New Family and Courtroom Drama on Tuesday

Tonight you can watch the premiere of two more new shows - this time dramas.  The first is This is Us on NBC (see trailer), a multi-family drama where distinct stories come together.  Here is the spin from NBC:

Sometimes life will surprise you. Starring Mandy Moore ("A Walk to Remember"), Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes," "Gilmore Girls") and Sterling K. Brown ("The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story"), this refreshingly honest and provocative series follows a unique ensemble. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday and so much more than anyone would expect. From the writer and directors of "Crazy, Stupid, Love" comes a smart, modern dramedy that will challenge your everyday presumptions about the people you think you know.

I haven't seen Milo Ventimiglia a series for awhile, though I think he was part of last year's series The Whispers. It wasn't a show I watched, but he did a good job in a weird role on Crackle's The Chosen (as did Chad Michael Murray before he returned to a more traditional, and boring, role on Agent Carter).

On CBS you can catch the more traditional Bull (see trailer) where the lawyers and experts are brilliant, of course. Then I read "Dr. Phil McGraw" was the model for the expert and lost any potential interest (okay, the interest was already dead). Here is the story for this one:

Bull stars Michael Weatherly as Dr. Jason Bull in a drama inspired by the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw, the founder of one of the most prolific trial consulting firms of all time. Brilliant, brash and charming, Dr. Bull is the ultimate puppet master as he combines psychology, human intuition and high tech data to learn what makes jurors, attorneys, witnesses and the accused tick. Bull employs an enviable team of experts at Trial Analysis Corporation to shape successful narratives down to the very last detail. They include his quick-witted former brother-in-law, Benny Colón, a lawyer who acts as defense attorney in the company’s mock trials; Marissa Morgan, a cutting-edge neurolinguistics expert from the Department of Homeland Security; former NYPD detective Danny James, the firm’s tough but relatable investigator; haughty millennial hacker Cable McCrory, who is responsible for gathering cyber intelligence; and Chunk Palmer, a fashion-conscious stylist and former All-American lineman who fine tunes clients’ appearances for trial. In high-stakes trials, Bull’s combination of remarkable insight into human nature, three Ph.D.’s and a top-notch staff creates winning strategies that tip the scales of justice in his clients’ favor.
And finally, if you just need a good comedy tonight, you can catch the fourth season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Fox. 

Update:  I am not going to spoil the surprise from the pilot of This is Us, but it makes the show that much more endearing.  I like where it is going, as does NBC as the series gets a full season. 

Two New Comedies Tonight on NBC and CBS

Of the two new shows premiering tonight, I look forward to NBC's comedy The Good Place with Ted Danson and Kristen Bell. This is the natural home of Danson rather than police shows.  Here is the summary:

The show follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell, "House of Lies," "Veronica Mars"), an ordinary woman who enters the afterlife and, thanks to some kind of error, is sent to the Good Place instead of the Bad Place, which is definitely where she belongs. While hiding in plain sight from Michael (Ted Danson, "CSI," "Cheers"), the wise architect of the Good Place (who doesn't know he's made a mistake), she's determined to shed her old way of living and discover the awesome (or, at least, the pretty good) person within.

Helping Eleanor navigate her new surroundings are Chidi (William Jackson Harper, "Paterson"), her kind, open-hearted "soul mate" who sees the good in people but finds himself facing quite a dilemma; her seemingly perfect new neighbors, Tahani (Jameela Jamil, "Playing It Straight") and Jianyu (Manny Jacinto, "The Romeo Section"); and Janet (D'Arcy Carden, "Broad City"), the go-to source for any and all information in the Good Place.  

I know we have seen versions of this idea before, but maybe this one will get some traction. I'm willing to give it a chance.

I cannot say that about the next show. Tonight's premiere of Kevin Can Wait on CBS looks like your run of the mill family comedy. Kevin James plays a retiring cop who has new duties after his daughter drops out of college. Don't expect anything too wild here.

2016 Emmy Awards

Just in case you missed it, the Emmy award winners were announced last night. I am happiest about the awards going to Master of None and Mr. Robot.  And I am always cheering for Regina King. While I know Game of Thrones will take many of the awards, we have a rich selection of television programs worthy of awards.

Here is the complete list:

Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”

Comedy Series Writing: “Master of None”

Guest Actress in a ComedySeries: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live”

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Peter Scolari, “Girls”

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, “Baskets”

Directing for a Comedy Series: Jill Soloway, “Transparent”

Reality Competition: “The Voice”

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie: D.V. DeVincentis, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” from “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Supporting Actress In A Limited Series/Movie: Regina King, “American Crime”

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie: Susanne Bier, “The Night Manager”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” American Crime Story”

Movie: “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride”

Outstanding Limited Series: “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: Patton Oswalt, “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping”

Outstanding Variety Talk Series: “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” 

Outstanding Directing of a Variety Special: Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski, “Grease: Live”

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series: “Key and Peele”

Guest Actor in a Drama: Hank Azaria

Guest Actress in a Drama: Margot Martindale

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Game of Thrones”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Miguel Sapochnik, “Game of Thrones”

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”

Outstanding Comedy Series: “Veep”

Outstanding Drama Series: “Game of Thrones”

Eighth Set of Amazon Originals

Okay, it appears we are on our eighth release of Amazon pilots, though this time it is only three comedies with no dramas. That works since I'm sure a ninth set of pilots are being planned and many past pilots have yet to be released as full series. 

Most of the attention to date has gone to I Love Dick.  However, I was not impressed with the pilot, no matter how hard Jill Soloway (Transparent) tried with this material.  Here is the Amazon summary: 

Adapted from the lauded feminist novel, I LOVE DICK is set in a colorful academic community in Marfa, Texas. It tells the story of a struggling married couple, Chris and Sylvere, and their obsession with a charismatic professor named Dick. Told in Rashomon-style shifts of POV, I LOVE DICK charts the unraveling of a marriage, the awakening of an artist and the deification of a reluctant messiah. 

Kevin Bacon played an interesting Dick, but the couple traveling to the Texas program was not all that interesting nor believable. And there was clearly a substory with the character living in the trailer and watching over the house, but we never learned enough for it to really matter.  

Now The Tick was a different story altogether.  Here are the basics:

In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an accountant with mental health issues and zero powers comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero. 

With bugs and bats already claimed by superheroes, a tick was just right. Just when I was tiring of this genre we get a spoof that makes it fun again. And who cannot like a tick that talks like Sam the Eagle on the Muppet Show?  I hope this pilot makes it into a full series, but I will drop it immediately if I see a crossover episode with Super Flea.

Update: All three pilots have been picked up by Amazon for a full series. I am surprised there is an audience for each of them, but that appears to be good news for Amazon and those voting for these shows. I will stick with The Tick.

And finally, we get a washed up Jean-Claude Van Damme as a washed up Jean-Claude Van Damme.  Here is the plot:

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON stars global martial arts & film sensation Jean-Claude Van Damme playing "Jean-Claude Van Damme", a global martial arts & film sensation, also operating under the simple alias of "Johnson" as the world's best undercover private contractor. Retired for years, a chance encounter with a lost love brings him back to the game. This time, he'll be deadlier than ever. Probably. 

Perfect, but for one episode only. It was fun to see him spoofing himself, but a whole series of this?  Sorry, but that's a little too much.

Pot & Fleabags on a Friday Night

Tonight you can watch some "new" series that may not be so new to fans. 

On HBO you can see the "premiere" of High Maintenance, a series that really started on the web and only now finds a place on television. It involves a New York City pot-dealer and many different stories along the way, including the dog's version of life. HBO has created six new episodes while also trying to keep the original feel of the show (here is a trailer). 

Robert Lloyd from the Los Angeles Times wrote a positive review, stating:

You do not have to be a pot smokers to like it, I can personally attest. Although marijuana threads through the episodes, it is not the actual point of the show — which is human variety, haplessness and tenderness. 

And tonight on Amazon you can see the six-part Fleabag, a popular series from Britain. Here is the story from Amazon (and trailer):

Fleabag is a hilarious and poignant window into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, angry, grief-riddled woman, as she hurls herself at modern living in London. Award-winning playwright Phoebe Waller-Bridge writes and stars as Fleabag, an unfiltered woman trying to heal, while rejecting anyone who tries to help her and keeping up her bravado all along. 

Alan Sepinwall in Hitfix states,

I came into the series expecting a raunchy black comedy, and got that, but with the added bonus of something achingly beautiful when it wanted to be.

We are only talking six episodes per series, so invest a little time this weekend for a solid reward. 

Mary + Jane = Crazy Fun

I don't know how I missed this one, but MTV broadcast a new show Mary + Jane last week (September 5th) and it is pretty good.  

After ending both Awkward and Faking It earlier this year, and shortly broadcasting the last season of Teen Wolf, I was wondering how young adults might be portrayed in a new series (other than as victims in Scream). 

Now we know. Kids today are addled drug dealers to the stars. Or that is the career plans for these two roommates. Hey, at least they are not living at home with mom and dad.

What I liked most was the way the show pokes fun at "hot" restaurants and celebrities.  California has a tendency to take itself a little to seriously, so such mocking is welcome.

Anyway, you can already view the first two episodes on the MTV site and decide for yourself. 

Dark Matter Turns Dark

If you watched the two hour-long episodes of Dark Matter on Friday, you too may be amazed with the plot twist (spoiler alert!). 

The up-to-now quiet character Four (played by Alex Mallari Jr., who really does have a black belt), seemed to be very careful in his plotting to regain the throne until the last 2 minutes when he wiped out all of his foes. Even for Dark Matter, a show that has gutted its characters in the past and left them to die, this was a surprise. I was mostly surprised about the murder of his brother, but Four may know more about his brother than we do now that he has his memory back.

This "Red Wedding" moment put the series on a whole new footing at episode 12, with only one episode to go. 

Will his Raza crewmates support him now and give him the Blink Drive technology he needs? Six's comments earlier in the episode regarding his worries about a fleet of such weapons was not encouraging. 

It is unlikely all of this can be wrapped up in one more episode, but luckily Dark Matter has already been approved for a third season.

The richness of the double-sided characters, as well as access to parallel universes, promises plenty more great stories and wild plot turns. 

I'm hooked!