Week’s top-10 for March 6: Oscars, plus “Voice,” Mel, more

1) Academy Awards, 8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, ABC. For three dreary years, the Oscars had no host and little fun; one year even exiled songs to the preview year. The show bounced back last year and should be fine now. Jimmy Kimmel hosts, something he does well. There’s music by Rihanna, Sofia Carson (shown here), David Byrne and more, plus an “American Idol” hour afterward. And there are some films – “Avatar,” “Elvis,” “Top Gun: Maverick” – people have seen. Read more…

1) Academy Awards, 8-11 p.m. ET Sunday, ABC. For three dreary years, the Oscars had no host and little fun; one year even exiled songs to the preview year. The show bounced back last year and should be fine now. Jimmy Kimmel hosts, something he does well. There’s music by Rihanna, Sofia Carson (shown here), David Byrne and more, plus an “American Idol” hour afterward. And there are some films – “Avatar,” “Elvis,” “Top Gun: Maverick” – people have seen.

2) Oscar build-up, all week. Turner Classic Movies stuffs the week with top films, including “A Man For All Seasons” (8 p.m. ET Tuesday), “Bonnie and Clyde” (10 p.m. Wednesday), “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (8 p.m. Friday) and a musical marathon Saturday. This year’s frontrunner, “Everything, Everywhere All at Once,” is 6:35 p.m. Saturday on Showtime. E has a preview at 3 p.m. Sunday; it’s on the red-carpet at 5, with ABC getting there at 6:30.

3) “The Voice” opener, 8-10 p.m. Monday, NBC. The ratings-leader is back, with two new coaches – Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan. They face consistent winners: In 22 editions, Blake Shelton has had nine champions and 14 runners-up, sometimes simultaneously; in just eight tries, Kelly Clarkson (back from a one-edition break) has already had four champs and a runner-up. This time, Reba McEntire will be the mentor for all four teams.

4) “History of the World, Part II,” today through Thursday, Hulu. Here is Mel Brooks-style humor at its most outrageous … and, often enough, funniest. Brooks, 96, narrates sketches that writers and stars (Pamela Adlon, Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, etc.) created in the style of his 1981 “Part I” movie. Sketches range from Rasputin to Jesus, from cavemen to the Kama Sutra. Some people will be offended; many people will consider this hilarious.

5) “American Auto,” 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. After a fairly good first season, this has improved sharply as producer Jason Spitzer uses an approach thar worked with his “Superstore”: Pack a room with disparate voices, creating comic chaos. Last week had angry-employee meetings; now a “young designers” session goes wrong in funny ways. That’s in a strong NBC line-up – “Night Court” at 8, “Voice” at 9, “That’s My Jam” season-opener at 10.

6) “Farmer Wants a Wife” debut, 9 p.m. Wednesday, Fox. Fifteen years after it failed on CW, this has become a 31-nation success. Now Fox tries, with four farmers instead of one. Each is college-educated and in his 30s; two raise cattle, one has horses, one has both. Also, Hunter Grayson sings in a band, Ryan Black designs and builds houses. They meet 32 women (ages 24 to 39), including two bloggers, two therapists, a bartender and a spiritual coach.

7) “The Winchesters” and “Kung Fu” season-finales, 8 p.m. Tuesday and 9 p.m. Wednesday, CW. John Winchester gets a message from a mysterious stranger and has a warm (but awkward) reunion with Mary Campbell, his future wife. Meanwhile, their friends scramble for answers; time is running out for them … and for the “Kung Fu” crew: Olivia and her colleagues have uncovered Xiao’s master plan; now they have to scramble to stop it.

8) “Poker Face” season-finale, Thursday, Peacock. It’s a big day for streamers: On Paramount+, “Star Trek: Picard” has a new episode; on Hulu, “History of the World, Part II” wraps its four-night, eight episode run. And this gem – already renewed for a second season – finishes its first. Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) has been on the run all season. Now she must confront the casino owner (Ron Perlman) and the security chief (Benjamin Bratt) she’s been eluding.

9) Basketball tournaments, Sunday, CBS. It’s a busy day – the finals of the Atlantic 10 conference at 1 p.m. ET and of the Big Ten at 3:30 p.m. … leading into the announcement of the NCAA tourney, at 6 p.m. Also Sunday are three more finals: ESPN2 has the Ivy League at noon; ESPN has the SEC at 1 p.m. and American Athletic at 3:15 p.m.. Saturday has lots of semi-finals and some finals, including Mountain West (6 p.m., CBS) and Big East (6:30, Fox).

10) “The Last of Us” season-finale, 9 p.m. Sunday, HBO. Some networks stick with reruns on Oscar night, but others boom ahead. Fox has cartoons; NBC has new hours of “Magnum” at 9 and “Blacklist” at 10. And HBO wraps the first season of this show, which has drawn raves, high ratings and a quick renewal. Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian”) plays a survivor, ushering a 14-year-old (Bella Ramsey of “Game of Thrones”) through a zone filled with zombie types.

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