The Late Late Show with James Corden airing Thursday, May 6, 2021, with guests Max Greenfield. Photo: Terence Patrick/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Week’s top-10 for April 24: Carol, Corden and a lusty “Tom Jones”

1) James Corden farewell, 10 p.m. Thursday and 12:37 a.m., CBS. For nine years, Corden (shown here) has brought a fresh and zestful approach to latenight TV – plus occasional primetime incursions. Now he has his last new late show (with Will Ferrell and Harry Styles as guests), preceded at 10 by “The Last Last Late Late Show With James Corden.” During the evening, we’ll see a final “Carpool Karaoke” and (really) Tom Cruise in a “Lion King” musical number. Read more…

1) James Corden farewell, 10 p.m. Thursday and 12:37 a.m., CBS. For nine years, Corden (shown here) has brought a fresh and zestful approach to latenight TV – plus occasional primetime incursions. Now he has his last new late show (with Will Ferrell and Harry Styles as guests), preceded at 10 by “The Last Last Late Late Show With James Corden.” During the evening, we’ll see a final “Carpool Karaoke” and (really) Tom Cruise in a “Lion King” musical number.

2) “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love,” 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. Here’s a fun ride, flaws and all, on Burnett’s 90th birthday. The flaws involve repetition: Praise keeps gushing; we long for the roast-like approach of the Mark Twain awards. The clips are too short, but they’re still a delight. Also, there’s music (Billy Porter, Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch, Aileen Quinn, Katy Perry) and comments (sometimes clever) from stars.

3) “Tom Jones” opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. Fresh from the platonic pleasures of Jane Austen’s “Sanditon,” we get a different vibe. This novel was written 68 years before Austen’s tale, but is more loose and lusty. In this four-Sunday version, Tom is a decent chap who would prefer to be true to Sophia. When life intervenes, he goes on a well-meaning journey, filled with sexual detours. The result is sometimes goofy, but usually light fun.

4) “Good Trouble,” 10 p.m. Thursday, Freeform. “All families fight during Thanksgiving,” one person says. At least, all TV families do. Now – midway between Thanksgivings in real life – we get one here All the key characters arrive (except for Ethan, in intensive care); even Callie is back … and has received a marriage proposal. The “Fosters” characters are there, too; it’s a crowded hour, with lots of drama, sometimes overblown and often just right.

5) “American Idol,” 8-10 p.m. today and Sunday, ABC. Twenty singers remain, but not for long. Tonight, the show reveals which ones were the top 10 in viewer votes; then the judges add two more. That sets up Sunday’s show, when contestants will stick to songs that were done by people in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; along the way, the field will be trimmed from 12 to 10. Things will keep rushing toward the season-finale on May 21.

6) “Fantasy Island,” 9 p.m. Monday, Fox. Jessy Schram (Hannah in “Chicago Med”) has a fun role as a jilted bride in flowing white gown. But the real fun is for Kyla Pratt, of “Call Me Kat”; she plays an imaginary best friend from childhood, now grown up but still peppy. It’s kind of silly … but you’ll appreciate silliness in comparison to the emotional bludgeoning of some episodes of Fox’s “Accused”; the new one (9 p.m. Tuesday) is especially rough.

7) “How I Met Your Father,” 10 and 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Freeform; and “The Patient,” 10 and 10:30 p.m. Thursday, FX. Here’s a promising trend, with some streaming shows migrating to cable. FX has a compelling drama, with Steve Carell as a therapist and Domhnall Gleeson as his rogue patient. Freeform is lighter, with Hilary Duff looking for love. Also on Freeform are excellent “Single Drunk Female” episodes at 10 and 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.

8) “Young Sheldon,” 8 p.m. Thursday, CBS. Georgie’s surprising marriage proposal finally gets a reply from Mandy. It was a surprise because it came on his 18th birthday, when he’d been on a date with someone else. And because Mandy, 29 and the mother of his baby, is mad that he lied about his age. Last week, “Sheldon” paused for a rerun; now it has five new episodes for the season’s final four Thursdays. Also this week, Missy is tugged between two friends.

9) “Grand Crew” season-finale, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Friday, NBC. After a so-so first year, this second one has been crisp and clever. It’s at its best with the sweet, love-prone Noah and his skeptical sister Nicky. Now he’s with a woman who likes marathon sex; Nicky, a realtor, finally finds the ideal house for Anthony. In the second episode, they’re in their element – a wine-tasting event. Noah enters a contest; Nicky tries to breach a “members-only” area.

10) NFL draft, Thursday through Saturday, ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. So it’s not enough to have our TV time stuffed with hockey, basketball, baseball and football? Now we also have the pro-football draft. The first round is from 8-11 p.m. ET Thursday, with the next two rounds from 7-11 p.m. Friday; the final four rounds are from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday … after which ABC and ESPN quickly revert to coverage of the hockey playoffs, at 8 p.m. ET.

Leave a Reply

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