Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!
The Muppets are getting another go at series television and it's on an obvious home, Disney+. The new series, which was ordered this week, will focus on the house band (The Electric Mayhem) and will be called The Muppets Mayhem. The series will be written by The Goldbergs creator Adam F. Goldberg and star Lilly Singh. This is the first foray back into series television for the beloved Jim Henson property since the ill advised 2015 mockumentary sitcom The Muppets on ABC. The more specific approach on a platform that is a perfect fit makes me think this could be a better way forward for the property.
It was a late news dump last Friday but two new Monday network dramas were cancelled within a very short time of each other. FOX cancelled The Big Leap and NBC cancelled Ordinary Joe. Both shows were a little bit different than most other dramas of the procedural loving networks. They both received mixed critical reviews and launched on the first day of the 2021-22 season. The Big Leap was an instant bomb while Ordinary Joe did not do that much better. I thought both shows had a lot of flaws but I liked that they at least were a little bit different than a crime or medical procedural. I hope this doesn't discourage the networks from still trying to find something different.
This was another news dump from Friday (last Friday was a busier day than this week!). NBC announced that it will no longer be partnering with Hulu in Fall 2022 and letting the streamer air their series the next day. That means, unless you have DVR either on Hulu or somewhere else, the place to see NBC shows like Saturday Night Live and the Chicago trio will be on Peacock. Another sign of networks doubling down on their respective streamers but probably a tough break for visibility for some of these shows as a lot of people watch network shows on Hulu and it seems like no one cares about Peacock.
#4 - "THE PENGUIN" SWAPS FOR GOTHAM DRAMA ON HBO MAX
HBO Max announced this week that they have scrapped the untitled Gotham City drama but there will be a limited series called The Penguin starring Colin Ferrell in a reprise of his film role in the recently released smash The Batman. This is all part of HBO Max's attempts to turn the DC Universe into what Marvel has done on Disney+. The Gotham City drama apparently didn't fit into that plan.
#5 - SCRIPTED PREMIERES THIS WEEK
Here's a look at this week's scripted premieres, a week that has busy days today and Thursday but nothing else.
Today: Apple TV+ premieres the Samuel L. Jackson limited series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. It's a show that seems like an awards play but reviews have only been so-so so far. Amazon has the second season of Upload, which was last seen in May 2020. The CW has the fourth season premiere of its Charmed reboot which is one of those shows that I haven't heard a thing about for years.
Thursday: HBO Max has two premieres that are quite different: dystopian drama DMX and feminist comedy Minx. Neither one seems like a huge play for the streamer which is why they're probably releasing the same day and not getting a day to themselves. ALLBLK has the second season premiere of Millennials. Finally, FOX premieres Welcome to Flatch while the first seven episodes will be available on Hulu the same day in a unique broadcast-streaming arrangement.
My pick for the week:
Despite the middling reviews, I am still going with Ptolemy Grey because it was one of my 10 Most Anticipated Shows and I'm intrigued by the premise. Also because nothing else really interests me though I may check out Welcome to Flatch.
Check back next week for a new week of blog posts!
Comments
Post a Comment