How about a little comedy/drama, some reboot drama, and a trip down memory lane? Once again, TV demonstrates it has something for just about everybody.
• Life Sentence debuts at 8 p.m. Wednesday on The CW. The comedy/drama stars Lucy Hale, best known as Aria Montgomery, the prettiest and littlest liar in Freeform's (formerly ABC Family) long-running Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017).
In Life Sentence, the waifish 28-year-old Memphis native with the Margaret Keane-esque eyes plays Stella Abbott, a young woman who has spent eight years dying with terminal cancer and trying to squeeze the most out of each day like the "manic pixie dream girls in her favorite sappy cancer movies."
Her parents and siblings have done their best to protect her and allow her to get the most out of the time she has left. That includes a whirlwind trip to Paris where she falls in love with and marries Wes (Elliot Knight) with the belief they have maybe eight months left.
Stella and Wes have "the sexiest marriage ever," with passionate, candlelit romance every night that leaves them panting with exhaustion.
Then, suddenly, Stella's doctor informs her that the experimental treatment has worked. She is not just in remission, she's cured. Stella has been sentenced to life, not death.
Now what?
Stella's first shock is that her parents, Peter (Dylan Walsh) and Ida (Gillian Vigman), have fallen out of love. College professor Peter spent all their savings ensuring Stella could enjoy her final years, and Ida has decided she's bisexual and has begun an affair with Stella's godmother, Poppy (Claudia Rocafort).
Stella's sister, Elizabeth (Brooke Lyons), gave up her own dreams to take care of Stella and start a family early with her husband Darrius (Carlos PenaVega). And Stella's seriously slacker brother, Aiden (Jayson Blair), has deferred growing up in order to dally with soccer moms.
Now faced with a lifelong commitment, Wes begins to doubt he can continue to pretend being the perfect husband. And just how well do these two lovebirds really know each other?
Drama ensues. Delightful drama.
At its core, Life Sentence is a fast-paced, multi-generational coming-of-age saga that should prove to be inspiring. Hale shines in her role and is backed by a top-notch ensemble. Check it out.
• Heathers was originally set to premiere at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Paramount Network. The network, gauging the public mood, changed its mind late last week.
Paramount is billing the hourlong black comedy as "a modern-day reimagining of the 1988 cult classic film" that starred Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty.
Having seen the pilot, I concluded the series was trying way too hard to be hip and cutting edge in order to entice a younger audience. There is gratuitous casual sex, casual coarse language and, of course, violence.
But that was the point. The film and the series dealt with the dark side of high school and that, evidently, was a problem for Paramount in the wake of the Feb. 14 school massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
After weighing their options for two and a half weeks, Paramount came up with this statement on delaying the premiere:
"Paramount Network's original series Heathers is a satirical comedy that takes creative risks in dealing with many of society's most challenging subjects ranging from personal identity to race and socio-economic status to gun violence.
"While we stand firmly behind the show, in light of the recent tragic events in Florida and out of respect for the victims, their families and loved ones, we feel the right thing to do is delay the premiere until later this year."
There you have it. Paramount wants a decent amount of time to pass before proceeding with its "creative risks."
• Mister Rogers: It's You I Like, 7 to 8:30 p.m. today on AETN. The documentary is 58 minutes long and the time slot is 90 minutes. You know what that means. Get out your checkbooks.
Host Michael Keaton joins celebrities, including Judd Apatow, Joyce DiDonato, Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Kratt, John Lithgow, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Sarah Silverman, Esperanza Spalding and Caroll Spinney, along with Rogers' widow, Joanne, as they reveal their favorite memories from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. The series premiered nationally 50 years ago.
Aside: I chatted with Rogers for about 10 minutes in 1997 when the Television Critics Association honored him with our lifetime achievement award. I found him as gracious in person as he was slipping into his cardigan and sneakers. I wanted to be his neighbor.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email: mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 03/06/2018