Mike Hughes

Stories

PBS fun: music, dance and Van Dyke’s 100th

After re-fighting some wars, PBS will retreat to a cheery holiday mood.
It will have new editions of two holiday mainstays — the Tabernacle Choir and the “Nutcracker” ballet. It will also have some fun on the 100th birthday of Dick Van Dyke (shown here in “Mary Poppins”) and some Christmas warmth with “Call the Midwife.”
Lately, the network has focused on Ken Burns’ epic “American Revolution” (concluding Friday, Nov. 21), a Burns follow-up discussion (9 p.m. Nov. 24) and a quietly moving film with Michael Caine as a D-Day veteran (9 p.m. Nov. 23). After that, things get lighter with: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 20, 2025
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“Wild Cards” leads modest CW makeover

“Wild Cards,” the clever Canadian take on crimesolving, will start a new season on Jan. 26.
The show is one of the few successes, as the CW network tries to mine Canada for scripted series. It links a handsome cop (Giacomo Gianniotti of “Grey’s Anatomy”) and a charming con artist (Vanessa Morgan, shown here), in efforts to outsmart the thieves.
Now it will be one of four shows starting seasons in January. They are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2025
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Cheers for low-concept, high-quality comedies

(This is the “Raymond”/”Cheers” over view that was written previously. Now CBS has set a rerun of the “Everybody Loves Raymond” reunion for 9 p.m. Nov. 28.)
When Les Moonves took over CBS, he was in a hurry.
The network’s only top-15 show was “60 Minutes.” He needed something that would make a quick impact.
“I was told he wanted high-profile shows with big stars,” Phil Rosenthal recalled in his memoir. “What chance did we have?”
He had a semi-known star (Ray Romano), in a show that was mostly family members talking. But Moonves liked it and audiences gradually agreed. From 8-9:30 p.m. Monday (Nov. 24), CBS will celebrate the 30th anniversary of “Everybody Loves Raymond” (shwon here).
That same night, “TV We Love” (9-10 p.m. on CW) will celebrate “Cheers,” a show in a similar mode: It started with no stars (Sid Caesar and William Devane auditioned unsuccessfully) and an unflashy format; it scored big. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 21: Rebels win; Grinch doesn’t

1) “The American Revolution” finale, 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10:11. Both sides had thought a British victory was inevitable. Now life flips: Washington makes false documents, saying he’ll attack New York; then he lets them be stolen. Instead, he marches South, joining the French navy to trap the enemy and (depicted here) triumph. Soon, an epic war — and a brilliant Ken Burns documentary — conclude. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 20: woe in Nashville and Valley Forge

1) “9-1-1: Nashville,” 8-11 p.m., ABC. The Thursday dramas are resting; they’ll be back, with new episodes, on Jan. 8. For tonight, we can catch up on this show’s first three episodes. The opener has a tornado threatening a country-music festival. The second sees the storm batter a water tower; the third has a child in a trailer, hanging off a bridge. LeAnn Rimes (shown here) co-stars as a struggling country-music singer. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 18, 2025
Stories

CBS adds marshals, CIA agents and chefs

After a long pause — and a lot of “Survivor” events — CBS will get busy in late February.
It will debut two dramas (one a “Yellowstone” spin-off, shown here) plus a cooking competition. It will also move “Watson” back to Sundays, so it can double up on Dick Wolf dramas on Mondays. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 18, 2025
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Double diva: Ariana and Cher

Two divas — generations apart — will be on the Christmas-week “Saturday Night Live.”
Ariana Grande (shown here), 32, will host for the third time. Cher, 79, will be the music guest for only the second time; the first was in 1987 … six years before Grande was born.
That’s part of the latest batch of new shows “SNL” announced today. After a two-week rerun break (Nov. 22 and Nov. 29), it has: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Nov. 18: a grimly gorgeous hour

1) “Murder in a Small Town,” 8 p.m., Fox. Beautifully directed by Amanda Tapping (the “Stargate” star), this is as gorgeous visually as it is nasty emotionally. Short on sleep, Sid crashed his police car into a woods; Karl (left, the police chief), fresh from an argument with Cassandra, is in Seattle to confront the artist/serial killer (center) he arrested. The rest is grimly compelling. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 16, 2025