Your Super TV guide part 2: From stalkers to a bad judge | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

THE FLASH

With so many new good TV shows, plus old favorites still airing, how can networks expect us to watch all of them?

 

It’s gotten to the point that we now need an app to keep track of everything. We use “TV Show Tracker”—according to this app, we are currently following 104 TV programs and have already spent 2,631 hours or 109 days watching TV (with 3,127 unwatched episodes from different shows). Is that crazy or what?

 

Join the madness with part two of your Inquirer Super TV guide:

 

‘Selfie’

 

Selfie
Selfie

Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,”) plays Eliza Dooley whose social network-obsessed persona robs her of real-life friends and interpersonal connections.

 

Loosely based on “Pygmalion”/“My Fair Lady,” Dooley (@the_doolio on Instagram) is “rebranded” by marketing whiz Henry Higgs, played by John Cho, who is on the other side of the social media spectrum, i.e. hates it with a vengeance (“Social media is this giant fingernail scratching this woman’s need for constant attention.”)

 

While the social media caricatures are timely, the show will need more than Facebook/Twitter jokes to sustain its viewership. Thankfully, Gillan and Cho have great chemistry that will keep fans interested.

 

‘Manhattan Love Story’

 

“How I Met Your Mother” ended last year, and the search is on for the next decade-long ensemble rom-com. “Manhattan Love Story” is one of the latest contenders this season, with Analeigh Tipton (the nude photo-sharing babysitter on “Crazy Stupid Love”) and Jake McDorman (“Greek”) playing New York lovers Dana and Peter, respectively.

 

The show employs voice-overs on what goes on in the two characters’ heads as they say the opposite of what they’re really thinking.

 

The pilot is a little bit cheesy and the supporting characters aren’t fully fleshed out yet. Dana’s wide-eyed enthusiasm isn’t that endearing; Peter is cute, but his character isn’t charming enough for you to want to tune in.

 

‘Bad Judge’

 

Kate Walsh ditches her Addison-scrubs for short-shorts, smutty eyeliner and black judicial robes in this legal dramedy featuring a badly behaving, middle-aged but immature judge.

 

It’s a bit of a tough sell to see a courtroom judge handing out sound verdicts when she’s a hot, hungover mess in private. Still, we’ll keep watching only because Ryan Kwanten, who played Dick Casablancas on “Veronica Mars,” plays Walsh’s on-and-off love interest, and in a bit of role reversal, he’s actually the responsible one on the show. The show is produced by Will Ferrell and co-created by Anne Heche, so hopefully “Bad” becomes better soon.

 

‘A to Z’

 

Fate wanted to give poor Cristin Milioti (“How I Met Your Mother”) a better ending so she’s back on “A to Z,” this time paired with Ben Feldman. The two play Zelda Vasco and Andrewt1010tatin-tv_feat5_3 Lofland, soon-to-be lovers whose office windows are opposite each other.

 

Zelda is a lawyer, while Andrew works at an Internet dating site. The two have had a fateful “meet cute” long ago, but Andrew, in a move eerily similar to Ted Mosby, jumps the love gun too soon and spooks Zelda. This show has potential that could give it more episodes than there are letters in the alphabet.

 

‘How to Get Away with Murder’

 

The third Shonda Rhimes drama to join “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” is another sex-filled, mystery-rich series with a diverse cast of characters led by Academy-Award winning Viola Davis (“The Help”) in her first-ever TV show.

 

She plays Annalise Keating, a wily law professor who recruits her top students to form her legal team. Viewers will enjoy the crazy cases and the inventive ways Keating and Co. employ to get its clients acquitted.

 

Like most Shonda shows, “How to Get Away with Murder” is chock-full of frustrating unanswered questions that will take all season long to address, so be ready for a lot of cliffhangers.

 

‘Stalker’

 

“Over 6 million people are stalked each year in the United States. One in six women, one in 19 men… Social media is the number one reason why stalking cases have tripled.”

 

“Stalker” creator Kevin Williamson (“Scream,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,”) is no stranger to suspense and a nail-biting atmosphere; his latest oeuvre delivers one of the creepiest pilots to date.

 

Maggie Q (“Nikita”) plays Lt. Beth Davis who runs the TAU or Threat Assessment Unit.

 

“Stalker” shows just how powerless stalking victims are; despite restraining orders, they are still at the mercy of those obsessed with them—like when a frustrated campus jock breaks down after being continually stalked by his lanky, wimpy-looking ex-roommate.

 

Maggie Q kicks ass as usual, and Dylan McDermott’s tortured but tough Jack Larsen has you worrying about his mental state. If you love procedural dramas, this is a worthy addition; just make sure you have a pillow to squeeze during the suspenseful scenes.

 

‘Mulaney’

 

“SNL” alum John Mulaney stars as a fictionalized version of himself in this sitcom which smacks of “Seinfeld.”

 

We think the show has great potential though. Mulaney, Nasim Pedrad and Seaton Smith have a good rapport, while Martin Short, who plays comedian/talk show host Lou Cannon, whom Mulaney writes jokes for, is hilarious.

 

‘The Flash’

 

THE FLASH
THE FLASH

Between two new superhero shows, “Gotham” and “The Flash,” we think the latter has a bigger chance of enjoying a long run like “Smallville.”

 

The super-cute Grant Gustin (“Glee”) plays the titular character in this reboot (his dad is played by John Wesley Shipp, aka the original Flash in the TV show’s first incarnation in the 1990s).

 

A freak accident involving a malfunctioning particle accelerator turns the earnest Barry Allen into a speed demon. In true “Smallville” fashion, other humans are affected by the mishap, creating meta-humans—some heroic, others mostly villainous.

 

‘Gracepoint’

 

Fans of “Doctor Who” are in for a treat as David Tennant makes his way to “Gracepoint,” which is the American adaptation of British procedural whodunit drama “Broadchurch” starring the same actor.

 

In the US version, Ellie Miller is played by “Breaking Bad’s” Anna Gunn, an emotional detective in a small town who is bypassed for a promotion that is given to outsider Emmett Carver (Tennant).

 

Murders in small towns are normally high-tension, when neighbors start becoming suspicious of each other. “Gracepoint” perfectly lays down the groundwork for the 10-part miniseries.

 

Those who’ve seen “Broadchurch” won’t feel bored by the adaptation as its showrunners promise that fans of the original will find something new to love about “Gracepoint.”

 

‘Forever’

 

“Forever” is like a mash-up of “Castle” and “Highlander,” with Ioan Gruffudd playing Dr. Henry Morgan, a seemingly immortal man who is resurrected in a body of water every time he dies.

 

The over 100-year-old Morgan works as a medical examiner in New York, while his new partner, Det. Jo Martinez (Alana de la Garza, “Law and Order,”), is the typical tough-as-nails but vulnerable investigator who uses Morgan’s Renaissance Man intelligence and knowledge to solve cases.

 

Gruffud’s beautifully clipped accent alone makes this show a must-watch, but it is ultimately his chemistry with De la Garza and his bromance with Judd Hirsch (Abe) that will keep you glued. That, and the underlying mystery of Henry Morgan’s immortality.

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