News and Quick Comments

News and Quick Comments

A trend grows: More music, more Disney

The music-from-home idea is getting another TV boost:
Buoyed by strong ratings for the first one, ABC will have a second “Disney Family Singalong.” That will be 7 p.m. May 10 – yes, that’s Mother’s Day – with details pending.
The first few at-home specials were fairly primitive, with people simply singing into a stationary camera. Since then, however, shows have kept adding extra editing touches.
“Singalong” had plenty of stars – Ariana Gramde, Michael Buble, Beyonce, etc. – and bounced between homes: Donny Osmond sang with his grandkids (shown here, with the singalong lyrics); the casts of “High School Musical” and “Descendants” merged. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 29, 2020
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“Skywalker” arrives early; awards change

“Star Wars Day” – the unofficial “holiday” on May 4 — gets an extra boost this year:
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (shown here) will reach Disney+ that day, two months earlier than expected.
That’s one of several recent TV changes related to the pandemic. Also, one award show is moving from Las Vegas to Nashville; another will go ahead … in a social-distancing way. Details: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 27, 2020
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Quick changes: Music reruns, new “SNL”

Right now, networks are scrambling to fill their virus voids.
Changes are made quickly — sometimes too quickly for viewers toi catch up. This weekend:
Saturday (April 25), 8-10 p.m.: CBS reruns “Let’s Go Crazy” (shown here), its Grammy tribute to Prince. Taped before the virus shutdowns, that was packed with stars, from Alicia Keys, Beck and John Legend to the Foo Fighters and Earth, Wind & Fire. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 25, 2020
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Super-streamers go to the Max

Let’s consider this the ultimate name-dropping.
HBO has just sent a reminder that it’s super-streamer, HBO Max (shown here with “Game of Thromes,” will arrive May 27. That brought my knee-jerk reaction:
What terrible timing, I figured. Disney+ has grabbed more than 50 million subscribers during this stay-at-home phase. Max will arrive just as we’re finally leaving home and strolling into the sunshine.
Will yet another super-streamer succeed? As the HBO name-droppers put it: “Ross, Rachel, Penny, Sheldon, Rick, Morty, Princess Bubblegum, Big Pussy, Mr. Big, Chandler Bing, Elmer Fudd, Diana Prince, Jon Snow, Dorothy … Bruce Wayne and (more) certainly think so.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 23, 2020
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Virus specials: Abby & Alicia & more

For the cable news people, coronavirus specials have become the new normal.
CNN keeps having a “Coronavirus: Fact or Fiction” town halls, with Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta – two terrific fact guys – in charge. Now it has variations with Alicia Keys and (really) Big Bird.
Fox News has also jumped in. Here are the latest examples; for each, the times are three hours earlier PT: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 23, 2020
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More at-home music: Disney on Thursday, everyone Saturday

(This story, written last week, is now a tad dated. A newer commentary is at the top of the page.)
Two new TV specials are joining the music-from-home trend.
It will be a light hour of Disney tunes (complete with singalong) on Thursday … and then a marathon of global pop stars on Saturday. Details are:
– Thursday: “Disney Family Singalong” will be 8-9 p.m. on ABC, with stars performing from home, while animated characters show the lyrics. There will be songs from recent movies, including “Moana” and “Frozen” and (Auli’i Cravalho, shown here, and Josh Gad will perform) and older films. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 15, 2020
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Bad/good news: Seasons ending early; some finales are first-rate

The coronavirus shutdown is starting to have another TV impact – shorter seasons and quicker finales.
It’s a subtle change — two or three fewer episodes, before the reruns begin – with a redeeming factor: This week, two of NBC’s season-finales – “New Amsterdam,” at 9 p.m. Tuesday and “Chicago P.D” (shown here with Jason Beghe) at 10 p.m. Wednesday (April 14-15) – are terrific. Two others – “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Fire,” 8 and 9 p.m. Wednesday – are so-so, but we’ll settle for two out of four. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 13, 2020
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Elmo wants to brighten the crisis

Even in the darkest times, Elmo (shown here) remains eager and upbeat. So now, of course, he’ll have a special during the coronavirus shutdown.
“Sesame Street: Elmo’s Playdate” will be 7 p.m. Tuesday (April 14) on HBO, many of its sister channels, and PBS Kids. Guests include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Hathaway and Tracee Ellis Ross. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 8, 2020
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Filling the void: CBS tries Sunday movies

As the coronavirus shutdown lingers, TV networks have empty spots at the end of their season.
Now CBS has a temporary solution: It will wipe aside its Sunday line-up – “God Friended Me,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: New Orleans” – and replace it with movies.
During May, all five Sundays will be movie nights – two Indiana Jones films (shown here), plus “Titanic,” “Forrest Gump” and “Mission: Impossible.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / April 7, 2020