Author Archive
 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Humans”

  HUMANS:  Sunday 9PM on AMC – If Nothing Else Is On… The sentient robot story gets another workout in HUMANS, AMC’s first import series.  It’s set in a barely futuristic England where “synt...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Happyish”

  It’s not as though HAPPYISH creator Shalom Auslander is unaware that many would consider his protagonists Thom and Lee Payne (Steve Coogan and Kathryn Hahn) to be whiny, tiresome, self-important narcissists–h...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Finale Review: “Nurse Jackie”

  “That’s not moving on, that’s moving in a circle,” said returning Dr. O’Hara (Eve Best) in tonight’s finale of NURSE JACKIE, and of course the statement applied to most of the 7 season...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Pilot + 1 Review: “Zoo”

  ZOO:  Tuesday 9PM on CBSa Previously… on ZOO:  From Botswana to Los Angeles, animals are on the attack.  Lions are mauling, and some awfully suspicious cats have clustered in a West LA tree.  In Africa, photo-s...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Impastor”

  IMPASTOR:  Wednesday 10:30PM on TV Land – Change the Channel TV Land’s brand was built primarily as a repackager of vintage sitcoms, and when it entered the world of original content, it initially did so w...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “Extant”

  EXTANT:  Wednesday 10PM on CBS Although EXTANT survived to a second season (due at least in part to its lucrative Amazon streaming deal), no one involved fooled themselves that it was going very well, as critical respon...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Finale Review: “Penny Dreadful”

In its second season, John Logan’s gothic horror mash-up PENNY DREADFUL remained an elaborate conceit that pays off only from time to time.  Logan has gathered together a host of characters for his saga.  Some hail from...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll”

  SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL:  Thursday 10PM on FX – If Nothing Else Is On… Denis Leary doesn’t have a world of range, and in his new comedy SEX&DRUGS&ROCK&ROLL, the aging never-quite-st...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Series Premiere Review: “Dates”

  DATES:  Thursday 9PM on CW – If Nothing Else Is On… CW is barely promoting its run of the 2013 British series DATES, which the network is using (presumably for a negligible fee) to fill a few hours of its su...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “Dominion”

  DOMINION:  Thursday 10PM on Syfy This summer, long-suffering USA and Lifetime finally succeeded in airing image-changing original series with Mr. Robot and UnReal.  Syfy, though, still dwells in the desert where most o...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

EARLY FRIDAY BOX OFFICE: “Minions” In Control

  MINIONS (Illumination/Universal) was expected to enfold the weekend box office in its little yellow fingers, and so it is.  Preliminary numbers at Deadline give it a $45M opening day, which appears to be the largest ope...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “Hell On Wheels”

  HELL ON WHEELS:  Saturday 9PM on AMC In its 5 seasons on the air, HELL ON WHEELS has never achieved a sustained stability, shifting tones and narrative thrust on an almost seasonal basis as a perpetual bubble show in th...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

Behind the US/Worldwide Weekend Box Office – 7/12/15

  OPENINGS:  MINIONS (Illumination/Universal) had a surprisingly bumpy 16% drop on Saturday, but it will handily become the #2 animated opening of all time, topping Toy Story 3‘s $110.3M, even if the studio’s ...
by Mitch Salem
 

 
 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “The Strain”

  THE STRAIN:  Sunday 10PM on FX Despite its contemporary NY setting, there’s an old-world charm to the horrors of THE STRAIN, with its silver bullets and sword-canes.  They come courtesy of series godfather and co...
by Mitch Salem
 

 

 

SHOWBUZZDAILY Season Premiere Review: “Masters of Sex”

  MASTERS OF SEX:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime Turning the lives of sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson into a continuing series was an audacious idea from the start, and Season 2 of MASTERS OF SEX proved a c...
by Mitch Salem