Best-bets for Feb. 14: Olympic valentines? 
Best-bets for Feb. 13: a day for love and skates 
Best-bets for Feb. 12: Olympians and a “6-8 lunch lady” 
CBS adds Australian spin-off
CBS will tap another international spin-off this fall, to fill a void in its line-up.
This one is “NCIS: Sydney.” On Nov. 13, it will take the 10 p.m. slot on Mondays, with “NCIS” reruns sliding down to 9. Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 7: Football starts, “Runway” ends
1) Pro football season-opener, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC. With most scripted shows sidelined by the strikes, NFL games should soar. The season starts now, with a preview at 7 p.m. and then the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (shown here) hosting the Detroit Lions, who had a 9-8 record last year. The rest of the teams start Sunday afternoon (CBS and Fox), Sunday night (NBC) and Monday (ABC and ESPN). Read more…
Season preview: comedies survive, via cartoons and Canada
(This has been updated.)
Long before the strikes began, situation comedies were already wobbling.
Ratings were down; networks were doubtful. At times, NBC – former home of all those “must-see” sitcoms – had zero comedies in prime time.
Still, there will be some laughs this fall, for two reasons: Animated shows (including Fox’s new “Krapopolis,” shown here) are written and voiced far in advance; also, other countries – Canada and England, mostly – had shows available.
Here’s a round-up of sitcoms this fall on the broadcast networks and on some basic-cable channels. It’s chronological and “new” means new to most U.S. viewers: Read more…
Season preview: relentless reality
(This has been updated.)
Ready or not, TV viewers are entering an autumn of relentless reality.
In past seasons, the big broadcast networks tossed in occasional reality shows. They were big ones – “The Voice,” “The Bachelor,” “Survivor” – adding variety to a sea of dramas and comedies.
But this season, amid the writers’ and actors’ strikes, it’s almost non-stop reality,
CBS is launching three new games (including “Buddy Games,” shown here) and giving two classics (“Survivor” and “The Amazing Race”) an extra half-hour apiece …. Fox will be non-stop reality, from Mondays through Thursdays .… ABC has retrieved “Dancing With the Stars” from Disney+ and will even have generations of romance – an hour of a 71-year-old “Golden Bachelor,” followed by two hours of frisky folks in bikinis and such. Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 6: life in the kitchen or on the river
1) “MasterChef,” 8 and 9 p.m., Fox. Americans (well, some Americans) really like big walls. Here’s one that’s eight feet high, 55 feet long and forbidding. On each side is half of a chef duo; partners try to create dishes that look and taste the same. It’s a fun concept, bringing surprising success and occasional flubs. That’s at 9 p.m., after a fairly uneventful hour involving barbecues (shown here). By the end of the night, the field has been trimmed from nine to six. Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 5: A new Long talks football
1) “Inside the NFL” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. It was 30 years ago that Fox created a fresh, fun football studio show, with .Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw at the core. Those two are still there, but now Long’s son gets a turn. Chris Long (shown here) had an 11-year pro career as defensive end, including two Super Bowl wins and a Walter Peyton award (the year he gave his entire pay to charity). He joins Ryan Clark, Chad Johnson, Jay Cutler and Channing Crowder. Read more…
“Emily” offers warmth and humor, amid a deep funk
An excellent movie arrives Friday (Sept. 8) on cable. The less you know about it in advance, the better.
I’ll tell you a few generalities for now, then have a spoiler alert before going any further:
“Guiding Emily” (shown here) is 9 p.m. Friday on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, rerunning at 7 p.m. Sunday. It has an Emmy-worthy performance by Sarah Drew (who played April for nine years on “Grey’s Anatomy”) and solid work from the others.
It also has things you don’t expect in a serious story – subtlety, vibrant visuals and a dab of humor.
OK, that’s all I can say without spoilers. Go ahead and watch it or read on: Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 4: football, comedies and Penthouse
1) “Secrets of Penthouse,” 9-11 p.m., A&E; rerunning 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, with the second half 9-11. Bob Guccione (shown here) was an American artist, living in London with his wife and four kids, when he launched the explicit Penthouse magazine. It reportedly made him worth $300 million … which he promptly blew on bad investments. This intriguing (if repetitive) film has some people who praise his charm and others who discuss a bad dad and runaway ego. Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 3: a great night for mysteries
1) “Unforgotten” (shown here) season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. Last season ended with the death of Cassie Stuart, the intense leader of this cold-case unit. Now Jessica James takes over – but gets a sharp jolt in her own life, less than an hour before work begins. She’s in a funk and a fog as Sunny Kahn, the No,. 2 detective, tries to forge ahead. Both are needed, in a compelling, six-week story with vivid characters. Read more…
Week’s top-10 for Sept. 4: Football (pro and college) takes over
1) Pro football season-opener, 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday and Sunday, NBC. At a time when strikes have halted many shows, football is likely to dominate. Each year’s opener includes the Super Bowl champ; that’s Patrick Mahomes (shown here) and the Kansas City Chiefs, hosting the Detroit Lions, who were 9-8 last season. The pre-game fuss starts at 7. On Sunday, it will be the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants at night … and a flood of CBS and Fox games in the afternoon. Read more…