1) “Motown 60,” 8-10 p.m. Sunday, CBS. It was 60 years (and three months) ago that Berry Gordy borrowed $800 and created Motown Records. It soared; one week, it had eight songs in the top 10. Some of the stars – Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves, Thelma Houston, Smokey Robinson (shown here with Pentatonix) will perform and others (Mary Wilson, songwriters) will offer memories. Also performing: Tori Kelly, John Legend, Meghan Trainor, Fantasia, Ne-Yo, Ciara, more.
2) “Life in Pieces” season-opener, 9:30 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Next year, John (James Brolin) might not get to choose the family vacation. His choice lacks some luxuries — like a pool or showers or toilets or anywhere that’s free of bugs, bats and snakes. Ignoring its usual, four-story format, “Pieces” spends the entire episode on the vacation. It gets big laughs from the sight gags, but also has sharp character comedy, including a dilemma: When do you tell your mom you don’t want to be considered the baby?
3) “Bless This Mess” debut, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. Newlyweds (Lake Bell and Dax Shepard) reach Nebraska with lots of confidence, none of it warranted. With the internet’s guidance, they’ll learn to farm and to fix a crumbling house. Directed and co-written (with Bell) by Elizabeth Meriweather of “New Girl” and “Single Parents,” this is a funny start. It mocks the townsfolk (Pam Grier, Ed Begley Jr.) a little, but most of the laughs aim squarely at the misplaced confidence of transplanted cityfolk.
4) “The Resident,” 8 p.m. today, Fox. There are no minor moments tonight. The first scene has a major change in the Conrad/Nic relationship; then high-octane events begin. Gunshots leave a mother and son in critical condition … a birth becomes high-stress … and there’s news about Nic’s sister, a recovering addict with kidney failure. That first scene is so-so, but the rest is beautifully crafted. It closes with an emotional nod to the late Kira Dixon Johnson, who spoke five languages and had a life of adventure.
5) “Reconstruction: America After the Civil War” conclusion, 9-11 p.m. Tuesday, PBS. W.E.B. Du Bois, the historian and activist, summed it up: “The slave went free, stood a brief moment in the sun, then moved backward toward slavery.” Henry Louis Gates concludes his richly involving portrait of that backward slide … and the fight back. We see court rulings that gutted civil-rights laws. We also see the formation (at least for a time) of all-black towns, farming co-operatives and political movements.
6) “Jane the Virgin,” 9 p.m.Wednesday, CW. At first, Michael (Jane’s not-dead-after-all husband) had amnesia; that made it easy for her to romance – and, maybe, marry — Rafael. But now his memory is returning and her world is spinning. There are more problems, of course. Jane’s mother has cancer and her grandmother has romance complications … as does Rafael’s ex-wife. In its final season, “Jane” remains a marvel – bright, breezy and fun, even while dousing people with a cascade of problems.
7) “Gotham,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Fox. A week from its finale, “Gotham” has more of the usual – fierce violence, lots of hostages … and villains who can’t resist talking too much before winning. Their victory seems imminent: Commanded by a general who’s controlled by a chip implant, the army marches on City Hall, ready to annihilate; Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne lead defense efforts. As usual, this hour is beautifully filmed, but relentlessly nasty. It sets up next week’s finale, which jumps ahead 10 years.
8) “I Love Lucy Funny Money Special,” 8-9 p.m. Friday, CBS. Lucy, alas, had a forever-futile search for money. In these two 1954 episodes (with color added by computer), we see vivid examples. The first – a mail-order scheme to sell homemade salad dressing – is moderately funny, if we’ll forgive the old cliche that women just don’t understand finances. The second – winning in the “bonus bucks” contest – becomes a fun crescendo of greed and error, culminating in classic Lucille Ball sight gags.
9) “The Ten Commandments” (1956), 7-11:44 p.m. Saturday, ABC. This is an Easter-eve tradition, with ABC rerunning Cecil B. DeMille’s epic. The next day, Turner Classic Movies has more films with religious themes — “Silver Chalice” (1954), “Barnabas” (1962), “Shoes of the Fisherman” (1968) — at noon and 2:30 and 5 p.m. ET, with “King of Kings” at 10 p.m. (1961) and 1 a.m. (1927). Also, History concludes “Jesus: His Life” from 8-10 p.m. today, then reruns it Sunday, 4 p.m. to midnight.
10) More Easter movies, cable. Then there’s Easter’s light side. At 7:25 a.m. Saturday, HBO has “Hop” (2011), a funny tale linking live action and a cartoon bunny. At 8 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark’s “Easter Under Wraps” has a marketer and a chocolatier (both quite attractive) squabble, at least for a while. And at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, TCM has “Easter Parade” (1948), with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire doing Irving Berlin hits, including the title song and “Steppin’ Out With My Baby.”