Hulu makes strong series showing this month
Following the critical success of the Emmy-winning “The Handmaid’s Tale” and the more recent departures of top executives at Amazon’s streaming video service, Hulu finds itself with wind in its sails.
While Netflix remains larger (with about 50 million subscribers), Hulu (with 12 million subscribers) earned bragging rights in September when it became the first streamer to win an Emmy Award in the best series (drama) category.
With Amazon in reset mode, it’s worth checking in on the newest Hulu entries “Future Man,” “Marvel’s Runaways” and “There’s Johnny.”
‘There’s Johnny’
Easily the least heralded of Hulu’s new series for November, “There’s Johnny” may be its best effort of the month.
A period comedy set in the early 1970s, “There’s Johnny” follows 19-year-old Nebraskan Andy Klavin (Ian Nelson, “Teen Wolf”) who winds up working as a low-level assistant on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”
“There’s Johnny” is set behind-the-scenes at “The Tonight Show” where a young producer (Jane Levy, “Suburgatory”) and a room full of writers scramble to bring the latenight show to life.
Carson is shown in clips from the actual “Tonight Show,” but no one plays Carson. He’s never shown behindthe-scenes although occasionally viewers see other producers talking to Carson with the camera perched over Carson’s shoulder to avoid showing him.
“There’s Johnny,” available Thursday, began its life as an original series for streaming service Seeso. When NBCUniversal shut down Seeso this summer, “Johnny” found a new home at Hulu.
Co-created by Paul Reiser (”Mad About You”) and David Steven Simon (”The Wayans Bros.”), there’s a warmth to the “There’s Johnny” pilot that’s extremely appealing, especially in an era of cold, cynical comedies.
More dramedy than laugh out loud comedy, “There’s Johnny” also benefits from some terrific supporting players, including Tony Danza as longtime “Tonight Show” executive producer Fred de Cordova.
‘Future Man’
Merry comedy mayhem makers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (”Sausage Party,” “This is the End”) are behind this frequently juvenile
comedy about a janitor (Josh Hutcherson, “The Hunger Games”) who scores well enough on a video game that he’s recruited by visitors from the future (Eliza Coupe, Derek Wilson) to prevent the extinction of humanity.
If that sounds a lot like “The Last Starfighter,” “Future Man” laughs off the similarities in the script by series creators Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir.
The pilot for “Future Man,” available Tuesday, takes a little too long to get to the show’s premise — viewers offended by the profane be advised: there are a lot of f-bombs — but “Future Man” is funny enough in its meta commentary on media culture that it’s sure to appeal to the young male audience it targets.
There’sno dearth of comic book-inspired TV series these days and yet “Marvel’s Runaways,” available on Hulu Nov. 21, works well despite the ubiquity of the genre. That’s thanks largely to executive producers Josh Schwartzand Stephanie Savage, who know their way around creating teen characters and drama from their past work on “The O.C.” and “GossipGirl.”
In “Runaways” a disparate group of high schoolers discover their parents are part of an evil secret society. And some of the kids have superpowers, too.
The first two “Runaways” episodes offer an organized introduction to the kids — from jock to religious zealot — and their more intriguing parents in an entertaining enough fashion to make the show recommendable to anyone who hasn’t overdosed on comic book-based series already.
Local in ‘Road Home’
Hill District native Carter Redwood, a CAPA Pittsburgh graduate and a 2014 grad of Carnegie Mellon University’s drama program, is among the stars of National Geographic Channel’s “The Long Road Home” (10 p.m. Tuesdays).
Mr. Redwood, who previously had guest spots on “Blue Bloods” and “The Good Wife,” plays medic Pedro Guzman in each episode of the eight-part limited series that’s based on the Martha Raddatz book about one day in 2004 during the Iraq War. Mr. Redwood will next appear in a recurring role in the midseason NBC series “Rise.”
Channel surfing
Prior to its return on Science Channel next week (9 p.m. Wednesday), the season premiere of the new iteration of “Mythbusters” will be screened at the Carnegie Science Center at 3 p.m. Saturday and 12 and 3 p.m. Sunday. The screenings are free with paid museum admission. … 1990 Quaker Valley High School grad Wentworth Miller will depart his role as Capt. Cold on The CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow” and “The Flash” sometime this season. ... Showtime renewed “Shameless” for a ninth season. ... The CW ordered nine more episodes Lisa Rose/Hulu of its “Dynasty” reboot but won’t extend low-rated military drama “Valor.” ... Following Sunday’s fall finale, the rest of the first season of CBS All Access’ “Star Trek: Discovery” will roll out at 8:30 p.m. Sundays beginning Jan. 7.
Tuned In online
Today’s TV Q&A column responds to questions about “House of Cards,” “Poldark” and matching news anchor wardrobes. This week’s Tuned In Journal includes posts on “The Long Road Home.” Read online-only TV content at communityvoices.post-gazette.
This week’s podcast includes conversation about “SMILF,” “Alias Grace” and what’s piling up unwatched on our DVRs. Subscribe or listen to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette podcasts at iTunes or at /soundcloud.com/pittsburghpg.