It was 20 years ago today that “Smallville” debuted on the WB network, raising the bar a bit for superhero shows.
The show’s goal, at first, was “no tights, no flights.” Instead, it would be a solid drama about a teen (played by Tom Welling) still adjusting to his superskills. Read more…
There are some stories that seem too big even for Hollywood.
One is the opioid epidemic that overwhelmed the judicial and medical systems. Now Hulu, the streaming network, debuts “Dopesick” on Wednesday (Oct. 13).
The real-life story was “a shocker to me,” said Michael Keaton (shown here), who stars. “The ease with which it became epidemic kind of knocked me out.” Read more…
Charlie Brown cartoons – new and old – will have a fresh life during the holidays.
The new is “For Auld Lang Syne,” which starts streaming Dec. 10 on Apple TV+. After a disappointing Christmas, Lucy vows to throw herself the best New Year’s Eve party ever.
And the old are classics — led by “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (shown here), one of the all-time greats — that will air on PBS and PBS Kids (each at 7:30 p.m.) and on Apple. They are: Read more…
As the AIDS crisis grew, some people pointed their rage at Dr. Anthony Fauci (shown here).
He wasa “Dr. Doom.” His infectious-disease team was filled with “incompetent idiocy,” said a leader of the ACT UP protest group, adding: ”I call you a murderer.”
Then the doctor came to an ACT UP meeting. In “Fauci” – the compelling Disney+ documentary – Peter Staley recalls thinking: “We’re dealing with Brooklyn here.” Read more…
When “Diana The Musical” debuted on Netflix, Broadway’s trickle-down tradition wobbled.
The system has been in place for generations: Shows are seen by a few people who have the right location (New York) and bank account (flush). The rest of us must wait for a tour … or a local production … or, occasionally, a movie.
But “Diana” (shown here) goes in reverse. It reached Netflix on Oct.1, seven weeks before its Broadway opening. Read more…
Another canceled TV show has been rescued, this time by a three-way coalition.
“All Rise” (shown here) was dropped by CBS after two seasons. In the new plan:
– Those seasons will rerun on both HBO Max and Hulu, beginning Dec. 1.
– They’ll also rerun on the Oprah Winfrey Network. All three – OWN, HBO Max and Hulu – will then add a new, 20-episode season. Read more…
As NBC’s “La Brea” begins, the world crumbles.
A giant sinkhole develops in Los Angeles. Buildings fall; people flee. Some escape, others plunge into a giant netherworld (shown here), where ancient creatures loom. And viewers are left with key questions:
Are there really sinkholes in Los Angeles? Do extinct animals really roam under the earth? And – most importantly – can we ever trust NBC to finish what it started?
The answers are yes and no and absolutely not. Let’s take that last one first: Read more…
Ry Russo-Young was a fairly successful director, making scripted movies about fictional people.
Still, she realized that one of the best stories involved real people – her and her two moms. The result is “Nuclear Family” (shown here), an HBO documentary with new episodes on Sundays, rerunning almost daily.
It’s a story that goes back 40 years, to a time before gay marriages and gay parents. Sandy Russo and Robin Young defied tradition: Using different male donors, each gave birth. Read more…
William Randolph Hearst lived a life of dizzying extremes.
It was part-Trump and part-Murdoch, with bits of the fictional Charles Foster Kane. It rippled with power, both symbolic (a castle, shown here, a movie-star lover) and real, with newspapers, magazines and more.
But there were also parts of Hearst that were surprisingly mellow. “People were expecting something as brash as his newspapers,” Victoria Kastner, a Hearst historian, told the Television Critics Association. “Actually, he was quite courtly and an elegant man with a sense of humor.”
astner – former official historian for Hearst’s San Simeon estate – is one of the commentators in a four-hour “American Experience” profile, from 9-11 p.m. Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 27-28) on PBS. Read more…
Even as the TV turf quakes and shifts, HBO stays steady. It keeps turning out top-quality shows.
Now, however, those shows are spread over two spots: Some start on HBO, then slide to the HBO Max streaming service; others (including John Cena’s upcoming “Succession,” shown here) are Max-only.
Either way, the quality persists. That was clear this week with: Read more…
