Rainbow Johnson will soon get the Sheldon treatment:
Next season, the character will be in two separate series – one as an adult, the other as a child. That news arrived today (May 2), when ABC:
— Renewed “Black-ish” for next season, its sixth.
— Gave an early order for “Mixed-ish,” also for next season. It looks at the 1980s childhood of Rainbow … an approach that works for CBS with “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon.” Read more…
Cable-TV has become a permanent solution for TV’s summertime blues.
Now FX has set the summer starts for “Baskets,” “Legion” and then “Snowfall,” the deep drama produced by the late John Singleton. Three other shows had already been set, starting with “Archer” — which was an action-adventure last year (shown here), but now goes sci-fi. Read more…
Television needs its comfy, half-hour chunks. Situation comedies want 30 minutes (22 plus commercials); dramas want an hour
But now comes the new/old notion of a mini-show.
“State of the Union” has 10 episodes, bunched into two weeks on the Sundance Channel. Each is only 10 minutes long; each has the same two people talking in the same pub. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Adam Sandler was enmeshed in a wild “SNL” era, alongside Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and more. He left in 1995 – he and Farley were fired, he said later – and has made only brief appearances on the show since then. Here’s his first time as host. Shawn Mendes – born three years after Sandler left “SNL” — is the music guest. Read more…
1) “Modern Family” season finale, 9 p.m. Wednesday, ABC. In a week stuffed with finales, this may be the big one: It wraps up the second-to-last season of a show that won the best-comedy Emmy in each of its first five seasons. (One year, everyone playing an adult was nominated, landing four of the five spots for supporting actor.) It’s almost time for Haley and Dylan (shown here in a previous episode) to have their twins; that spurs people to recall their recent birthdays. Read more…
1) Gershwin Prize, 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Things starts vibrantly, with the original “On Your Feet” cast (shown here on Broadway). Dancers leap, singers soar … and then everything sputters. Six people talk before the fun resumes. Fortunately, this is worth waiting for — the music of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, sung by Patti LaBelle, Cyndi Lauper, Jose Feliciano, the Estefans, their talented daughter Emily and more. There’s also a sharp film from Lin-Manuel Miranda, overcoming the show’s so-so production. Read more…
Fox has just renewed “Empire” for next season … while viewers are being hammered by this season’s Vanishing Son Syndrome.
Last week, Jussie Smollett had his final episode as Jamal. Viewers knew he’d been fired …. but weren’t ready for the next blow: Andre, Jamal’s brother, has learned that his heart is failing; with no chance for a donated organ (due to his recent cancer struggle), he wants his dad Lucious to assist his suicide Read more…
1) “The Big Bang Theory,” 8 p.m., CBS. With only four episodes left, TV’s best comedy points to a big possibility: Sheldon and Amy might win the Nobel Prize he’s always assumed he would get. Tonight, they face a temptation: Their prime competition is a duo played by Kal Penn and Sean Astin (shown here); now Kripke has proof that the latter plagiarized his college thesis. Read more…
John Singleton burst onto the movie world with a revolutionary fervor. His first Oscar nominations — for writing and directing “Boyz n the Hood” — came when he was just 24; he was reportedly the youngest person and the first African American nominated as director.
Oddly, those were also his last nominations. In the years that followed, he said, Hollywood was sometimes frustrating. But lately, Singleton — who died today (April 29) at 51 — had found a place known for supporting creative talent: cable’s FX network. Read more…
Pat Sajak is about to become a college board president. Really. The news came this Read more…
Best-bets for July 23: stars of “SNL,” WNBA 
Best-bets for July 24: moon, movies and murder 
Best-bets for July 23: adventures on Earth and beyond 
