Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Catch a rising star on Disney’s K.C. Undercover
Sometimes during these slow weeks of summer, I enjoy wandering up the digital dial in search for shows I don’t normally watch.
I know there are plenty of readers who enjoy camping out on, say, TBS and watching the nightly reruns of Friends, Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond. But when you’ve seen each episode a halfdozen times and can recite the dialogue along with the actors, it might be time to be adventurous and sample something new.
Disney Channel has a fun one you probably don’t know about. K.C. Undercover returns for Season 3 at 7 p.m. Friday. Give it a try and see if you don’t find it amusing.
Added bonus: It’s family friendly. You can watch it with your preteen and not worry something untoward is going to pop up.
The spy comedy/action series stars 21-year-old mononymously billed Zendaya (full name Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman) as tomboy K.C. Cooper. K.C.’s mouthful of a full name is Katrina Charlotte Coretta Scott Cooper.
Trivia: Zendaya’s paternal grandparents were from Arkansas. Her father is Kazembe Ajamu, born Samuel David Coleman in California.
Viewers may recognize Zendaya from her time on Disney’s Shake It Up! and Season 16 of Dancing With the Stars. She was only 16 for DWTS, the youngest contestant to participate at the time. She earned runner-up.
Also, Zendaya co-stars in Spider-Man: Homecoming (which opens Friday) opposite a slew of big-name actors. She’s a young actress/singer/ dancer on the rise.
But before Zendaya gets too big for the small screen, you can catch her as K.C. Cooper, a blackbelt high school math whiz who is living a double life as an international undercover spy.
In fact, all the Coopers are spies. Parents Craig and Kira (Kadeem Hardison, Tammy Townsend) are seasoned veterans, and K.C.’s geeky younger brother, Ernie (Kamil McFadden), is the team computer ace.
The Coopers have a humanoid robot named Judy (Trinitee Stokes) that helps on missions. The unfiltered Judy is still learning how to demonstrate human emotions.
And, of course, every teen hero needs a best friend and confidante. In this series, that’s the spunky Marisa (Veronica Dunne), who helps K.C. with the mundane challenges of being a teenager. That includes, according to Disney, “matters of the heart.”
This being Disney, you know any matters of the heart will be really chaste.
In Friday’s episode, “Coopers on the Run,” K.C., her family and Marisa are on the run from archenemy Zane Willis (Francois Chau) when they must take on yet another spy, the fierce and bizarre enemy agent Sheena (China Anne McClain).
Best of the best. Balloting for this year’s Emmy nominations has closed and we’ll find out with the big reveal on July 13. The winners will be unveiled Sept. 17 on CBS.
Meanwhile, my professional organization, the Television Critics Association, has completed nominations for the 33rd annual TCA Awards. They will be presented Aug. 5 during the TCA Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills.
FX’s Atlanta, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and NBC’s This Is Us each earned four nominations. The Handmaid’s Tale is Hulu’s first TCA nomination. Are these three among your favorite shows?
As has been the trend for a number of years, the critics, who watch TV for a living, find the best stuff on cable and the streaming services. HBO has 12 nominations, FX has 11 and Netflix has 10. Broadcast networks are few and far between.
The most prestigious award, Program of the Year, has an interesting variety of nominations this year. They are Atlanta, FX; Big Little Lies, HBO; Stranger Things, Netflix; The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu; The Leftovers, HBO; and This Is Us, NBC.
Others nominations include:
Drama: Better Call Saul, AMC; Stranger Things, Netflix; The Americans, FX (2015 and 2016 winner); The Crown, Netflix; The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu; This Is Us, NBC.
Comedy: Atlanta, FX; black-ish, ABC (2016 winner); Fleabag, Amazon; Master of None, Netflix; The Good Place, NBC; Veep, HBO.
Most of my nominations made the list, but where are such popular shows as NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, Empire and How to Get Away With Murder? Remember that the nominations were made by 220 jaded professional TV writers who are usually looking for the next big thing and watch way too much TV to be healthy.
Downward Dog. ABC has canceled the freshman series starring Allison Tolman. She was nominated for a 2015 Emmy for her role on the FX series Fargo, but her series with a talking dog was barking up the wrong tree.