New TV and streaming shows

What’s new on TV and streaming

by Lloyd Carroll

Chronicle Contributor

The arrival of September used to always mean both the start of a new school year and the launch of new series by the TV networks. Television has expanded considerably from the three major networks baby boomers grew up with, and thanks to the growth of cable and the advent of streaming services, new shows are premiering over the entire calendar year. Nonetheless, there remains something special for the entertainment industry about the arrival of fall. Here is a look at what the various networks have planned for us. It should be noted some of these programs may not air until later in the fall or early winter.

CBS

The Tiffany Network remains the nation’s most-watched broadcast network. It has always had success with police procedurals so it’s not surprising one of its new shows is the police drama “East New York.” Amanda Warren stars as a precinct commander in that Brooklyn neighborhood, which borders Howard Beach.

CBS was the home of classic lawyer shows such as “Perry Mason” and “The Defenders.” In recent years, it had success with “Shark!” and “All Rise.” The latest legal entrant is “So Help Me Todd,” a “dramedy starring Marcia Gay Harden as the no-nonsense head of a law firm, with Skylar Aston as her slacker son, whom she reluctantly hires to be its investigator.

One unfortunate annual late summer and fall story has been vicious California fires that have destroyed small communities in the Golden State. “Fire Country” stars Max Thieriot as a convict who seeks redemption by working with firefighters to combat blazes.

NBC

The Peacock Network will have a tough time replacing its biggest hit, “This Is Us,” which wrapped up last spring. There is no nice way of saying this, but NBC is relying heavily on retreads and reboots.

NBC immediately picked up “Magnum PI” as soon as CBS canceled the remake, which stars Jay Hernandez in the role that made Tom Selleck a household name. At its May upfront, network executives announced an updated version of the ’90s time travel series, “Quantum Leap,” with Raymond Lee and Ernie Hudson taking over the Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell roles, respectively. Sticking with NBC’s in-house nostalgia theme, “Night Court” will be returning with John Larroquette back as prosecutor Dan Fielding, and with Melissa Rauch of “The Big Bang Theory” fame playing the judge. Her character is the daughter of Judge Harry Stone, who was played by the late Harry Anderson.

“Lopez vs. Lopez” stars George Lopez and his real-life daughter, Mayra, in a fictional version of their lives. If this sounds to you like Lopez’s old ABC series, “George Lopez,” you are probably right.

ABC

These have not been the best of times for what Variety Magazine likes to call the “Alphabet Network.” At its 2022 upfront, Jimmy Kimmel tore into Disney executives for ignoring ABC during his monologue. The only new show ABC debuted last season that attracted both ratings and critical praise was “Abbott Elementary,” which starred Quinta Brunson as an idealistic Philadelphia schoolteacher.

Kimmel’s criticism may have some meat considering that ABC, which could use a lot of new programming, is only launching two new shows.

One of those is a spinoff of “The Rookie,” a middling ratings performer starring Nathan Fillion as an older person who seeks a second career as an LAPD officer. “The Rookie: Feds” takes the same premise with comedy actor Niecy Nash joining the FBI.

“Alaska Daily” stars Academy Awardwinner Hilary Swank as a journalist who must leave New York City after a scandal and start over at a newspaper in the 49th state.

Fox

Fox has always prided itself on a programming lineup that skews a bit younger than the other three major broadcast networks, but on occasion it does try to branch out to an older demographic. This fall it will debut “Monarch,” a soap opera about a corrupt Nashville family-run musical empire, which stars real-life deep-voiced country singer Trace Adkins and Jackson Heights native Susan Sarandon. This sounds much like the plot of a former Fox soap opera about a corrupt family-run television ministry, which starred Gerald McRaney and Kim Cattrall.

“Accused” is an American version of the BBC crime anthology series about individuals who have rightfully or wrongfully been charged with a serious crime.

“Alert” is another crime-related anthology series whose producer is actor Jamie Foxx. It is a dramatization of cases from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit.

No other broadcast network has done more for animated series than Fox has. “Joining “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers” are “Krapapolis” and “Grimsburg.”

“Krapopolis” is the brainchild of producer Dan Harmon, who is best known for the NBC comedy “Community.” The same sharp wit that Harmon set at a fictional Southern California community college has been transported to ancient Greece. Anyone who is a fan of “Rocky & Bullwinkle” will enjoy the satire and puns of “Krapopolis.”

Ace private investigator Marvin Flute (voiced by Jon Hamm) has solved the toughest cases all over the country, but he returns to his hometown, Grimsburg, to try to win back the love of his ex-wife and get to know the son he has spent little time with since his birth. In a nice nod to television’s past, Flute’s avatar resembles Frank Cannon, the detective played by William Conrad on the popular 1970s CBS series “Cannon.”

CW

The smallest of the broadcast networks is television’s version of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” The CW is the only broadcast network to offer original programming seven nights a week. Its president, Mark Pedowitz, has served in that capacity since 2011, which is longer than any other broadcast network chief. While the CW really hasn’t had a water cooler hit since “Gossip Girl,” it is incredibly patient and lets series develop so they can find an audience. That reluctance to cancel shows has allowed the CW to develop prequels and spinoffs of its exiting series. Last winter the CW launched “All-American: Homecoming” from its high school football drama “All-American.” This fall it is introducing “Walker: Independence,” which is a prequel to “Walker,” while “The Winchesters,” set in 1972 (I can’t believe that is 50 years ago!), is a prequel to “Supernatural.”

The CW is importing a pair of shows from north of the border. “Family Law” is a show about a female attorney who is thrown out of her home by her family because of her excessive drinking. She must turn to her stern father, who is a legal legend, to continue her career. Canadian actors Jewel Stiate and Victor Garber star as the daughter and father legal team.

At left is Katherine McNamara as Abby in the CW Network’s “Walker Independence,” a prequel to “Walker.” At right are Hilary Swank and Craig Frank in “Alaska Daily,” which is about a New York City reporter who flees to the Last Frontier to find personal and professional redemption following a scandal. (The latter photo was not at all chosen because any journalist here can relate to the premise.) PHOTOS BY ANNA KOORIS / THE CW, LEFT, AND DARKO SIKMAN / ABC “Fire Country” on CBS stars Max Thieriot and centers on an unconventional prison release firefighting program in Northern California. PHOTO BY BETTINA STRAUSS / CBS

At home on the small screen continued on next page

C M BTS page 21 Y K New TV, streaming shows

continued from previous page

“Professionals” has Tom Welling (a CW favorite from his “Smallville” days) playing a fixer for the wealthy and powerful. His latest client is a high-tech industrialist portrayed by Brendan Fraser.

PBS

What the late Vin Scully was to sportscasting, Ken Burns is to documentarymaking. Burns’ latest project for PBS is “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which will air over three consecutive nights from Sept. 18 to 20.

Flushing native Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, better known professionally as Chuck D, founder of the rap group Public Enemy, is the executive producer of “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World.” It is a four-part documentary which debuts in January 2023. Expect a lot of Queens musicians to be featured in it.

PBS’s long-running “Nova” series will delve into such topics as “Ending HIV in America,” “Computers vs. Crime,” “Can Psychedelics Cure?” and “Saving Venice.”

I hope PBS will continue its tradition of showing concerts from the worlds of rock, country and soul, as has been a tradition during its membership drives.

Cable and streaming services

It is impossible to list every new offering from the myriad cable networks and streaming services, but here are some that stand out.

FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham” is a weekly documentary about a professional Welsh soccer team whose real-life owners are actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny. FX executives are undoubtedly hoping to capitalize on the buzz created by Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso,” which stars Jason Sudeikis.

South Jamaica native and entertainment star Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is the executive producer of WE TV’s “Hip Hop Homicides.” The weekly series will look at the inordinate number of murders thatt have befallen rap music performers. While the violent deaths of Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls and Hollis’ RUN-D.M.C. member Jason “Jam Master J” Mizell will be examined, the show wants to concentrate on the lesser-known hip-hop artists whose lives were snuffed out way too early, and whose cases remain unsolved.

IFC’s spoof of documentaries, “Documentary Now!” whose showrunners include “Saturday Night Live” alums Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen and John Mulaney, returns after a three-year absence caused by Covid-19.

Hallmark Channel movies have become as much a part of Christmas as Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Ebenezer Scrooge. This year Hallmark is teaming up with the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes for a holiday movie which will debut just before Thanksgiving, and is titled, what else, “A Holiday Spectacular.” Since Radio City Music Hall and the Rockettes are a part of Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., expect to see this one on MSG Networks as well.

Sports will be prominent on streaming services this fall.

Amazon Prime Video will be the only place to watch the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games.

Netflix’s “Untold” is a documentary series that will tackle such topics as former college football star Manti Teo’s imaginary girlfriend story, which created a cause celebre a decade ago; the rise and fall of basketball shoe brand AND1, and corrupt NBA referee Tim Donaghy. Netflix executives are hoping this will become a tent pole for them the way “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” is for HBO and HBO MAX.

Not to be outdone, Hulu will be launching “Mike,” a miniseries dramatization of the life of Mike Tyson with actor Trevante Rhodes portraying the controversial boxer. Hulu will also be debuting “Legacy; The True Story of the LA Lakers.” Hulu executives are hoping to piggyback on the success of HBO’s Lakers dramatization, “Winning Time,” which garnered a lot of attention this past spring.

Univision’s new streaming service, Vix+, is the largest Spanish-speaking streamer in the world. It is almost impossible to ride the subway without seeing its ads. Vix+ promises to air over 3,000 soccer matches, which approximates the number of telenovelas it will be showing.

In nonsports streaming news, Amazon Prime Video will be launching a “Lord of the Rings” weekly series. Paramount Plus will be producing new episodes of its classic 1990s cartoon series “Beavis and ButtHead.” Paramount Plus executives promise they will be as doltish as ever. Hulu’s “The Fool” stars standup comic Chris Estrada as a struggling 30-year-old who lives at home and works a nonprofit whose mission is to help rehabilitate violent gang members in South Central Los Angeles. Britbox, the streaming service dedicated to programming from the United Kingdom, will be commissioning “Archie,” which will be a film dramatization of the life of debonair actor Cary Grant (real name: Archibald Leach). Jeremy Isaacs will portray Grant. Discovery+ will have a three-part series, “Viagra: The Little Blue Pill that Changed the World.”

New showrunners Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, left, and Seth Meyers are looking forward to series on WE TV and IFC, respectively.

PHOTOS COURTESY AMC NETWORKS

Established 1852

St. Mary’s Community Mausoleum

One of the greatest gifts you can give to those you love is a sense of security – the knowledge that you have taken care of everything. St. Michael’s is a religious cemetery open to people of all faiths. For more information including a free Resource Guide call (718) 278-3240 or visit us at www.stmichaelscemetery.com