Ask our TV critic anything, get your answers on Facebook Live
USA TODAY's Critic's Corner chat takes place Monday afternoons, when we talk TV with fans.
Critic Robert Bianco is taking the summer off. He'll return in September, but the chat continues with Kelly Lawler filling in. Chatters should visit the USA TODAY Life page on Facebook at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, when Kelly will be answering questions live. However, you may email early questions to askbianco@usatoday.com or submit questions below ahead of time, starting at 8 a.m. ET/ 5 a.m. PT Mondays.
We will continue to accept early questions submitted via Twitter. Tweet your early questions to @klawls.Kelly will then include selected Twitter questions in the live video chat on Mondays at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT at facebook.com/usatodaylife. Remember, Twitter questions are subject to the 140-character limit. If your question is longer than that, tell us how many Tweets to look for. (1/3, 2/3, 3/3, etc.)
Watch Kelly answer reader questions at the USA TODAY Life page on Facebook when the chat returns at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT Mondays.
Here are recent questions and answers:
I just read that Downward Dog has been canceled. Once again, I beg the question: Why do inane laugh-track shows get renewed (too many to list) and thoughtful, creative shows get prematurely axed?
I'm also quite broken up about Downward Dog, which was a surprisingly insightful and affecting show, especially since it revolved around a talking dog. But I would say that it's not that all multi-camera sitcoms (shows with laugh tracks filmed in front of an audience) get renewed while all single-camera shows (filmed, like Dog, without an audience) get canceled. The Carmichael Show, a really excellent multi-camera show that often spoke to serious and social issues, was just canceled by NBC after three seasons. It all comes down to money, and ratings and acclaim aren't the only factors in a series' renewal or cancellation anymore. A multi-cam show like The Big Bang Theory gets renewed because it's still raking in ratings and money for CBS.
How do you feel about Steve Harvey's many shows? I do like them, but on some, the producers constantly keep showing his response to the acts ... I want to see the act, not just so much of his reaction.
I'm not a huge fan of Steve Harvey in general, in part because when he hosts anything it becomes more about him than anything else. But that is a big part of his brand and appeal to his loyal fans. It's not Funderdome, it's Steve Harvey's Funderdome, for instance. If you're looking for a game show or a reality show that focuses more on the performers, I'd recommend America's Got Talent if you like singers and other weird acts or American Ninja Warrior if you like athletics. Both shows tend to focus more on the story and accomplishments of the contestants.
Will wrestling fans like Netflix's GLOW?
They absolutely will. Wrestling is a cheesy sport with dedicated fans, but there are still plenty of people who don't understand what makes it so special. GLOW creators Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch (Nurse Jackie) are among the former. The show never makes fun of the wrestlers it depicts, although some of them take longer than others to come around to the idea of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling league. Wrestling, in all its stages, celebrated repeatedly, and even for someone like me who has never really gotten into it before, is so much fun to watch. I've also heard from die-hard wrestling fans that the moves depicted are realistic for the time period and the storylines and characters are true to what used to air.
What happened to I'm Dying Up Here? It's terrible!
I never thought I'm Dying Up Here, a Showtime series about comedians trying to make it in the 1970s comedy club scene, was great to begin with. It's a drama that deals with darkest parts of trying to make it as a performer, and sometimes that includes poverty, drug abuse and serious mental-health problems. If you were intrigued by the first few episodes, the persistent melancholy can start to get depressing as the season progresses. Things are pretty bleak, and at least in the first six episodes, they don't get much lighter. This might be one of the shows where the format (hour-long drama) and subject matter (the comedy world) just don't quite mesh.