Best-bets for Jan. 21: “Judas” goes solo

1) “Stars on Stage,” 9 p.m., PBS. This wraps up a series that gave three Broadway-style talents each an hour-long concert. Now it’s Brandon Victor Dixon’s turn. On Broadway, he’s portrayed the music greats – Eubie Blake and Berry Gordy; he’s won a Tony (for producing the “Hedwig” revival) and been nominated for two more. Still, more people may know him from two live TV performances – in “Rent” and a sensational, Emmy-nominated turn as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar” (shown here). Read more…

1) “Stars on Stage,” 9 p.m., PBS. This wraps up a series that gave three Broadway-style talents each an hour-long concert. Now it’s Brandon Victor Dixon’s turn. On Broadway, he’s portrayed the music greats – Eubie Blake and Berry Gordy; he’s won a Tony (for producing the “Hedwig” revival) and been nominated for two more. Still, more people may know him from two live TV performances – in “Rent” and a sensational, Emmy-nominated turn as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar” (shown here).
2) “Magnum P.I.,” 9 p.m., CBS. Shammy – the military veteran, confined to a wheelchair – has a plea: His friend, also a vet, is missing; he wants Magnum and Higgins to find him. Also, T.C. keeps trying to help young Cade; he urges him to go back to school … then finds it isn’t that easy.
3) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. Two TV veterans collide. Stac Keach, 80, has his eighth episode as Archbishop Kevin Kearns; Tom Selleck, 76, is in his 12th season as his friend, Police Commissioner Frank Reagan. Now Kearns tells Frank that the wrong man was arrested for murder – but confidentiality bars him from saying who the right man is; Danny (Frank’s son) tries to find out. Also, Joe Hill (Frank’s grandson) is back, disagreeing with his uncle Jamie about police practices.
4) “As We See It,” any time, Amazon Prime. This series focuses on three roommates, all in the autism spectrum. Its stars are relatively unknown, but the producer is Jason Katims, who did great work with “Friday Night Lights” and “Parenthood.” That’s on a busy day for streaming, with season-openers of Netflix’s “Ozark” and Apple TV+’s “Servant.” These arrive a day after AMC+ launched “La Fortuna,” a six-parter with a young diplomat suddenly leading a treasure-hunting adventure.
5) Movies: You can catch the first three “Matrix” movies in one swoop on Syfy. That’s 10:57 a.m. and 2:02 and 5:05 p.m., repeating at 8 and 11:05 p.m. and 2:07 a.m. Those three add up to six hours and 44 minutes of screen time – nine hours and three minutes counting commercials. For a quicker gem, catch “Easy Rider” (1969) at 10 p.m. on Turner Classic Movies; it’s one hour, 34 minutes, no commercials.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *