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“Big Brother” switches timeslot … already

A week into its summer run, “Big Brother” (shown here) is already shifting its timeslot.
Beginning Thursday (July 25), the show moves up to the 8 p.m. spot on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Only on Sundays (when “Tulsa King” is at 8) will it stay at 9.
Originally, the network had set the 8-p.m.-Wednesday slot for new hours of “Let’s Make a Deal.” Now, however, that show will wait until Aug. 16; it will be at 8 p.m. Fridays, nudging “Lingo” to 9. The new line-up: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 23, 2024

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Newhart tributes fill the weekend and Monday

The Bob Newhart tributes are expanding now, sprawling through the weekend and into Monday evening.
Newhart died Thursday at 94 Newly added are:
— A three-hour burst at 8 p.m. Sunday on TBS, with six “Big Bang Theory” episodes that have Newhart as Professor Proton, Sheldon’s TV hero.
— A documentary hour at 8 p.m. Monday on CBS. “Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter” includes clips, plus comments from Jim Parsons, Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Jason Bateman and Michael Weatherly. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 19, 2024

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Emmy nominations: belated nods to quirky “Dogs”

Gone too soon and noticed too rarely, “Reservatioon Dogs” is finally getting a tad of attention.
“Dogs” (shown here) voluntarily ended this year, after only three wonderfully eccentric seasons. It finally got some Emmy attention this morning – nominations for best-comedy and for young actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (second from left).
Yes, that’s just a mini-ripple in an Emmy ocean. (“Shogun,” leads with 25 nominations, including best drama.) But it’s a sign that an oddly brilliant show can get some attention. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 17, 2024

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CBS sets a staggered start this fall

After rushing into a post-strike season this spring, CBS is taking a pause.
Its new season will officially start Oct. 14, three weeks later than usual. And its ratings-leaders – “Tracker” and “The Equalizer” –will wait until Oct. 27.
Those dramas usually dominate Sundays. This fall, however, the Sunday slot will be used for various things – advance previews of “Matlock” (shown here) and “The Summit,” a music special and “Big Brother,” a summer show that extends to Oct. 13. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 13, 2024

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“Shogun” and “Hacks” lead TCA awards

“Shogun” and “Hacks” dominate this year’s Television Critics Association awards.
The top overall awards – program of the year and best new program– .go to “Shogun.” So do the two drama awards, for best show and best individual (Anna Sawai, shown here). The comedy ones go to “Hacks” and its star (Jean Smart).
There are also awards for the “Baby Reindeer” mini-series, some non-fiction shows and two Disney+ family shows, “Bluey” and “Doctor Who.”
Overall, the awards are a sign that traditional television – or semi-traditional – can still do well, if given some modern touches. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 13, 2024

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Really? A cheery musical fits the election year?

It’s probably by accident, but the new Disney+ movie fits this campaign year.
“The Descendants: The Rise of Red” (shown here), arriving Friday, June 12, has two opposite forces. The Blue one wants kindness, warmth and inclusiveness; the Red wants power and revenge.
The Red leader underlines that with a song that savors the fact that “red” rhymes with “you’re dead” and “off with your head.”
The Blue is currently in charge, but then the Red thugs start to break in. “What?” their leader asks. “You’ve never heard of a coup?” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2024

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A surprise: Older crimesolvers are welcome again

Right now, TV is going back to its future.
That’s almost 30 years back. That span connects “Murder, She Wrote” to “Elsbeth,” “Matlock” to … well, “Matlock.”
At the core is a key change: Broadcast networks were once ignoring older viewers; now they need them. Let’s go back to 1995, when:
— “Matlock” was canceled – again. NBC had dumped it after seven seasons; ABC took three more, then dropped it.
— “Murder She Wrote” was still thriving. In its 11th season, it was No. 8 in the Nielsen ratings; it reached the top-10 in seven other seasons, peaking at No. 4. But CBS moved it to an impossible timeslot, then cancelled it a year later. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 9, 2024

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Let’s talk about movies and/or urinals

So I’m in California now, ready for a spurt.
TV coverage has been fairly sparse in the first half of summer, but that will change when the Television Critics Association sessions begin Wednesday.
The 2,000-mile flight used to be draining, but not this time. I spent my time trying to decide if the flight attendant was Michael Cohen or merely a guy who looks exactly like Michael Cohen. (Anything’s possible when your original profession — altrnately listed as “fixer” or “thug” — dries up.) I also caught a double-feature of “Madame Web” (shown here) and “Lisa Frankenstein.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 9, 2024

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Wild Wednesdays inside Corman’s world

Imagine being trapped in a drive-in theater for three days.
The popcorn and Raisinets would be be fine, the movies would be mercifully brief and this would be kind of fun in a monster-mash way.
That’s roughly what Turner Classic Movies plans: On three Wednesdays, it has films by Roger Corman, the micro-budgeter who died last month, at 98.
The first two nights (July 3 and 10), go from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., In a combined 20 hours, they show 13 films (yes, mercifully short), all directed by Corman, concluding with the surprisngly gppd “Wild Angels” (shown here). Then the final night (July 17) switches to Corman productions directed by his underling – including Martin Scorcese, Francis Coppola, Joe Dante and Jonathan Demme. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 26, 2024

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All the Brat-Pack films? Well, here’s a start

In other lands, film fans might argue about auteurs or noir or such.
But in the U.S., we have a bigger issue – defining which ones are the “Brat Pack” movies. That came up now, as Hulu:
— Released the “Brats” documentary. Andrew McCarthy visited colleagues who – almost 40 years ago – were tarnished by that “Brat Pack” tag.
— Then sent an announcement that: “All nine Brat Pack films are now streaming on Hulu.”
There are only nine? For a while, it seemed like there were 900.
Apparently, Hulu meant all nine that it has. It’s a decent enough collection, led by “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Taps” (shown here with Tim Hutton) and “Ferris Bueller,” but it’s just a start. And three of the nine don’t include any of the original Brat-Packers Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 18, 2024