Stories

Marie Antoinette: A ditz? A rebel? A well-dressed enigma

More than two centuries after Marie Antoinette’s death, there are opposite views. She was:
— A ditz and a spendthrift who ignored her countrymen’s poverty. She didn’t really say “let them eat cake,” but she might have thought it.
— Something much more. “She was totally a rebel,” said Emilia Schule (shown here), who stars in the eight-part “Marie Antoinette,” debuting at 10 p.m. Sunday (March 19) on PBS.
In the glittery Versailles palace, Marie was a rule-breaker — something Schule sort of understands. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 13, 2023

Stories

In or out of prison, he was a warm dad

Tracy McMillan is an expert on life’s extremes.
She’s known the highs and the lows. The middle part – the comfy, cozy part – has been elusive.
Well, she did grow up in Minneapolis, in mid-America. And she spent several years with a warm foster family, led by a Lutheran minister.
But then she was back with her charismatic dad, whom she’s described as “a Billy Dee Williams type who committed crimes for a living.” That led to “UnPrisoned,” debuting Friday (March 10) on Hulu. Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo (shown here) play people a lot like McMillan and her dad. The difference is that in this fictional version, he lives with her after prison. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 9, 2023

Stories

Oscar night on TV: Here’s a guide

The Academy Awards, which used to be a big deal, arrive Sunday on ABC.
And this time, they might draw some interest. They have a host, some songs, a studio audience … and some movies (including “Elvis,” shown here) people have seen.
We used to take that for granted, until things crumbled. There were two no-audience pandemic years … three no-host years … and a year with no songs during the main show. Also, nominees were obscure.
Now all of that seems to be behind us. Here’s an overview of the night; also, alongside this are two Oscar features — on front-runner Ke Huy Quan and on the oft-overlooked documentary categories: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 6, 2023

Stories

Award shows are fun — as long as Quan wins

There are actors who accept awards casually. They smile slightly, read lethargic lists, then depart.
Then there’s Ke Huy Quan (shown here), who makes the award season worthwhile.
At previous ceremonies (Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, etc.), Quan jumped and hugged and beamed. Now he’s a front-runner at this year’s Academy Awards, at 8 p.m. ET Sunday (March 12) on ABC; so is his movie, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and its star, Michelle Yeoh.
All of this follows a big gap. The pause in his acting career “has been for a long time,” Quan said. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 5, 2023

Stories

History — Mel Brooks style — finally returns

For almost 40 years, Mel Brooks has inhabited Nick Kroll’s comic mind.
Kroll was about 5, he says, when he munched a fish stick and proclaimed, “It’s good to be the king.” It was a start.
“Some of my very first laughs ever (were) from me parroting Mel Brooks,” Kroll told the Television Critics Association. “And many, many years later, nothing has changed.”
Now he’s assembled an all-star project: “History of the World, Part II”(shown here), an eight-part sequel to Brooks’ film, airs (two per day) on Hulu, Monday through Thursday (March 6-9). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 3, 2023

Stories

Reese’s pieces fill the media landscape

Movie moguls used to have a consistent image.
As portrayed (in films and stories and such), they were big and blunt. They drank a lot, smoked as lot, didn’t read much. They definitely weren’t cherubic-faced book nerds.
That’s what makes this surprising: Reese Witherspoon has become one of Hollywood’s top producers.
Yes, that Reese – the one who convinced us she was a ditz in “Legally Blonde” movies. After lots of success in the past – from “Gone Girl” to “Bright Little Lies” and “Where the Crawdads Sing” – her company, Hello Sunshine, has four series streaming this spring:
— “Daisy Jones & the Six” (shown here) starts Friday (March 3) on Amazon Prime. A richly crafted series about a fictional rock band, it’s filled with characters who are deeply flawed, yet deeply fascinating. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / March 1, 2023

Stories

“True Lies” truly brings action-adventure fun

There’s a type of story that movies savor and TV rarely tries.
It’s high-octane action-adventure, sometimes with comedy tossed in. It might have James Bond or Charlie’s angels or the bad boys or the folks from “Ocean’s 11” or “Fast and Furious” films.
“It’s mainly a movie genre,” said Matt Nix. But now he’s adapted the 1994 “True Lies” movie into a series (shown here) that airs at 10 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS, starting March 1. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 24, 2023

Stories

Reluctantly, he discovered fresh vistas

This is the sort of job many sane folks would cherish.
It’s a travel show to Italy, Costa Rica, Maldeves and more. It “visits some of the world’s most beautiful and intriguing destinations,” said Rita Cooper Lee of Apple TV+.
And it centers on Eugene Levy (shown here) … who says he really didn’t want to go.
“I’m not a great traveler,” Levy told the Television Critics Association. “I don’t have a great sense of adventure. I’m not curious by nature. I’m not proud of any of this, but it’s just a fact.” Which fits “The Reluctant Traveler,” an eight-week debuting Friday (Feb. 24) on Apple. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 23, 2023

Stories

An ’80s epic starts a compelling (and final) season

Eight years ago, an unknown English actor met a well-known American producer-director-writer.
Damson Idris had done a few plays, a few TV episodes, one movie; he knew nothing about the chaotic 1980s era in South Central Los Angeles. John Singleton knew everything about it.
They ate Jamaican food in South Central and talked. And then? “He waited for me to get home,” Idris told the Television Critics Association, “before calling me and telling me, ‘Hey, you got the part.’”
That’s the lead role in “Snowfall” (shown here with Idris), the fierce and compelling drama starting its sixth and final season. Its first two episodes – 10 and 11:11 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 22) on FX, then going to Hulu – conclude with a sensational scene pitting Idris (as Franklin) against Amin Joseph (as Jerome, his uncle). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 21, 2023

Stories

She left a comfy career … and found TV stardom

In the wobbly world of acting, Liza Lapira had found a balance.
She had a day job she liked (as a store manager) and a boss who let her leave for auditions. She did theater and had some TV roles, all while living in her home town of New York, near family and friends.
“I had a really great life,” she recalled by phone. “It felt a little safe and comfortable.” So she left.
These days, that move seems wise – especially if you watch CBS on Sundays. In December, she starred in “Must Love Christmas,” the best of the year’s holiday movies; now “The Equalizer” (shown here) – a ratings hit – is finally back in its 8 p.m. slot. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / February 17, 2023