Mike Hughes on TV

Stories

At last, TV has lots of sketchy women

LOS ANGELES — TV has always been fond of sketch comedy.It’s gone from Sid Caesar and Milton Berle to The Kids in the Hall and “Saturday Night Live.” It’s had the full range of people … but only if your range is mostly confined to white males.But now there’s the flip side — two shows centering on all-female casts:– “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (shown here) opens Friday on HBO, with four black women at the core. “It hadn’t been done before,” Issa Rae said. She produces the show and is in some sketches, but says this was propelled by Robin Thede and “her passion for comedy.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 29, 2019

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 30: Close Encounters with space and politics

1) “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (shown here) and “Star Wars” (both 1977), 8 and 10:30 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. It’s a splendid night for space. PBS’ “American Experience” concludes its rerun of the excellent, three-part “Chasing the Moon” (8-10 p.m.). And TCM has these masterpieces from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, respectively. And yes, 1977 was a fun year to go to the movies. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 28, 2019

Stories

Let’s pause to savor Richard Curtis’ summer

LOS ANGELES — Let’s officially designate this as the Richard Curtis Summer, crossing most media:
— It started early on TV, with the “Red Nose Day” special May 23. That’s part of a global charity Curtis co-founded 34 years ago, raising (so far) more than $1.3 billion.
— It reached movie theaters on June 28 with “Yesterday.” That has passed $100 million worldwide, which would be minor in the superhero universe, but is big for a sweet-spirited comedy/drama
.– And now it reaches the streaming world. “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” sleek and amiable, starts Wednesday (July 31) on Hulu, adapting his movie. “It’s a British institution almost, those Richard Curtis films.” said Nathalie Emmanuel, one of the stars. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 28, 2019

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 29; “Big Bang” is back, “Bachelorette” departs

1) “The Bachelorette” finale, 8-10:01 p.m., ABC; concludes Tuesday. On the eve of the finale, we still see Hannah Brown, 24, (shown here) with three guys to choose from. Peter Weber, 27, is a pilot from California; Tyler Cameron, 26, is a contractor from Florida; Jed Wyatt, 25, is a singer-songwrier from Tennessee. Tonight, she dumps one and takes the others to meet her family. On Tuesday, we see her choice. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 27, 2019

News and Quick Comments

Starz prepares for its “Power” outage

LOS ANGELES — With two heavyweight shows leaving, Starz is preparing for its next life.
That will include a “Power” spin-off with Mary J. Blige’s music, plus a “Dangerous Liaisons” prequel and more. That comes just as Starz loses its giants:
— “Power” (shown here) starting Aug. 25. It will have 10 episodes, take a break, then start the last five in January. “Everyone is going to have a big opinion after those last five episodes,” said co-creator Courtney Kemp. “A BIG opinion.” There will also be a talk show, “Power Confidential,” after each hour.
— “Outlander,” starting its last, 12-episode season in January. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 26, 2019

Stories

Want to cook? Go catch something

LOS ANGELES — The nice thing about being an upscale chef is that the food is already there.
It’s in the pantry and the freezer; you just mix it and cook it and such.
But Gordon Ramsay’s new show is a little like his Scottish boyhood, in which he had to catch the food first. Or steal it.
“My father couldn’t afford fishing rights,” Ramsay recalled.”So we were poaching; we were stealing salmon.” Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 26, 2019

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 28: Music, sharks and more

1) “Masterpiece: Grantchester,” 9 p.m., PBS. This season has had mini-glimpses of the new vicar. Its first two mysteries were tackled by the original guy, the third by his assistant. Now, at last, Will Davenport (Tom Brittney, shown here) takes over. Riding a motorcycle and listening to rock, he gives this late-’50s, English village a jolt. He has no plans to help solve crimes … until a boy, silent and blood-stained, arrives. With one exception (the boy’s over-the-top father), the result is skillfully written and played. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 26, 2019

Weekly Previews

Week’s top-10 for July 29: It’s finale time (plus music)

1) “CMA Fest,” 8-11 p.m. Sunday, ABC. It’s a night of starpower –Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and such. Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini host and do two songs apiece. One of hers is with the Chainsmokers, in a night with lots of duets. Brothers Osborne and Brooks & Dunn do two songs, one adding Ashley McBryde. It’s Tim McGraw with Luke Combs, Maren Morris with Brandi Carlisle, even Carrie Underwood with Joan Jett, plus Keith Urban wih Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 25, 2019

Stories

Post-‘Thrones’ HBO: More shows, more nights

LOS ANGELES – Imagine a baseball team shedding superstars.
Ruth, Gehrig and Mantle all retire … just as the manager is told to play more games with more people.That’s HBO now.
Gone are “Game of Thrones” (shown here) — with 32 Emmy nominations, a dozen more than any other show – plus “Veep” and “Big Little Lies.” The pilot has been shot for a “Thrones” prequel, progamming chief Casey Bloys told the Television Critics Association, but there have been no plans for a third “Lies” season.
This comes just after HBO got corporate instructions to have more shows on more nights. “The big challenge … was to make sure we weren’t just filling hours to fill hours,” Bloys said.
So far, that seems to be working. After averaging just over 100 hours of original shows in most seasons, HBO will finish this year with 150; next year, it may have 160. That means: Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 25, 2019

Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for July 27: A slice of ‘Heaven’

1) “Heaven,” 8-10 p.m., Lifetime. Starting with “Flowers in the Attic,” Lifetime has soared big with movies based on V.C. Andrews novels. Now it will fill five straight Saturdays with her stories of the Casteel family. In this first one, Heaven Casteel (Annalise Basso, 18, shown here) is the oldest of five siblings in a mountain shack. A tragedy forces her into new worlds. Read more…

By Mike Hughes / July 25, 2019

Mike Hughes on TV

Strange old challenges on “Strange New Worlds”

From Pompeii to Poseidon: surviving disasters

It wasn’t easy to fail to save the universe

TV is obsessing on outer space (again)

“Maigret” and “Sullivan’s Creek” will be back

At last, TV has lots of sketchy women

Best-bets for July 30: Close Encounters with space and politics

Let’s pause to savor Richard Curtis’ summer

Best-bets for July 29; “Big Bang” is back, “Bachelorette” departs

Starz prepares for its “Power” outage

Want to cook? Go catch something

Best-bets for July 28: Music, sharks and more

Week’s top-10 for July 29: It’s finale time (plus music)

Post-‘Thrones’ HBO: More shows, more nights

Best-bets for July 27: A slice of ‘Heaven’

Best-bets for July 23: stars of “SNL,” WNBA

TV is obsessing on outer space (again)

Strange old challenges on “Strange New Worlds”

Best-bets for July 24: moon, movies and murder

Best-bets for July 23: adventures on Earth and beyond

Mike Hughes on TV