Week’s top-10 for Jan. 15: Emmys and a flood of new shows

1) Emmy awards, 8 p.m. ET today, Fox. Delayed by strikes, the Emmys air seven months after the eligibility period ended. Anthony Anderson hosts, on a night led by streamers. For dramas, “Succession” (shown here) faces “The Crown,” a long-ago “Better Call Saul” and more. Comedies range from the first seasons of “The Bear” and “Wednesday” to the final ones of “Ted Lasso” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Read more…

1) Emmy awards, 8 p.m. ET today, Fox. Delayed by strikes, the Emmys air seven months after the eligibility period ended. Anthony Anderson hosts, on a night led by streamers. For dramas, “Succession” (shown here) faces “The Crown,” a long-ago “Better Call Saul” and more. Comedies range from the first seasons of “The Bear” and “Wednesday” to the final ones of “Ted Lasso” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

2) “Wild Cards” debut, 8 p.m. Wednesday, CW. A cop and a crook forced together? It works when you have charismatic stars — Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy in “48 Hrs,” now Giacomo Gianniotti and Vanessa Morgan. They’re Canadian, but he was born in Italy and her dad is from Tanzania. He was De Luca in “Grey’s Anatomy”; she was Toni in “Riverdale.” Now her good-hearted grifter is a delight.

3) Chicago shows season-openers, 8-11 p.m. Wednesday, NBC. Producer Dick Wolf is the quickest at getting new dramas ready, post-strike. His six NBC ones arrive this week, with three CBS ones Feb. 13, It’s a busy start on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m.), after a crash. On “Chicago Fire” (9), the team must share space with another unit. On “Chicago P.D.” (10), Upton faces a mental-health approach to policing.

4) “Law & Order” shows’ season-openers, 8-11 p.m. Thursday, NBC. Here are Wolf’s other three NBC shows. The 23rd “Law & Order” opener (8 p.m.) sees an on-campus murder spark a debate about hate speech. The 25th for “Special Victims Unit” (9) celebrates Rollins’ baby, then learns of a missing child. The fourth for “Organized Crime” (10) has Stabler back from undercover work,.

5) “Death and Other Details” opener, Tuesday, Hulu. If you forgive a few excesses, this is a dandy 10-parter, with sharp characters, smart dialog and quick twists. On a restored ocean liner, it feels like a vintage mystery, while keeping modern technology and values. A young woman (Violett Beane of “God Friended Me”) and an old detective (Mandy Patinkin) reluctantly link to solve a murder.

6) “Fargo” finale, 10 p.m. Tuesday, FX; repeats at 11:07, 12:13, 1:19. Here is a great show in all its odd extremes. The opening minutes are slow and brutal; the cruel Sheriff Tillman (Jon Hamm) prepares for battle as his blinded son wanders and his nasty dad taunts. And the final minutes are pure “Fargo,” an ending that sort of matches the movie. In between, Dot (Juno Temple) tries to flee from Tillman.

7) “Benjamin Franklin,” 9-11 p.m. Friday, PBS. Franklin was a wondrous blend of contrasts. He was a left-brain guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and Franklin stove, a right-brainer whose wrote cleverly. He charmed everyone (except his family), but he profited from slavery. He’s ideal for a Ken Burn profile. This rerun, with all his strengths and flaws, concludes a week later.

8) “Saturday Night Live, 11:29 p.m. Saturday, NBC. Portraying Elvis seems to be a step toward hosting “SNL.” Last season had Austin Butler, the “Elvis” star; this week has Jacob Elordi, the “Priscilla” co-star. (He also did “Euphoria” and three “Kissing Booth” movies.) “SNL” had eight new episodes in 10 weeks, before airing four straight reruns. Now it’s back; Renee Rapp is the music guest.

9) “Soul” (2020), 9 p.m. Sunday, ABC; or “Encanto” (2021), 8 p.m. Sunday, Disney Channel. These cartoons have much in common. Each streamed at Christmas, flowing with music and ethnic flavor; each won the Oscar for best animated picture. But “Soul” (with a jazzy sound) hit the pandemic and skipped theaters in the U.S.; “Encanto,” with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Latino sound, had better luck.

10) “The Woman in the Wall” opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime. This has a horror-film vibe, complete with an ax-wielding sleepwalker. But it’s based on real scandal involving church-run institutions for unwed mothers and others in Ireland; Ruth Wilson stars. Also Sunday: the season-opener of “The Way Home” (9 p.m., Hallmark) and a fun flashback episode of “Miss Scarlet and the Duke” (8, PBS).

Leave a Reply

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