1) Basketball tournaments. Thirteen college conferences have their semi-finals today, with the finals Saturday. That includes the ACC (shown here) on ESPN and the Big 12 on ESPN), both at 7 p.m. ET and about 9:30. Also, the Big East is at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.
2) “SWAT,” 8 p.m., CBS. This gets serious: A transport van overturned, freeing three women – one a serial killer, now on the verge of a rampage. That’s followed by “Fire Country” (a toxic spill puts a chemical factory up in flames) and “Blue Bloods” (a teenager from one of Danny’s previous cases finds herself in trouble).
3) “Manhunt” opener, 8 p.m., Apple TV+. This richly crafted seven-parter starts darkly. While his lone bodyguard is at a bar, Abraham Lincoln is unprotected at the play; John Wilkes Booth, an actor known to the theater people, has no trouble shooting him. From here, the story will head in less-familiar directions, as Secret of War Edwin Stanton leads the hunt for Booth and his colleagues.
4) More streaming. Four key shows arrived Thursday, setting up a busy streamer weekend. Three are music-based – Taylor Swift’s concert film on Disney+ … a documentary on Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones on Hulu … and the fun comedy series “Girls5Eva,” moving to Netfliix. Also, Peacock has “Apples Never Fall,” a seven-parter based on a novel by the “Big Little Lies” author. :
5) Also: Many PBS stations will have the Metropolitan Opera’s “Dead Man Walking,” at 9 p.m. The story was also in a 1995 film that brought Susan Sarandon an Oscar, playing a nun counseling a man facing the death penalty. If you’re not into opera, be patient: After a long pledge break, PBS will return to having three fresh dramas this Sunday.
— Mike Hughes, TV America