News and Quick Comments

NBC sets plans for summer dominance

Even in an ordinary year, NBC tends to dominate the ratings. And Olympic years are quite extraordinary.
So the network will stick with what works this summer – “America’s Got Talent,” “American Ninja Warrior” (shown here) and three game shows – “Password,” “The Wall” and “Weakest Link.” It apparently won’t try anything new and won’t need to. Read more…

Work/home balance? Try a coup and a birthday party

For decades, Mariana van Zeller (shown here) has reported about scary people in scary places.
“She really is the bravest person I know,” Courteney Monroe, the president of the National Geographic Channel, told the Television Critics Association.
But she still feels fear and regret. “As a working mom who travels all the time, I live with this eternal guilt of not being there at important moments,“ van Zeller said..
That peaked last summer, in an embattled desert country. The story will be on the season-finale of “Trafficked,” at 9 p.m. Wednesday (March 20) on National Geogeraphic; van Zellar gave the TCA a verbal preview. Read more…

Good news: “Snowpiercer” is rescued

Happy endings are possible, it seems, even in the grimmest circumstances. That’s:
— Even in a post-apocalyptic world in which most folks have frozen to death; and
— Even in something that the Discovery people have touched.
In short, “Snowpiercer” (shown here) has been rescued. Its first three seasons will rerun later this year on AMC+; its fourth one will debut early next year on AMC. Read more…

Oscars brought fun for (almost) everyone

My favorite part of the Oscars came just before my least-favorite.
The good part: Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monolog. It was just what we’d hoped for – a clever guy who knows movies, thinks about them and is willing to take some chances.
And the bad: The godawful notion of having a separate tribute to each nominated actor. That meant 20 mini-speeches over the course of the show, some of them fawning. After a red-carpet preview in which every gown was proclaimed fabulous, this was too much.
Still, much of the night was great, including the music (Billie Eilish is shown here) and, especially, Kimmel. Read more…

Yes, PBS is fun: dramas, concerts, more

OK, we all know that PBS likes to educate. It’s the place to learn about French chefs, Russian czars and Roman aquaducts.
But it’s also a fun place.We’re reminded of that with a new batch of Sunday dramas (starting March 17) that includes Helena Bonham Carter (shown here) … a four-Friday slice of Broadway (starting May 10) … and music, from Willie Nelson to Elton John.
“Art has been at the heart of our work for more than 50 years,” Paula Kerger, the PBS president, told the Television Critics Associatiion. She means 50 years literally: Read more…

Travel time? Settle for kinda-good

When you’re traveling, ii seems, you might settle for sorta-good.
Things are rarely perfect. In his second season of “The Reluctant Traveler” (which starts March 8 on Apple TV+), Eugene Levy found:
— An island hotel at the northern edge of Germany. The setting was “absolutely gorgeous,”he told the Television Critics Association, but there was a wellness theme. “You couldn’t get a cup of coffee there. You couldn’t get a glass of wine. You have to fast for three days.”
— A Swedish town (shown here), filled with cute buildings, sweet people and “mosquitoes – like a lot of mosquitoes. Like, it was a very thick season for mosquitoes.” Read more…

Good news: Sheldon’s brother gets a spin-off

CBS has found another way to feast off its past hits.
Next season, it will have a comedy with Montana Jordan and Emily Osment (shown here) continuing their “Young Sheldon” roles as Georgie and Mandy.
That comes one day after the network cast a prequel, looking at the earlier years of Leroy Gibbs, whom Mark Harmon played in “CSI.”
This new one, however, is unusual. It’s a spin-off to a spin-off and a sequel to a prequel. Read more…

Fox finally has a fresh flurry of shows

After a sluggish stretch, post-strike, the Fox network is now a-swirl with new projects.
This week (March 4-6), the network is launching three new nights. That includes some scripted shows, after months when Fox (cartoons excluded) had none.
Now Fox has set its summer reality-show plans, including the return of Jamie Foxx and his daughter Corinne (shown here) and the addition of Lisa Vanderpump. It has also set other projects, including a sort of male strip special. Details include: Read more…

“NCIS” gets the “Young Sheldon” treatment

If “Young Sheldon” works, then why not a “Young Leroy Jethro”?
That’s sort of what CBS hopes to do, but it will entitle the show “NCIS: Origins.”
The network has announced the casting of Austin Stowell (shown here in a previous role with Lucy Hale) in the lead role. He’ll play an early version of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the “NCIS” hero. The show will be narrated by Mark Harmon … just as Jim Parsons narrates “Young Sheldon,” tracing the early years of the guy he played in “Big Bang Theory.” Read more…

Miss Scarlet will return; the Duke won’t

Miss Scarlet will be back, but now she’ll be Dukeless.
PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre” announced today (Feb. 29) that there will be a fifth season of “Miss Scarlet and the Duke.” But it will be renamed “Miss Scarlet,” with Kate Phillips starring alone. Stuart Martin (they’re shown here) will no longer be there as police Inspector William Wellington, nicknamed “The Duke” because of his surname.
Martin, 38, said the departure is his idea and gave no explanation. He has finished his most-recent filming project, the two-part “Rebel Moon.” He’s married to Lisa McGrillis, who has regular roles on multiple British shows; they have two children. Read more…