News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

CBS renews most of its line-up

CBS’ line-up next season will look a lot like the one this season.
A lot.
The network announced Tuesday that nine more shows (including “CSI: Vegas,” shown here) have received early renewals for next season. That makes 19 so far; it gets easier to see which ones haven’t yet been renewed.
Only two scripted shows – one new (“East New York”) and one old (“SWAT”) – remain in limbo. That’s three if you count “True Lies,” which will debut March 1. Two others – “Blue Bloods” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” – had already announced that this is their final season. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 22, 2023
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Black Broadway: deep passion, occasional joy

By now, Black actors have become deeply embedded in the history of Broadway musicals.
It’s been 88 years since “Porgy and Bess” debuted, 56 since Pearl Bailey took over “Hello, Dolly.” A PBS special – “Black Broadway,” 8 p.m. Feb. 28 – ripples with young singers (including Corbin Bleu, show here) doing potent anthems first sung by Blacks.
Even with that, said conductor Brittany Chanell Johnson, there’s room for more and for different.
Many of the shows “are traumatic stories,” she said. There should also be room “for stories of joy.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 19, 2023
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Beautiful liars are splendid company

As a sleek drama debuts on ABC, it offers a concept that has spanned decades and continents.
“I was compelled at first by the idea of two professional liars who see one another’s truths,” said Julia Cohen, a producer of ABC’s “The Company You Keep.” These two (shown here) are smart, sexy and – they don’t realize – on opposite sides of the law.
That’s the notion that propelled the Korean series this is based on. It also was behind an American tale that writer Elmore Leonard created decades ago.
Now the “Company” opener gets a big push — 10 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 19), after the “American Idol” opener, then rerunning at 10 p.m. the following Thursday, after the return of “Grey’s Anatomy.” It also offers some starpower, with former “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 16, 2023
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Good news: “Poker Face” is renewed

Here’s some good news for TV viewers: “Poker Face” will have a second season.
The show is still wrapping up its first season, with new episodes – terrific ones, mostly – each Thursday on Peacock, through March 9. It has received near-unanimous raves from critics.
That approval comes as no real surprise. The show pairs producer-director-writer Rian Johnson – who has Oscar nominations for both of his “Knives Out” scripts – and Natasha Lyonne (shown here), who seizes attention whenever she’s on the screen. It also revives the mystery-of-the-week format, with Charlie (Lyonne) solving crimes while she’s on the lam. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 15, 2023
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Picard ends a 35-year mission … maybe

By now, Patrick Stewart knows this “Star Trek” thing is more than a brief blip in his life.
It’s been, he said, “35 years since I first put on the captain’s uniform …. The world has changed and I have changed too.”
Or not. As “Star Trek: Picard” (shown here with Stewart and LeVar Burton) begins what it calls its final season (Thursdays on Paramount+, starting Feb. 16), he’s remained a potent performer of British classics. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 15, 2023
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Super Sunday was stuffed (overstuffed?) with stars

This Super Bowl will forever be remembered as The Night of a Kajillion (or so) Stars.
Not on the field (although there were some there, too), but in the commercials — including John Travolta, shown here.
In the past, many of the best Super Bowl commercials have been star-free. They had real horses or fake frogs or whatever. But this year, no one wanted to risk that. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 13, 2023
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New York poaches a superstar

Los Angeles is used to the arrival of new superstars, ready to dazzle.
That happens in sports, mostly – Kareem, Magic, LeBron, Gretzky, Beckham, etc. But it also happened in the classical-music world: In 2007, Gustavo Dudamel (shown here), 26, was designated as the incoming music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Jason Schwartzman, the actor-director-producer, once recalled that debut concert. “It was so exciting and exilarating,” he said. “The second he began, there was such a contagious feeling in the room.”
Now that excitement will cross the continent. It was announced this week that Dudamel will move to the New York Philharmonic, beginning in 2026. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2023
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His family tree is filled with epic drama

Joe Manganiello’s fictional world has been filled with epic adventures. He’s played superheroes and spent years (in “True Blood”) as a werewolf, surrounded by vampires.
But his familiy’s real-life stories can almost match that. They include a heroic great-grandmother.
“If you’re Armenian, you’re descended from some form of survivor,” Manganiello (shown here) told the Television Critics Association. “So I just heard all these stories growing up.”
Then he linked with “Finding Your Roots,” to learn the specifics. The results – along with those of former football star Tony Gonzalez – will be shown at 8 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 7) on PBS, before the State of the Union address in most places and after it on the West Coast. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 5, 2023
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Sorry, Fido: These wild dogs have more skills

Sure, Fido and friends can savor their comfy lives.
They fetch balls, wiggle tales and are rewarded handsomely.
But compared to their untamed brethren (shown here), those are minor accomplishments. That becomes clear in “Dogs ion the Wild,” a three-part “Nature” series that starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 8) on PBS.
“They’re incredibly intelligent,” producer Jo Shinner told the Television Critics Association. “They’re incredibly resilient, adaptable. They’re on all continents throughout the world, except for Antarctica. They manage to sustain in ridiculous conditions.”
Her series looks at all 37 canine species, finding adaptations to those conditions. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 4, 2023