toddler and my infant.” Then she overachieved: She did nine seasons on “The Big Bang Theory,” which became TV’s most-watched comedy. Now she stars in “Kat,” produced by her “Big Bang” husband, Jim Parsons. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 31, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 2: big bowls, big movies

1) Orange Bowl, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. The Texas A&M (shown here) players fumed when they were passed over for the four national-championship slots; ranked No. 5, they face North Carolina (No. 24). That ends an ESPN triple-header, with the Gator Bowl (North Carolina State and Kentucky) at noon and the Fiesta Bowl (Oregon and Iowa State) at 4 p.m. Also, ABC has the Outback Bowl (Mississippi and Indiana) at 12:30. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 31, 2020
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Jan. 4: New shows, new bachelor, old games

1) “Mr. Mayor” debut, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Neil (Ted Danson, shown here) looks like a mayor; he’s tall and silver-haired. But when it comes to government, he has no experience or goals; he ran to impress his teen daughter, who remains unimpressed. This is a slickly written comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the “30 Rock” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” duo. The first episode is good, the second is big, broad and very funny; both get strong support from Holly Hunter and Bobby Moynihan. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 31, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Jan. 1: past parades and current bowls

1) Rose Parade, morning. Three traditions have crumbled: The parade (shown here from a previous year) has been around since 1890, the Rose Bowl game has been in Pasadena since 1916 (plus a 1902 experiment) and the Rose Bowl stadium has held it since 1923. Not this time. The parade was canceled; the game was moved to Texas. Three networks, however, will show past parades, plus new music. Revised plans have that from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on ABC, NBC and Hallmark; on the West Coast, however, ABC will be 8-10 a.m. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 30, 2020