News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

Fox plans an early (sorta) start for fall season

The Fox network will get off to an early start this fall — or, at least, early compared to the other guys.
ABC has aid that five of its six scripted shows will wait until October. (The lone exception is “”High Potential,” Sept. 16.) CBS is waiting even longer: All 14 of its scripted shows will start in the stretch from Oct. 12-19.
That gives Fox some time to seek new viewers. Its only two dramas — “Murder in a Small Town” (shown here) and “Doc” — will start Sept. 23; its four animated comedies arrive Sept. 28. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 29, 2025
News and Quick Comments

ABC fall line-up starts early (but scriptless)

It will be an early or late start for ABC’s shows this fall:
Early, if you like unscripted shows — people dancing or romancing, people buying companies or buying vowels or tackling one another. All of those arrive in September or sooner.
But late if you like scripted shows, the sort that networks used to thrive on. ABC only has six of them and only “High Potential” (shown here) starts soon; the other five will wait until Oct. 1 or 16. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 18, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Emmy nominations: It’s a Seth-and-Jason kind of year

For those of us still trying to discern the difference between Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, this will be a tough Emmy season.
Both are nominated for best actor in a comedy series. Their shows — both on Apple TV+ — are both are up for best comedy.
Rogen’s “The Studio” (shown here) is one of the year’s hot newcomers, with 23 nominations. It trails only “Severance” (also Apple), with 27, and another newcomer, Netflix’s “The Penguin,” with 24. HBO Max’s “White Lotus also has 23; its “The Last of Us” has 16. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 15, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Emmy nominations? Here’s a sampling

We now know this year’s Emmy nominations … or, at least, a micro-smidgen of them.
Most of the nominations will arrive in one surge, at 11:30 a.m. ET today (July 15). We’ll have another story then.
But almost four hours early, CBS was allowed to reveal few. That involved only two categories and a total of zero surprises:
— REALITY COMPETION SHOW: “Survivor” (shown here), “Amazing Race,” “Top Chef,” “The Traitors,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
— TALK SHOW: Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, “The Daily Show.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 15, 2025
News and Quick Comments

CBS’ fall shows? Wait until mid-October

If you’re already tired of summer TV, CBS has bad and good news.
The bad: The fall season won’t start (with “Matlock,” shown here)until Oct. 12; that’s two or three weeks later than usual for many networks.
The good: In the interim, there will be three straight Sundays of specials, plus an earlier start for reality and news shows. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 11, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Hey, the kids want their turn with the Legos

Don’t you hate it when kids want to play with toys while adults are still using them?
Now they’re even taking over the Legos. “Lego Masters Jr.” will have a four-Monday, end-of-summer run.
“Lego Masters” (shown here in its episode tonight, July 7) is at 8 p.m. Mondays on Fox and also has Christmastime tournaments. When its current season ends, the new show will take over the spot for four weeks. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 7, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Mini-networks plan cops and romance

At a sleepy time for the big networks, two mini-nets offer some variety.
For UPtv, there will be cop shows this month: Reruns of “The Rookie” (shown here)now and a new season of “Hudson & Rex,” starting July 17,
And for the CW, it will be this fall. There will be a series (the Canadian version of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) and six movies, based on Harlequin romance novels. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 5, 2025
News and Quick Comments

“SharkFest” looms; here’s an overview

“SharkFest” starts Saturday (July 5) on National Geographic, 15 days ahead of Discovery’s “Shark Week.”
We’ll see lots of scary-looking creatures, plus experts telling us not to be so scared. Here’s an overview; most shows will also be on Disney+ and Hulu:

RERUNS
— They start at 9 a.m. daily and continue overnight until 6 a.m.

SERIES:
— “Investigation Shark Attack,” 9 p.m. daily (except July 10), rerunning at midnight. In a central control room, four people see tapes of an attack and talk by Zoom to other experts. That starts July 5 with four great white shark encounters in California. Next is Hawaii on July 6, the Bahamas on the 7th, the Gulf on the 8th, Florida on the 9th and Maui on the 11th. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 30, 2025
News and Quick Comments

Here’s a sofa round-up of the Fourth of July

If you prefer your Fourth of July to be indoors and uncrowded, don’t fret. TV has plenty of alternatives.
Here are several of them. All are Friday and include music; most (except for AXS) also have fireworks:

PBS
— When: 8 p.m.; rerunning at 9:30.
— Where: Washington, D.C.
— Music: Beach Boys, Temptations, Yolanda Adams (shown here), Josh Turner (see separate story), LoCash,
Lauren Daigle, Abi Carter, National Symphony, Army band and trumpets.
— Also: Tributes, including the 250th anniversary of the Army, Navy and Marines. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / June 28, 2025