News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

Lifetime sets three more music movies

The Lifetime network is returning to one of its specialties – movies that are by or about music stars.
That starts at 8 p.m. Jan. 25, with a sequel produced by Mary J. Blige. The next two Saturdays will profile the lives of Lisa Valez and Gloria Gaynor (shown here).
Lifetime has scored with movies about female singers (Whitney Houston, Mahalia Jackson, Keyshia Cole) or groups (TLC, Salt N Pepa). It has also had films produced by Blige; now it does both, with: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 3, 2025
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A perfect blend: Chalamet becomes Dylan

Two remarkable talents fuel the movie “A Complete Unknown.”
One is Bob Dylan, the eternal enigma. The other is Timothee Chalamet, who doesn’t seem enigmatic at all; he’s simply in the Hanks/Streep/Newman mode, combining steep talent and hard work.
Now that pays off at the Golden Globes (8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 5, on CBS). Of the six nominees for best motion picture drama, two – “Dune: Part 2” and “A Complete Unknown” – star Chalamet.
In the latter, he’s also nominated for best actor. This is the film where he becomes Dylan and, at 29, shows his range as an actor. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / January 2, 2025
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TV will switch from jolly to witchly

As soon as sweet Santa and his jolly elves depart, TV will go the other way. It will be time for witches and a demon.
The dark takeover will be on the AMC cable channel, plus its streaming service (AMC+) and, sometimes, its sister channels,
AMC has obsessed on Christmas all month, with a few films – led by “Elf” and “Christmas Vacation” – running often. But this is also the channel that scored with “The Walking Dead” and bought all of Anne Rice’s novels.
So its next move is the second season of Rice’s “Mayfair Witches” (shown here) It starts at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 5, simulcast on Sundance, BBC America, IFC and WeTV; other witchly things will precede or follow it. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 20, 2024
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Brits brighten (or darken) our holidays

The British have a TV custom that Americans mostly avoid
Many of their best shows make a special Christmas episode. Even if they aren’t around then – British shows have short seasons – they pop up for one nignt in December.
Now several of them are coming here. The best, as usual, is PBS’ “Call the Midwife.” It manages to combine crisis, pain, joy and – a surprise for this show – an excellent romance.
Other shows all arrive by streaming. Acorn’s “The Chelsea Detective” and Britbox’s “Beyond Paradise” and “Death in Paradise” each have their usual mystery, with some Christmas flavoring around the edges. The shows are: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 16, 2024
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A funny notion, worth repeating (maybe)

We’re used to the notion that any good “Saturday Night Live” idea will be done again … and again … and …
But this is a surprise: A good (maybe great) “SNL” idea has slid over to another show on another network.
We’re not complaining. It’s a funny sketch (shown here) that helps make the show worth seeing. (“Nate Bergatze’s Nashville Christmas” debuts at 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, on CBS, rerunning at 10 p.m. Dec. 24.) Still, it’s a surprise. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 16, 2024
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A Christmas gem returns … but only for two days

One of TV’s great half-hours will be available to the masses – but only for two days.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” (shown here) has been tucked away in the streaming world, available only to subscribers of Apple TV+. Now it will be available to non-subscribers on Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 14-15).
The late Charles Schulz – creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip and cartoons – has described a sort of benign neglect: The show was ordered on a tight deadline, to be ready for Christmas; There was no time for the network or the sponsor (Coca-Cola) to second-guess. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 13, 2024
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Bright lights, joyful sounds, dreadful introductions

For a brief blip, music is welcome again on primetime TV.
There used to be lots of it, you know. Singers had their own shows – from Judy Garland and Dean Martin to Sonny & Cher and Donny & Marie.
But that ended. Mostly, there’s no primetime music unless you’re giving an award … or unless it’s Christmastime.
So now we get a surge … with results that range from awful to excellent.
Let’s look at five from this year. Three (ABC’s “Holiday Spectacular” and “CMA Country Christmas,” NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”) have aired and are still around via streaming. Two are coming up — “Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry” (shown here, 8-10 p.m. Dec. 16, NBC) and “Joy: Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir” (8-9:30 Dec. 17, PBS). We’ll also list others coming up. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 6, 2024
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Need more Christmas? Hallmark+ has a bunch

Maybe you’ve grumbled that there just aren’t enough Christmas movies and specials on TV.
Or maybe not. Still, there’s a new force – the Hallmark+ streamer – to add to the pile. That peaks on the next two Thursday (Dec. 5 and 12), with “Holidazed” (shown here) and more.
Hallmark+ joins a general overload. For the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we counted 45 new holiday films on basic-cable channels – Lifetime, Hallmark, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Great American Family, Oprah Winfrey Network, UPtv and BYUtv.
Into that crowd comes this new streaming service with: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 29, 2024
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A pensive poet and crimesolver is back

There are crimesolvers whose stories keep being retold.
They include Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and – of current interest –Adam Dalgliesh. And yes, there’s a trend there.
All are from British authors; all (except Holmes) are from women, combining clever mysteries with a rich sense of character detail.
Now it’s time for Dalgliesh (shown here in a previous season). On three Mondays, the Acorn streamer (www.acorn.tv) has one of his stories. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 27, 2024
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Unnoticed on Tuesdays, Fox has interesting shows

Interesting things can be found in odd, unvisited corners of the TV world,
One of those corners is any Tuesday on Fox. That’s where you’ll find:
— On Nov. 26, the season-finale of “Murder in a Small Town.” Flaws and all, it’s an excellent hour; if need be, it could be considered a good series-finale.
— On Dec. 3, back-to-back episodes of “Accused” (shown here). The two hours are wildly different in tone; they remind us why people hate and/or love anthologies. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 24, 2024