Day: March 7, 2021

“Masked Singer” returns, illusions and all

“The Masked Singer”is back, with its layers of illusion.
The performers (shown here in a previous season) are masked, the voices are altered and the studio audience is make-believe.
“We want to give people something that takes them away from the reality,” Robin Thicke said.
That reality is COVID-scarred. Performers sing to an empty theater; Nick Cannon, the host, was replaced by Niecy Nash for the already-taped first half of the season (8 p.m. Wednesdays on Fox, starting March 10), after he tested positive. Read more…

Best-bets for March 9: Hospital dramas rule the night

1) “New Amsterdam,” 10 p.m., NBC. Last week’s season-opener took us to a post-pandemic time, with remnants of the tragedy. Now Dr. Kapoor (shown here with Max in a previous episode) lingers near death, while Elia (his son’s ex-girlfriend) nears the birth of her baby and his grandchild. Meanwhile, Iggy bares his pain and Max’s opioid rules have backfired. It’s a busy – sometimes too busy – hour that stumbles, but ends with steong emotions. Read more…