News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

“Chelsea” arrives, bridging the mystery gap

For fans of British-style mysteries, this is the gap month.
PBS’ Sunday shows wrapped on Aug. 2: “Patience” ended a good second season; “Grantchester” ended a great, 11-year run.
Now we wait through a stretch of reruns or pledge drives. On Sept. 6, things bounce back with “Marlow Murder Club” and “Marble Hall Murders.”
But what do we do in the interim? Try the Britbox streamer or the Ovation channel? Maybe even read a book?
Possibly, but here’s an alternative: The Acorn streamer (www.acorn.tv) chooses this ideal time for its new season of “The Chelsea Detective” (shown here). Each of the first four Mondays in August adds a movie-length tale; most have clever plots, all have interesting characters. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 2, 2026
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ABC’s fall start will sprawl over four weeks

(For a full round-up of all four big, commercial broadcaast networks, see Stories)

It will be an early start for ABC shows this fall. Or a late one.
Coming early are football; “Dancing With the Stars,” with a two-night opener Sept. 14-15; and “R.J. Decker” (shown here), Sept. 15.
But “Grey’s Anatomy,” as usual, will be late; it starts Oct. 15, alongside the “9-1-1” shows. Much later will be a wave of shows waiting for mid-season, led by “High Potential,” “Will Trent” and “Shifting Gears.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 29, 2026
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It’s a busy time for fantasy folks

For sci-fi and fantasy fans, there’s no late-summer snooze.
Announcements keep emerging from Comic-Con in San Diego, some of them about shows that will arrive before September.
Earlier this week (see separate story), fans heard about current shows — “House of the Dragon.” “The Walking Dead: Dead City” and “Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” — plus “Lanterns,” which starts Aug. 16. They also heard of a November blitz that will bring entire seasons of “Blade Runner 2099” and “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
Then came a new round of news about “Futurama” (shown here) and others. Chronologically, that includes: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 27, 2026
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Fantasy feast set for November

Sometime in November, fantasy fans may find their brains reaching overload.
Entire seasons of two shows will air on Amazon Prime during a crowded, 15-day stretch. They are:
— The third season of “Lord Of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Four episodes will arrive Nov. 11, two Nov. 18 and the final two Nov. 25.
— The first season of “Blade Runner 2099,” from producer Ridley Scott. All eight episodes will arrive Nov. 25 … which is both Thanksgiving eve and the day “Rings of Power” wraps its season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 24, 2026
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TV is obsessing on outer space (again)

The TV world is again obsessing on outer space.
On the non-fiction side, PBS has two series viewing the space race, from the early competition to the International Space Station (shown here) co-operation. There’s a new one at 9 p.m. Tuesdays and a splendid rerun at 9 p.m. Fridays.
And the fiction side? New seasons are starting for Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Thursdays, starting July 23) and Syfy’s “The Ark” (Wednesdays, starting July 29).
Then there are all the past shows — roughly 3.2 zillion of them — stockpiled on the streamers. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 23, 2026
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Fox plans a tidy (too tidy?) start this fall

For one network, the start of the fall season will be tidy and uncomplicated.
Fox will stuff all of its season-openers into one week. That starts with games (“Name That Tune” and “Weakest Link”) on Monday, Sept. 21, and ends with laughs — “The Simpsons” (shown here), “Animal Control” and more — on Sunday, Sept. 27.
And yes, it will all feel familiar. The season starts with zero new shows. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 15, 2026
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“Survivor 50” gets a summertime encore

Is the world ready to see “Survivor 50” (shwon here) again?
We’ll find out soon. Beginning Monday (July 20), CBS plans to rerun the entire season in one rush, between now and Sept. 15.
That’s 13 episodes, nine them 90 minutes and four of them longer. The 90-minute ones fit neatly behind the Wednesday editions of “Big Brother,” which has two previous “Survivor” contestants (Rick Devin and Season 45 winner Dee Valladares) in the house.
This 50th edition of “Survivor” was stuffed with high-profile contestants from the past. The schedule is: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 13, 2026
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Want an Emmy? Choose your show carefully

Let’s say you want to get an Emmy nomination for acting.
Talent and training help, I suppose. Still, choose your show carefully.
The Emmy nominations, announced this week, include 26 names for supporting and guest roles in a drama. Twelve of them were for “The Pitt” on HBO Max.
Supporting roles? “Pitt” has half of them — four of the seven actresses, that includes last year’s winner, Katherine LaNasa (shown here with Noah Wyle, plus Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Sepideh Moafi. It also includes hree of the seven actors — Shawn Hatosy, who won last year in a guest role, plus Patrick Ball and Gerran Howell. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 10, 2026
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Emmy nominations? It’s Quinta and streamers

TV, we’re told, is a world where stars can come from anywhere.
Or — as Jeff Hiller put it today while announcing the Emmy nominations: “In Hollywood, talent can come in every height.”
As proof, Hiller (6-foot-5) was standing next to “Bear” co-star Liza Colon-Zayas (5-foot).
The nominations list did show that nominees can come from every size, shape and ethnicity … but not, alas, from every medium. Broadcast networks are virtually shut out from the award show they’ll air (Sept. 14 on NBC).
The exception, as usual, is ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and its star, Quinta Brunson, again nominated for best comedy series and comedy actress, other than that, streamers or cable networks have all the nominees for: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 8, 2026