Broadcast Summer 2021 TV Review:

 

CW:

Republic of Sarah: Greylock, N.H., is upended when a massive vein of coltan, an incredibly valuable mineral used in tech, is discovered under the town. Lydon Industries swoops in with plans to extract the mineral and wipe Greylock off the map. Sarah Cooper a rebellious high school teacher vows to stop Lydon's bulldozers with the help of her friends and family who are in danger of losing their homes, but there seems to be no way to stop the town's impending demise. Sarah then proposes an oddly intriguing solution that Greylock could declare independence. If Sarah and her friends can convince the town to vote for independence, Greylock would gain international sovereignty and could protect its land for good. After a federal judge agrees that Greylock isn't and never was part of the United States, the town becomes a new nation. Now, Sarah and her allies must confront an even more daunting task and build a country from scratch. 

Verdict: Renewed. Finally there is a TV show with an original clever idea and interesting plots with a diverse cast who have interesting back stories. The message is to not give up/fight for what is right no matter what the consequences because everyone has rights. It can be a risk for them to cast an unknown actress (Stella Baker) to play the lead but she does such a convincing job as Sarah Cooper leading this new country from the ground up. I do like that I recognize a few actors from other shows like Ian Duff(of New Amsterdam) and Nicola Correia-Damude(of Nurses & Coroner). Most importantly Luke Mitchell who has been a great actor in all the shows he has been in (Blindspot, Agents of Shield and the Code), but I am interested to see how his estranged relation with his sister Sarah can be fixed even if he works for the evil company that was trying to mine the mineral underneath the town. I do like the diverse cast but the idea is that the supporting cast is a good mixture of adults and teens who equally offer much to the show in terms of saving the town. They actually have good back stories we want to know about as they are a B story during the main plot of getting this town made into a country. You add the estranged family dynamics which there are multiple, like making a country from the ground up, good acting, good cast, good plots, and the idea you want to keep tuning in every week to see how Sarah & the gang can fix every problem that comes up in running their own country. They are not getting bogged down by relationship drama because it’s really about the relationships that matter in helping to tell this story/save the town that actually helps the show. CW also doesn’t cancel anything so there is definitely room for this show to return next season especially in the summer.

FOX:

Housebroken: An animated series following a group of neighborhood pets and stray animals as they work through their issues inside and outside their therapy group led by Honey a standard poodle who opens her living room for the group to come and support each other through the misery, mayhem and majesty that is being a pet. Lisa Kudrow (of Friends & Web Therapy) stars as Honey, Will Forte(of SNL & Last Man on Earth) as Shel the tortoise, Jason Mantzoukas(of The League & Brooklyn 99) as the Grey One a street smart cat, Tony Hale(of Arrested Development & Chuck) as Max the pig/Diablo Terrier and Sam Richardson(of Veep & Detrioters) as Chico a tabby cat to name some. 

Verdict: Renewed. Fox has an opening in the “Animation Domination” block after they wrongfully cancelled “Bless the Harts” but also because this is the first time in years they have had new original scripted TV shows in the summer. Usually they only do reruns and game shows in the summer but due to Covid19 it delayed a few shows like “Duncanville” a returning animated show that is on in the same hour time slot as this. It is an interesting creative idea to see how pets act when the humans are not around and how they interact with each other, it is like a grown up version of “The Secret life of Pets”. It is meant for adults so I wouldn’t suggest kids watch but it is in the block of shows that usually has the Simpsons and Family guy so you should know that before watching it. It has made me laugh so many times an episode especially the tortoise and the grey cat more so because of who is voicing them, and the plots seem to be interesting with A & B plots to help guide the show’s development of the characters. Post Covid19 I wonder how Fox will lineup all of their animation domination as they used to show five during the NFL season but might go back to four like this past fall, but either way I feel it will be back at least during the spring lineup if not the new summer trend of new shows.

Fantasy Island: At a luxurious but remote tropical island resort this island grants people’s secret dreams of the well-heeled guests come true, although twists of fate occasionally turn those dreams into nightmares as the show features new guest stars each week. This time Fox has rebooted it with Royslen Sanchez(of Without a Trace & Fame LA) as Elena Roarke(the daughter) after there was already a movie by Columbia pictures last year with Michael Pena playing the Ricardo Montalban character Mr. Roarke. 

Verdict: Cancelled. If you want to see rotating cast of actors try watching “Love Boat”, “Love American Style” or even better the original Fantasy Island. It is hard to get attached to a show if every week the characters change and you don’t get a connection to anyone in the show how do you keep interest week and week out if you there is not one to get attached to? This show isn’t the worst show or the best show it is right in the middle. It is interesting to see if people’s fantasies come true and what the consequences are but this is like watching a soap opera of everyone’s problems trying to get solved. It is nice to see certain actors I am familiar with but if I want to see them I’ll just watch them on their own shows or movies. Sanchez is a good actress but the whole daughter aspect just to make a remake is them running out of ideas and she isn’t a leading actress either. Plus they took this elderly woman dying of cancer of color to be her assistant who is now young on the island to be her own “Tattoo”, but they are wasting time with her personal story. At least Pena did his best Montalban impression in the movie, Sanchez seems to be just picked because she is Hispanic and the new “woke” agenda is to make remakes with women as the lead or even change the race despite the source material. If you want to watch Fantasy Island go back and watch the original so you don’t waste your time with this.