CLAWS:  Sunday 9PM on TNT – If Nothing Else Is On… There’s a reason that CLAWS,  TNT’s latest foray into original programming, feels like the offspring of a multi-camera sitcom, a paycable hour and Orange Is the New Black.  The project, created by Eliot Laurence, was originally developed as a HBO half-hour, and then taken […]

  I’M DYING UP HERE:  Sunday 10PM on Showtime – If Nothing Else Is On… A stand-up comic’s set, especially if the comic is a newcomer, has to make its mark immediately if the audience’s attention isn’t going to wander.  That’s a lesson that Showtime’s new dramedy series about 1970s stand-ups I’M DYING UP HERE […]

  STILL STAR-CROSSED:  Monday 10PM on ABC – If Nothing Else Is On… The idea of a Shonda Rhimes-produced sequel to one of Shakespeare’s classics sounds like something that might air on a satirical network, but STILL STAR-CROSSED is real, albeit relegated by ABC to its summer minor leagues.  (The actual series creator/showrunner is Heather […]

  TWIN PEAKS:  Sunday 9PM on Showtime – DVR Alert (for some) Trying to recapture what it was like to watch the original premiere of TWIN PEAKS would be like attempting to duplicate the experience of seeing the first moon landing.  Twin Peaks emerged at a time when “Quality TV” meant LA Law, which won […]

  DOWNWARD DOG:  Tuesday 8PM on ABC – If Nothing Else Is On… Television may have undergone a revolution over the past few years, but one thing hasn’t changed:  broadcast networks don’t air their A-level material during the summer.  ABC’s odd gimmick comedy DOWNWARD DOG is premiering a pair of episodes at the very tail […]

  AMERICAN GODS:  Sunday 9PM on Starz – Potential DVR Alert It seems only fair to note upfront, upon the arrival of Bryan Fuller’s new Starz series AMERICAN GODS (created with Michael Green, and based on the novel by Neil Gaiman) that I was not among the congregation that worshiped Fuller’s Hannibal.  I admired the […]

  FAMOUS IN LOVE:  Tuesday 9PM on Freeform (full season also available via online/VOD) – Change the Channel On the basis of its opening hour, Freeform’s new FAMOUS IN LOVE is pretty woeful stuff.  It’s the latest version of America’s contribution to the fairy tale template, the one that tells of the gleam and oh-so-naughty […]

  TRIAL & ERROR:  Tuesday 9PM on NBC – If Nothing Else Is On… NBC’s TRIAL & ERROR is a cluttered joke-book of a sitcom that parodies true-crime docuseries like Making A Murderer and especially The Staircase.  As in the latter, the accused murderer, here named Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), is a figure of some […]