Broadcast Spring 2021 TV Review:

 CBS:

Clarice: This is the untold personal story of FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, one year after the events of "The Silence of the Lambs”. Her job with the Violent Criminal Apprehension program is to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high-stakes political world of DC while dealing with her own personal demons. 

Verdict: Cancelled. I first have to say I have not seen the movie, read the books or seen the show “Hannibal” so I am not here to compare it to any of those. I do like the idea of someone using science as profiler for the FBI like in “Criminal Minds” or current Fox show “Prodigal son” but with the latter the person has their own personal trauma or demons that helped shaped them to understand killers. It also is different because it takes place in the past so it’s interesting to see how the FBI worked back then but also how a smart competent woman is trying to making it in a male dominant world. The issue is her boss played by Michael Cudlitz (of Band of Brothers & The Walking Dead) is way too hard on her with not trusting her, and her therapist is also doing everything to prevent her from going back to what she does best. Then you add the US attorney general (played by Jayne Atkinson of 24 & House of Cards) with her own political gains with putting Clarice on the team, dictating how this unit works, and the fact that her daughter is the girl that was saved from the serial killer Buffalo Bill which wastes time from the show by showing her. One of her co-workers is also not a fan of her even being in the FBI as he is from the old regime whom doesn’t think her antics help but actually hurts the team, but at least two of her coworkers actually support her. They are interesting characters which I hope they continue to develop for the show but also their relationship with her as I am a fan of Kal Penn (of Harold & Kumar & Designated Survivor). I was glad he has a new show after his last show got cancelled and Lucca De Oliveira(of Seal Team) being a former military turned FBI. Her friend who helps out with forensics and other stuff is more helpful than some of the guys on her team hopefully they use more of her. I get the sense CBS really wants this show to do very well with the over the top production, the huge amount of promotions and getting well known TV actors, as they fast tracked it to series without a pilot to be screened first.  But if it is supposed to be a spinoff from a popular movie with this one character but they cannot mention “Hannibal Lecter” I do not get the point of the show and hope the writing improves over the course of the show. I am afraid it will lose its appeal/quirkiness quickly and turn into another typical procedural-crime solving show despite it taking place in the past/female lead which might get CBS to cancel it with their quick trigger finger. 

The Equalizer: Queen Latiah(of Star & Living Single) stars at Robyn McCall a woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn. She comes across to most people as a regular single mom raising a teenage daughter but to only a trusted few she is an anonymous guardian angel and defender of the downtrodden.  She is also trying to work on her personal redemption and works with a team to help the people that come to her when in need. Verdict: Cancelled. I am a huge fan of her work as a musician and an actress over the years but this role does not seem to fit her or seem believable plus you can’t save a bad show even if you are talented. It seems very over the top and the production value is way over the top too, it just doesn’t all click together. It is bogged down by her own demons, her raising her teenage daughter that takes up time and the people she works with seem over the top. It is nice to see Adam Goldberg (of the Jim Gaffigan show & Fargo) but his role as a master hacker who happens to be married to her friend from the service is over the top coincidence. The fact she did a favor for him so he owes her, and they overdo it with his nerdy outfit with these nerdy glasses too. He has done this masterhacker role before in NBC’s Taken very well but it wasn’t over the top. His wife (played by Liza Lapira) who as I mentioned worked with McCall in the Air Force does not seem believable with her skills and her demeanor based on her acting credits that include many sitcoms. Then you have to assume her ex husband/father of her kid is not in the picture whatsoever despite her working as an asset for the US government, that’s the reason for Lorriane Toussaint(of Rosewood & Saving Grace) to play her aunt. She then has detractors of two kinds her former boss (played by Chris Noth of Law & Order & Sex in the City) the ex CIA director telling her she can’t do her job since the CIA wants her back/for her to stop, and the hot shot detective who is not keen on her form of justice trying to arrest her. CBS has two “M.O.”s one is they cancel shows very quickly compared to other channels, and are the leaders in remakes, reboots and spinoffs. The fact that a huge amount of their channel lineup is one of those three things like they do with SWAT, Macgyver, Magnum PI, and Hawaii Five-O to name some. Then NCIS is a spinoff with spinoffs and have rebooted “Training Day” & “Rush Hour”, for example, to not much success plus tried revivals but failed. They have heavily promoted this show with countless ads especially during the Super Bowl that they are fully invested in seeing where this goes. They usually do cut bait early but with the huge commitment that has been made with the casting/dynamics/advertising-promoting they will probably wait till a full season’s worth of episodes air before making their verdict, and with Covid19 affecting when it was supposed to be released earlier they can’t afford to cut programming too early as well. The original Equalizer was one of the best crime solving shows from the 80’s there was no need to remake it let alone remake it after it was rebooted as a movie with Denzel Washington less than 6 years ago with two volumes. 

United States of Al: Al (played by Adhir Kaylan of Rules of Engagement) an interpreter from Afghanistan for the US Marine Corps moves to Columbus, Ohio to help his former brother in arms Marine combat veteran Riley (played by Parker Young of Enlisted & Arrow) adjust to home life dealing with PTSD, help him deal with the potential divorce, a potential custody battle and deal with the overbearing father Art played by Dean Norris (of Breaking Bad & Claws). 

Verdict: Cancelled. The forced laughter with the laugh track and the cliché jokes about American and Afghanistan culture- it is hard to know when to laugh. I applaud Chuck Lorre for trying to make a sitcom more diverse with a character from the Middle East but next time maybe use an actor from the actual region because the internet is crucifying you for picking a South-African Indian decent actor for the role with a fake accent. They also are forcing you to like him with the over the top attempt to make him adorable/lovable but he is not a main character for a sitcom- he is better off as a supporting cast member. It is nice Young is given another chance to be a lead in a show but he also is not good enough to be leading a show. His wife doesn’t seem to be well written or thought out besides from him being away in the military which caused them to become estranged, plus she is not old enough to have a high school kid. The two characters who seem to have the most to offer are the sister Lizzie (played by Elizabeth Alderfer of AP Bio & Disjointed) with her antics, and the father Al which Norris does a great job in playing his eccentric character. It is also a coincidence they have you believe she dated someone in the military who is friends with her brother. This the same issue with two other new Lorre sitcoms where the two-three main characters are either not funny or believable as a leading person, while the parts of the supporting cast are the only good ones which isn’t a recipe for success. Maybe it will get better over time but it can only go in so many directions like he gets back with his wife/gets to be around his daughter more or he does not. They should explore more of what Norris’ character’s background is, that would help but I do like the flashback element at the end of each episode. 

NBC:

Mr. Mayor: Ted Danson stars as Neil Bremer a retired wealthy businessman who runs for mayor of Los Angeles for the all the wrong reasons. He sets out to shake up City Hall but he quickly discovers navigating politics is not business as usual. When he wins he has to figure out what he stands for, gain the respect of his staff, and connect with his teenage daughter, all while controlling the coyote population. 

Verdict: Renewed. When you can laugh multiple times during an episode and it isn’t childish humor it is definitely a show that should stay on the air for awhile. I can trust Tina Fey who created the show, produces and writes for it to stay clean for the most part and have well written episodes over the course of the season. Danson is always great on camera especially with the physical humor that he has done in this show. He is giving off the vibes of someone you can really get behind even though he was a rich spoiled guy. We all want to see how far he can go in changing the city along with all the hijinks that ensues. It is also nice that Bobby Monihan of SNL who had his own sitcom wrongfully cancelled too early get a chance to be a regular on a show and he plays the loveable goofball amazingly as Danson’s communications director. His character makes me laugh more than the mayor and Danson’s relationship with his teen daughter (played by Kyla Kenedy) isn’t just filler it has a clever dynamic, plus she is from ABC’s Speechless so she has played the daughter role well before. His chief of staff and chief strategist are typical “straight men” in a comedy as they have to play off Danson and Moniyhan in every episode while trying to do their jobs but are there also for diversity. They are often background characters so they aren’t that important, the real issue is Holly Hunter playing a former councilwoman who becomes his chief of staff.  She looks like a crazy-homeless person that is trying to sabotage the mayor but maybe there is some genius to hire a person who is your enemy because it can be an interesting dynamic where she might grow on you. The biggest concern is NBC has cancelled every new sitcom over the past two television years and ended two of their longer running shows as well. They also have limited the amount of episodes of another sitcom so I don’t think NBC cares about having sitcoms let alone good ones, as they vacated one hour of sitcoms on Thursday night for another Law & Order spinoff show as well. The only saving grace is NBC loves Fey and Danson so they might leave it alone and let it run its course. 

Young Rock: A comedic look back at Dwayne the Rock Johnson’s life through the outrageous stories of about his family and youth that shaped him into the man he is today. It explores his childhood years living amid influential wrestling icons while his dad rose to fame in the business, his rebellious teenage years attending high school in Pennsylvania, and his football years teamed up with powerhouse players at the University of Miami. 

Verdict: Cancelled. It looked like it was setting up to be like “Everybody hates Chris” where it would go in chronological order episode to episode where we would grow along with the character. It would teach us lessons and educate about his childhood from a little kid to his life as a professional wrestler. It does have Johnson in every episode but it’s a mixture of him narrating and actually being in the show. The issue is they think we care he is running for President and wants to relate to the average person so he is telling stories about his childhood/upbringing. I also do not get the whole Randal Park former actor turned journalist interviewing him that is stupid. Just do it like Chris Rock and Jim Parsons and just narrate and not show him whatsoever. It seems to skip through three different time periods just to fit the specific questions asked by Park which isn’t as seamless as they think. If you’re not a fan or familiar with the professional wresting world you are not going to know these people Johnson grew up around/his father as only “Andre the Giant” will be easy to recognize. It is nice nostalgia to see recreated wrestling scenes with “Ric Flair” and “Randy Macho Man Savage” but it will always be a niche sport. Also is this a comedy or a drama? I have not laughed once no matter when the show takes place. Plus with the way NBC has been cancelling every new sitcom to debut the last few TV seasons I do not see this being renewed even with Covid19 giving them sparse programming. 

Kenan: Kenan Thompson(of SNL & Kenan & Kel) stars in his own sitcom playing a widower father raising two grade school girls while trying to balance his work and personal life. He is a local Atlanta TV personality hosting “Waking up with Kenan” a popular morning show. He has to deal with his overbearing producer (played by Kimrie Lewis of Single Parents & Scandal), his father in law (played by Don Johnson of Miami Vice & Nash Bridges) and his brother (played by Chris Redd of SNL & Popstar) who is also his manager plus everyone else trying to help make his life easier despite it really making it harder on him. 

Verdict: Renewed. It is a good sign when you are watching a sitcom and can laugh multiple times during the episode plus it has no silly laugh track to tell you when to laugh- just natural laughter. Whoever is writing this show is doing a good job with the jokes, how clever it is, how it does not have to make crude/inappropriate jokes to get a laugh, and the chemistry between the characters. I think many people are happy it finally happened that he got his own sitcom as an adult since it has been rumored for a few a years now, and of course he does a great job. He uses his acting, comedy and musical skills throughout.  Plus he does a good a job playing the straight man as other personalities can come out during the show. Johnson and Redd do a good job in their roles as mostly clueless relatives trying to do their best to help but do it in a great way comedically. The actresses playing the girls do a good job in their roles being adorable and it is nice to see Lewis on TV after they cancelled her show. It is also nice to see Fortune Feimster in another sitcom as she is a really funny person and it will be funny to keep seeing what Johnson/Redd can get into comedy wise all season long. The writing, the chemistry between the cast, the acting and Kenan himself make it good on all levels for a successful sitcom. With NBC cancelling all the sitcoms the last few TV seasons plus the two most popular ones ending, there is definitely room in the lineup for this show. 

Debris: Two agents from two different continents (one from England and one from the United States) and two different mindsets must work together to investigate when wreckage starts falling from the sky which is from a destroyed alien spacecraft that has mysterious effects on humankind. They have no choice but to trust each other as they track down the hundreds of pieces of debris scattered across the Western Hemisphere. Every discovery is also a race against time, because shadowy outside forces want these powerful objects for their own nefarious purposes. 

Verdict: Cancelled. We have been here, done that with sci-fi events with mysterious things happening to people or the world itself. This time it is this “debris” that these agents are looking into that has scattered all around globe. Each episode they investigate different spots on in the US that are having scientific anomalies as they try to collect more of the “debris”  before other mysterious groups take them for their own purposes. I will say this I like watching sci-fi shows where they investigate the same thing all season or a different thing each week but so far there is no emotional attachment to the mystery or the main characters. It feels dry, bland, an ”ehh” feeling when watching every episode. They do make it full of sci-fi stuff to keep you interested in watching with the mystery of figuring it all out but nothing so far is keeping me gripped to the scenes unfolding. I am unsure if it is because the main cast is mostly unknown (theater, British TV or musicians) or they assume we already care about the two leads where we want them to succeed personally and professionally, that isn’t clicking for me. The bigger issue is the pilot/other episodes seems to be like a few episodes into the story telling of the show where we have to accept these two as partners from different agencies that it is months into the investigation not the at the start like most sci-fi shows. It would have been better to be from the starting point of when the “debris” first came to earth and how these two partnered up. It also takes away from the show with the drama going on behind the scene with their respective bosses from MI6 & the CIA on how they are a joint adventure, but are keeping things from each other in the episodes which some of the scenes are mostly a waste of time. Agent Finola Jones’s own personal drama (played by Riann Steele of Magicians & Lovesick) takes away from show and her acting along with her partner agent Bryan Beneventi (played by Jonathan Tucker of Kingdom & Justified) seems stale and dry where they are not believable as leads too. With all the negatives outweighing the positives and with how very major network has pulled the plug on all of these over the top sci-fi event/investigative programs I would be surprised if this show gets renewed as it will get a full season to unpack everything though. 

ABC:

Call Your Mom:  Kyra Sedgwick plays Jean an empty nester widow mom who wonders how she ended up all alone while her children live their lives thousands miles away. She sets out to reinsert herself into their lives by moving closer to them. 

Verdict: Cancelled. I do not know why a critically acclaimed actress like Sedgwick (The Closer & Brooklyn 99) would do a show like this show where they make fun of an older woman who feels alone without her kids, has issues with technology and meddles in their lives even if they are adults. I can’t stand the laugh track, the horrible transitions on the screen and how there is no redeeming qualities in her two kids. The daughter is rude and uptight while the son seems dumb and clueless where he still needs help from his mother. The only good thing is they actually look like siblings when they did casting. The son’s girlfriend has an annoying voice and is so ditsy that it’s hard to stand her in the scenes where her job is a social media influencer, while the daughter’s roommate is gay but he actually seems to get the funny lines. The whole foreign landlord who is married but not married thing is not needed if you’re going to keep hinting will they won’t they, but his dog is the best character in the show which is saying something. It is nice to see Sherri Shepherd in the show but they cop out by having her over video chat in most episodes that it’s barely in the show. ABC cancelled two quality shows last year while two long running shows ended, plus they cancelled a spinoff so you would think they would want to fill the open holes with quality programs. Instead they are doing a boatload of game shows and if this is the one sitcom they can come up with this spring, I don’t have confidence in the future for them at making shows going forward. The show is so bad that even with covid19 restrictions on upcoming shows potentially being on the air down the line this show will not make it pass the standard of 8-10 episodes that most shows that get picked up receive.  

Home Economics: Inspired by the life of co-creator Michael Colton it takes a look at the relationship among three adult siblings in different wealth classes, the one percent, middle class and the one barely hanging on. Topher Grace (of That 70’s Show & Spiderman 3) plays Tom the oldest sibling married with kids and is a struggling writer in the middle class. Caitlin McGee (of Bluff City Law & and Grey’s Anatomy) is the middle sibling a child therapist who is barely making ends meet and is also married with kids. Jimmy Tatro(of The Mighty ones & Modern Family) is the youngest sibling who runs his own equity firm, is divorced and has a daughter. 

Verdict: Renewed. I do like the fresh take on a family sitcom with the children as adults who are married with kids and how they all have different lives/economic backgrounds that intersect into a delightful comedy. It has also made me laugh a few times as well. I do like that Grace is one of the leads of a sitcom since it has been years since his last show and that McGee is getting another attempt to be a lead in a show after her show got only 10 episodes. I also think the PC police will be happy with the mixed race couples in the show, that there will be no outcry of diversity because they write it so smoothly that you do not even care or notice. It also has a good supporting cast of two SNL alums in Nora Dunn as the mom and Sasheer Zamata who make you laugh too. We should want to see how one sibling deals with his divorce, one deals with trying to finish his novel, and the other deals with unemployment throughout the course of the show. It is also interesting that Grace is narrating the show since he is playing an author and how he gets the brunt of the jokes/bad luck, and that the younger sibling is the most successful but seems like the idiot. When it comes to sitcoms on ABC two of their longer running shows and three others were cancelled in the last two TV seasons so there is room for a quality show that isn’t inappropriate as well. 

 

Rebel: Inspired by the life of Erin Brockovich, Annie "Rebel" Bello (played by Katy Segal of Married with Children & Futurama) is a blue-collar legal advocate without a law degree. She is someone who cares desperately about the causes she fights for and the people she loves. When Rebel applies herself to a fight she believes in, she will win at almost any cost. 

Verdict: Cancelled. They have done this kind of premise (also a movie with Julia Roberts) before like this year with CBS’s remake of Equalizer, CW’s remake of Kung Fu and last year’s Stumptown on this network. When a non lawyer/person not in law enforcement is there to help the people who have nowhere to turn/can’t go to the cops/afford a lawyer they turn to this person. It is only different because it is based off a real person’s life which is nice they can come up with an original idea but the premise is still been there done that. This is more of a soap-opera with too many coincidences like all three of her ex husbands are still around with the first one helping her since he is a cop which doesn’t seem to be plausible for him to use his job to help her. Her second ex being a corporate lawyer who seems to  be an important part to the show as he will take on cases just to spite her, and their daughter was working for Rebel’s boss but now works for her father. She then uses her son from her first marriage who is a doctor to help with medical inquires as well. Plus her youngest daughter is interning at her job as well, which are too many coincidences. You also have her ex-sister in law being her closest friend and confidant who also works for Rebel’s boss as an investigator. Lastly her boss is her former best friend’s husband played by Andy Garcia(of The Godfather Part II & The Ocean’s Franchise) who is an esteemed actor but he is playing an uptight and thick headed lawyer who runs the firm Rebel that her daughters and ex-sister in law work for. The only actors with any upside is Mo McRae (of Pitch & Empire) who is playing one of the lawyers working for Garcia and this doctor who works with Rebel’s son Abigail Spencer(of Timeless & Suits). I only think ABC might renew this show is because it comes from the creators of Grey’s Anatomy, so they can have one night all the shows join together along with Station 19, since other shows have either ended or been cancelled from that creator.

CW:

Walker: A remake of the original Walker, Texas Ranger that stared Chuck Norris. This one stars Jared Padalecki playing the same character named Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger. A widower and father of two with his own moral code he returns home to Austin after being under cover for a while, only to discover there's harder work to be done at home. He has to attempt to reconnect with both of his kids, his brother who is the ADA and his parents, while trying to connect with a new partner. He also is struggling with the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. 

Verdict: Renewed: It gives you a nice wholesome feeling when watching it as they are making it a family-centric show with the grandparents, the uncle and his former partner all looking out for him and his kids, plus the town as a whole all know him well. Now the original show was a reboot/spinoff of a Chuck Norris character from a movie he was in and they made a movie afterwards. In that show he did not have kids to worry about and it was more wholesome that no one actually died/did hard drugs in it as they arrested all the bad guys. He also used his martial arts training to take down bad guys. It is nice that Coby Bell (of Third Watch & the Gifted) is on a show after his show was cancelled too early but instead of him being Walker’s partner he is his boss when he returns. In the original his partner is black but this time his actual partner is a rookie Ranger who is a Latina woman but so far she has proven to be that she can handle the job and taken down bad guys just as well as him. I do also like seeing Mitchell Pileggi (of X-Files & Stargate Atlantis) as a series regular again in a show as his father who owns a ranch and seems to be the person he goes to for real advice, and his mother (played by Molly Hagan of Herman’s Head & Code of Silence) is also a nice addition for support as they have been raising his kids while he has been gone. I could do without the background hints that is ADA brother is gay but his character is good for Walker to have as well since he helped watched the kids. The kids are not bad characters as the oldest daughter is a typical teenager rebelling since her parents haven’t been around and the son is more of a quiet recluse keeping him to himself for the same reasons. The issue is they are detractors from the point of the show which is him taking down bad guys as a Ranger he has to worry about their problems and split time between his job and kids.  The flashbacks/PTSD he seems to be suffering from are not from his time in the military as they are him dealing with the death of his wife (played by his real wife) years ago where things don’t add up. He can’t move forward so he is wrestling with that mentally besides from his kids aspect which again takes away from the job.  The hope is the writers find balance between raising his kids, his family, his own demons and the job since I think the kids/family are here to stay in the premise. I know it’s going to be renewed since the CW renews everything(expect one show in the last five years), but also they bypassed a pilot to make a direct to series which means they really wanted to put the show on the air and to make it work. They also added an additional five episodes as well which is always a good sign for a show to be renewed in TV history trends. The reason they did that is because they are trying to capitalize on the success of their longest running show Supernatural which Padalecki co-starred in which ended last year, by having him on a new project for them hence the good rating so far. People will tune in just to see him regardless of the show’s quality which is why this show is going to get renewed quickly. 

Superman & Lois: After years of facing supervillains, monsters and alien invaders Superman aka Clark Kent and famed journalist Lois Lane are in the midst of living their lives in Metropolis raising their two sons Jonathan and Jordan. They have to deal with being working parents in today's society as their kids could inherit their father's Kryptonian superpowers as they grow older. Despite being in the midst of his living his life in Metropolis he has to go back to Smallville to the Kent farm to take care of things and has to deal with Lois' father, Gen. Samuel Lane who always comes looking for him to vanquish a villain or save the day at a moment's notice as there is never a dull moment in the life of Superman. 

Verdict: Renewed. Pretty much every show about Superman is the start of his career or in the midst of it while this is well into the future. He is happily married with two teenage kids who could potentially have powers so it is interesting to see him balance his newspaper job, superhero job, marriage and raising teens. He could pass on the all the lessons he learned from his parents and to help guide the kids with their emerging powers. I also like the idea of him getting thrown a curveball with his life that has to bring him back home to Smallville and deal with all of his past coming forward when there. Lois is actually important to the show and stays in her lane unlike Iris on Flash she actually serves a purpose hence her name in the show. Since we have seen both Superman (played by Tyler Hoechlin of Teen Wolf & 7^th heaven) and Lois (played by Elizabeth Tulloch of Grimm & Quaterlife) in previous episodes of the Arrowverse we already are comfortable with them in their roles which they do a good job at. It will be interesting to see how the child actors who play the Kent kids do through the season. I understand with Supergirl ending this year this is the perfect replacement as this show has hope and is very uplifting to watch that it makes you feel good/happy when watching it. I also understand why it takes place when the kids are teenagers and not when they are born as the CW is trying to avoid crossovers/having Supergirl appear. We have to wonder when Lex Luthor and other villains will appear but how they deal with them as it’s later into the future plus which allies they will have besides Lois’s father. CW also has the MO of renewing every show so it was no surprise they already renewed it. 

Kung Fu: Nicky Shen is a Chinese-American young woman who has a quarter-life crisis where she drops out of college and goes on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. She then returns to her hometown in San Francisco three years later to find its overrun with crime and corruption, and her own parents are at the mercy of the triad. She has to deal with her estranged family, her ex-boyfriend, the assassin who killed her mentor and who is after her. She decides to fight crime and corruption to protect her community with her martial arts skills, with the help of her tech-savvy sister, her ex-boyfriend who is a detective, her new friend and pre-med brother. 

Verdict: Renewed. The first thing that has to be said is the CW essentially is at a 99% rate of renewing every show on their network even before the season starts or if the new show has only had a few episodes. They are on the wave of remakes like Roswell, New Mexico, Walker and Dynasty (has been on for five years) so with all the effort they are putting into promoting it and hyping it up there is no way they cancel it after one season. Plus it has Greg Berlanti producing it (the man behind the Arrowverse) as CW likes him so they will want the show to grow over time. With him running it he will put his best effort into it since this is the third time he tried to get the show going. It is also a very forward thinking idea to make a show very Asian-centric with every main character including the bad guy be Chinese with their speaking Chinese in the episodes. It also has a relatively unknown cast which can be good so you do not have to separate them from their previous works and can judge them solely on this, as the lead is done a great job so far. It also is very different from the original version with them having a female lead and it is taking place in present times while the original is about a half Chinese man who flees China after killing the emperor’s nephew who killed his lover. They both have been trained in Kung Fu but it takes place in the 1880’s where he is looking for his half brother and dealing with Chinese bigotry, while he fights of the bounty hunters trying to kill him. It has the same feel of every show on the CW- a teenage-soap opera feel making some parts boring but the target audience is mostly teens/young adults. The positives are that there is Kung Fu fighting in each episode as she takes down bad guys and her goal is to help those in need who need help but can’t get it. I also like the search for the killer of her master and her commitment into stopping her if that is the theme of the season, sprinkled in with her helping people every episode. The things that make it get bogged down are her ex being a detective she goes to for info/help when she is helping people/searching for the killer, and this new guy who is helping her for the killer search but could be her new boyfriend. They also have to add the sister’s upcoming wedding, the parents’ tension with their daughter finally coming home, being a failure in their eyes, and her brother’s dating life. I do like the father (played by Tzi Ma of Rush Hour & 24) as he has the most credits as a character actor and he is the most likable character in the show. 

FOX: 

Call Me Kat: Based on a British show Miyiam Bialik (of Blossom & the Big Bang Theory) stars as a 39 year-old single woman named Kat who sets out to prove her mother wrong that you cannot have everything you want yet still be happy. She leaves her job as a professor at the University of Louisville and spends her mother’s money that was set aside for a wedding on a Cat Café in her town of Louisville. 

Verdict: Cancelled. It is nice that she has her own show as an adult post TBBT but this show is too odd/quirky for broadcast TV. It feels more like a cable or streaming show and I don’t mean in terms of how appropriate the show is because it hasn’t gone down the crude humor/childish humor, it’s just too far out there for the average person watching broadcast TV to get behind. She constantly breaks the 4^th wall and is talking to us which would be fine if she was narrating, but she does it mid scene and everyone else pauses. She also goes on tangents and imagines things that aren’t there as well which might be part of the character’s issues, but I haven’t laughed much except for when Phil her baker played by Leslie Jordan does something funny but he isn’t the main character. Fox was nice to bring him back since they wrongfully cancelled his previous show “The Cool Kids” after one season, and are giving Swoosie Kurtz work after the show she was on got cancelled as well last year(Man with a Plan). Kurtz plays the overbearing mom role well but feels more like a distraction then a key element to the show. It is also nice to see Kyla Pratt in another TV show after her biggest role was lending her voice in the Proud Family. Despite the good supporting cast who play her employees, best friend, mom and her former college crush (played by Cheyenne Jackson of 30 Rock & American Horror story) it just doesn’t flow in storytelling. It’s also too convenient her college crush is back home and working across the street from her, as its too cliché that they keep hinting they could be together but you have to wait all season to find out. I also do not trust Fox to renew a half hour sitcom since they have cancelled every new half hour sitcom the past few TV seasons, after they cancelled all of them in order to show football on Thursday nights and wrestling on Friday nights. It doesn’t lead much room for sitcoms to be on the air if it’s only a few months during the year.

The Great North: It follows the adventures of the Tobin family in Alaska with a single dad named Beef (voiced by Nick Offerman of Parks & Rec & Fargo) who has to juggle his job as a fisherman and raise four unique kids name Judy (voiced by Jenny Slate of SNL & Big Mouth), Ham, Wolf (voiced by Will Forte of SNL & Last man on earth) and Moon. Oldest son Wolf has a fiancée and Judy has an imaginary friend voiced by Alanis Morrissette. 

Verdict: Renewed. This is what people want from an animated sitcom thank you Fox’s Animation Domination. We all want to laugh a bunch during a show and watch something that isn’t hateful, disgusting or inappropriate but something that is good natured. It also helps that Forte, Slate and Offerman supply the main voices and have all done comedy/voiced cartoons before. Forte makes you laugh all the time in everything including this character of how innocent he is- a dumb adult. It is also nice Fox gave him a new show after they cancelled his last show on a cliffhanger. If the rest of the characters did not exist it wouldn’t be missed like the second oldest and the fiancé. The youngest Moon is so adorable in that outfit he wears and is so interesting as a character I want more adventures of him, which reminds me of Louise from Bob’s Burgers as this is from the same creators. I notice the good chemistry between the voice actors which is good and that they have a theme song that all the characters sing which is a dying art in TV. It has been awhile since Fox actually churned out good animated shows until last TV year (2019-2020) with “Bless the Harts” & “Duncanville”, so hopefully it will be two years straight they can keep the trend by letting this show grow over a season and renew it. There was a reason they did not renew anything for a decade- there wasn’t anything new that was good until those two and now this. In a perfect world Fox goes back to two and half hours of programming on Sunday nights all year round.