Q: We just finished watching the series "Modern Love," on Amazon Prime. We loved it! Will there be another season?

A: Another season of the anthology inspired by the New York Times' column on love and romance has been ordered. "It's a show with so much emotion and warmth — every episode touches the heart in a different way," an Amazon executive said in announcing the second season last October, just a week after the series premiered. At the time, Amazon said the second season would premiere in 2020, but the pandemic may have stalled that plan.

Time-shifting woes

Q: Why do some networks insist on either starting their programs a couple of minutes after the hour or having them run over a couple of minutes? It can make viewers miss the beginning or lose the ending of a program. It's not exactly earth-shattering but is most assuredly annoying.

A: This has long been asked and answered, but it still bedevils viewers. The short answer to why shows run a little long is that it keeps you from changing the channel at the half-hour, possibly boosting the show that follows the extended telecast, as well as making possible more ads in a hit show without reducing content even more. Starting a show early, which can also happen, is another way to stall channel-flipping.

In addition, some programs are given the creative license for running times that do not fit the standard half-hour or hour, if that's what the shows' makers want to tell their stories. Listings in onscreen program guides have gotten better about citing the odd times, although not perfectly. I often add a minute or two to the running time of a scheduled recording in my DVR because of that.

A related, but separate issue, involves show times that get moved to odd starts and stops because of live sports events airing before them. (Yes, I'm looking at Sunday nights.) Again, the best idea is to add lots of extra time when scheduling your recordings.

Oscar Skagerberg in “The Last Kingdom.”

It won't be the 'Last Kingdom'

Q: My wife and I are watching "The Last Kingdom" and think it's great. Will they be continuing this series?

A: In July Netflix ordered a fifth season of the adventure drama based on Bernard Cornwell's novels. I do not know when it might air.

E-mail brenfels@gmail.com.