Not a great week for new and returning shows. What/If, starring Renee Zellweger is a little dull, but I’ll probably check that out during the week as a late night fall-asleep-to-on-the-couch show. Apparently it is a bit of a gender reversed Indecent Proposal. Catch 22 is worth watching, but it feels so inessential. It really should have been updated to reflect the current military and not as a quasi-romanticised WW2 story.
The best new thing I watched this week was the US ABC’s Live In Front of a Studio Audience. A one-off that rated its socks off, so expect more of this in the future, the show was a 90-minute re-staging of an episode each from All In The Family and The Jeffersons with a modern-day celebrity cast led by Woody Harrelson, Marissa Tomei, and Jamie Foxx. The production was slick and now has TV critics calling for more events like this. Personally, I think a Cheers / Taxi revival show would be a hoot.
NEW & RETURNING
These are the notable new and returning shows that aired this week - meaning you can go right ahead and stream them now…
Returning Shows: Riviera (s2), She’s Gotta Have It (s2), Elementary (s7), Slasher (s3)
NEW:
What/If - Netflix (US)
Stars: Renée Zellweger, Jane Levy, Blake Jenner, Keith Powers
An anthology series which tackles a different morality tale, and the ripple effect of a single decision that changes the trajectory of an entire life.
Catch 22 - Showtime (US)
Stars: Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler, Daniel David Stewart
Based on Joseph Heller's seminal novel of the same name, Catch-22 is the story of the incomparable, artful dodger, Yossarian, a US Air Force bombardier in World War II.
[ Watch now - Hulu (US) ]
[ Watch now - Stan (AUS) ]
Blood & Treasure - US (CBS)
Stars: Matt Barr, Sofia Pernas, Katia Winter
An antiquities expert teams up with an art thief to catch a terrorist who funds his attacks using stolen artifacts.
Live In Front of a Studio Audience - ABC (US)
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Marisa Tomei, Wanda Sykes, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson,Ellie Kemper, Ike Barinholtz, Kerry Washington, Amber Stevens West
A one-night-only sitcom special hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and Norman Lear featuring live performances of two of Lear's most popular shows, 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons'.
You can, of course, get more weekly TV recommendations via the Always Be Watching podcast. This week Dan & Chris discuss: Still Laugh-In, The Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and offer some thoughts on the series finales of Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory, and Veep.
