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The new season: Here’s an updated overview

(The new season is half-way here now. It officially began Sept. 19, but several shows will wait until early October; one new one arrives Nov. 4. With that in mind, I’m keeping the new-season overview here at the top and updating it. Here are three stories that I posted earlier; the first two have been rewritten throughout.)
A new TV season is here now. It has a few shows and a lot of promos. What it lacks is the old blend of Hollywood hope, hype and a sense of something big.
There have been big things lately, but not on the broadcast networks, the ones that send out shows for free (with commercials) over the air.
A “Game of Thrones” prequel on HBO collided with a “Lord of the Rings” prequel (shown here) on Amazon Prime, both spending mega-money – reportedly $200 million for 10 HBO episodes, $465 million for eight Amazon ones. What’s a mere broadcast network to do? Not much; consider: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 23, 2022

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Emmycast was listless (that’s good), often hostless (that’s not)

Near the end of the Emmy awards, Pete Davidson suggested a round of applause for Kenan Thompson.
My instinctive response was, “Who???”
Oh yes, he was sort of the host. He told a couple jokes, joined an ill-advised dance number and later told some more jokes, including some good ones. Then he mostly vanished.
There’s a reason we need stand-up-comedy types to host awardcasts. They can punctuate a show with quick quips at odd moments. Thompson’s a terrific comedy actor, but this isn’t in his skill set; you need someone like Steve Martin (shown here with “Only Murders in the Building” colleagues Martin Short and Selena Gomez). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 13, 2022

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Final “Atlanta” season: sorta weird, sorta “grounded”

When the “Atlanta” series was being created, the tone was clear.
On the first day, writer-producer Stefani Robinson said, Donald Glover (the creator and star, shown here) “said. ‘We are going to get canceled because of what we’re going to try to do …. So let’s have fun.’”
That’s how Stephen Glover – a writer-producer and Donald’s brother – recalls it.. The idea, he said, was: “If we’re here only four episodes, they’re going to be the best four episodes ever.”
And then? It became four seasons, not four episodes. The show became popular and honored … and then not so much. It starts its final season (10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, on FX), relishing its quirks. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 11, 2022

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Royal coverage continues through Sept. 19 funeral

After the quick rush of monarchy coverage, there’s more coming this weekend.
On Friday (Sept. 9), ABC has two primetime hours about the late Queen Elizabeth II (shown here), from 9-11 p.m. Also, CBS’ Norah O’Donnell will be in London for her 6:30 p.m. newscast.
Then CBS continues coverage on Sunday: At 9 a.m., Jane Pauley anchors a 90-minute special; at 7 p.m., “60 Minuts will include an update. In addition, PBS has collected reruns in its pbs.org website. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 8, 2022

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New season: Here’s the schedule

Here’s the fall schedule for the five main commercial broadcast networks. (A separate story offers an overview.) Most shows debut the week of Sept. 19; exceptions have their starting dates in parentheses:
— MONDAYS: ABC: “Bachelor in Paradise” (Oct. 3), 8 p.m.; “The Good Doctor” (Oct. 3), 10. CBS: “The Neighborhood,” 8 p.m.; “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30; “NCIS,” 9; NCIS: Hawaii,” 10. NBC: “The Voice,” 8 p.m., “Quantum Leap” (NEW, shown here), 10; Fox: “9-1-1,” 8 p.m., “The Cleaning Lady,” 9; CW, “All American,” 8 p.m., “All American: Homecoming,” 9. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 6, 2022

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They live high-adventure (and scary) lives

Angel Collinson (shown here) has spent most of her life whooshing down mountains,.
She succeeded most of the time, starring in skiing movies and on magazine covers. She also failed a few times, once taking a dangerous, 1,000-foot fall.
So what’s the scariest moment she’s had so far? “When I asked my boyfrfiend out for a date,” she said..
She’s joking, a little, but with some truth at the core. Collinson is one of the athletes featured in “Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin,” a National Geographic Channel series that views top athletes and their toughest moments.
The series opens at 9:30 pm. Monday (Sept. 5), with Alex Honnold, the climber who was the subject of Chin’s Oscar-winning, 2018 movie, “Free Solo.” It follows at 10 with Collinson. The next night (Sept. 6), the show has kayaker Gerd Serrasolses at 10 p.m. and climber Conrad Anker at 10:30.After that, it continues on Tuesdays, with episodes reaching Disney+ on Wednesdays. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / September 2, 2022

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Elvis lives anew (on HBO)

“Elvis,” the movie, is back with us. Elvis, the memory, never went away.
Baz Luhrman’s film (shown here) has a few flaws, plus lots of strengths. It was praised by the majority of critics (including me) and has topped $277 million worldwide at the box office.
Now it reaches HBO, starting at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 3). With that in mind, I’m rerunning my review; here it is: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 31, 2022

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Here’s an end-of-summer tour of parks beauty

As the summer concludes, we realize we failed (again) to see all the national parks.
Hey, that happens. There are 63 of them, from the Mexican border to the edge of Alaska, plus American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands; there are also 360 other spots that the Park Service supervises.
Now cable and streaming help us catch up, with a five-day, nine-hour series that’s beautifully filmed. “America’s National Parks” runs all week on the National Geographic Channel, from the Everglades and the Grand Canyon (shown here) Monday, Aug. 29, to Hawaiian volcanoes Friday. It also reaches Disney+ on Aug. 31. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 28, 2022

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Hallmark gets an unthinkably good makeover

As soon as “Unthinkably Good Things” begins, you might wonder: “Hey, Is this REALLY a Hallmark Channel movie?”
After all, many viewers have memorized the Hallmark formula:
A woman (young, pert, capable and, of course, white) is changing her life – maybe moving home, visiting home or such. She meets a guy (young-ish, generically handsome, white). They squabble, then decide they like each other. It’s all filmed in a pristine Canadian town, disguised as mid-America.
But most of that has been jettisoned for “Unthinkably” (shown here). The movie — 9-11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, on the Hallmark and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channels – reflects a new interest in diversity; it’s also the the first project under Hallmark’s “Mahogany” label, changing all the traditions. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 24, 2022

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“Only Murders” turns killer-reveal into a fun romp

Modern folks like gender-reveal parties, but it’s time for an older notion – the killer-reveal party.
That’s what “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here with Selena Gomez) does so cleverly in its finale, which arrived today (Tuesday, Aug. 23) on Hulu.
If you haven’t seen the previous nine episodes, please do. (Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers here.)
For that matter, catch Hulu in general. It’s on a hot streak, with three types of strong shows: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 23, 2022