CBS has just announced its summer plans for “Big Brother.”
The show debuts June 25-26 and soon settles into a Wednesday-Thursday-Sunday pattern
.We’ll hold our applause on that, but we will praise something else: The network is taking some impressive steps to move beyond reruns in the summertime. Read more…
1) “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” 8-9:30 p.m., ABC. TV’s first golden age of comedy was propelled by these Norman Lear shows, in 1971 and ’75. Lear, 96, co-produces and co-hosts these live shows, using old scripts. Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei play Archie and Edith Bunker, with Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz as their daughter and son-in-law. (The original series, shown here, reruns from 7-10 p.m. ET on digital channel GetTV.) Then Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes are George and Louise Jefferson. Read more…
Like many small-town kids, Justin Moore’s friends talked about moving to somewhere bigger.
That could be … well, almost anywhere. Back then, Poyen, Ark., had 272 people; it later soared to 290.
“I was the one, out of all my buddies, who didn’t want to leave,” Moore recalled. “I’m the one who did it – and the only one who didn’t want to.”
Not to worry: Moore, 35, is now back in Poyen, with his wife and four kids, running the ranch he worked as a kid. But he often travels to much bigger places to do country music – including PBS’ Memorial Day eve concert, Sunday in Washington, D.C. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 9-11 p.m., NBC. Blake Shelton’s dominance finally seemed to be slipping. In the first 13 editions, he had six champions and seven runners-up; but then Kelly Clarkson had the winner in her first season … and again in her second. Now, however, Shelton is back on top, with three people in the final four. The lone exception is Maelyn Jarmon, on John Legend’s team; she’s shown here with Shelton’s guys — from left: Andrew Sevener, Gythy Rigdon and Dexter Roberts. Read more…
1) “The Big Bang Theory” finale rerun, 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. TV’s best current comedy departed with one of the best finales ever. It did it all – big laughs, key plot developments and surprising bursts of sentiment … none of it false or forced. Everything was built on a deep understanding of the characters – via the writers and the actors. These characters have learned to love each other, flaws and all; viewers feel the same way, so we’re glad to have this rerun belatedly added. Read more…
Don’t say I never give you any good news.
(I mean, really, please don’t say that.)
Here’s something very good: CBS has just changed its schedule for Monday (May 20), to insert a rerun of Thursday’s “Big Bang Theory” finale, from 8-9 p.m. Read more…
This isn’t what you’d expect – George Clooney and “Catch-22” as key pieces for a mega-corporation.
But that’s how things unfolded. Consider:
— On Tuesday (May 14), the deal was announced: Disney, which owns ABC, gets full control of the Hulu streaming service; in 2024, it could buy the portion owned by Comcast (NBC’s owner) for $27.5 billion. That follows a trend, with Disney buying its way (Pixar, Marvel, “Star Wars”) to the top.
— And just three days later (today, May 17), Hulu launched one of its biggest shows, Clooney’s “Catch-22” mini-series. Read more…
This is TV’s version of “pay it forward.”
A few producer-directors passed their skills along, nurturing young actors who wanted to direct.
We’re reminded of that again with the excellent “Red Line” finale (shown here, with Emayatzy Corinealdi, Aliyah Royale and Noah Wyle), from 8-10 p.m. Sunday (May 19) on CBS. But first, prime examples are: Read more…
1) “Game of Thrones” finale, 9-10:20 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 11:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. This has been epic television, complete with angry dragons, naked people and toppling empires. It’s managed to mix spectacle, character drama and political intrigue. Now it concludes after 73 episodes over eight seasons. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 9-11 p.m. today and Tuesday, NBC. For a while, Blake Shelton’s dominance was slipping. In 13 editions, he had six champions and seven runners-up; then Kelly Clarkson won two straight. Not to worry; Shelton now has three of the four finalists — Gythy Rigdon, Dexter Roberts and Andrew Sevener; John Legend has the fourth, Maelyn Jarmon. (She’s shown here with, from left, Sevener, Rigdon and Roberts.) Tonight, each does three songs; on Tuesday, one will be the winner. Read more…
Best-bets for May 28: “AGT” is set to rule the summer 
Best-bets for May 27: Memorial Day glory 
Best bets for May 26: Memorial Day eve music and emotion 
