Television

CHICAGO – We didn’t see this one coming. Starz has canceled their most highly-acclaimed drama “Boss,” starring Kelsey Grammer, Golden Globe-winner less than a year ago. The show had a number of critics on its side but the ratings never matched the press and Starz has decided not to re-elect the program for a third year.

CHICAGO – There was a time when I actually considered how great the “Entourage” complete series set would be one day. In the show’s prime, this comedy about the intersection of friendship and fame was brilliant. Carried by stellar performances from Jeremy Piven and Kevin Dillon, the great years of this show nearly justify the purchase of “Entourage: The Complete Series.” Just ignore how drastically the program went downhill in later years.

CHICAGO – The great Anthony Bourdain, who entertained viewers for seasons with his foodie adventures around the world on “No Reservations,” has altered his recipe a bit for The Travel Channel’s “The Layover with Anthony Bourdain,” which returns tonight for a second season premiere which finds the chef/personality spending 43 hours in our favorite city in the world, Chicago.

CHICAGO – I wasn’t a big fan of “Last Man Standing” when it premiered over a year ago but it looks like a landmark program when compared to the vastly inferior new sitcom with which it has been paired, the new “Malibu Country” with Reba (who apparently goes by one name now) and Lily Tomlin. Both shows hearken back to the old-fashioned TGIF brand of programming, complete with laugh tracks and borderline offensive cliches.

CHICAGO – Two comedies that were on the bubble of cancellation just a few months ago are being thrown into the deep end on Tuesday nights by ABC, starting tonight.

CHICAGO – Alfred Hitchcock is inarguably one of the most important and influential directors in the history of cinema. There’s no debate or controversy regarding his agreed-upon genius. However, fans of films like “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” “Vertigo,” and “The Birds” may not know that Hitch had a much darker side behind the camera.

CHICAGO – What do a multi-year procedural like “Bones,” a tragically canceled show like “Alcatraz,” and a struggling new show like “Touch” share other than the fact that you’ll find their most recent (or only) seasons the New Release shelf at your DVD & Blu-ray store? Not much other than the fact that all three are strong examples of how FOX has had difficulty finding an identity in recent years.

CHICAGO – When we got to the end of FX’s excellent “American Horror Story” and nearly all of the characters were dead, a natural question arose — what the Hell do they do for season two? Welcome to “American Horror Story: Asylum,” a completely new tale with some of the same ensemble from the first season but a new setting, new characters, and new story but the same goal — to rattle your senses and put you on edge in the middle of the week.

CHICAGO – I really like Mamie Gummer, not only the daughter of our best living actress (Meryl Streep) but an increasingly interesting performer in her own right. Her charisma and ability kept me in a position where I was trying to make excuses for the poorly written, poorly directed, poorly conceived “Emily Owens, M.D.,” premiering tonight on The CW.

CHICAGO – I heard a chorus of complaints during the second season of AMC’s mega-hit “The Walking Dead” regarding the program’s pace and how it got weighed down by the soap opera involving Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and Shane (Jon Bernthal).