During last week’s episodes, all of this show’s primary characters appeared to have wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat – but at the very end of the episode, those jaws had appeared to suddenly clamp shut. Tim Robbin’s Secretary of State watched a live ops video feed helplessly, and furiously, as the wrong leader was bombed by U.S. forces in Pakistan – and that was only the most serious misstep facing this dark comedy’s protagonists by the end of the epis

2015

Aug

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli

Friday night, on Bill Maher’s returning show after a month off, he talked a lot about the Republican debate, but didn’t mention the farewell telecast of Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Tonight, expect John Oliver, who was on Stewart’s last show, and owes this HBO show to his former Daily Show boss, to do both. Note the later start time.

2015

Aug

THE WINNERS WERE (ALMOST) ALL THERE AT THE 31ST ANNUAL TCA AWARDS By Ed Bark

The stars came out for Saturday night's 31st Annual Television Critics Association awards ceremony. Except that's a bit of a fib...

2015

Aug

WHEN JON MET TREVOR By Eric Gould

The old late night guard is definitely departing and the young guns are taking over. Here’s Jon Stewart introducing new correspondent Trevor Noah to Daily Show viewers last December (before he was announced as Stewart’s replacement 3 months later)...

2015

Aug

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES By David Bianculli

This 2014 movie is Peter Jackson’s final entry in his Hobbit series, which he undertook after his Lord of the Rings movies – and, thus, is the final cinematic Rings experience. Which will be difficult to accept, for those fans who found the whole series Hobbit-forming. Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins, with Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

2015

Aug

EAST OF EDEN By David Bianculli

Usually, when 1955’s East of Eden is discussed, it’s to focus on the performance by James Dean – one of his few film roles, all of which were extremely noteworthy. But today on TCM, it’s Raymond Massey day on “Summer Under the Stars” – so it’s his performance on which to focus. And that’s especially true of tonight’s other prime-time movie offering (at 10:15 p.m. ET), in which Massey has the title role in 1940’s Abe Lincoln in Ill

2015

Aug

BOSTON EMS By David Bianculli

In medical terms, Boston EMS could almost be considered a variety show, because the range of cases it covers is truly eclectic. Tonight’s installment, for example, includes two instances of men taking drastic measures to address their personal problems: a homeless man strips naked in winter to get access to a warm hospital bed, and a despondent truck driver aims his vehicle straight at a highway barrier.

2015

Aug

HANNIBAL By David Bianculli

As this series nears its ending, the plots become more familiar… and, once again, have Hannibal and Will sharing the screen.

2015

Aug

FUNNY OR DIE PRESENTS AMERICA’S NEXT GREAT WEATHERMAN By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: I’m not sure at all whether this series will work, or whether it’s the sort of super-meta exercise that is more intriguing in theory than it is entertaining in person. As I understand it, it’s a comic reality show with an actual prize at its center: a chance for aspiring weathercasters to appear on CNN – but by running them through tests that are as comic as arduous. We’ll know, soon enough, whether this new series is partly funny or just partly clo

2015

Aug

KATHARINE HEPBURN SALUTE By David Bianculli

Today on TCM’s “Summer Under the Stars,” the star being saluted is the great Katharine Hepburn, in an all-day lineup beginning at 6 a.m. ET with 1933’s classic Little Women. The rest of the day is an embarrassment of riches – 1938’s Bringing Up Baby at 11:30 a.m. ET, 1952’s Pat and Mike at 1:15 p.m. ET, and 1949’s Adam’s Rib at 3 p.m. ET. And in prime time, the riches continue with 1935’s Alice Adams at 8 p.m. ET and 1968’s The Li

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