TV's Surprising Spring: Climate Isn’t the Only Thing Changing this Season

While it is true that the May sweeps period has always been vital at least to the broadcasters for viewers who invested time in television March and April used to be a time of disappointing returns if notamp160relative restamp160 No moreamp160 In the new world order of television entertainment there can be no down timeamp160 But not even that understanding fully explains why TV is most excellent right nowLetamp8217s start with the basic cable landscapeamp160 FX recently debuted a sparkling study in sophisticated storytelling with the limited series FosseVerdon along with the second season of the comedy Better Things now better than before and one of the most original comedies ever to grace any platform the vampirific What We Do in the Shadowsamp160 Is it me or does the cast of this show appear to be having more fun than the cast of any of TV series anywhereIFC just launched the third season of its egregiously underrated Brockmire a show that works better than most when it plays straight outrageous comedy much less so when it forces too much drama into its stories as it did at the end of season twoNational Geographic is prepping its riveting limited series The Hot Zone amp8211 the TCA press session for which left over 200 journalists in a state of high anxiety amp160Editoramp8217s note Wash your hands as often as possible and keep your distance from sneezingamp160peopleWith one notable exception hint it has dragons there is nothing quite as exciting on TV right now as the second season of BBCAamp8217s thrilling Killing EveEven premium cable is getting into the actamp160 HBO recently chose to flex its muscle in a way it hasnamp8217t since the glory years of The Sopranos Sex and the City and Six Feet Under with the final seasons of the mighty Game of Thronesamp160pictured at top and the political comedy Veepamp160 In tandem with the second season of the awardmagnet Barry these shows are collectively providing a massive promotional platform for HBOamp8217s next two behemothsamp160 The second season of Big Little Lies now with Meryl Streep and the limited series ChernobylBroadcast isnamp8217t exactly snoozing at the moment eitherCBS on Sunday launched a fourpart limited series titledamp160The Red Line from Ava Duvernay Greg Berlanti Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss which will undoubtedly be one of the most controversial and hotly debated series of the season if the audience finds itamp160 Sunday nights are brutal right nowPBS faces a similar challenge with its current Sunday night limited series a detailed and difficult but richly rewarding adaptation of Victor Hugoamp8217s timeless novel Les Miserables starring Dominic West David Oyelowo and Lily Collinsamp160 The book was written in 1862amp160 What took TV so longABCamp8217s American Idol also on Sunday and NBCamp8217s The Voice are both in their live phases and even though these franchises are aging they still bring a distinct energy to televisionamp160 Many people are declaring that Idol has the most talented top ten group this season in its very long historyamp160 I canamp8217t tellamp160 They have all sounded good to meThe CW chose this time to run the final season of Jane the Virgin which is wrapping up in fine style by returning to the RafaelJaneMichael love triangle that started it all albeit from a radically new perspectiveamp160 Michael died several years ago but in a typical telenovela twist turned out not to be so dead after allamp160 The network also recently debuted and then renewed In the Dark a well dark drama about a blind woman wrestling with her demons while investigating her friendamp8217s murder that is quite unlike anything else on The CW which is really saying somethingamp160 Big surprises are coming on this show in a few weeksamp160 Also CW just wrapped Crazy ExGirlfriend with a satisfying finale followed by a concert special featuring its talented cast that was itself a departure from the normItamp8217s worth noting that Telemundo is currently enjoying huge success with the recent return after an eightyear absence of the sizzling telenovela sensation La Reina de Sur giving all other networks a run for their ratingsStreaming doesnamp8217t really count in these matters since their viewers are trained to set their own viewing schedules now then or whenever they wishamp160 But it is worth noting that adsupported CBS All Access which premieres episodes of its original series one week at a time chose this time of year to release season three of its hit The Good Fight one of televisionamp8217s finest dramas and season one of its revival of one of televisionamp8217s alltime best shows The Twilight Zoneamp160 Elsewhere Hulu has been doing the same with its factbased drama The Act already a serious awards contenderClick on the social media tiles above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively those of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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TV's Surprising Spring: Climate Isn’t the Only Thing Changing this Season

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Ed Martin

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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TV's Surprising Spring: Climate Isn’t the Only Thing Changing this Season

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Ed Martin

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

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