Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, July 10th, 2024

There is a lot of great TV on the way......

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, July 9th, 2024:

GREETINGS FROM PASADENA
It's day one of the TCA Summer Tour and it is/was the Disney Entertainment TV day. I am headed off soon to a screening of Descendents 2 at Disney Studios, so I am going to try and get this newsletter out before it turns into an overnight edition.

FX and Hulu showcased some new series this morning as well as season two of The Old Man and it was an exceptionally strong group of programs. I've seen the first four episodes of the new season of The Old Man and while I can't say anything about them yet, I think I am allowed to reveal that Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow are exceptional.

There are a couple of new shows I want you to have on your radar for later this year. English Teacher is an FX comedy that is part The Office and part To Sir With Love. It comes from Brian Jordan Alvarez, who plays an English teacher ("Evan") at an Austin, Texas high school. It's a workplace comedy, but also a show about the complicated lives kids live in 2024. It's witty and it doesn't shy away from some of the hot cultural topics of the day. I had the opportunity today to speak with Stephanie Koenig, who wrote for the show and plays Evan's best friend Gwen. I also spoke with Carmen Christopher, who plays the reluctant guidance counselor "Rick." I'll post those interviews closer to the show's September 2nd premiere.

The other show you need to have on your radar is Hulu's Interior Chinatown, based on a book by showrunner Charles Wu. Jimmy O. Yang plays Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story. I mentioned in yesterday's newsletter that is a difficult show to describe, but it so wonderfully ambitious and surprising - at least based on the four rough-cut episodes I've seen so far.

The panel discussion today was fascinating, as the cast talked about having spent much of the careers as background characters in larger stories. So the entire premise felt very Meta, but also incredibly rewarding. During the panel, co-star Chloe Bennet talked about being told early in her career that she wasn't light-skinned enough to pass for white, but not Asian enough to be cast in Asian roles. She said that her real last name is still Wong, but she had used Bennet for one audition and when was cast in the role, she stayed with the name.

It doesn't premiere until November 19th, but keep the show in mind for down the road.

SOMETHING TO WATCH TODAY
Apple TV+ has a couple of new shows premiering this week and one of them premiered today. Sunny stars Rashida Jones as an American housewife living in Kyoto whose Japanese husband and their son are killed in a plane crash. After he dies, she discovers he wasn't actually an engineer working on refrigerators, he was responsible for creating incredibly complex robots. And after his death, she receives "Sunny," a robot he apparently created just for her. The two of them become an unlikely and complicated partnership as she tries to unlock the various level of mystery box questions surrounding his life and death.

I am often ambivalent about Jones's work, in part because her characters often feel emotionally detached in a way that distances her from the audience. In Sunny, that emotional distance works to the show's advantage and the end result is a slow-burning series that heads into some unexpected directions.

I'm not sure why the show didn't receive more pre-debut press attention. I don't recall seeing many cast interviews or other features ahead of the premiere and that's too bad, because this show is worth watching.

AND TOMORROW'S TCA PRESENTATION
Thursday morning Hallmark is presenting some upcoming new stuff, including a reality series starring Lacey Chabert, as well as some upcoming movies. Tomorrow afternoon Starz is presenting the new season of The Serpent Queen (which premieres Friday), as well as the new limited series Three Women. We'll also hear from Crunchyroll's Chief Operating Officer Gita Rebbapragada. Which should be interesting given that I suspect much of the panel's audience as never watched a moment of the anime-centric streamer. But I am really looking forward it, because anime doesn't receive nearly enough attention in the mainstream entertainment news press.

ODDS AND SODS
* Like nearly everyone else, political news junkies prefer streaming TV over linear TV and cable.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

WEDNESDAY, JULY 10TH:
* Alien Sharks: Ghosts Of Japan (Discovery)
* Claim To Fame Season Premiere (ABC)
* Dynamic Planet Finale (PBS)
* Eva Lasting (Netflix)
* Expedition Unknown: Shark Wrecks Of WWII (Discovery)
* Great White North (Discovery)
* Guy's Grocery Games Season Premiere (Food)
* Icons Unearthed: Spider-Man (Vice)
* In the Arena: Serena Williams (ESPN+)
* Kamp Koral: Spongebob's Under Years (Paramount+)
* Love Is Indivisible by Twins Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
* Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles Season Fifteen Premiere (Bravo)
* My Strange Arrest Season Premiere (A&E)
* Our Last Crusade Or The Rise Of A New World (Crunchyroll)
* Pawn Stars Season Premiere (History)
* Quad Gods (HBO)
* Receiver (Netflix)
* Sugar Rush: The Baking Point (Netflix)
* Sunny Series Premiere (Apple TV+)
* Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Season Premiere (ABC)
* Wild Wild Punjab (Netflix)

THURSDAY, JULY 11TH:
* Another Self (Netflix)
* Beach Bargains Season Premiere (HGTV)
* Caught! When Sharks Attack (Discovery)
* Christina On The Coast Season Premiere (HGTV)
* Deadly Wives Club (LMN)
* Great White Danger Zone (Discovery)
* Impractical Jokers Season Eleven Premiere (TBS)
* Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer (Hulu)
* MILF Of Norway (Max)
* Monster Of Oz (Discovery)
* Sausage Party: Foodtopia Series Premiere (Prime Video)
* Teen Torture Inc. (Max)
* The Hungry Games: Alaska's Big Bear Challenge Series Premiere (Peacock)
* The Real Housewives Of Orange County Season Premiere (Bravo)
* The Responder Season Two (Britbox)
* 2024 ESPY Awards (ABC)
* Tyler Perry's Divorce In The Black (Prime Video)
* Vanished In The Night (Netflix)
* Vikings: Valhalla Season Premiere (Netflix)

SEE YOU ON THURSDAY!