Smart Move: Longmire Renewed

Three cheers for Netflix as they renew Longmire for a fifth season after first reviving it for a fourth season. As you may recall, A&E abandoned the series because it had "older" viewers. I hope A&E is kicking itself. I'm just glad the sheriff is sticking around for viewers of any age.

HBO Rethinks The Brink

Now that was odd.  Regarding the second season of The Brink, this week HBO stated:

After evaluating our schedule and our programming needs, we unfortunely decided we cannot give The Brink the attention it deserves for a second season. We are proud of the first season and wish everyone involved in this show the very best.

Scheduling? You don't line up this kind of talent and then drop it like this. I wonder what really happened. Did a major star such as Tim Robbins drop out? Did a major Middle Eastern country say "Cut it out!"? Maybe this was part of President Obsma's Iran deal. I am sure we will learn more shortly. 

ABC's Wicked Little City

If you miss the music from the 1980s, ABC's Wicked City may be for you. Tonight's new series is set in LA bars in 1982. Of course, you also need to throw in a serial killer (Ed Westwick from Gossip Girl) and you have the makings of a evening thriller. I think I will turn to Amazon's Red Oaks for my 80s fix, but you decide. 

I like Westwick as an actor, and he can play a bad boy, but why this? The English actor would have been better off teaming up with Chace Crawford on Blood & Oil or anything else. Michael C. Hall took a similar route on Dexter, and while it was more creative it was less than his prior work with Six Feet Under. 

I suppose you take what you can get, but I'm always happy when young stars can continue to get good roles as they age. For example, Joshua Jackson went on from Dawson's Creek to do better series like Fringe and The Affair. 

I hope Ed Westwick finds his own Fringe, and soon.

Update: Mr. Westwick is back on the market now that Wicked has been cancelled after only three episodes. 

A Supergirl Endorsement?

This Monday (October 27) CBS will premiere one more superhero series - Supergirl.  And if you don't know how she fits into the whole genre, here is the story from CBS (and an extensive trailer):

SUPERGIRL is an action-adventure drama based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El, Superman’s (Kal-El) cousin who, after 12 years of keeping her powers a secret on Earth, decides to finally embrace her superhuman abilities and be the hero she was always meant to be. Twelve-year-old Kara escaped the doomed planet Krypton with her parents’ help at the same time as the infant Kal-El. Protected and raised on Earth by her foster family, the Danvers, Kara grew up in the shadow of her foster sister, Alex, and learned to conceal the phenomenal powers she shares with her famous cousin in order to keep her identity a secret. Years later at 24, Kara lives in National City assisting media mogul and fierce taskmaster Cat Grant. She works alongside her friend and IT technician Winn Schott and famous photographer James Olsen, who Grant just hired away from the Daily Planet to serve as her new art director. However, Kara’s days of keeping her talents a secret are over when Hank Henshaw, head of a super-secret agency where her sister also works, enlists her to help them protect the citizens of National City from sinister threats. Though Kara will need to find a way to manage her newfound empowerment with her very human relationships, her heart soars as she takes to the skies as Supergirl to fight crime. 

So if that is clear, you might be ready for one more hero in a television land of too many heroes.  I think Supermasion is the more interesting recent breakout in this genre, but you decide.

By the way, here is presidential candidate Jeb Bush's endorsement of the new show: 

I saw it when I was working out this morning. She looked kinda ... she looked pretty hot. I don't know which channel it's on, but I'm looking forward to that.

If that doesn't scare you away, enjoy the show.

Last Season of Da Vinci's Demons and Others

On October 24th you can see the last season of Da Vinci's Demons on Starz. This time Da Vinci faces invading Turks who seem to be equipped with his weapons.  Like other shows, it ran its course, though there is some talk about reviving it at a later time.  I stopped watching it some time ago in part because there were too many more interesting new shows.  Many years ago in a less busy television landscape I would have stayed with it. 

What other shows have adventure shows have ended?  Well, Falling Skies ended earlier this year, Defiance was cut after three seasons (but not the video game), Dominion lasted only two seasons, and Minority Report is not expected to last past one season.  As with Da Vinci's Demons, there is a lot of carnage on the battlefield of television viewers.  But at least we see new banners in the distance belonging to new series that are sure to keep us entertained. 

Just Crazy Enough to Work

While I was not so cheery about new comedies, I completely missed last week's premiere of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on The CW.  I skipped over a great new show and I will not miss another episode. 

The new series was created by Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna.  Bloom plays the main character, Rebecca Bunch, who harbors a 10-year crush for Josh, a summer camp "boyfriend."  Now a successful NYC attorney, she bumps into Josh again only to learn he is leaving NYC to go home to West Covina, CA. And we are off...

Rebecca tossed her career, heads to CA (singing all the way), and begins her hot pursuit of the old flame. Yes, crazy. 

The series was slated for Showtime but after being dropped it was revived and rewritten for The CW.  If you like a light comedy as well as your characters to break into dance and song on occasion, then this series is for you.  I can only think of Galavant in terms of singing series, and I prefer the crazy ex over singing Knights. 

At one hour, it is longer than I expected for a comedy, but it moves along. And unlike the characters in the droll Girls, you actually like Rebecca. The CW has already ordered more episodes, so things are looking up for the crazy ex.

Will a Name Change Save the Show?

Truth be told, there are already too many shows to watch, new comedies included, to take on another. Yet NBC begs to differ with tonight's Truth Be Told, formerly People Are Talking. 

Mark-Paul Gosselaar (playing Mitch the college professor) and friends have a comedy about neighbors who ponder just about anything. Here is the pitch:

Mitch is a college ethics professor, which might explain why he goes through life with a heightened attention to justice. He knows he can't change the world but is quite determined to change his corner of it. At his side is his beautiful wife of five years, Tracy, who by day is a tough-as-nails attorney, and by night a nurturing mom to their four-year-old daughter, Sadie. 

Their best friends, Russell and Angie, live next door. Russell is Mitch's male voice of reason. A stand-up comic, Russell has absolutely no fear when it comes to talking to someone or making a scene in public to prove his point. His new bride Angie is that spirited, special kind of woman, who while married to a guy that's quite a handful, is able to go toe to toe with him at a moment's notice.

These four friends love and support each other so much they can talk about any topic in the most honest, candid and humorous ways. They are the kind of conversations people have with their real friends.

I think I prefer Mr. Gosselaar in drama (NYPD Blue) over comedy (Saved by the Bell), so I am very wary.  Even the sample scenes on show's website concerning sex with a babysitter and a child spotting a nude man are not encouraging. I think you can find a better way to spend your Friday night.

The Fargo Saga Continues

The premiere of the second season of Fargo begins on FX tonight. The first season with Billy Bob Thornton playing the bad guy from out of town and Martin Freeman playing the simple duped guy from inside the town was a well-played yet horribly deadly story. And now we begin again with a new cast in a new period with a new tale. 

While it will be hard to top the first season, I am eager to see the what FX has cooked up. With a fine cast including Patrick Wilson, Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Nick Offerman, and many others, FX is sparing no expense to bring you great drama. 

This story again involves organized crime and a small town with many violent small players, though it appears this organized crime takes center stage rather than being a peripheral story. Yes, the innocence of South Dakota and Minnesota will be shattered again. And you will also find a link with the earlier season since tonight's story takes place in the past and sheds light on characters we now know and love. Enough said. Time to watch.

Update: I'm not engaged just yet after watching the pilot. The show introduced too many new characters at once, as if to wow viewers, but made little attempt to provide context. This was particularly true with the death of what you presumed to be a main character. And (spoiler alert) the idea of someone driving home with a dead body on the hood of her car was a little too much. Are we trying to say the population in this part of the country is nothing but morons? The show is so impressed with its stars, 70s nostalgia, and regional accents that it appears to have spent too little time on the script. I will watch some more, but I am already getting a True Detective season two feeling. 

The Making of England from the BBC

BBC's new series The Last Kingdom premieres tonight on BBC America. And unlike The Bastard Executioner, but similar to Vikings, this tale should touch upon some real history and use battles and blood appropriately. Think of it as the real games of thrones in English history between the Danes and Saxons.

Based on Bernard Cornwell's "Saxon Tales," an excellent series of stories I still need to finish, the story centers on the Saxon Uhtred captured by the Danes and eventually realigned with the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex.  BBC America notes: 

Set in the 9th century AD, many of the separate kingdoms of what we now know as England have fallen to the invading Vikings, only the great Kingdom of Wessex stands defiant under its visionary King Alfred the Great (Dawson). It is the last kingdom.

Against this turbulent backdrop lives Uhtred (Dreymon). Born the son of a Saxon nobleman, he is orphaned by the Vikings and then kidnapped and raised as one of their own. Forced to choose between the country of his birth and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested. What is he — Saxon or Viking? On a quest to claim his birthright, Uhtred must tread a dangerous path between both sides if he is to play his part in the birth of a new nation and, ultimately, recapture his ancestral lands.

It's nice to see this story coming to television, and from all appearances it will be another well-produced BBC series.

Update:  The pilot episode was excellent. I felt I was watching Vikings from another perspective.  And the fate of young Uhtred reminded me of the young Conan in Conan the Barbarian (but this time in more plausible circumstances). So while our friends in Vikings plunder Paris, I'm glad to have an eye back on the British battlefield. 

Amazon: Return to the 80s with Red Oaks

Starting tonight you can watch season one of Red Oaks.  This drama did well during the last set of Amazon test pilots and is now a full-blown 10-episode series on Amazon. Here are the basics:

Set in suburban New Jersey in 1985, Red Oaks centers around college student David Meyer--a young man at a crossroads as he tries to figure out who he is and what he wants to be in this world. He gets a summer job as an assistant tennis pro at the Red Oaks Country Club and while there, David finds himself the recipient of unsolicited life advice from a colorful group of coworkers and club members.

I agree that the cast is colorful with David as the only sane one of the bunch. Even his parents are lunatics, though few parents are role models on TV these days. It is worth watching the pilot just to see Paul Reiser have a tantrum.

I also enjoyed seeing the 1980s as one of the show's characters via the music, cars, and clothes. It seems as far away as Downton Abbey. I think I will go along on this nostalgic trip.

Supermansion on Crackle

If you are a fan of Robot Chicken (not Mr. Robot, mind you) then Crackle.com has a show for you. Tonight you can catch the premiere of Supermansion, another animated show from our friend Seth Green.  It stars Bryan Cranston as the voice behind Titanium Rex, one of the aging superheroes in the League of Freedom.

This should be a fun diversion from the all-too-serious superhero shows filling the airwaves. I am eager to have some simple fun, and it appears Seth and Bryan are of a similar mind.

The Flash Returns

Of all the superheroes on television today my favorite is The Flash (followed by Daredevil). The CW series has the right mix of drama, humor, and action. Season two starts tonight.

While The Flash started on The Arrow, another show premiering tomorrow night for its fourth season, it is a much lighter and more hopeful show - more Spider-Man than Batman. 

Barry Allen and his somewhat merry band had a tough first season facing Reverse Flash and ultimate betrayal, but the core of the story holds. Barry is still the little boy who watched his mother die and his father wrongly imprisoned, and he will continue to struggle with the effects of this childhood trauma with his foster family. The rest of the series is good and bad men and women with other powers  seeking their own salvation for their own reasons. Expect more strange battles, yet never forget the story that fuels The Flash.

Update: If you are more in the mood for a classic set of heroes you can watch Dean and Sam Winchester on the eleventh season of The CW's Supernatural. I am not sure how many times the brothers can beat hell, but they have had luck for 10 seasons already.  The fun starts tomorrow as well (10/7).

A Few Shows You May Have Missed: Magic and Dancing

While you have plenty of new and returning shows to view this season, you may want to try these two new shows that are a little out of the ordinary since they do not include cops, doctors, or spies. 

First, I enjoyed the premiere of NBC's Mat Franco's Got Magic.  This winner from the ninth season of America's Got Talent walked away with one million dollars and now a television show and act in Las Vegas.  The two-hour special demonstrated some amazing magic, much of it in the open air, that was too amazing to be true.  You want this guy in your living room to prove it again since it has to be camera tricks or something else for these "tricks" to happen.  Whatever the case, it is great entertainment and worth your time.  If you don't believe me, just take a look at this clip. 

By the way, Mat Franco bumps into Neil Patrick Harris on his new show, which leads me to another fun new program - NBC's Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris.  This is another entertaining show to make you laugh after a long day.  It is part Ellen, part The Price is Right, part Candid Camera, and part circus act.  For instance, Harris picked a couple out of the audience, brought them on stage, and demonstrated how he had been part of their lives for months, including being present at their wedding.  I am not sure if this is creepy or just genius.  It will be one of the most energetic hours you have ever watched on television, and the idea that Harris wants to do this every week is all the more amazing.  The pilot episode would have made a great special all by itself (similar to Mat Franco's new show).  

Kudos to NBC for trying out some new types of shows.  I hope this is the start of a new wave of great live entertainment.

Great Programming on PBS: Politics, Murder, and War

PBS has already impressed us earlier this year with Wolf Hall and Poldark, and now they are back with more great programming starting with Indian Summers last Sunday and new shows starting tomorrow - The Widower and Home Fires.

Masterpiece's Indian Summers is being sold as Downton Abbey set in India.  I am not so sure about that, but the first episode was an interesting mix of family dynamics, politics, and clear class separations.  The first season includes 10 episodes and another four seasons are already planned.  Here is a little more from Masterpiece:

Set in a subtropical paradise during the twilight era of the British Empire, Indian Summers explores the collision of the ruling class English with their Indian subjects, and the intricate game of power, politics, and passion that ensues. Julie Walters (Harry Potter, Oscar® nominee for Billy Elliot and Educating Rita) stars as Cynthia Coffin, the glamorous doyenne of an English social club, and is joined by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Nikesh Patel, Roshan Seth, and Lillete Dubey. 

Told from both the English and Indian perspectives, the drama of Indian Summers unfolds as illicit agreements, romance, and revolution abound. Though the English socialites are having the time of their lives in Simla, the local Indians have started to call for national independence, a path which is quickly rendering the world’s greatest empire helpless. As pressure builds, the two sides alternately clash and merge in a passionate and dangerous game. 

The Widower is not as sunny a show as Indian Summers though based on a true story.  Here is a little more on the series from PBS (and a review from The Hollywood Reporter):

The Widower is the 3-part true story of Malcolm Webster — an infamous wife-killer who marries, and then attempts to kill, a succession of woman to mask his debts and cash in on their life insurance policies. Webster, a nurse by profession, is on the surface, a perfect gentleman. Well-spoken, personable and oozing with charm, he marries first wife, Claire Morris, in 1993. However, a year after her dream wedding, Claire is dead — the apparent victim of a tragic road accident. What no one knows at the time is that Webster has spent the entire marriage plying his unsuspecting wife with sedatives. He aims to keep her in a constant state of fatigue and drowsiness to prevent her from questioning his wild spending habits or mounting debts. But with his debtors closing in on him, he decides to silence his wife once and for all  by killing her in a staged car accident that will pay him a life insurance policy that will resolve his financial difficulties.

Finally, Home Fires is another Masterpiece series, this one in England before and during World War II, that also includes one of the stars from Downton Abbey.  A second season is already in the works.  Here is more from PBS (and a review from the Wall Street Journal): 

At the heart of a rural English village on the verge of the Second World War, a diverse group of women with personal struggles, conflicting views and a shared mission  forge a community that will inspire their finest hour. Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey) and Francesca Annis (Reckless, Cranford) head an ensemble cast in the moving wartime drama, Home Fires.

In August 1939, war with Germany is all but certain. While citizens of the isolated village of Great Paxford each face the prospect of war in their own way, all agree that they must do everything they can to hold their village—and their nation—together. But when the value of the largely social group, The Women's Institute, is called into question, forward-thinking Frances Barden (Samantha Bond) and snobbish Joyce Cameron (Francesca Annis) clash over the fate of the Institute and the roles its members can play, far from the front.

So you have plenty of great shows to watch during this very busy season, or put them aside for a quiet winter evening.

A Return of The 4400?

A petition is calling for Netflix to revive the earlier show The 4400.  You may recall that this show covered a group of 4400 individuals who mysteriously disappeared over many years only to reappear in the state of Washington one day with special powers - think of it as The Leftovers with a happier ending.  Compared to much on television in 2004, it was one of the better shows.  

Well, it appears some would like to see it return.  An iPetition is requested Netflix's assistance to bring this series back, stating the return of Arrested Development is an example of what is possible.  I would add Netflix's revival of Longmire to that list since, like The 4400, it ended with a cliff-hanger and never truly had the closure it deserved.  I agree that even one last season of The 4400 would be a great bookend to an excellent series.  

A fan video shows a number of your favorite actors from the original series talking up their interest in returning to the show, which is essential since a final season with a new cast would not really work.  If you are a fan and want the series to return this is your chance to shout it out.