News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

More bad news: final year for “Bob”

CBS viewers have found the adage is true: Bad news does come in threes.
Earlier, the network announced this will be the final season for “Young Sheldon” and “Bue Bloods.” Now the same is true of “Bob (Hearts) Abishola” (shown here).
That show will start its season Feb. 12 (the day after the Super Bowl) and end it May 13. The other two start that same week, with different farewells: “Young Sheldon” has an hour-long finale May 16; “Blue Bloods,” with more episodes, will pause for the summer and end in the fall. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 29, 2023
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Another CBS hit (“Blue Bloods”) is ending

CBS seems to be breaking up its old gang.
Last week, it announced that “Young Sheldon” is in its final season. Now it says the same thing for “Blue Bloods.”
The difference is in length. “Young Sheldon” apparently had a 13-episode prder and will conclude in May; “Blue Bloods,” apparently with 22 episodes, will continue into May, then pause and have its final episodes next fall. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 20, 2023
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“The Crown”: warm portrait of humans in crisis

Peter Morgan is back on familiar turf now. He’s even edited himself a tad.
His latest “The Crown” (shown here) splurge – four episodes, ending with Diana’s funeral – is sort of “The Queen”-plus. In Morgan’s style, it has deep, fascinating human insights that may or may not be true.
Morgan has done this with others. His screenplays portrayed Idi Amin, Henry VIII, David Frost, Tony Blair and Anne Boleyn’s sister. But the 2006 “Queen” movie captured new attention. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 19, 2023
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Looking for ABC post-strike shows? It’s a long wait

As they wait for the real TV season to arrive, viewers will need patience – three months of it.
CBS has already announced that its post-strike shows will finally reach the air shortly after Feb. 11, when the Super Bowl airs. Now ABC says many of its returns will be even later.
“Grey’s Anatomy” (shown here in the Meredith farewell episode) won’t start until March; the same is true of its spin-off, “Station 19,” and of “9-1-1,” which is moving from Fox. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 17, 2023
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Bad news: It’s Sheldon’s final season

There’s some more bad news for TV viewers: This will be the final year for “Young Sheldon”
CBS announced that the show’s seventh season – which doesn’t even start until Feb. 15 – will be its last. The hour-long finale will be May 16.
After three months of summer reruns and two months on the shelf, “Sheldon” (shown here) finally was returned to its regular spot (8 p.m. Thursdays), starting Nov. 16. That’s for more reruns; CBS is holding off its post-strike season until after the Feb. 11 Super Bowl. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 15, 2023
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Music specials — from country to hip hop — are coming

TV networks will give us plenty of music specials next month, as we wait semi-patiently for the post-strike season to begin.
Today (Nov. 14), ABC announced its line-up for the Dec. 14 “CMA Country Christmas,” hosted by Amy Grant (shown here) and Trisha Yearwood. Also, CBS announced a date (Dec. 27) for the Kennedy Center Honors. Those are in a month that will range from Willie Nelson to hip hop.
Some details: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 14, 2023
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Strike deal brings hope to a wobbly season

So the strikes are apparently ending … at last.
Writers were on strike for 148 days, before a deal was reached – tentatively on Sept. 24, officially a few days later. Now actors – on strike for 118 days – have reached a deal; it goes to the board Friday (Nov. 10) and then to the membership for a vote.
For some movie people, the effect is simple: The Christmastime films have already been made; now the stars will soon be free to promote them.
TV, as always, is more of a moving target. Writers have been working on the scripts for six weeks; it’s just a question of how quickly things can get back to work. Let’s take CBS as an example: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 9, 2023
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Next year, wrestling adds another network

There’s another step in TV’s transformation:
Next year, two broadcast networks will have weekly wrestling shows. One will even have minor-league (sort of) wrestlers.
Beginning next October, “WWE NXT” (shown here) will have a weekly spot on the CW network – the first time it’s been on a broadcast network, instead of cable. Meanwhile, the main WWE show continues on Fox.
NXT began 13 years ago, as a WWE launchng point. In the most recent “WrestleMania,” more than 90 percent of the people had been in NXT. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / November 8, 2023
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Cable and streamer set Perry “Friends” marathon

For fans of the late Matthew Perry, there are plenty of ways to watch his “Friends” episodes this week.
They can catch them early in the morning on one cable channel (TBS) or late at night on another (Nickelodeon). Or they can catch them any time on Max.
Perry (shown here, second from left) died Saturday at 54, bringing a flood of praise for his work … and fresh interest in seeing it.
The easiest way is on Max, which spent a fortune for streaming rights to all 10 seasons … then added a much-praised reunion special with the six stars. In addition, however, two cable channels stepped in, Read more…

By Mike Hughes / October 31, 2023