News and Quick Comments

As strike lingers, cartoons and games get ready

TV networks are bracing for their scriptless season. New reminders come with:
— CBS hinting that “The Buddy Games” will debut this fall, joining a reality-show deluge.
— Fox setting its plans for Sunday animation. “Krapopolis” (shown here) – with ancient Greeks clumsily trying to create civilization – debuts with two episodes Sept. 24. The other shows – “The Simpsons,” “Bob’s Burgers” and “Family Guy” – start their season a week later. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Second “Lincoln Lawyer”: same charm, a bit less fun

It might be difficult to pass a rule requiring David E. Kelley to write all TV mini-series.
That would raise constitutional questions. Also, the unions haven’t yet approved the cloning of writers.
Still, it sometimes seems like a good idea. The latest example involves the second season of Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” (shown here).
The first half of the 10-episode season has just arrived, with the second half coming Aug. 3. It’s still enjoyable – great characters, crisp settings – but no match for the previous season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 8, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Indiana Jones fulfills his destiny

I had kind of assumed that Indiana Jones had done it all.
He had saved the world (often), stopped the Nazis, retrieved artifacts, conducted seminars and fought a burly guy atop an airplane. Was there more to do?
Apparently, He had never ridden a horse through a subway, driven a rickety cart down a stairway or stolen a wedding car. Now his fifth and final film has taken care of all of that.
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (shown here) is the sort of movie that could bring people back to theaters, where they belong. Not just young people, looking for action films, but most ages and types. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 4, 2023

News and Quick Comments

After just three seasons, terrific “Dogs” will depart

For TV buffs, that Billy Joel song title seems accurate: Only the good die young.
Earlier this year, the wondrous “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” voluntarily ended after just four seasons. Now we learn that “Reservation Dogs” (shown here) will do the same after three.
No, that’s not fair. Not in a world where “Alice” had nine seasons, “My Three Sons” had 12, “Ozzie and Harriet” had 14. “Ozzie,” in fact, had 435 episodes; when “Reservation Dogs” finishes its final season – starting Aug. 2 on Hulu – it will have had 28. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 30, 2023

News and Quick Comments

A TV survivor ends a 26-season stay

The TV world has plenty of shows that vanish in an instant.
Paula Poundstone’s variety show lasted two episodes; the Osbournes’ variety show lasted one. Brian Bosworth and Glenn Frey had detective shows that each lasted one. “Turn-On” lasted one … but a Cleveland station dropped it after the first commercial break.
Given that, we should pause to admire “Endeavour” (shown here). When it ends its run (9-11 p.m. Sunday, July 2, on PBS), it will be part of a 26-season stretch. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 29, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Chinese tale sprawls across TV universe

Sensing that it has a hit (a surprise one, maybe), Disney+ is taking an uncharacteristic step: It’s giving something away.
The streamer will put episodes of “American Born Chinese” (shown here) on other networks. That ranges from one hour on ABC (8 p.m. Saturday, June 24) to three on Hulu and Roku.
Some of this stays in the family: The Disney company owns Disney+ and ABC, plus two-thirds of Hulu. Still, it’s another good sign, for a show that has drawn strong reviews. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 23, 2023

News and Quick Comments

“Tough” fills part of CBS’ summer void

After seeming to abandon the first two months of summer, CBS has shifted slightly:
Beginning July 2, it will air the new season of “Tough as Nails” (shown here) at 8 p.m. Sundays and Fridays.
That Friday slot was once slated for a new reality show, “Superfan,” starting June 9. Then – with the possibility of a writers’ strike delaying the new season – CBS changed its plan: Its four summertime reality shows would wait until July 28, Aug. 2, Aug. 9 and Aug. 10, and would extend well into the fall.
That left the network with two months of reruns, colliding with new reality shows on its competitors. Now “Tough as Nails” will fill some of that void. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 22, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Blige’s songs, with love and pain, guide two movies

For an actor, it can be imposing to step inside a Mary J. Blige production … and inside a Blige song.
“It reminds me of my mom,” Ajioba Alexus said. “Because we would dance to Mary J. Blige’s songs in the kitchen.” Now she stars in two Lifetime movies (shown here, with co-star Da’Vinchi), produced by Blige, that use titles of those songs
— “Real Love” was Blige’s first hit back in 1992 – four years before Alexus was born. It was No. 7 on Billboard’s overall chart and No. 1 on its rhythm & bluyes chart. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 14, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Tony telecast: Yes, TV can still be fun

For three splendid hours, we were reminded how much fun TV can be.
These were the Tony Awards that almost didn’t happen. Only a compromise allowed the show to go on (scriptless) during the Writers Guild strike; flaws and all, it was terrific.
And yes, there were flaws. It was a mostly humorless night … the acceptance speeches were repetitious … a “tribute” to John Kander and Joel Grey was bizarre … and host Ariana DeBose didn’t sing.
But the big moments overwhelmed all of that. We were reminded that musicals – Broadway (shown here with a previous performance of “New York, New York”) and beyond – can be spectacular, and that TV can do a great job of showing them off. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 12, 2023

News and Quick Comments

Jesus’ life becomes a primetime series

Having dumped its superheroes, the CW network is now going with the ultimate hero.
Gone are Superman, Batman, Stargirl, Arrow, The Flash and more. Arriving is Jesus.
On July 16, the mini-network will air “The Chosen” (shown here) on Sundays. The show, first funded by crowdsourcing, already has 25 episodes (from three seasons) CW plans to air the last of those on Christmas Eve. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 10, 2023