Television

Home Economics

• By AC Remler
• Photo Courtesy of ABC

Three adult siblings living in very different financial situations is the premise of Home Economics, the new ABC series starring Topher Grace. Grace plays Tom, an Ivy League-educated struggling author who’s secretly writing his next book about his offbeat family that includes wealthy youngest brother Connor (Jimmy Tatro) living in Matt Damon’s old mansion and middle sister Sarah (Caitlin McGee), who is married to a teacher (Sasheer Zamata). Setting the comedic stage for family mayhem, Connor reveals his wife has left him and Sarah’s just been laid off from her job. Grace, an extremely versatile actor whose credits range from That 70s Show to BlacKkKlansman, could easily play his character with over-the-top pretentiousness. Instead, his deadpan delivery of hysterical one-liners land without over complication. Blockhead Connor is likeable despite his one-percent status, and Sarah struggles with the usual middle child complex of never thinking she’s being taken seriously enough.

The thing about Home Economics is that following a year of stress and uncertainty, we can all lean into a sitcom this funny, easy and familiar. It helps they all seem to care about each other. I’ve always liked to call Grace, the actor who would be Hanks, because he’s smart, self-deprecating, and just so darned accessible. While this project likely won’t be that vehicle, it’s enjoyable to watch just the same.

The series airs Wednesdays on ABC. For more, click here.

GAME CHANGERS

• By ALEX BROWN
• Photo Courtesy of DISNEY+

I was so delighted and excited when I heard Disney-Plus was getting every kid’s favorite hockey-team back together in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.

When we first met the team in 1992, they were a rag-tag bunch of misfits badly in need of some coaching, some discipline and maybe a little bit of luck. For those less rink-inclined, think the Bad News Bears on ice. After the mentoring of one Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez, reprising his role in the new series) and three films, the Ducks grew to be the little team that could. Flash forward 20 years and things are a bit different.

Now the team to beat, the 2021 Mighty Ducks are all-state champs and an elite squad of young players. When Evan Morrow (newcomer Brady Noon) is cut from the way-too-serious team, his mother Alex (Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls) sets out to form a new squad, and to show a pack of rabid hockey moms and dads that fun and comradery are just as important as winning.

Lighthearted, charming and full of nostalgic fun, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers on Disney-Plus helps us all remember what it was like to be a kid, without the need for a helmet, stick or blades.

For more, click here.

GIRLS5EVA

• By RICH ANDREW
• Photo Courtesy of PEACOCK

Show creator Meredith Scardino (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) is doling out our first dose of summer fun with her latest comedy series Girls5eva. The girls in question are a group of five pop princesses who had their moment in the ‘90s until their fifteen minutes fizzled out after only one hit. Twenty years later, these has-beens are about to have their ordinary lives and ordinary jobs blown up when a young rapper samples their song, and suddenly the spotlight returns to offer them another shot at ultimate stardom. As if it wasn’t fun enough to watch forty-something women rekindle their fabulosity and dance their way back to the destiny they deserve, the show serves up even juicier drama when only four out of the five girls choose to reunite for their comeback tour. Now older, wiser, yet still desperate to become the mega-pop sensation they never were, these women will have to learn how to live out their dreams without leaving behind the reality of their ordinary lives held together by husbands and kids. With a star-studded cast that features the vocal talents of Sara Bareilles (Little Voice), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), Paula Pell (A.P. Bio), Busy Philipps (Search Party), Ashley Park (Emily in Paris), Jeremiah Craft (Luke Cage), and Jayson Wesley (The Equalizer), Girls5eva hits all the right notes.

“Girls5eva” premieres May 6th.

Big Shot

• By Kenne Hoffman
• Photo Courtesy of Disney+

If there is a male version of America’s Sweetheart it would have to be John Stamos, a staple of feel-good television shows for decades. Stamos returns to the small screen in ABC Signature’s new series Big Shot, now streaming on Disney+. Stamos, who is a classic triple threat (actor, singer, and dancer) landed his first role in 1982 as Blackie Parrish on General Hospital for which he received an Emmy Award nomination.  He has enjoyed a busy career in film, onstage, and on television (who could forget Uncle Jessie in Full House?).

Big Shot, which dropped in late April, stars Stamos alongside Yvette Nicole Brown (Community) and Jessalyn Gilsig (Boston Public). It focuses on the ups and downs of a hot-tempered former NCAA basketball coach (Stamos) and follows the adventures of the high school team he now coaches. The 10-episode series tells the story of his efforts to realign his coaching tactics for a team of teenage girls while exploring second chances and self-growth. Big Shot features an ensemble cast of extremely talented up-and-coming actors including Richard Robichaux, Sophia Mitri Schloss, Nell Verlaque, Tiana Le, Monique Green, Tisha Eve Custodio, and Cricket Wampler. Stamos was excited to work with favorite award-winning producer David E. Kelley (Big Sky, Big Little Lies, Boston Legal) until he found out it was a show about basketball … as he is admittedly bad at sports!

For more, click here.