Long Story Short is a Netflix adult animated comedy-drama created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, his first new animated series since the acclaimed BoJack Horseman. Trading Hollywood satire for something more intimate, the show is a warm, melancholy, and very funny portrait of a single family told across the sweep of its members' entire lives.
The series follows the Schwooper family, jumping freely and non-chronologically through the decades, from childhood and adolescence to marriage, parenthood, and old age, so that a character might be a squabbling kid in one scene and a weary adult in the next. This restless time-hopping structure lets the show explore how families carry their history with them, how old wounds and inside jokes echo across generations, and how small moments accumulate into a life. Its voice cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Ben Feldman, Lisa Edelstein, Paul Reiser, and Nicole Byer.
Rooted in Bob-Waksberg's own Jewish American upbringing, Long Story Short earned strong reviews for balancing sharp comedy with genuine emotional depth, the same alchemy that made his previous work resonate. It is streaming on Netflix.
Christina Hawthorne is the Chief Nursing Officer at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia who is a constant advocate for her staff as well as her patients, even when it may threaten her job. When the hospital (Richmond Trinity) closes its doors the staff moves on to James River Hospital, where the working atmosphere seems brighter. Hawthorne finds she also faces extra stress due to her changing relationship with Chief of Surgery Dr. Tom Wakefield (Michael Vartan from Alias, Monster-In-Law). Seems he wants a commitment from her but she may not be ready. Nurse Hawthorne is ably played by Jada Pinkett Smith (A Different World, The Nutty Professor) who also is executive producer of the show. Pinkett had sworn off doing any more television but found this one a perfect fit and an interesting challenge. Also starring in Hawthorne are David Julian Hirsh (Lovebites, CSI: NY) as Ray Stein, RN and also Suleka Mathew from Men in Trees, The West Wing as Nurse Bobbie Jackson who is Chief Nursing Officer at James River Hospital, and Christina Moore (90210, Burn Notice) portrays Nurse Candy Sullivan.
The Surgeon, one of a series of books written by Tess Gerritsen supplied the backstory for the hot new series on TNT named Rizzoli & Isles (after the two main characters in the book). Angie Harman (Baywatch Nights, Law & Order) is a homicide detective in Boston. She finds her life in danger in the first episode when a former medical student attempts to kill her as he has several other voluptuous women. The chief Medical examiner for the state of Massachusetts is Dr. Maura Isles, played by Sasha Alexander (NCIS, Dawson's Creek). Isles is a no nonsense woman dedicated to doing her job well and due to her profession those who know her tend to call her "Queen of the Dead". Rizzoli & Isles develop a good teamwork attitude and solve crimes each week but the one that haunts them both involves Charles Hoyt, a man who was expelled from med school for fondling the female corpses. Rizzoli has scars on her hands from a time when Hoyt stabbed them with scalpels, pinning her to the floor. Hoyt's role is a recurring one so watch for more of that vile character played well by Michael Massee, an actor who plays villains particularly well.
So does that make this a reality show or a TV sitcom with a personal touch? Louis C.K. is well known in comedy circles as an award winning comedian, writer, and producer and that's what he does on his own self titled show, Louie. The show has been named on numerous top ten television show lists for 2010 and garnered Louis C.K. a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series on the Primetime Emmy Awards. Somewhat loosely based on Louis C.K.'s real life as standup comedian, Louie plays father to two girls and has occasional girl friends (referred to as playdate friends) like Pamela who keep life interesting for the world weary Louie. Look for some stand up comedy skits as well as conversations between Louie and his therapist. Not one to be bashful when it comes to treating sensitive material gingerly Louie covers a wide variety of subjects including Catholic guilt, sexual orientation, sex, depression, as well as divorce (which he is very familiar with). A comedian's life is never boring or without complications.
When Captain Jack Harkness came from Doctor Who and the 51st century he was a happy man. But circumstances such as the deaths of friends, his grandson, and a lover, Ianto Jones made him realize that life is short, and precious! John Barrowman (Desperate Housewives, Tonight's The Night) plays Harkness who's character jumped from the Doctor Who series over to Torchwood, and is joined by a talented cast plus interesting guest stars each episode. Harkness loves Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles from These Foolish Things, Doctor Who) even though she still lives with and has feelings for her husband, Rhys Williams (Kai Owen from Being Human, A Chorus of Disapproval). C. Thomas Howell, Wayne Knight, and Ernie Hudson have each participated with guest appearances on Torchwood: Miracle Day. When Rex Matheson (Mekhi Phifer from ER and Lie To Me) joins up as a CIA operative the plot thickens and the challenges become huge. Someone who faces lethal injection just will not die, and the rest of the world lives on as well. Jack Harkness himself is considered immortal since leaving the Torchwood Institute. What is there about that place that makes men immortal?
There are five Alphas who are dedicated to investigating and solving crimes, most of which have been perpetrated by other Alphas. The good Alphas work for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, a branch of the Defense Department of the U.S. The basic good guys vs bad guys premise is made more interesting with the characters involved: Dr. Lee Rosen (played by David Strathairn from The Bourne Ultimatum, We Are Marshall), who studies other Alphas in order to stop their destructive tendencies. Gary Bell (played by Ryan Cartwright from TV's Mad Men & Bones) is autistic yet has certain abilities like processing info faster than any computer. Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie from Ties That Bind Us, Malibu Shark Attack) has the power of hyperkinesis which means his brain moves quickly, processing movements so he uses his eyesight to predict trajectory. Malik Yoba (Defying Gravity, That's So Raven) is Bill Harken, FBI agent with superhuman powers. Rachel Pirzad, formerly with the CIA as a linguist, finds she has abilities to heighten each of her five senses to detect things even by their chemical compound. Rachel is played by Azita Ghanizada (Castle, Friends With Benefits). Laura Mennell (Flight 93, Watchmen) plays Nina Theroux, young woman with the ability to mentally "push" or encourage people around her into doing whatever she wishes.
It's one thing to be a member of a large traditional "cop" family but when one joins up with the Internal Affairs division of their Chicago Police Department things can become a bit unstable. Rachael Carpani (seen on TV's The Glades & True Blue) is Abby Kowalski, who moved over to IAD when a job offer to move upward in the department came about. She has designs on eventually becoming a detective. Her father is Don Kowalski (Treat Williams from 127 Hours, A Little Bit of Heaven) a sergeant with CPD who absolutely hates the idea of his little girl joining the IAD. Kathy Baker (Last Chance Harvey, Boston Public) is Sheila Kowalski, wife of Don and mother to Abby, Richie, Steve, and Donnie Kowalski. Abby Kowalski and her family squabble over the fact she has joined the IAD, seeing her as a spy and turncoat. This makes family gatherings difficult and the usual football games become a battlefield in their yard. But Abby is a dedicated police officer and still chooses to solve crimes whenever possible. This show is fast paced and has some good writing to keep it moving each week.
YouTube sensation Affion Crockett has plenty to offer in the way of comedy and uses a lot of ideas "borrowed" from Saturday Night Live as well as In Living Color to make the laughs flow. Impersonations of such notables as Dave Chappelle, Tiger Woods, and even President Barack Obama are considered spot on and they come to us weekly as the sketch comedy format that brings the laughs on quick and frequent. Guests like Damon Wayans, Jr., Russell Simmons, and Samuel L Jackson provide additional ammo to the shows format and the laughs just keep on coming! Crockett got his first notice through the media now popularly used known as YouTube and with plenty of exposure on there he now presents his brand of humor to us on television. With Jamie Foxx as producer and help from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz along with Kim and Eric Tannenbaum from Two and a Half Men there may be no stopping In the Flow with Affion Crockett now.
It must be painfully difficult to be the first eliminated on shows like Bachelor Pad! Not only is that coveted prize of $250,000 taken away but it has to be absolutely embarrassing to be booted off such a tacky show, right? Well actually this is one reality show that has something to offer in the way of entertainment quality. The competition on Bachelor Pad comes from men and women who have previously been seen on former episodes of The Bachelor as well as The Bachelorette, two other competition style reality game programs, originating on the ABC network. On Bachelor Pad each contestant casts their individual private vote for one of the other contestants. They vote for who they want to see eliminated and each week the person with the most votes will be out of the competition. And that competition can be tough! Challenges that culminate with ballroom dancing (like on Dancing With the Stars) pare down the competitors as well as dates that can drive one to distraction! Finalists either become close companions or else go their separate ways and must decide to split the prize money or share it with the others who have already been eliminated.
While the original title for Combat Hospital was The Hot Zone, and its setting is 2006 in Afghanistan, this summer fill in program is somewhat of a tribute to our fighting men and women who are over there risking their lives on a day by day basis. The war zone hospital setting was originally made popular with the series MASH (with the setting in Korea) and later with China Beach (set in Viet Nam). Combat Hospital brings the war zone closer to home with plenty of drama and scenes of bloody wounded and even more reasons to hate our enemy "over there". Starring Deborah Kara Unger (Crash, The Game) as Major Grace Pedersen, an Australian Army psychiatrist, Michelle Borth (Silent Warnings, Wonderland) portrays Major (Rebecca) Gordon, a surgeon with the Canadian Forces, and as the trauma team leader, US Army Captain Bobby Trang (played by Terry Chen from The A Team, Psych, and Tower Prep). The team of medical professionals try their best to piece the wounded back together so they can return to the battle, or send them home to mend. It's a cooperative effort among allied countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia and most of the footage has been filmed on location whenever possible.
Emma Becker (Alexandra Chando from Medium, As The World Turns) is a big hearted girl who grew up in foster homes and has nearly always had bad luck. When she finds out she has a sister that is her identical twin (Sutton Mercer also played by Chando) she must meet her and when she does discovers her sister was adopted and the parents are wealthy so her life must be ideal, right? After getting acquainted the two sisters decide to swap lives for a time and soon we see Sutton pursuing leads to find her birth mother. But when Sutton turns up missing Emma needs to find her and there comes the dilemma, whether or not to tell her folks she's been deceiving them by portraying her sister. Through the twists and turns that follow her Lying Games she and her sister will discover the truth leading up to why the had originally become separated at birth. Also starring Andy Buckley (The Other Guys, The Office) as Ted Mercer adoptive father of Sutton) and Helen Slater (City Slickers, Ruthless People) portrays Kristin Mercer, Suttons adoptive mom.