US TV

An archive of articles about US television programmes and production.

Ezekiel Patrol
US TV

What have you been watching? Including Blood and Treasure and Five Bedrooms

29 May 2019 Rob Buckley 9 Comments

It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week

Julianna Margulies in The Hot Zone
Julianna Margulies in The Hot Zone

This week’s reviews

Only one this week, thanks to the Bank Holiday weekend cramping my style:

And last week’s Orange Thursday reviewed Glass (2019) and Snowpiercer (2014).

Otherwise, that was it. Sorry about that. To make up for it, though, I’ll be reviewing both Five Bedrooms (Australia: Ten) and Blood and Treasure (US: CBS) after the jump.

American Princess
Lifetime (US)’s American Princess

What’s coming this week

Tomorrow’s Orange Thursday will look at John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and The Favourite (2018). Good Omens is available on Amazon from Friday, so we’ll definitely be catching that for Boxset Monday. DC Universe’s Swamp Thing is also starting on Friday, so that’ll probably be Tuesday’s review (although maybe swap the order on those two). And on Sunday, American Princess starts on Lifetime (US), so I might give that a crack as well at some point.

I’ve still not watched Catch-22, but I will. At some point. What/If, though, which was cloaked in mystery before its launch but is now available for all to see on Netflix, sounds like it’s terrible, so I still might not catch so much as a frame of it. Still.

Ezekiel Patrol
Doom Patrol

The regulars

As usual, I’ll be talking about the latest episodes of Harrow, Mr Black, The Twilight Zone, Warrior and What We Do In the Shadows. Inconveniently, The Hot Zone has been airing two episodes a night this week, but I’ve managed to catch both of last night’s and I’ll be reviewing them, too. And we’ll also be having a chat about the season final of Doom Patrol.

See you in a mo.

Continue reading “What have you been watching? Including Blood and Treasure and Five Bedrooms”
Jann Arden
News

Nordic gangsters; Swamp Thing, Jessica Jones, Family Business trailers; + more

29 May 2019 Rob Buckley Post a comment

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

Internet TV

Australian TV

  • Screen Australia to fund development of: supernatural drama Secret Threads, crime dramedy Partners in Crime, adaptation of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, musical comedy High Rotation, and prostitution comedy drama Rough

Canadian TV

  • Jann Arden and Sean Beak to guest, Laura Vandervoot, Colin Ferguson and Lucas Bryant to return to Global’s Private Eyes

Scandinavian TV

UK TV

  • Hayley Squires replaces Sheridan Smith, Kerry Godliman, Rupert Everett, Phil Daniels et al join Channel 4’s Adult Material
  • Red developing: adaptation of Jess Phillips’ Everywoman: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking The Truth

New US TV shows

  • Trailer for DC Universe’s Swamp Thing

New US TV show casting

Liam Cunningham and Julianna Margulies in The Hot Zone
US TV

Review: The Hot Zone 1×1-1×2 (US: National Geographic)

28 May 2019 Rob Buckley 4 Comments

In the US: Nightly, National Geographic
In the UK: Will air later this year

Long-time readers of TMINE will know I’m a sucker for a killer virus show. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was exposure at an early age to The Andromeda Strain and The Satan Bug, or maybe the titles of Survivors scared me silly.

Whatever it was, I’ve always eagerly awaited the arrival of whatever new killer virus show has come our way, whether it be that Andromeda Strain remake, Helix, Outbreak or The Burning Zone.

The Hot Zone

The Burning Zone is of note because it was a clear reference to the definitive non-fiction killer virus book of the 90s: Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone, one of the 100 ‘books that shaped a century of science’, which naturally I devoured when it came out. It was a three-pronged medical history, looking at the emergence of the Ebola virus and Marburg in Zaire, other related ‘filoviruses‘, and the arrival in the US of a strain of Ebola in 1989 and how the US army responded.

And it was frightening. So very frightening. Indeed, it was so frightening that it actually influenced how the world’s governments reacted when there was another outbreak of Ebola.

The Burning Zone was nonsense. And initially terrible. Nevertheless, it was both clearly inspired by The Hot Zone and clearly different enough that it wouldn’t infringe Preston’s copyright. Outbreak, too, was very obviously an adaptation of The Hot Zone but a sufficiently loose one that no lawsuit could have touched it.

Now, just a couple of decades later, one TV show dares to obtain the copyright clearances that others failed to acquire. It’s The Hot Zone and it’s a little bit silly, but nevertheless still very frightening.

Continue reading “Review: The Hot Zone 1×1-1×2 (US: National Geographic)”
Neil Gaiman
Events

What TV’s on at the Southbank Centre in May? Including Neil Gaiman: Good Omens

28 May 2019 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

Other than the events at the BFI, The Southbank Centre isn’t one of the venues TMINE regularly monitors for TV-related fare.

However, I’ve just noticed that tomorrow, to coincide with the release of Good Omens on Amazon on Friday, the man-god Neil Gaiman is discussing said show, which is based on the novel he wrote with Terry Pratchett.

There are still tickets left, so get booking if you’re interested.

Neil Gaiman: Good Omens

Date: Wednesday May 29
Timings: 7.30pm-9pm
Venue: Royal Festive Hall

The master storyteller reflects on reinventing the modern classic Good Omens for the screen, joined by stars of the series David Tennant and Michael Sheen.

Before he died in 2015, Sir Terry Pratchett asked Neil Gaiman to make a television series of the internationally beloved novel they wrote together thirty years ago.

Ahead of the series launching on Amazon Prime Video and the BBC, hear from Gaiman himself about adapting the novel as well as being the showrunner for the series, which stars David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Jon Hamm and Miranda Richardson, to name but a few.

For one night only, Gaiman speaks about bringing his original collaboration with Pratchett to life, the differences between page and screen, how the characters continue to surprise him and why this wicked comedy about Armageddon remains relevant today.

Chairing the conversation is journalist, broadcaster and writer Kirsty Wark.

Book tickets

Pricing

£15 – £25
Booking fee: £3.00 (Members £0.00)

Paula Pell and Glenn Howerton in AP Bio
News

Gavin and Stacey Christmas special; AP Bio cancelled; Ghosts, The A Word, Riviera renewed; Vis a Vis (Locked Up) spin-off; + more

28 May 2019 Rob Buckley Post a comment

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

Internet TV

French TV

Spanish TV

UK TV

US TV

New US TV shows

  • Hulu green lights: anthology adaptation of Nathan Ballingrud’s North American Lake Monsters
  • FX developing: yet another adaptation of Channel 4’s Peep Show