The Story of “The Empress of the Blues,” Bessie Smith
Emily S. Mendel
Finally, a film about the life of iconic blues singer, Bessie Smith (1894 – 1937) will air on television. And it stars multi-talented Academy Award nominee Dana Owens, better known as Queen Latifah (“Chicago”), ...
Although the satire is more politically astute, this HBO series still packs in plenty of broad laughs.
Emily S. Mendel
HBO’s award-winning “Veep” has reached new heights of political fun and games in the upcoming fourth season. The fabulous creative team and cast capitalizes on many clever new plot devices and developments when Veep Selina Mayer (brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus) finds ...
This new series pays homage to the British cozy mystery with a young Anglican priest and crusty inspector matching wits in Cambridgeshire.
Emily S. Mendel
The U.K.’s newest mystery hit from ITV makes its first U.S. appearance on Masterpiece in six episodes starting January 18. With its winning combination of a delightful and appealing amateur sleuth, Anglican priest Sidney Chambers (James Norton, “Mr. Turner,” “Death ...
The latest season of the beloved family drama continues the lofty level of writing, directing and acting admired in prior years.
Emily S. Mendel
An extremely entertaining Season 5 of “Downton Abbey” continues the spellbinding costume drama created and written by Oscar-winning writer Julian Fellowes. This season’s focus is the modernity of the mid-1920s. It is a time of expanding opportunities for the Crawleys ...
Andrew Osborne
Has the recent TV renaissance peaked? Probably not, given some of 2014’s strong debuts and continuing favorites. And while the big screen actually impressed me a bit more than the small one this year, the general quality of the best ...
A combination of wrongheaded strategy and reluctance to confront a reconfigured enemy have led to a formidable new threat in the Mideast.
Sometimes a good documentary merely confirms what is generally feared to be true. But as any government official (or journalist) will acknowledge, confirmation is not an easy task. Layers of nuance and obfuscation have to be scrubbed away before the ...
This exciting, two-part production is a sparkling entertainment, regardless of how purists feel about its origins.
Emily S. Mendel
The Jane Austen spin-off industry has a strong contender in this opulent and engrossing adaption of “Death Comes to Pemberley,” based on the 2011 novel by P.D. James, the award-winning British mystery writer. The story imagines the lives of the ...
The latest from this documentary series trains its high-beam scrutiny on a health crisis that rivals the Ebola scare.
While America frets over a potential Ebola outbreak in Texas, another crisis already plagues the country's health-care system: bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics are cropping up in hospitals nationwide. These superbugs infect more than 2 million patients annually, ...
Three new episodes, starring Julia McKenzie in the title role, offer first-rate acting, high production values and fascinating scripts based on Agatha Christie whodunits.
Emily S. Mendel
Twinkly-eyed Julia McKenzie ("Cranford") is back as Miss Marple in three new productions of well-acted, tightly written, complex and mysterious cases — "A Caribbean Mystery" and "Greenshaw’s Folly" (Sept. 21 at 8 and 9:30 p.m. PT/ET respectively) and "Endless Night" ...
Philip Huang
Is the title ironic? Because many unhappy things happen in “Happy Valley.” And many unhappy people live in “Happy Valley.” Even the economy is depressed.
Keeping the peace is police sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), who lets pass few ...
