The final pieces of the summer-TV picture are set:
CBS’ “Big Brother” (shown here) and “The Challenge: USA” will fill prime time on July 6. They’ll continue to be back-to-back on Wednesdays, while “Big Brother” also sprawls to Thursdays and Sundays. Read more…
A visit to Downton Abbey always seems to be pleasant and unassuming.
That doesn’t sound like much … but it’s what we need now. “Downton Abbey: A New Era” (shown here) is not a great movie (or even an exceptionally good one), but it’s still worth catching.
For a couple hours, we’re in splendid settings, re-meeting people who – flaws and all – are good and well-meaning.
The film starts sluggishly, with a dispassionate wedding and then some stiff scenes about an unexpected windfall. “New Era” seems determined to show us everyone – it’s a HUGE cast – while getting us involved with no one. Clearly, something more is needed. We get that, when a movie is filmed in the mansion, at the very end of the silent-film era. Read more…
A decade ago, “The Lincoln Lawyer” was an OK movie that felt like a pretty good TV episode. Afterward, there was talk of turning it into a TV series, the sort where our hero wins a case each week. Fortunately, David E. Kelley has crafted something better (shown here).
Kelley has already done TV’s best lawyer shows – “L.A. Law,” “The Practice” and more. Lately, he’s spent more time on mini-series, including “Big Little Lies” and “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
Now he’s adapted some Michael Connelly novels into a 10-part”Lincoln Lawyer” mini that arrived recently on Netflix. “The Lincoln Lawyer” could go another season, but doesn’t have to. Read more…
When the big networks battle this fall, a smaller one will wait semi-patientlly.
The CW will hold many of its top shows until mid-season. That includes “The Flash,” “Superman & Lois,” “Nancy Drew” and the final year of “Riverdale.”
Instead, it will try an intriguing assortment. Two summer shows – “Stargirl” and “Coroner” – will be promoted to the main season. Four new dramas will also be there – including a “Walker” prequel (shown here) and a “Supernatural” prequel. Read more…
Somewhere amid the storm and fury of the first Warner Brothers Discovery presentation to advertisers there were glimpses of what’s ahead for CNN.
Yes, Chris Licht, the network’s new chief, is talking about getting back to basics. “In a time when extremes are dominating cable news, we will go a different way,” he insisted.
But Licht is also continuing CNN’s habit of being an entertainment network on Sunday nights. This fall, that will include:
— Some of the shows that were slated for the now-vanished CNN+. Chris Wallace (shown here) will have his interview show then … on the same night where his dad (Mike Wallace) used to rule with “60 Minutes.” Eva Longoria will also have her food-and-travel show viewing Mexico. Read more…
ABC calls it “unprecedented stability”; viewers might call it “same old, same old.”
Either way, the trend is clear: The fall schedule that ABC announced Tuesday (May 17) has few new shows. The same was true of the ones that NBC and Fox announced Monday.
ABC has only three new ones, and two sound terribly familiar – a “Rookie” spin-off starring Niecy Nash and a series version of “Celebrity Jeopardy.”
That leaves only one totally new show, which brings some solid credentials: “Alaska” (shown here) is written by Oscar-winner Tom McCarthy (“Spotlight”) and stars two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank as a disgraced reporter, trying to re-start her life at a newspaper in Anchorage. Read more…
NBC will play it safe this fall, then get only a tad friskier as the season goes on.
Its line-up, announced today (Monday), has only two new shows, both with familiar names. One is a reboot of “Quantum Leap,” with Raymond Lee (shown here) as the new star; the other has George Lopez, now paired with his daughter in the comedy, “Lopez vs. Lopez.”
Another reboot arrives at mid-season: “Night Court” has John Larroquette returning to his Emmy-winning role, now with Melissa Rauch (“Big Bang Theory”) as the judge. Read more…
Update: A half-day after leaving it in doubt, the Fox network has made something clear:
Yes, it will have “9-1-1” and “The Resident” (shown here) next season.
When executives talked to reporters early Monday morning, that was still in doubt. Charlie Collier, the network CEO, would only say that negotiations were going well; he even took the unusual step of announcing the other shows for the fall season – but not a day-to-day schedule.
A spin-off, “9-1-1: Lone Star,” was definitely coming back, but “9-1-1” – Fox’s top show in the Nielsen ratings – was indefinite. Heading into its sixth season (as is “The Resident”), it needed a new contract.
Now the earlier story:
Read more…
The USA Network will be a mostly macho place next season.
It will also be mostly unscripted, at least among its original (non-rerun) shows. The network — which once debuted “Monk,” “Psych,” “Suits” and “Mr. Robot” — has plans next season for exactly one scripted original –continuing “Chucky,” the killer-doll tale.
Instead, USA seems to reflect the success of its Monday and Tuesday wrestling, via the WWE. (One new show will be hosted by WWE star Nikki Bella, shown here; a returning reality show features a WWE couple.) It also reflects an expanded sports line-up, now that sister channel NBC Sports Network has folded. The announcements for next season include Read more…
As the broadcast networks launch their summer line-ups – even before summer starts – scripted shows are scarce.
Not to worry; cable and others are filling the gap. Freeform has set June or July starts for four of them – one new, two starting its season, one returning for the season’s second half ..,. and “Motherland: Fort Salem” starting its final season.
Some networks have been in a hurry to get their summer shows in place. ABC installed a games-and-reality night on Tuesday, May 3; Fox returns “So You Think You Can Dance” – for the first time in three years – on Wednesday, May 18.
But scripted shows are another matter. The Freeform summer has: Read more…
