Stories

TV this fall? Fox, CW, cable, PBS set line-ups

For TV viewers swamped by reruns, there are a few signs of hope.
Two networks have set specifics for this fall: Fox will launch a makeshift line-up on Sept. 21 with “Filthy Rich” (shown here) and “L.A.’s Finest”; the CW begins its own makeshift line-up two weeks later.
That still leaves the big ones in limbo. When the coronavirus struck, ABC, CBS and NBC simply renewed most of their shows for this fall; so far, they haven’t set start dates.
But the pay-extra networks – from Netflix to HBO – remain busy. So does PBS and some of the basic-cable networks. “Fargo,” one of TV’s most-praised series, starts its season Sept. 27 on FX; a week later, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” has an abrupt season-finale and launches a spin-off. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 17, 2020

Stories

TV obsesses (sometimes) on conventions

Now it’s convention time, a two-week stretch when TV is consumed by politics.
Well … semi-consumed. On Aug. 17-20, the big networks still have plenty of time for “Holey Moley,” “Tough as Nails,” “Ellen’s Game of Games” and five hours of Gordon Ramsay reruns.
Clearly, this is far from the era when the Cronkite/Brokaw teams covered every convention detail.
“I lean in favor of covering more,” Judy Woodruff (shown here), in her 12th round of convention coverage, told the Television Critics Association recently. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 14, 2020

Stories

Reporters’ lives spin in political winds

Whenever a candidate is chosen – for president, for vice-president, whatever – the impact spreads.
Lives change, people move, careers are stalled or propelled. Reporters try to shrug it off.
“We roll from one assignment to the next,” insisted Kyung Lah (shown here, right, with Jasmine Wright), one of the CNN reporters featured in a new HBO Max documentary. When one candidate she covered dropped out of the presidential primaries, another was available.
“In my case, (Kamala) Harris ended, (Amy) Klobuchar ended.” Lah told the Television Critics Association. “Now (I cover) COVID …. We just roll from one to the next.”
Except sometimes, she can roll back again. A week after Lah said that, Harris was chosen as the vice-presidential candidate; Lah was back to politics, doing CNN comnentary on someone she’s covered. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 12, 2020

Stories

Peacock struts its comedies

As streaming networks battle for viewers, Peacock’s special weapon is comedy.
It has lots of it – new and old, good and bad, silly and satirical. And it has just added more.
In Television Critics Association sessions Monday (Aug. 10), the network announced two topical shows (with Larry Wilmore and Amber Ruffin, who’s shown here during a regular gig with Seth Meyer), an action-comedy (with Will Forte) and a musical-comedy-drama (Tina Fey producing and Sara Bareilles starring). It also discussed three previously announced shows.
And it broke a tradition of sorts: Networks often base series on movies that were box-office hits; Peacock is going the opposite way, ordering eight episodes of Forte’s “MacGruber.” In 2010, it made only $9.3 million in the U.S. … putting it $400 million behind “Avatar” or “Toy Story 3.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 11, 2020

Stories

Tough task: Be the quickest-canceled show ever

Television has now tied one of its least-desired records: Quickest cancellation of a show.
Viewers watching the CW network at 9 p.m. Sunday suddenly saw a “Supernatural” episode. The scheduled show, “Taskmaster,” had been dropped after one episode.
It ties other shows that were dumped after one outing … or maybe less. “It wasn’t even a full episode,” George Schlatter, the “Turn-On” producer, has said. “One guy canceled us at the commercial break.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 10, 2020

Stories

Nature and zombies brighten (?) our future

What we all need now, perhaps, is a gorgeous portrait of nature, soothing and serene.
Then again, we might need vampires on the prowl. Either way, the AMC cable networks have it covered; on Friday, they announced plans for:
– “Planet Earth: A Celebration,” at 8 p.m. Aug. 31 on all four channels – BBC America, AMC, IFC and Sundance. It repackages some of the scenes from “Planet Earth II” (shown here) and “Blue Planet II,” adding new narration (by David Attenborough and new music by Hans Zimmer and colleagues; the string parts will be by the BBC Orchestras, with British rapper Dave on piano
– And the return of AMC’s zombie world. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 8, 2020

Stories

A de Havilland marathon captures decades of classics

For any Hollywood star, this may be a record: After making her most famous film, Olivia de Havilland lived another 81 years.
She was 23 when she co-starred in “Gone With the Wind” (1939) as sweet-spirited Melanie (shown here), getting an Academy Award nomination; she was 104 when she died July 26.
This month, highlights of her career will rerun on Turner Class Movies. It will be a 24-hour package, starting at 6 a.m. Aug. 23, but for many people it will be something to record and catch later. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / August 3, 2020

Stories

A national diary soars in the time of COVID

As the year began, PBS launched a sort of national diary.
People could simply send in their stories, via video (usually) … or photos … or prose … or whatever.
Eventually, some would be tied into a special – one of which (shown here) airs at 10:30 p.m. this Sunday (Aug. 2) on many stations. It would be kind of pleasant and PBS-y.
Then COVID came and everything changed. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 30, 2020

Stories

Even in a pandemic, PBS is busy

The world may be in a slow-down, shut-down mode, but you can’t prove it by PBS.
The network – now in a three-day stretch of press conferences with the Television Critics Association – somehow seems busier than ever.
There is Ken Burns (shown here), juggling films. “I am, like an idiot, working on eight projects,” he said.
And Henry Louis Gates, doing a four-hour, February film about Black churches … and glad that the church portions were filmed early. “This is not exactly the safest place to be at the time of a pandemic.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 29, 2020

Stories

Culture clash? Nigerian grit meets reality-show glitz

TV is fond of opposites and odd couples, so maybe this makes sense:
When “Real Housewives of Potomac” starts its season Sunday (Aug. 2), a hard-working Nigerian-American – with four college degrees, three children and many jobs – will join the flashy crowd.
It’s not a total mismatch, Wendy Osefo said. “I’m in the same social circles as some of the ladies.” (She’s shown here. socially circling with her husband Edward and, right, Candiace Dillard._
Still, we think of the various “Real Housewives” reality shows as being filled with glitz, with privileged people who are ready to throw a drink or at raise a fuss. By comparison, Osefo’s life has involved constant motion. “I feel like I’m on a hamster wheel,” she said, without really complaining. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 27, 2020