News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

“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…

By Mike Hughes / March 5, 2024
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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…

By Mike Hughes / February 29, 2024
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Tony and Ziva are back; so is Stallone

There seems to be a two-way street now, linking CBS and its corporate partner, Paramount+. Separate announcements said:
— A fresh spin-off of CBS’ “NCIS” is coming, bringing back Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo (shown here) as Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. But this one, confined to a 10-episode season, will be on Paramount+.
— “Tulsa King,” the Paramount+ series starring Sylvester Stallone, will rerun its first season this summer on CBS. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 29, 2024
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A good try, but a bit too Austen-ish

When adapting a Jane Austen novel, the trick is to not be too … well, Jane Austen-ish.
Keep her plot and her sharp sense of character, but relax her stiff, centuries-old dialog.
Lately, several projects have done this quite well. The newest one, however, is a decent attempt that’s sometimes buried in Austen excess.
That’s “Sense and Sensibility” (shown heere), at 8 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 24) and 5 p.m. Sunday on the Hallmark Channel. It’s of special interest because it: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 24, 2024
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The genial side of an imposing icon

As an ambitious mini-series ends, a question lingers: What was Malcolm X (shown here) really like?
“So many people, all they know about Malcolm X is the one picture of him holding a gun, looking out the window,” Gina Prince-Bythewood told the Television Critics Association. “Or some of his words, taken out of context.”
She’s one of the producers of “Genius: MLK/X,” an eight-parter that has its final two episodes at 9 and 10:08 p.m. Thursday (Feb.22) on the National Geographic Channel,” but then remains available on Disney+.
This is a joint biography of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. “Way too often, these two men are pitted agaist each other,” she said. But “they were coming closer and closer together. They had the same goal. They just had two different ways of going about it.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2024
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Want dramas? ABC has a Tuesday surge (briefly)

Tuesdays have become a feast-or-famine time for ABC.
For months, the night was confined to reruns and reality and such. Now, starting Feb. 20, comes a drama surge.
It’s the second season of “Will Trent,” the sixth of “The Rookie” (shown here), the seventh and final one of “The Good Doctor.” Three popular shows return, back-to-back.
And then, after just 10 episodes, their seasons will be done. More on that later. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2024
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Sam Spade’s wine-sipping detour concludes

Sam Spade’s French adventure is ending now. Zombies are ready to take his timeslot.
First, the story needs to be resolved – or, in this case, semi-resolved. The “Monsieur Spade” (shown here) finale is 9 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 18) on AMC.
Viewers can also catch the full, six-episode experience on the Acorn or AMC+ streaming services. They’ll find an Americana classic – the tough, terse-talking private eye – transferred to an opposite world.
“I just thought it was as far away from Sam Spade as possibly could be: Having a vineyard, even drinkng wine at all,” producer-director Scott Frank told the Television Critics Association. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2024
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This year, Olympics won’t wait for primetime

For Olympic fans, the days of the primetime surprise may be over,
NBC will have a different approach for the games (July 26 to Aug. 11) in Paris: Every major event (including gymnastics, with Siimone Biles shown here) will be live in the daytime, then repackaged for night.
That’s a big change from the days when it was easy to keep secrets. Major events – including, in the winter, U.S-Russia hockey and Kerrigan-Harding skating – could be delayed for hours, then delivered to surprised viewers at night.
Not any more. “The network is going to be live (in the daytime), no holding back,” Molly Solomon, president of NBC’s Olympics coverage, told the Television Critics Association. At night, the same events will be in “a curated presentation – the best performances of the day, distilled down to three hours.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 15, 2024
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Equality in space? It faced some hurdles

One day in 1961, Ed Dwight’s high-flying life took an abrupt turn.
“I had a very successful military career … flying five different airplanes, which is a pilot’s dream,” he recalled.
Then he got word that he should prepare to become the first Black astronaut. He didn’t particularly want it, but his mother did; so did John Kennedy.
Dwiight’s story is at the core of “The Space Race” (shown here with Victor Glover, Dwight and Leland Melvin), an intriguing documentary about Blacks and NASA. It reaches Hulu and Disney+ on Tuesday (Feb. 13), after debuting at 9 p.m. Monday on the National Geographic Channel. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2024