Mike Hughes

News and Quick Comments

Good news: Fox renews “Doc”

For fans of TV drama, there’s some good news:
“Doc” will be back next season on Fox – this time for 22 episodes. Also, other shows – led by ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” – are set for their spring return.
Based on an Italian series, “Doc” started with an offbeat notion: After a car accident, a doctor has lost eight years of memories, both medical and personal. She struggles to revive her career and her life.
That may sound like a stretch, but the cast (led by Molly Parker, shown here) and the writing make it work. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 26, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 28: magic, music and cops

1) “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” season-finale, 8 p.m., Disney Channel. Billie, the teen witch, always seems to have trouble, but this is a big one: She has disappeared; so has the son of Justin, her wizardry instructor. (Justin is shown here, with the kids, in a previous episode.) And one more complication: A villain might take over the world. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 26, 2025
News and Quick Comments

It’s a Keith/Blake convergence

CBS has a fresh way to launch a music talent show.
Very simply, it will use the stars from other networks’ shows.
“The Road,” this fall, will feature Keith Urban (shown here) (previously on “American Idol,” and Blake Shelton, previously on “The Voice.” Shelton will produce it with Taylor Sheridan, the “Yellowstone” creator, and others. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 25, 2025
Stories

Oscars are here; so are lots of alternatives

There was a time when networks froze in the shadow of the Oscars.
Academy Award night on ABC drew swarms. Some 39 million viewers watched “Annie Hall” win best-picture in 1978 … 48 million watched “Forrest Gump” win in ‘95 … 55 million watched “Titanic” win in ‘98.
Other networks ducked away, sometimes offering reruns or bad movies or such … but not any more. Flip the dial Sunday (March 2) and you’ll find strong choices everywhere. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 25, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Oscar telecast tries new music plan

The Academy Awards will have a different approach to music this year.
Gone are the separate performances – some good, some bad – of the five nominated songs. Instead, the show will have what it calls music celebrating filmmaking and its legends.
Performing that night (7 p.m. ET Sunday, March 2, on ABC) are:
Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 25, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 27: Hamilton’s ghastly feud

1) “Ghosts,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. Isaac has been grumbling about history’s cruel twist: The world forgot him … but gave his nemesis (Alexander Hamilton) a hit musical. Now flashbacks (shown here) tell us how their rivalry began. Hamilton is played by Nat Faxon, an Oscar-winning writer (“The Descendants”) who plays Jackie’s husband in “The Conners.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 25, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 26: drama, via reality show or real life

1) “Survivor” opener (shown here), 8-10 p.m., CBS. This network really likes fire folks. “Fire Country” is one of its top shows; Tom Westman (a firefighter, then 40) was one of its most skilled “Survivor” champions. Now the show has two firefighters, a captain, 45, and a lieutenant, 55. Others, on a Fiji island, range from a doctoral student, 24, to a surgeon, 46. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 24, 2025
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 25: from X to Doc and Schmo

1) “Eyes On the Prize III,” 9-11 p.m., HBO. Over the next three nights, this civil rights documentary will take us from 1977 and community activists to 2015 and Black Lives Matter. One note: Spike Lee complained that the original “Eyes” only had eight minutes on Malcolm X; now HBO has Lee’s brilliant “Malcolm X” (1992, shown here), at 5:35 p.m. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 23, 2025
Stories

Keeping things steady: CBS has flurry of renewals

In a TV world where shows can vanish quickly, there’s some good news:
CBS has renewed nine more of its shows for next season. Also, PBS has renewed “Miss Scarlet” for a sixth season.
The CBS moves follow four previous renewals, plus three new shows. Two of the new ones are spin-offs (including “Sheriff Country,” shown here); this is not a network for chaotic change. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2025