Week’s top-10 for Feb. 21: It’s makeover time for NBC

1)“Endgame” debut, 10 p.m. today, NBC. It’s makeover week for NBC, with a transformed line-up after the Olympics. That starts today with “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” (same Simon, bigger stunts) at 8 p.m. and then “Endgame.” A master criminal (Morena Baccarin, left) and a brilliant FBI agent (Ryan Michelle Bathe, right) collide. The former is under arrest, but still able to trigger mega-crimes. It’s big and ambitious, but strains believability at every turn. Read more…

1)“Endgame” debut, 10 p.m. today, NBC. It’s makeover week for NBC, with a transformed line-up after the Olympics. That starts today with “America’s Got Talent: Extreme” (same Simon, bigger stunts) at 8 p.m. and then “Endgame.” A master criminal (Morena Baccarin, left) and a brilliant FBI agent (Ryan Michelle Bathe, right) collide. The former is under arrest, but still able to trigger mega-crimes. It’s big and ambitious, but strains believability at every turn.

2) “This Is Us” return, 9 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. After Bathe’s new show, her real-life husband (Sterling K. Brown) has his old one, in its final season. He plays Randall Pearson; here, the focus is on his wife Beth, trying to be a better dance teacher (and better person) than she knew as a girl. It’s a quietly moving hour, with some nods to good guys who get overlooked – Madison’s new boyfriend Elijah and Rebecca’s longtime friend (and, eventually, husband) Miguel.

3) “American Idol” season-opener, 8 p.m. Sunday, ABC. With the Olympics finished, other networks are also gearing up. That peaks with “Idol,” which has been a big part of TV history. It hit No. 1 in the Nielsen rating back in 2005 (after two years at No. 2). Now it starts its 20th season overall (and its fifth at ABC), with a trimmed audition schedule, in Nashville, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie return as judges; Ryan Seacrest hosts.

4) “Abraham Lincoln,” 8 p.m. today, rerunning at 12:04 a.m. If you missed Sunday’s opener, catch it at 5:30 p.m. today. It has a bleak farm kid whose world changed when his new stepmother brought warmth and books. Now (on Presidents Day) we see the start of the Civil War, as Lincoln ponders the practicality of emancipation. Then the entire mini-series airs Tuesday, with episodes at 3 and 5:30 p.m. and the finale at 8, with Lincoln still searching for a general who can win.

5) “To Tell the Truth” season-opener, 10 p.m. Tuesday, ABC. Some 65 years ago, this debuted on primetime CBS. It retreated to daytime (CBS, then NBC) and syndication, but keeps returning to prime. This week, it has handy lead-ins: The ‘Jeopardy” college championship finale at 8 p.m., then “Abbott Elementary” and “Black-ish” – whose star (Anthony Anderson) hosts “Truth.” Panelists guess who is a duck master, a clown-of-the-year and a “dino poo collector.”

6) “Big Brother: Celebrity Edition” finale, 8 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. Designed to compete with the Olympics, this concludes three days after the games end. Odd souls were thrown together, with mixed results: Chris Kattan left for “personal reasons”; Teddi Mellencamp (John’s daughter) was ousted first, followed by Olympic skater Mirai Nagasu, singer Chris Kirkpatrick and sorta-actress Shanna Moakler. Next week is a two-hour “Amazing Race” finale; then “Survivor” returns.

7) “Snowfall” season-opener, 10 and 11:07 p.m. Wednesday, FX, rerunning at 12:08 and 1:15 a.m., 2:16 and 3:23 a.m. Franklin is flying high now, literally. He has a private plane, a real-estate business and big plans; the 1980s cocaine trade has prospered. His problems begin when fresh tragedies shake the middle-income world. One is fictional (involving a white friend of Franklin), the other is fact (basketball star Len Bias); both give the opener a fierce impact.

8) “Law & Order” season-opener, 8 p.m. Thursday, NBC. After a 12-year pause, “L&O” is back for its 21st season, with two of the actors returning: Sam Waterston, 81, is the district attorney and Anthony Anderson – yes, he has three series – is a cop. Hugh Dancy and Odelya Halevi are the main lawyers; Jeffrey Donovan is Anderson’s sullen police partner, with Camryn Manheim as their boss. The opener is a fairly flat story about a Cosby-type star and the aftershocks.

9) “The Walking Dead,” 9 p.m. Sunday, AMC.  Returning last week from a four-month break, the show made a sudden detour. After surviving another onslaught, the Alexandrians were invited to move to the Commonwealth; a flash-forward showed Daryl as a uniformed soldier. Now a fairly good episode shows what happened in-between. Amid the violence of training and the chaos of a protest, Daryl tries to give Judith pieces of a pleasant childhood.

10) MORE. The second half of Sundance’s “State of the Union” airs in 10-minute chunks at 10 p.m. today through Friday, rippling with humor and poignancy. “Saturday Night Live” returns from a three-week break (11:29 p.m. Saturday, NBC), with John Mulaney hosting and LCD Soundsystem as music guest. At 8 p.m. Sunday are the Screen Actors Guild awards (TBS and TNT) and the “Killing Eve” season-opener (BBC America), with an intriguing change for the lethal Villanelle.

 

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