Daily Best Bets
Best-bets for Feb. 13: a day for love and skates Best-bets for Feb. 13: a day for love and skates Best-bets for Feb. 12: Olympians and a “6-8 lunch lady” Best-bets for Feb. 12: Olympians and a “6-8 lunch lady” Best-bets for Feb. 11: early mammals, evolved skaters Best-bets for Feb. 11: early mammals, evolved skaters
Stories

“Cross” is back … and Mason is raging

By Mike Hughes / February 9, 2026
Stories

Olympic overload? Here’s a guide to the figure skating schedule and more

By Mike Hughes / February 4, 2026
Stories

O’Hara: three (or more) gifted actresses in one

By Mike Hughes / February 1, 2026
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News and Quick Comments

“Crown” found deep humanity amid royal chaos

Wrapping up its six-season run, “The Crown” (shown here) showed how good long-form TV can be.
Writer-producr Peter Morgan had already mastered the short take: His Oscar-nominated “The Queen” (2006) was a brilliant visit to a brief, befuddling time after Diana’s death.
Then he took the big sweep: In seven years, six seasons and 60 episodes, he viewed the first 54 years of Elizabeth II’s reign.
The story ended with Charles’ wedding in 2005, with his mom ready for 17 more years. Getting to that point was fascinating, in the six episodes that arrived Thursday (Dec. 14). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 15, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 17: Lots of animation, plus Willie at 90

1) “Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration,” 8:30-10:30 p.m., CBS (but 8-10 p.m. on the West Coast).We’ll overlook the fact that Nelson’s 90th birthday was 233 days ago. Any excuse to hear this 12-time Grammy-winner (shown here) is fine. Also performing are his sons, plus stars from country (George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton) and beyond (Keith Richards, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Beck, Gary Clark Jr. and Snoop Dogg). Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 15, 2023
Stories

New worlds? Percy is ready for them; so is Walker

The notion might seem overwhelming: A regular lad is whisked away to a special place, where he must do big things.
That happened to Harry Potter … And to Percy Jackson, the centerpiece of an epic series that starts Wednesday (Dec. 20) on Disney+ … And, sort of, to the actors playing them.
To Walker Scobell (shown here), who stars as Percy, such changes are a natural part of life. He grew up in a military family, accustomed to new schools and new lives.
“I think that helped with being an actor in general,” he said at a virtual press conference. “My dad is so used to moving a lot and our whole family is. So it wasn’t a big change.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 15, 2023
Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for Dec. 18: Big-deal finales … and two debuts

1) “The Voice” finale, 8 p.m. today and Tuesday, NBC. Tonight, the five finalists each do a ballad and an uptempo song; then viewers vote. The performances will be recapped at 8 p.m. Tuesday; at 9, finalists perform with their coaches – Lila Forde with John Legend, Ruby Leigh and Jacquie Roar (shown here) with Reba McEntire, Huntley and Mara Justine with Niall Horan. Also performing: Keith Urban, AJR, Tyla, Jelly Roll and Earth, Wind & Fire and Dan + Shay. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 14, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Christmas TV soars; here’s updated schedule

As Christmas nears, networks have made a few additions, subtractions and schedule-flips.
ABC added “The Sound of Music” (shown here) for Dec. 17 and gave it the full Sunday-night landscape, from 7-11 p.m. CW added an extra night of “The Chosen,” nudging “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” to Dec. 22. And the Turner networks (TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies) made several swithes.
With that in mine, here’s an updated round-up for Dec. 14-24. (For general reference, the original list still exists, under “stories.”)
This skips most Christmas episodes of regular shows and (with a few exceptions) reruns of TV movies. For theatrical films, it includes the eternal ones and skips the rest. Also, it barely scratches the vast resources of streaming networks; check your streamer for details. Here we go: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 14, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 16: Kate, Grinch & Frosty

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. A good season could turn into a great one: Kate McKinnon (shown here) is hosting and Billie Eilish is the music guest. “SNL” often seems to have one person who dominates the sketches. It’s Bowen Yang now (with Kenan Thompson a close second); at other times, it’s been Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and, especially, McKinnon. Add Eilish and you may have one of the show’s best episodes. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 14, 2023
News and Quick Comments

Post-strike, CW sticks with lower-budget plan

When the big networks return to full-budget, scripted shows, the CW will stand fast.
It will have the same sort of shows it (and others) settled for during the strikes. There will be lots a non-fiction, plus Canadian shows (including “Children Ruin Everything,” shown here) and a movie night.
For years, the CW had youthful shows — often high-octane, superhero ones. But 15 months ago, it got a new owner with plans to lower the costs; then the strikes saw all the networks trying that. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 13, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Dec. 15: Christmas tree, parade, movie

1) “National Christmas Tree Lighting,” 8 p.m., CBS. We don’t think of President Calvin Coolidge as a festive guy, but in 1923 he presided over the first lighting of the national tree. A century later, that’s a TV-ready celebration. Mickey Guyton (shown here) hosts and sings, with Dionne Warwick, Joe Walsh, Ledisi, Darren Criss, St. Vincent, Renee Rapp and Samara Joy. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 13, 2023
Stories

British custom — Christmas Day TV — reaches U.S.

A British custom – TV episodes planned for Christmas Day – is making modest inroads in the U.S.
The big one this year is a “Doctor Who,” introducing a new Doctor and his companion (the stgars are shown here). It marks the show’s move to Disney+.
In addition, however, there are two others arriving exactly on Dec. 25 (PBS’ “Call the Midwife” and Acorn’s “Madame Blanc Mysteries”), two that come a day earlier (Britbox’s “Lot 249” ghost story and its “Beyond Paradise”) and some others from earlier in the month. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / December 13, 2023
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 13: a day for love and skates

By Mike Hughes / February 11, 2026
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 12: Olympians and a “6-8 lunch lady”

By Mike Hughes / February 10, 2026
Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for Feb. 11: early mammals, evolved skaters

By Mike Hughes / February 9, 2026
Stories

“Cross” is back … and Mason is raging

By Mike Hughes / February 9, 2026
News and Quick Comments

“Lincoln Lawyer”: facing an enemy that has badges

By Mike Hughes / February 8, 2026