It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week
Giancarlo Esposito and Forest Whitaker in Epix’s Godfather of Harlem
This week’s reviews
Fall season is now well under way in the US and over the past week and a bit, I’ve been doing some pretty extensive coverage. However, since this is Peak TV™, this year, I’ve finally had to let my standards slip and only do full reviews for shows that actually look like I could watch them.
That means that since the previous WHYBW, I’ve managed to do proper reviews of Stumptown and Evil, as well as semi-reviews of The Unicorn, Carol’s Second Act, Perfect Harmony and Sunnyside.
Incidentally, I did try to watch Epix (US)’s period gangster drama Godfather of Harlem, as it stars Forest Whitaker, Giancarlo Esposito and Vincent D’Onofrio. However, it was after about 10 minutes of watching Whitaker get out of 1960s jail and return to Harlem that I realised that while the back projection was amusingly Hitchcockian, I was actually bored rigid.
Why? Oh yes. I remember. I hate gangster dramas and I actively dislike Forest Whitaker. Sorry, dude, but that performance was fine in Ghost Dog, but you can’t keep doing it.
We’re about to enter phase two of Fall 2019, so the regular US broadcast networks are hurling a couple of new shows in our direction this week: Almost Family (Fox) and Batwoman (The CW). Netflix has Raising Dion coming our way on Friday and I’m going to try to play catch up with Hotel Beau Séjour on Walter Presents. We also have some returning regulars to look forward to, including the final season of Mr Robot.
All during one of my busiest work periods of the year. Oh well – I’ll do my best. But PeakTV™, hey?
Michael Sheen in Fox’s Prodigal Son
The regulars
Fortunately for my viewing schedule, a whole bunch of regulars are coming to an end, which means that after the jump, we’ll be talking about the season/series finales of כפולים (False Flag), Flateyjargátan (The Flatey Enigma) and Glitch.
However, week two of the Fall season means we have new shows in the viewing queue. In the past week, I’ve separated the potential wheat from the obvious chaff and confined my second-episode viewing to Emergence, Mixed-ish and Prodigal Son – will they last another week?
I’ll also be chatting about the latest episodes of Mr Inbetween and Titans, as well as the return of Magnum P.I. Meanwhile, my catch-up of Pennyworth continues with Cilla Black.
Surprise, surprise! Indeed, can guess which show is getting promoted to the regulars list?
It’s “What have you been watching?”, your chance to recommend to fellow TMINE readers anything you’ve been watching this week
Netflix’s Criminal: France
This week’s reviews
Despite the launch of the Fall season in the US this week, it’s been a quiet one for TMINE, with just Netflix’s multi-country police interrogation show Criminal getting a Boxset Monday review.
Why so quiet? Well, I have been sad to discover that few have really been good enough so far to warrant a full review.
That means that after the jump, expect some brief rundowns on both Mondays and Tuesday’s new US shows: Bob ♥ Abishola (CBS), All Rise (CBS), Prodigal Son (Fox), Bluff City Law (NBC), Mixed-ish (ABC) and Emergence (ABC). None of them have been picked up UK networks yet, which suggests I’m not 100% wrong in my judgement of them.
However, that’s all four broadcast networks (that have viewers – sorry, CW) airing something new, and there are at least three keepers in there for now, one of which is really good. Which network produced the best ones? Find out after the jump – it might not be the one you’re expecting.
Netflix’s The Politician
What’s coming this week
With Fall in progress, I doubt I’ll be able to fit in an Orange Thursday, unfortunately, although I do have Netflix’s Between Two Ferns: The Movie pencilled in, in case of miracles.
But I should be able to do brief reviews at least before next WHYBW of the following shows: Stumptown (ABC), The Unicorn (CBS), Perfect Harmony (NBC), Carol’s Second Act (CBS), Sunnyside (NBC) and Evil (CBS).
Boxset Monday? Well, fingers crossed, it’ll be Netflix’s The Politician. But we’ll see. Could be anything.
DC Universe’s Titans
The regulars
It’s the usual usuals after the jump: כפולים (False Flag), Flateyjargátan (The Flatey Enigma), Glitch, Mr Inbetween and Titans. Unfortunately, my Pennyworth catch-up schedule has been hit by all the new shows, so that’ll have to wait for a bit. But I will get there in the end. Promise.
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).
2. Fox’s upfronts
Yesterday, we got a look at NBC’s upfront presentation and today, we’re getting a look at Fox’s new shows. Fox isn’t in quite as safe a place as NBC is in the ratings and is looking shakier by the year. At last year’s upfronts, it launched:
Yep, only one of those survived: the indestructible Last Man Standing is indeed the last man standing and that started off on ABC. Odder still, Fox isn’t bringing it back until next year, as it plans to fill its Fall schedule with animated comedies. As a result, there’s not much room for new dramas either until mid-season.
So coming soon (and in one case very soon), we have:
BH90210
Prodigal Son
Not Just Me
And for mid-season:
Deputy
neXt
Outmatched
Filthy Rich
911: Lone Star
Want to know more, including exactly when they will be airing, 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…
