FRIDAY
SEPTEMBER 28
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Amazon Prime Video, 3:00 a.m. ET

MOVIE PREMIERE: Anthony Hopkins simmers, sizzles and burns in the title role of this new made-for-TV adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic drama. Richard Eyre both directs and edits it, cutting out sometimes hefty portions while keeping the main story – about an aging ruler and the unfairly different treatment of his daughters – in the forefront at all times. Eyre’s Lear is set in present-day London, which is a sharp and sometimes subtly resonant move: Lear leads his country, and his household, as a man both susceptible to and demanding of flattery, and a man capable of proclaiming new policies and viewpoints instantly and without warning. Emma Thompson, as Lear’s daughter Goneril, says as much with her stylish fashions as with her furtive glances. Emily Watson’s Regan is more openly manipulative and self-centered – and youngest daughter Cordelia, played tenderly by Florence Pugh, refuses to play the flattery game, and incurs her father’s wrath as a result. Other co-stars include Jim Broadbent and Downton Abbey veteran Jim Carter, and they and the modern setting lend this new version a commendable depth and energy. There’s something about King Lear with a present-day map, dividing up his kingdom by drawing on the map with a Sharpie…

 
  
 
 

TCM, 12:00 p.m. ET

Back in June, I had the true honor of interviewing Stephen Sondheim on stage at a writers’ conference event at Rutgers University, and asked him about a lot of things, including his early scriptwriting stint on the TV sitcom Topper. But I didn’t have the time, in 90 minutes, to cover every aspect of his long and amazing career – including this 1973 murder-mystery movie, which he co-wrote with Psycho star Anthony Perkins. Stars include Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, Raquel Welch, James Coburn, Ian McShane and James Mason, and the mystery is just as much of an intricate web as you’d expect from Sondheim, whose passion for puzzles is well known.

 
  
 
 

Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: This new Fox series is co-created by Charlie Day, co-star and co-creator of FX’s long-running, long-raunchy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The pilot of this new series, though, is almost shockingly tame by comparison, and plays as a sitcom that could have been set in, and even written in, the era of The Golden Girls. This series is about a group of senior citizens at a retirement home, and to the extent that The Cool Kids is watchable, it’s because of the veteran talent involved: David Alan Grier, Martin Mull, Leslie Jordan and Vicki Lawrence. It’s a rarity to see a show built around senior citizens on TV, and especially surprising to see one on Fox, so I’d like to give this a chance. It’s just that, as with so many TV sitcoms these days, I just wish it were funnier. But Lawrence, especially, hits the ground running. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.
 
  
 
 

HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET

After this week of Senate hearings, Bill Maher’s scheduled guests include… Steve Bannon (pictured), Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Max Brooks.
 
  
 
 

HBO, 12:00 a.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: For her Season 3 premiere, the astounding, chameleonic Tracey Ullman portrays several powerful world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured) and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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2691 Comments
 
 
After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon.
Jul 13, 2025   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
Thank you Mr. HTTPS sir!

please continue to subscribe to my RSS feed - it's the ONLY place where you can hear my words of wisdom. Well, except for my spectacular Fresh Air appearances, with the inscrutable Terry Gross! And of course if you're a student in my classes in College!!

ROTFLMBFFAO!!!

Sincerely,

Dave
Jul 14, 2025
 
 
 
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Jul 12, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jul 10, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jul 9, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jul 4, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jun 28, 2025   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
What topic is that sweet-cheeks??

Love,

Dave
Jul 2, 2025
 
 
 
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Jun 27, 2025   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
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Dave Bianculli
Excuse me sir, but if you haven't heard, China is ripping us off because we have a trade deficit. We cannot buy for new fashions!!!

ROTFLMBFAO!!! hahaha

just kidding, I was pretending I was a MAGAidiot.
Jun 27, 2025
 
 
 
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Jun 24, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jun 21, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jun 19, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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Jun 15, 2025   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
From your lips to God's ears, Concrete!! ROTFLMBFAO!!

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Dave
Jun 16, 2025
 
 
 
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Jun 13, 2025   |  Reply
 
Dave Bianculli
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Dave
Jun 14, 2025
 
 
 
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Jun 13, 2025   |  Reply
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.