You have questions. I have some answers.
Q: Is there going to be a fourth season of “Godfather of Harlem”?
A: Yes. The drama series will begin its new season on MGM+ on April 13. According to the service, “Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) continues his bloody war for control of Harlem against New York’s Mafia families, while contending with the arrival of gangster Frank Lucas (Rome Flynn). After Malcolm X’s (Jason Alan Carvell) tragic assassination, Bumpy must also grapple with his daughter Elise’s (Antionette Crowe-Legacy) involvement with the Black Panthers.”
Q: Some years ago, there was a short-lived dramatic TV series about a group of government cryptographers who intercepted and deciphered communications from terrorists planning evil things. Do you know the name of the series and if it is available anywhere to see?
A: In trying to figure this out, I was surprised to see how many cryptography shows there are. After you and I talked some, it appears that you remember “Rubicon,” a drama that originally aired on AMC for 13 episodes in 2010. It starred James Badge Dale as the leader of a group of analysts. It is available for a fee at Fandango at Home and Prime Video, and on the subscription service AMC+.
Q: I have another TV peeve to add: In action shows, where people are just beating the living hell out of someone or each other, and no one ever has a front tooth chipped … or knocked out! I have never been in a fist fight myself but have had my front two teeth damaged no less than three times in my life. Maybe, I just tend to lead with my face.
A: Besides teeth, I have seen a lot of shows where the hero gets a beating (in one recent case, by a villain smashing with a crowbar) but afterward shows little or no sign of serious injury. Maybe there’s a secret time jump from the fight to the next scene.
Q: What’s up with “FBI: International”? In its first year, agents were continually reminded they had to follow the necessary protocols of the different countries they were in even if it meant justice was not entirely served. This year suddenly it’s like “Blazing Saddles.” Just this week the FBI agent in charge of the Budapest office gunned down a corrupt Slovakian chief of police and got off scot-free without even causing an international incident! Why dumb down what was once a sophisticated and nuanced show?
A: That is not a show on my radar, so I can only guess that the series was trying to amp up the action to attract more viewers. But you may not be the only discontented viewer. Deadline.com and other news outlets have said that CBS canceled “FBI: Most Wanted” and “FBI: International.”
Those shows have good-sized audiences but Deadline.com said “CBS has had a couple of difficult renewal negotiations with the NBCUniversal studio (which helps make the “FBI” shows) over the past couple of years, with financials believed to have played a role in … (the) cancellations.”
The original “FBI” is expected back for another season. There is also a new series, “FBI: CIA,” being considered. And it’s possible the canceled “FBI” shows will be sold to another network or streamer.
Tribune News Service