The TV Column

ABC offers country music fans a 3-hour party

With almost seven weeks to go before the new fall season kicks in, network TV is looking for summer filler. ABC has gone country.

CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock fills all three hours of prime time on ABC today, airing from 7 to 10 p.m.

The annual event was filmed in Nashville, Tenn., over four days in June and boiled down to tonight's special. Hosting once again is Little Big Town.

Founded in 1998, Little Big Town consists of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet. The group, which specializes in sweet four-part harmony, has had to cancel appearances since late June to allow Westbrook to heal from vocal cord surgery.

The group's single, "Girl Crush," has topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for three months. The break-up ballad, the second single off the album Pain Killer, was initially pulled in a couple of markets because of a perceived gay theme.

In fact, the ground covered is familiar country music territory -- heartbreak and jealously over some guy dumping a girl for a hot blonde. The "controversy" vanished when those who were complaining actually bothered to listen the lyrics.

Westbrook may be out at the moment, but the group was in fine form for the festival and we'll get to see that tonight.

Little Big Town is just one of many acts performing. Others taking the stage will be (in alphabetical order) Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Randy Houser and Sam Hunt.

Also up are Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Maddie & Tae, Kip Moore, Rascal Flatts, Thomas Rhett, Darius Rucker, Cole Swindell, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Chris Young and Zac Brown Band.

Ovalkommen. That's the Swedish word for unwelcome, and that's what NBC has decided Welcome to Sweden is.

The network pulled the plug on the international production two weeks into its second season. The reason: Nobody was watching the comedy. Or at least not enough to justify keeping the lights on.

The first season started out with a respectable 3.51 million viewers and dropped steadily to 1.53 million. Season 2 was down to 1.12 million when the series was yanked.

Guest appearances by Amy Poehler, Aubrey Plaza, Neve Campbell, Jason Priestley, Jack Black and Paul Simon weren't enough to save the show.

The comedy, created by and starring Greg Poehler, and based on his real-life experiences, numbers among its eight (count 'em) executive producers Greg's sister, Amy (Parks and Recreation).

Hollywood Game Night will fill the Sunday night void and NBC will eventually burn off the remaining episodes, maybe Saturdays or online, where they can do no harm.

Louganis doc. Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis, 55, stars in Back on Board for HBO. The biographical documentary airs at 9 p.m. today and will repeat many times in coming days.

Many viewers already will be familiar with Louganis' story. Adopted before he was a year old, Louganis was shy and bullied as a child. He turned to diving as an outlet.

Louganis won silver at the 1976 Olympics, missed the 1980 Moscow games due to the U.S. boycott, and won the gold medal in the '84 and '88 games. He is still the only male diver to win in two consecutive Olympics.

Fame and fortune, however, eluded him. Looking back, it may have been that although friends and insiders knew he was gay, Louganis was still in the closet.

The documentary covers some of Louganis' admitted poor choices in the early years, including his "roommate," Jim Babbitt, who was also his business manager and controller of Louganis' finances.

Babbitt died of AIDS-related causes in 1989; Louganis tested positive for HIV shortly after Babbitt became ill. How he overcame that adversity and emerged a better man is at the heart of the documentary.

"I always wondered what happened to Greg Louganis," director Cheryl Furjanic says in HBO press material. "When we first approached him, we had no idea that we would find him facing such difficulties. During the three years we spent making this film, one thing that became clear is Greg's resilience."

Adds writer-producer Will Sweeney, "Greg's story is connected to so many important moments in American history, including the Olympics, the AIDS epidemic, the gay rights movement and even the recent home-foreclosure crisis. Greg's return to diving to mentor the Olympic team gave us a natural way to tell his unique story and explore his enduring legacy."

About the film, Louganis says, "At times, it's awkward and a little bit embarrassing to reveal so much of myself -- it's a true documentary. I am honored and humbled to share my story."

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Style on 08/04/2015

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