CBS under fire for lack of diversity, again
‘Young Sheldon’ star acts older than he looks
The following are highlights from the Television Critics Association’s summer preview of upcoming shows.
BEVERLY HILLS CBS, the mostwatched TV network, again found itself on the defensive Tuesday, when critics noted its slow progress on broadening the types of faces in its shows.
Its drama Hawaii Five-0 lost Asian-American stars Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim in June after a pay dispute.
CBS took heat last year when the six new shows in its fall lineup were led by white men. Since then, it added diverse actors to returning series, but it lags behind its broadcast rivals on diversity. Apart from
S.W.A.T., which stars black actor Shemar Moore, all of its new shows for this fall also are led by whites, and none by women.
“We can debate ... the pace of the change, but there is change,” said new CBS Entertainment chief Kelly Kahl, adding the number of diverse characters on its shows is up 60%. – Gary Levin THE ‘TREK’ TO PEACE IS ROCKY
Star Trek: Discovery, the latest edition of the sci-fi franchise, will premiere Sept. 24 (8:30 ET/PT) on CBS, allowing it to lure broadcast network viewers. Then it will move to digital-subscription streaming service CBS All Access, for 14 remaining episodes.
The series centers on First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin- Green) and aspires to the kind of peaceful society envisioned but not always achieved in the original series — or in the real world, Martin- Green said.
“While we are in a more utopian society in Star Trek, in our iteration there’s a conflict,” both inner and external, in terms of war, she said. “We ask those deeply profound questions: Who am I and who are you ... and how do we relate to each other without me dominating you or you dominating me?” – Bill Keveney SHELDON MEETS HIS MINI-ME In Young Sheldon, due Sept. 25, the 9-year-old version of The Big
Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) is growing up in Texas in 1989 and has “not yet be- come cynical,” says Chuck Lorre, executive producer of both comedies.
Lorre and Big Bang star Jim Parsons, who narrates as the adult Sheldon, say Armitage ( Big
Little Lies) was a natural for the title role.
Parsons marveled at Armitage’s composure. “We have a lot more in common now than I would have had at the same age. I wasn’t mature enough at 9.” – Bill Keveney REMINI JOINS WAITING GAME CBS comedy Kevin Can Wait, which fired Erinn Hayes at the end of last season, is killing off her character and will fast-forward nine months or so when it returns Sept. 25.
Hayes’ exit paved the way for Leah Remini, who paired with
Kevin star Kevin James on CBS’ long-running The King of Queens, to reunite permanently after she guest-starred in two May episodes. – Gary Levin