Your Television Premiere Dates for the Week of April 11 - 17, 2016

NEWS

FYI cancelled ‘Kocktails With Khloe’ and the world is better for it. Look for the finale episode of this primetime talk-fest to air on April 20.




PREMIERE DATES

Monday, April 11
- ‘The Detour’ debuts on TBS at 9pm. It’s about a family on vacation. TBS believes they’re “very funny”, but their track record hasn’t proven that. My advice… Turn around and forget ‘The Detour’.
- ‘Hunters’ debuts on SyFy at 10pm. Based on Whitley Strieber’s novel ‘Alien Hunter’, it centers around the disappearance of a decorated Philadelphia policeman’s wife.

Tuesday, April 12
- ‘The Mindy Project’ is back from it’s midseason hiatus on Hulu with all new weekly episodes.
- NBC has a sneak preview of ‘Game Of Silence’ for you at 10pm. Five childhood friends reunite and they have a secret from days gone by… blah, blah, blah. Based on a Turkish series. Regular day and time begins on April 14 at 10pm.

Wednesday, April 13
- ‘Strong’ is a new reality competition series with 10 of America’s best trainers work with people that have “potential”. This sneak preview airs at 9pm with it’s regular time/day April 14 at 8pm.

Thursday, April 14
- ‘Strong’ time slot debut at 8pm on NBC.
- ‘American Grit’ debuts at 9pm on FOX. It’s a reality competition series hosted by Professional Wrestler John Cena.
- Season 4 of ‘Orphan Black’ drops on BBC America at 10pm.
- ‘Game Of Silence’ time slot debut at 10pm on NBC.

Friday, April 15
- ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ is back for a second season on Netflix. This made my Top 5 Best New Shows of 2015 and I will be all over this one.
- ‘Thunderbirds Are Go’ is a remake of the 1960s British TV series that mixes CGI and live-acton model sets. This series reboot is on Amazon.

Sunday, April 17
- Season 2 of ‘Good Witch’ drops on Hallmark at 9pm.



NETFLIX

Monday, April 11
- Season 2 ‘TURN: Washington’s Spies’

Tuesday, April 12
- Season 1 ‘AJIN’

Friday, April 15
- Season 3 ‘Cuckoo’

Various Artists 'TeeVee Toons Presents Television's Greatest Hits'

We’re counting down my Top 5 Best New Shows of 2015 and my number two is a half-hourish comedy from Netflix… ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’!

Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is a naïve woman rescued from a Doomsday cult. She decides that she’s going to live in New York City where she meets up with new roommate Titus (Titus Burgess). Titus wants to be the next Broadway star. There’s also the landlady Lillian (Carol Kane) who is a running gag of nuts and Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) who is way too privileged to even identify with the common folk.

The show’s theme song is unforgettable, annoying, and yet hard to keep from singing over and over… Dammit.

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ was passed over at the last minute by NBC and Netflix picked up this comedy gem. Personally, I don’t think it would have pulled in the millions needed to keep it alive on NBC so I’m grateful to Netflix. The comedy is too smart for the over-the-air broadcast television masses. It moves to rapid and requires the viewer to actually no a little something about pop culture.

The great thing about Kimmy is that she’s still the naïve 15 year old that was tucked away in the Doomsday shelter. She’s still wide-eyed and easily impressed. She’s the perfect fish-out-of-water type of character with a massive amount of optimism that makes ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ so damn likable.

Titus is hilarious in overdrive. I mean, who can forget “Pinot Noir”?

Carol Kane is oddly funny as the landlady with the left out of field inappropriate comments.

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ is a rapid fire comedy that will please anyone with the tiniest of funny bones. Some of the funniest moments come when the show skewers Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden, the lead prosecutors in the OJ Simpson case. And then there’s the unforgettable crashing of an Asian funeral where Titus sings a Boys II Men song.

If they’re not laughing, they’re dead. And that’s all it is to it.

For some reason, the links to the YouTube vids aren't working. So just copy and paste in your browser. Yeah, it may be over my simple-minded head.

Unforgettable ear-worm of an opening theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIdFa1qLgNQ

Pinot Noir. 'Nuff said. Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6yttOfIvOw