1) Game shows, 9 and 10 p.m., NBC. Facing strong dramas on three networks, NBC really needs to find fun. But “The Voice” has trimmed to Mondays-only, leaving a void. “Weakest Link” takes the 9 p.m. slot, starting with “Days of Our Lives” actors. At 10, “Password” includes an alpaca-lover, an opera singer and a vogue dancer. As usual, Jimmy Fallon and host Keke Palmer manage to find some fun, despite format flaws. Read more…
For two weeks, TV’s top comedy was on the sidelines, waiting for the basketball tournament to end.
Now “Young Sheldon” (shown here) is back – for a while. It returns April 4, has the wedding of Georgie and Mandy a week later … then moves toward its May 14 finale, with the return of Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik as the not-young Sheldon and his wife Amy.
And that’s it … except for reruns and a Georgie-and-Mandy spin-off next season.
That may sound like there’s been a master plan, but co-creator Chuck Lorre insists he and the others have been improvising. “The whole process has been learning as we go.” Read more…
1) “iHeartRadio Music Awards,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. The networks like awards shows, which viewers tend to watch live. CBS has one Sunday (with country music) and Fox arrives today Performers include Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll (both will also perform Sunday), plus Justin Timberlake (shown here), Green Day and TLC, along with an award for Cher. Read more…
1) “Parish” debut, 10:15 p.m., AMC. Gray Parish (Giancarlo Esposito, shown here) tried to shed his life as a getaway driver. He has a family, a business and a New Orleans home. But his son was killed, his business is crumbling and now his friend (Skeet Ulrich) from the old days needs a favor. What follows is 83 percent of a gem. Before going off-course in the last of six episodes, it’s a great blend of action and drama. Read more…
1) “iHeartRadio Music Awards” (8-10 p.m. today, Fox) and “CMT Music Awards” (8-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS). The week starts and ends with music; some performers — Lainey Wilson (shown here) and Jelly Roll — will do both shows. Fox also has Justin Timberlake, Green Day, TLC and an award for Cher. CBS has Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Sam Hunt, host Kelsea Ballerini, Cody Johnson, Old Dominion and more. Read more…
1) “The Ten Commandments” (1956), 7-11:43 p.m., ABC. Each year, on the eve of Easter, ABC reruns this epic, with Charlton Heston (shown here) as Moses. It’s impressive and ambitious, landing seven Oscar nominations (including best picture) and winning for special effects. By modern standards, however, it’s slow and stiff; several more films will arrive today and Sunday, Read more…
As you watch the new mystery-comedy series, one thing is clear: This is VERY Detroit.
The title, after all, is “Diarra From Detroit.” Diarra Kilpatrick, the writer-producer-star, calls herself a “walking Detroit ambassador.”
Kenya Barris, who produces the show (and won praise and prizes for “Black-ish”) echoes that. The show (on the BET+ streaming channel) is “a love letter to Detroit,” he told the Television Critics Association.
It has the city’s look and feel, Kilpatrick told the TCA. And … it’s filmed in New Jersey.
That stirs arguments on both sides of a tricky issue. “We’re waiting for Michigan to get their tax incentives together,” Kilpatrick said, “so we can go back there.”
Read more…
1) “American Masters.” 9 p.m., PBS. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (shown here) filled every room. Tall (6-5) and bombastic, he kept talking and writing. He said things that resonated or backfired. A Harvard professor with a hard-scrabble past, he advised Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson. This fascinating portrait has comments ranging from Joe Biden to Henry Kissinger. Read more…
1) Baseball. It’s opening day everywhere. Most of that will be on regional networks, but at 7:35 p.m. ET, ESPN has the Texas Rangers hosting the Chicago Cubs, with two all-stars on the mound. The Cubs’ Justin Steele (shown here) had a 16-5 won-loss record last year, with a 3.06 earned run average; the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi was 12-5, 3.63. Read more…
1) “Resident Alien,” 10 p.m., Syfy. This show is known for its sharp humor, as an outer-space alien tries to adjust to our world, inside the body of Harry, a small-town doctor. But it also has solid sci-fi adventure and human drama – which dominates this excellent hour. The subject is parenthood – D’arcy and her dad (shown here), Asta and her mom and daughter, even Harry and his shape-shifting offspring. Read more…
