“Big Brother” switches timeslot … already

A week into its summer run, “Big Brother” (shown here) is already shifting its timeslot.
Beginning Thursday (July 25), the show moves up to the 8 p.m. spot on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Only on Sundays (when “Tulsa King” is at 8) will it stay at 9.
Originally, the network had set the 8-p.m.-Wednesday slot for new hours of “Let’s Make a Deal.” Now, however, that show will wait until Aug. 16; it will be at 8 p.m. Fridays, nudging “Lingo” to 9. The new line-up: Read more…

She’s an all-eras star, after all

Decades ago, people explained to Samantha Morton the hard realities of an acting career.
“I was told that I didn’t have a period face,” she told the Television Critics Association. “So I wasn’t a period actress.”
That was back in the ‘90s, when the British were making lots of historical dramas. And there she was , with a face stuck in the wrong period. BUT …
Turn on Starz at 8 p.m. Fridays (rerunning at 9:30) and you’ll see her starring in “The Serpent Queen” (shown She plays 14th-century leader Catherine De Medici. Look around for classics and you’ll see her in the title role of “Jane Eyre.” In the 27 years between those, she’s done lots of work in all periods and styles. Read more…

Best-bets for July 24: Reality … and daft un-reality

1) “Time Bandits” opener, Apple TV+. Kevin is a likable Sheldon-esque lad. He recites fun facts and is ignored by everyone, including his family. Then time-trekking outlaws arrive. Adapted from a 1981 film, this gets a great boost from the creators of “What We Do in the Shadows” and from Lisa Kudrow (shown here, center, next to Kevin) as the bandits’ sorta-leader. Read more…

Glamor is back; so is sleazy Cecil

It’s not easy being the sleaziest guy on PBS.
Some people silently scowl at you; some aren’t silent. Just ask Mark Umbers, -whose third season of “Hotel Portofino” starts at 8 p.m., Sunday, July 28.(He’s shown here as Cecil Ainsworth, feigning contentment with his wife Bella.)
One friend-of-a-friend bumped into him in London, he recalled. “She couldn’t talk tp me,. She said, ‘I’ve seen your show. You’re very triggering’ And she just walked away.”
It’s logical to walk away from Cecil, but not from Umbers. In real life, he seems to be a charming chap. He’s not an elitist jerk, but he plays one on TV; he also has a jerk-adjacent resume — prep school and Oxford, majoring in Latin and in Greek literature and history. Read more…

Best-bets for July 23: Games seize the night

1) “America’s Got Talent” (shown here), 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s a turning point for the season, wrapping up eight weeks of auditions. After tonight, the show takes a two-week Olympic break before switching to its live episodes, with viewers voting. There will be five semi-finals (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), setting up the Sept. 18 finale. Read more…

Newhart: Yes, a really funny accountant

(This updates the obit/appreciation that I posted earlier)
There’s a logical question people ask: “What’s (so-and-so) really like?”
Often, there’s no good answer, but for Bob Newhart – who died Thursday (July 19), at 94 – it’s simple: He’s exactly like … well, Bob Newhart.
Few people have had so much success wrapping a stage personality around a real one. He kept playing a quiet Midwestern accountant, surrounded by a noisier world. Read more…