‘NCIS Hawai’i’ Gently Mixes Up a Stalwart CBS Procedural Formula: TV Review

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThe basic idea of a “Legends of the Hidden Temple” revival isn’t an offensive one.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticWhen wide-eyed, ambitious Maximo (Enrique Arrizon) looks at the gleaming pink hotel that’s overlooked Acapulco his entire life, he sees opportunities and riches he can’t get anywhere else in his town circa 1984. He sees a way out of poverty, a chance to dream, an escape from the mundane.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticAs far as hangout sitcoms go, throwing a misfit group of ghosts from completely different time periods together in one crumbling old house is a smart way to get new mileage out of a time-worn concept. It’s no wonder that CBS, by way of former “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, seized the opportunity to use this premise, which is as fantastical as it is economical.

NBC’s The Voice hit the right note with its latest episode to top Monday primetime. The singing competition series, which has regularly topped primetime since the beginning of the new season, earned a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 7.23 million viewers in its 8-10 p.m. slot, slightly up from last week’s count.

With three days of playback factored in Premiere Week rankings have shifted a bit, with a number of popular returning series getting strong lifts.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic“The Problem with Jon Stewart” opens by both hearkening back to “The Daily Show” and distancing itself from the Comedy Central show that once made Stewart an exasperated voice of reason for frustrated liberals across the country. Six years after he ceded that desk to Trevor Noah, Stewart is now coming back to television as a sort of exhausted elder statesman of late night.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThe first episode of “BMF,” Randy Huggins’ new Starz drama, sets the stage to tell the larger-than-life story of the Flenory brothers, who emerged as major players in the Detroit drug underground throughout the 1990s. Within just a few introductory scenes, “BMF” shows us Terry and Demetrius (aka “Meech”) in three different time periods as children, young adults and seasoned veterans.

NBC won Premiere Week (Sept 20-26) in total viewers and adults 18-49 based on Live+Same Day ratings. Underlining the continuing decline in live viewing, only one of the Big 4 broadcast networks cracked the 1 adults 18-49 rating and none came close to 10 million viewers.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic“La Brea” wastes no time before letting all hell break loose in its alternate version of Los Angeles, where an enormous sinkhole suddenly swallows up the La Brea Tar Pits and all the L.A. traffic surrounding it.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic“Foundation” isn’t TV’s first stab at adapting a dense, beloved book series to the screen, and it won’t be the last. But in taking on Isaac Asimov’s seminal works of science fiction, the new Apple TV Plus drama does, at least, do something rather unusual for adaptations.

Katy Perry has been reminiscing about her time in Hawaii and has shared some never-before-seen photos from her time on the island with her followers.MORE: Kelly Ripa dazzles in a whimsical dress that Katy Perry would loveOn Wednesday, the mother-of-one posted nine pictures and videos - and dazzled her 136 million followers in the process.WATCH: Katy Perry and Miranda Kerr spend the day together at new launch"Should I do the #youandiiiiiiii challenge on tiktok or na.

Mónica Marie Zorrilla “NCIS: Hawai’i” scored big for CBS on the first Monday of the fall TV season (a feat achieved even with the competition with all of the other networks back with originals and ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”) The police procedural, which stars Vanessa Lachey, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Jason Antoon, Noah Mills, Tori Anderson and Kian Talan, was the top show of the 10 p.m.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThe idea of a series starring Black characters on a historically Black, monied island that’s completely unconcerned with the white power structures beyond it is a juicy one. Created by Karin Gist of Fox’s “Star” and “Revenge,” and executive produced by Lee Daniels, “Our Kind of People” embraces its singularity.

"NCIS: Hawai’i" actress Vanessa Lachey shared a video depicting how emotional she was the day she learned she landed the leading role on the CBS procedural drama.  The latest spinoff in the "NCIS" franchise stars Lachey as Special Agent in Charge Jane Tennant, the first female Special Agent in Charge of NCIS Pearl.The character mirrors real-life in a way given that the actress is the first female to lead the franchise in her own spinoff.  Last week, Lachey took to Instagram where she shared a

Fans are only hours away from the newest NCIS series premiere, NCIS: Hawaii.

Vanessa Lachey made a fashionable arrival on the red carpet at the 2021 Emmy Awards on Sunday (September 19) at The Event Deck at L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThough “Muhammad Ali” is debuting well after “The Last Dance,” it’s hard not to think of it as a sort of spiritual prequel to ESPN’s propulsive docuseries. “The Last Dance,” which detailed the rise of Michael Jordan as both a superstar athlete and unstoppable global brand, immediately became a sensation upon its April 2020 premiere.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThere’s no joke too obvious for Diane, aka the “Chicago Party Aunt,” to make with a holler and hefty wink. In the Netflix animated show adapted from Chris Witaske’s Twitter account, Diane (Lauren Ash) is just as loud, coarse and unapologetic as the tweets that inspired her.

Vanessa Lachey is sharing her emotional response to landing a big TV role. The 40-year-old actress posted a video to Instagram on Monday that she took moments after finding out that she booked the part of Jane Tennant, Special Agent in charge of NCIS Pearl Harbor, on CBS’ “NCIS: Hawaiʻi”, which is set to premiere later this month.