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Need new, scripted shows? They’re coming July 11

At first glance, our summer TV line-ups already seem to be loaded.
There’s a ton of reality shows, a half-ton of game shows. There are oceans of sharks. ABC has the basketball finals and NBC is waiting semi-patiently for the July 23 start of the Olympics.
Is there anything missing? Yes, actually. New, scripted shows have been scarce … until now.
They’ll arrive in one gulp on Sunday (July 11). That night has the debuts of three series(including HBO’s “White Lotus,” shown here) and the season-openers of two more; that’s five new, scripted shows … plus one that looks at past comedies. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2021

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Amid sports surge, networks re-discover baseball

So this is what a winning streak looks like: Suddenly, the Chicago Cubs (shown here with Kris Bryant) get a spot on ABC … the first in decades.
And the streak is only one game, following a dizzying, 11-game losing streak. Turnarounds are great.
Usually, ESPN carries the Sunday-night basetball games. At 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 8, however, the Cubs-White Sox game will be produced by ESPN, but will air on its sister channel, ABC.
ABC did carry a wild-card game last year, but that was its first post-season game in 25 years. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 8, 2021

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Summertime silliness overload? Switch to PBS

Occasionally, it seems, TV veers away from its summer silliness.
You just have to know where to look … which is mostly PBS.
The network has just announced three “Frontline” films, plus six on “POV.” Those documentaries span the globe – Palestine, Peru and Puerto Rico, plus India, Afghanistan and the U.S, – and cover serious issues, from toppling statues (shown here) to propping up the economy. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 2, 2021

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On the Fourth, a world emerges festively

(This is an updated version of the previous 4th-of-July story, now including NBC and more of the performers.)
Sure, you could consider this year’s 4th-of-July mega-concert to be same-old, same-old.
After all, this is the 41st year for “A Capitol Fourth” on PBS …. and the 83rd year since July 4 became a paid federal holiday … and the 245th since the Declaration of Independence was signed.
But Ali Stroker, one of the performers, feels this time is different. “In the re-emerging, we have the option to make the world we’d like to have.”
She’s emerging from a year on pause. A Tony-winner (shown here on her winning night), she suddenly had no Broadway to audition for, fewer places to perform. “Singing in my bathroom, to my laptop, wasn’t necessarily prime conditions.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 28, 2021

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“The Ice Road”: A bumpy ride through a frozen Hell

For fans of “Highway to Hell” and “Ice Road Truckers” and more reality, this all seems familiar.
Trucks get stuck in the snow, their wheels spinning … They teeter into a ditch … The ice buckles under them, preparing to dump them into the lake … Bikers zoom alongside, attacking the driver … And …
OK, maybe some of those don’t happen much in real life. That’s why we have fiction and Liam Neeson, whose movie characters keep having some very bad days.
His latest film is “The Ice Road” (shown here), which has just arrived on Netflix. It’s the worst nightmare of any driver’s ed instructor, times (approximately) a thousand. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 26, 2021

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“Highway” gets a movie reboot

“Highway to Heaven” will return to TV, three decades after the death of the man who molded it.
Michael Landon (shown here with Victor French, his co-star) created the show, produced it, directed most of the episodes and starred as a probationary angel, helping people on Earth.
The new version will be on cable’s Lifetime, with key differences: It will be a movie (not a series), planned as the first of several. And this time, the angel will be a Black woman, played by Jill Scott. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 21, 2021

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Miley sets Pride Month concert on Peacock

For the second straight Friday, viewers can catch a major special keyed to Pride Month.
On June 18, it was a “Pose” marathon. And on June 25, Peacock will add a concert, “Miley Cyrus Presents Stand B You.”
Cyrus (shown here), who identifies as pansexual, has been a long-time supporter of LGBT issues. She’ll sing her own hits, including “The Climb” and “Party in the U.S.A.,” plus such slongs as “True Colors,” “Believe,” “We Belong,” “Dancing Queen” and a medley of “Music,” “Express Yourself” and “Like a Prayer.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 17, 2021

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TV stacks the Juneteenth weekend

It took more than 150 years for the Juneteenth celebration to wedge deeply into pop culture.
Now it’s there, filling our TV sets with related shows.
That starts Friday, when TBS has a double-feature and ABC has a two-hour special, complete with music, features and Barack Obama. It wraps up Sunday, with CBS showing “Selma” … which will already have aired three times Saturday (the actual holiday) on cable.
That Saturday has a flood of specials, including a new one (the History’s Channel’s “Fight the Power”) and lots of reruns. Viewers can watch Tracee Ellis Ross in nine-hours of “Black-ish” reruns … or skip the final half-hour and see a profile of her mother, Diana Ross. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 15, 2021

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“Heights” swoops us to HBO Max … or to a theater

If you still need a reason to get HBO Max, it’s “In the Heights.”
Better yet, if you need a reason to go back to a theater – big screen, booming speakers, abundant popcorn – that’s also “In the Heights.”
The movie (shown here) landed on both sites Friday (June 11), helping us bust loose from our 15-month doldrums.
It’s all the things we expected – a festive treat, filled with spectacular sights and sounds. But the surprise is that it also packs deep emotion … and that this musical – which began try-outs 16 years ago – seems to perfectly fit right now, as Americans emerge from an anti-immigrant phase. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 14, 2021

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“Loki”: fantasy fun from an odd god

In the sprawling Marvel universe, Loki (shown here) has always been an anomaly.
This is a world of good intentions and great physiques. It’s a place where superpowers (plus super suits and shields and hammers and such) can save us from fierce villains.
Then there’s Loki, the “God of Mischief.” He’s a trickster who uses his tricks mainly to help himself. He’s sly and selfish and scheming; he’s perfect for a TV series.
So now “Loki” has its quick run on the Disney+ streaming service. Two episodes arrive Wednesday (June 9), with weekly ones for four more Wednesdays. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 8, 2021