Mike Hughes

News and Quick Comments

Another postponement: The Tonys

For years, TV has depended on award shows to provide fresh musical energy … and strong ratings.
Not any more. The Tonys (shown here last year, with host James Corden) are the latest to be potponed. They weren’t scheduled until June 7 and follow the postponements of  the Billboard, iHeartRadio, Academy of Country Music and Kids Choice awards.
Two of those will compensate by having specials in which people perform at home. It will be pop music this Sunday (March 29) on Fox, then country music a week later on CBS. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 26, 2020
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for March 30: Three shows exit, two arrive

1) “Hawaii Five-0” (shown here) series-finale, 9 p.m. Friday, CBS. This has been almost eternal – 12 years in the original series, 10 more for this reboot. Now it closes with flashbacks that include three deceased people – Steve McGarrett’s father, the man who killed him (Victor Hesse) and the man who ordered it (Wo Fat). There’s more: McGarrett finally solves the case that his father left him. Also, Wo Fat’s widow – desperate to get the coded message sent by McGarrett’s late mother – has kidnapped Danny. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 26, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best bets for March 28: Reruns fill virus-caused gaps

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. For the first time, the coronavirus has forced “SNL” to switch to a rerun. Other latenight shows had adjusted, but “SNL” – with reruns already scheduled – wasn’t affected. But it had planned a new episode tonight, with John Krasinski hosting and Dua Lipa as music guest. Instead, this rerun has Scarlett Johansson (shown here) hosting and mocking her fiance, anchor and head writer Colin Jost; Niall Horan is music guest. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 26, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Elton hosts a music-from-home special Sunday

Another music-from-home special has been set up, entertaining TV viewers during the coronavirus shutdown.
This one will be be 9 p.m. Sunday (March 29) on Fox, with top pop stars. “The iHeart Living Room Concert For America” will be hosted by Elton John (shown here), with at-home music by Billie Eilish, Tim McGraw, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Billie Joe Armstrong and the Backstreet Boys. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 25, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 27: Old Hollywood and new dramas

1) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019), 8 p.m. Starz. This movie is sprawling and ambitious, eccentric and inconsistent. In short, it’s a QuentinTarantino film. There are whole scenes you could take out, without affecting the plot; many of those scenes, however, are wonderful. In the 1960s, we see (shown here) a fading star (Leonard DiCaprio, right) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt, who won a supporting-actor Oscar). They meet Bruce Lee, Charles Manson and others, in ways that slyly rewrite history. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 25, 2020
Stories

McNally conquered everything … except coronavirus

Terrence McNally (shown here in his early days) survived a previous epidemic, when AIDS decimated the gay community.
Two of his boyfriends died, but he survived the era. He also beat lung cancer, alcoholism and bigotry … but not the current pandemic. He died recent;y at 81, of complications from COVID-19; PBS has its excellent “American Masters” portrait available until Wednesday (April 1) at www.pbs.org/americanmasters..
Praise flowed in quickly. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the “Hamilton” creator, called him “a giant in our world.” Bill de Blasio, the New York City mayor, called him “a great New Yorker, one of the most renowned members of our cultural community.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 25, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 26: Season ends for “Deputy,” “Million”

1) “Deputy” season-finale, 9 p.m., Fox. The first season ends the way it started – with fierce waves of emotion. We’ve grumbled about some overwrought episodes in-between, but this one makes the passions feel justified. Sheriff Hollister rage at the outing of his informants,but also savors the joy of his daughter (Latina on her mom’s side) at her quinceanera (shown here). Things are wrapped up potently. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 24, 2020
News and Quick Comments

Yes, TV still has spurts of music

Television still has an occasional dab of music – just not as much of it.The good news comes in small bits – a new date (Sept. 16) for the Academy of Country Music awards … some music guests via video chat … and a flood of concert reruns (including Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, show here) on the AXS cable channel.
The coronavirus has led to the postponement of the ACM and Billboard awards and jeopardizes “American Idol,” which was supposed to begin live broadcasts on March 30. In addition, the latenight shows that usually have music have switched to full or partial reruns (see spearate satory under “News and Quick Comments”). Dua Lipa was scheduled to be on “Saturday Night Live” March 28, but that’s been switched to a rerun, with Scarlett Johanneson and Niall Horan as music guest.
The new developments are Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 23, 2020
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for March 25: Kelsea and Kenny and more

1) “CMT Crossroads” (shown here), 10 p.m., CMT. Here are gifted stars with opposite roots: Kelsea Ballerini grew up on a farm near Knoxville and sang in church. Halsey is a city kid from New Jersey; she had some rough years and homelessness in Manhattan. But they’re similar in age (26 and 25 respectively) and in the ability to propel emotion. A sampling of this concert hour shows great duets on Halsey’s “Graveyard” and on Ballerini’s “Homecoming Queen.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 23, 2020