Year: 2019

US TV

Why you should be watching Doom Patrol, explained in one scene

16 May 2019 Rob Buckley 5 Comments
Okay, so no one in the UK has yet acquired US streaming service DC Universe’s Doom Patrol, so you may never get to see it in the UK, which is a shame.

Equally, a UK network might still acquire it or Warner Bros might well be holding back from selling the rights, so they can feature in on their own streaming service when they launch it in the UK, just as Disney is doing with Disney+. You might, therefore, not want to watch this video, since it’s from episode 12 so a little bit spoilery (but not much, so I don’t think you’ll lose anything from watching it now).

But if you do watch it, it will show you why US streaming service DC Universe’s Doom Patrol can occasionally be a work of actual genius and the nearest that DC has to its own version of Deadpool.

What is Doom Patrol?

Just for a bit of background, the Doom Patrol are a bunch of not especially good, occasionally quite sweary superheroes played by the likes of April Bowlby, Matt Boemer and Brendan Fraser. However, their leader – Niles Caulder aka The Chief (played by Timothy Dalton) – has been abducted by the bad guy, Mr Nobody (Alan Tudyk).

What makes Mr Nobody so fascinating a character – and Doom Patrol a work of genius – is that he is both a character in the show and its narrator. More so, he actually has power over the narrative and knows he’s in a TV show. Specifically, one on streaming TV service DC Universe…

That’s enough background. Now watch all of this. All the way to the end.

All Rise
News

CBS’s upfronts 2019-20 – a rundown and clips from the new shows: All Rise, Bob ❤️ Abishola, Carol’s Second Act, Evil and The Unicorn

16 May 2019 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

All through ‘upfronts’ week, TMINE will be revealing the new shows that are going to be hitting US TV screens from September 2019

It’s that time of year again – the ‘upfronts’. What’s that, I hear you ask?

What are the upfronts, TMINE?

It’s when all the US networks reveal to advertisers the new shows that are going to be hitting the TV screens some time from September 2019 through to nowish 2020. However, this isn’t the same as the international screenings, where buyers from TV networks around the world turn up to see what they’d like to acquire, so we won’t know what will be heading our way for quite some time.

This weekend, US TV networks killed off a whole bunch of existing shows (prompting howls of protest from their fans) and are about to commission a whole bunch of new shows (prompting howls of ‘you cancelled x for this rubbish?’ from said-same fans).

5. CBS’s upfronts

For years, CBS didn’t have to do much at the upfronts, since it was king of the ratings and could renew pretty much everything. However, for the past few years, it’s been flagging, while simultaneously doing its best to acquire a young, new vibrant (or at least under 60) audience to replace its current dying breed.

Last year, CBS went big with nostalgic remakes for the 40+ age-group, procedurals, studio comedies and minoriteams, unveiling:

Only two cancellations, then, which is probably the best strike rate of all the networks. That means that this year, CBS has less work to do. All the same, it’s still unveiled four new dramas and four new comedies, which is perhaps a sign of both ambition and the fact that a lot of its longer-running shows are starting to wind down. Or its firm expectation that a reasonable number of them are going to be cancelled by this time next year.

The newbies are:

  • All Rise
  • Bob ❤️ Abishola 
  • Carol’s Second Act 
  • Evil
  • The Unicorn 

And for mid-season:

  • FBI: Most Wanted
  • Broke
  • Tommy

That’s more new shows for the autumn than for mid-season, which makes a nice change; there’s also only one spin-off from an existing CBS TV show, which also makes a nice change.

Want to know more and exactly when these (and the surviving old shows) will be airing? And do you want to get TMINE’s hottest of hot first takes? Follow me after the jump if at least one of those things interests you…

Continue reading “CBS’s upfronts 2019-20 – a rundown and clips from the new shows: All Rise, Bob ❤️ Abishola, Carol’s Second Act, Evil and The Unicorn”
Téa Leoni in Madam Secretary
News

Madam Secretary cancelled; El Marginal, Miracle Workers, The Last OG, Snowpiercer renewed; + more

16 May 2019 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

Every weekday, TMINE brings you the latest TV news from around the world

Internet TV

  • Trailer for season 5 of Netflix’s Black Mirror

Australian TV

International TV

UK TV

US TV

New US TV shows

  • TBS renews: TNT’s Snowpiercer…
  • …green lights: series of Persian high school boy comedy Chad, with Nasim Pedrad
The Death of Stalin
Film reviews

Orange Wednesday: The Death of Stalin (2017)

15 May 2019 Rob Buckley 8 Comments

This week’s been a bit full on and I fell asleep last night, rather than watch Snowpiercer as I’d planned. So only one movie this week: Armando Iannucci’s adaptation of the graphic novel La Mort de Staline, The Death of Stalin.

I’ll do Snowpiercer next week, particularly since the TV series got renewed for a second season today, even though the first season won’t even air until this time next year.

Continue reading “Orange Wednesday: The Death of Stalin (2017)”
News

Freeform’s upfronts 2019-20 – a rundown and clips from the new shows: Motherland: Fort Salem, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay and Party of Five

15 May 2019 Rob Buckley Post a comment

All through ‘upfronts’ week, TMINE will be revealing the new shows that are going to be hitting US TV screens from September 2019

It’s that time of year again – the ‘upfronts’. What’s that, I hear you ask?

What are the upfronts, TMINE?

It’s when all the US networks reveal to advertisers the new shows that are going to be hitting the TV screens some time from September 2019 through to nowish 2020. However, this isn’t the same as the international screenings, where buyers from TV networks around the world turn up to see what they’d like to acquire, so we won’t know what will be heading our way for quite some time.

This weekend, US TV networks killed off a whole bunch of existing shows (prompting howls of protest from their fans) and are about to commission a whole bunch of new shows (prompting howls of ‘you cancelled x for this rubbish?’ from said-same fans).

4. Freeform’s upfronts

As Freeform is the network formerly known as ABC Family, naturally enough it has it Upfronts on the same day as ABC’s. However, the lesser networks never normally announce many new shows, as they don’t really have much of a schedule to mention. Last year, for example, all Freeform had to announce at its upfronts was:

However, this year, three is the magic number, with ABC, Fox and NBC all announcing three new shows for the Fall. And now Freeform’s doing the same:

  • Motherland: Fort Salem
  • Everything’s Gonna Be Okay
  • Party of Five

How many of these will we end up seeing and when? Who knows? But welcome to the big leagues, guys.

Want to know more, as well as take a look at trailers for all of them? And do you want to get TMINE’s hottest of hot first takes? Then follow me after the jump…

Continue reading “Freeform’s upfronts 2019-20 – a rundown and clips from the new shows: Motherland: Fort Salem, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay and Party of Five”