The six-hour Tales of the City miniseries, based on the novel by Armistead Maupin, premiered in the U.K. in 1993, five years before HBO premiered its own groundbreaking drama, Sex and the City. In both, the story revolved around a young woman in the big city, getting by with a little help from her friends. In Sex and the City, the young woman was played by Sarah Jessica Parker, and the city was contemporary New York City. In Tales of the City, first imported to the U.S. in 1994, the city was 197

2018

Jun

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: This improv comedy series began in a previous century, premiering on ABC in 1999. Since then, it’s resurfaced, after brief breathers, on what was then ABC Family, and, since 2013, on its current network, CW. The show’s first host was Drew Carey, who was succeeded, years ago, by Aisha Tyler, who continues to preside over the action and antics tonight, as Whose Line begins season 13 tonight. Familiar and very funny collaborators, making it up as they go along, include

2018

Jun

DIETLAND By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: The 1986 miniseries Life and Loves of a She-Devil (much, much better than the subsequent Roseanne Barr-Meryl Streep movie) was all about an unattractive woman reinventing herself, physically as well as emotionally, to wreak revenge on those who had slighted or rejected her. And long before that, in 1973, Stockard Channing starred in a made-for-TV movie called The Girl Most Likely To…, written by Joan Rivers (!), with the same basic premise. And now, in 2018, comes Dietlan

2018

Jun

2018 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS By David Bianculli

The final minute in regulation of Game 1 of this year’s NBA Finals, the minute that ended up forcing an overtime period, was a hot mess, with LeBron James doing everything he could to secure a last-minute victory against the Golden State Warriors, but with his own teammates making crucial mistakes as time ran out. A missed free throw here, a failure to take a timely shot there, and presto: it was on to overtime, where the Warriors bulldozed over the frustrated Cavs and ran away with Game 1

2018

Jun

THE FOURTH ESTATE By David Bianculli

Last week, this documentary series premiered, looking at how The New York Times covered the Donald Trump presidency – beginning with such headline-generating stories as the President’s claim that he had been wiretapped by the FBI at the insistence of the Obama administration. The players may be different (hello, again, Sean Spicer), but with “Spygate” claims all over the news these days, this look back at politics and press coverage also seems uncomfortably… timely

2018

Jun

POSE By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Ryan Murphy’s latest (and last, since he’s moving to Netflix) new series for FX, set in the 1980s, is a drama about a particular New York subculture known as competitive balls, when rival houses of showy “models” (think the inspiration for Madonna’s “Vogue” video) compete for attention, acclaim, and bragging rights. Its breakout stars, among a cast of actual transgender thespians, include Indya Moore (pictured), playing competitive &ldqu

2018

Jun

WESTWORLD By David Bianculli

In this series, most of the characters are both corrupt and corrupted – and in a literal, or at least computerized, sense. Season 2 is nearing its close, and some of these characters are nearing their fates. Except, in Westworld and on Westworld, what really is fate, and fated? And when is an ending, or a death, really the end?

2018

Jun

BILLIONS By David Bianculli

Asian Kate Dillon, as Taylor, breaks out of her quiet mode, and confronts Axe directly, in tonight’s new episode of Billions, which is built around the annual tradition of assessing, and arguing for, one’s individual worth at Axe’s company.

2018

Jun

SUCCESSION By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Brian Cox plays a billionaire mogul patriarch, and Jeremy Strong plays one of his ambitious children vying for the family fortune (and power), in this new HBO series created by Jesse Armstrong. Behind the scenes, the other talent includes such impressive names as Frank Rich and Adam McKay. On camera, the costars include Kieran Culkin and Alan Ruck.

2018

Jun

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER By David Bianculli

One thing to wonder about, given this week’s episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (pictured): If John Oliver mentions Bee and Ivanka Trump in tonight’s news recap, what words will he use to describe them?

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