Every Friday, TMINE lets you know when the latest TV shows from around the world will air in the UK
Fewer acquisitions this week, but no shortage of premiere dates. Premiere-less newbies are The Name of the Rose (Italy: Rai), which has been picked up the Beeb; When Heroes Fly (Israel: Keshet 12), which Netflix has got its mitts on; and My Brilliant Best Friend (US: HBO), which Sky Atlantic has naturally acquired, it having an exclusivity agreement with HBO.
Staggeringly dull drama in which Sean Penn plays the first person to lead a mission to Mars. At least, I assume he gets there, since the entire first season is about the training and engineering decisions involved in getting him there, once the first attempted mission blows up in the first episode.
As well as reading more like Andy Weir’s research notes for The Martian, The First is mainly an advert for producer Penn, since the show is also about his great topless physique and how he’s better than literally everyone else at literally everything else, particularly Brit CEO Natascha McElhone. Some slight sci-fi ‘futurology’ moderately lifts the show, but it’s a snooze for the most part.
CBS’s king of misanthropic comedy, Chuck Lorre, arrives on Netflix with The Kominsky Method, which follows Sandy Kominsky, an actor who years ago had a brief fling with success and is now a revered Hollywood acting coach. Michael Douglas plays Kominsky, while Alan Arkin plays his agent and best friend. There’s also a decent supporting cast, with Nancy Travis playing a recent divorcee who decides to take acting lessons from Douglas, Sarah Baker playing his daughter and Lisa Edelstein playing Arkin’s estranged daughter. Whether it’s funny is a different matter, though…
Some TV programmes are worth great big long reviews. Some just aren’t. Four shiny new US shows missed out on being included in yesterday’s WHYBW since I hadn’t got round to watching them. I have now, but rather than do individual reviews, I’m going to review them en masse, because honestly, there’s not much to say about them. Oh well.
So, for what it’s worth, join me after the jump where I’ll review the first episodes of Charmed (US: The CW; UK: E4), Camping (US: HBO; UK: Sky Atlantic), The Rookie (US: ABC; UK: Sky Witness) and The Kids Are Alright (US: ABC).
