Matt Buckler: Cuomo back in the game on NewsNation

Oct. 4—Chris Cuomo said Monday that he is not the same TV anchor that he was before he was fired by CNN last December.

Cuomo made his long-awaited debut on "NewsNation" and vowed to his viewers that the show won't be the same old, same old.

"I've been humbled by what has happened but I am also hungry to do better in a way that I've never done before," Cuomo said at the start of his new show. "So this show is going to be different from what I have done in the past because I'm different."

It's difficult to see how Cuomo could change that much. When he had his CNN show, he was a very opinionated interviewer and it's difficult to think that layer of his personality is going to change.

But he says it won't be a typical news show. Considering he's on a fledgling network, Cuomo will be forced to shake things up to get viewers to notice him. He needs to be different.

Florida followup

While Hurricane Ian is no longer the lead story in the late local newscasts — a shooting in Hartford over a car-jacking gone bad took over that distinction — videos of the storm's destruction are still making the rounds.

WVIT-TV30 sent reporter Siobahn McGirl to the Naples-Fort Myers, Florida area to talk to former state residents who now live in Florida.

The pictures were not pretty. especially those of a home owned by a Stamford resident whose living room is covered in dirt and mud.

McGirl's coverage reminded us one more time what a vicious hit many Florida residents were forced to take.

WFSB-TV3 and reporter Eliza Kruczynski had an exclusive report about the investigation into the death of an Enfield man almost two months ago.

The man was disabled and also was homeless at the time of his death.

The man's daughter was interviewed on two issues. One was there are questions how the man died. And the other was that not enough is being done to assist the disabled.

Expect more information to be dug up in the future.

More 'Moonlighting?'

For several seasons during the '80s, "Moonlighting" was the most talked about show on television.

It had just about everything — two popular lead actors, Cybil Shepherd and Bruce Willis, comedy, drama, romance — there was no show like it on television.

Every episode generated water cooler conversation the following day — the show was hotter than a sunspot.

Just as quickly as the show climbed in the ratings — it finished ninth in its third season — the show suffered from Nielsen burnout.

Willis wanted a movie career and Shepherd, who had given birth to twins, didn't appreciate the grueling hours on the set.

The ratings went downhill in a hurry and the show was canceled after five seasons. One of the most renowned romantic couples in TV history did not stand the test of time.

There is a buzz, however, surrounding "Moonlighting" again. Glenn Caron, who produced many of the original episodes, is saying an announcement about the show will be made Wednesday.

Speculation already has started. The show could be revised on either Disney + or Hulu. Or Disney could just show the reruns — they have been unavailable because of contractual issues. Since these episodes haven't been seen in more than 30 years, the show would be available to a brand new audience.

Reruns may be the better option. It would be difficult to find two actors who had the charisma that Willis and Shepherd had. They were the show — ABC had captured lightning in a bottle and once the bottle shattered, there was no way to put it back together.

Maybe, however, Caron knows something that we don't. Will the Blue Moon detective agency be re-opening for business?

It could. But recapturing the magic of the '80s more than 30 years later would almost be impossible.

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Matt Buckler is television and radio editor of the Journal Inquirer.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.