1) Oscar prep. On Academy Awards eve, here are two best-piicture nominees. “Past Lives” (7:15 p.m., Showtime) is also up for best original script; it’s extremely slow and subtle, sort of the opposite of a soap opera. “American Fiction” (8 p.m. and midnght, MGM+) is up for adapted scriipt, music, actor (Jeffrey Wright, shown here) and supporting actor (Sterling K. Brown). It has a wonderfully clever plot Read more…
As Oscar night approaches, things seem promising. On a night with Barbie (shown here) and Oppenheimer and Kimmel, this could be fun.
The Academy Awards used to be great fun – clever monologs, big music numbers, sly presenters and (remember these?) movies people had seen in theaters.
Then things deteriorated. There were three dreary years, 2019-21, with no host (and, in one case, no primetime songs). There was little to watch except tedious speeches.
The result was harsh: In 1998 (Billy Crystal hosted, “Titanic” won), 55.3 mllion people watched in the U.S.; in 2021 (no host, “Nomadland” won), that was 10.4 millon. But now the fun returns. Here’s an overview of this Sunday, March 10: Read more…
1) “SWAT,” 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. For the second time in four weeks, this ambitious show (shown here in a previous episode) has a two-parter. This time, the parts air together: A Chilean arms dealer kidnaps a woman and her daughter in Los Angeles. Then bikers steal a cache of armor-piercing bullets; the team tries to catch them before they can pull off a heist. Also, there are personal crises for Tan, Nichelle and others. Read more…
CBS has found another way to feast off its past hits.
Next season, it will have a comedy with Montana Jordan and Emily Osment (shown here) continuing their “Young Sheldon” roles as Georgie and Mandy.
That comes one day after the network cast a prequel, looking at the earlier years of Leroy Gibbs, whom Mark Harmon played in “CSI.”
This new one, however, is unusual. It’s a spin-off to a spin-off and a sequel to a prequel. Read more…
After a sluggish stretch, post-strike, the Fox network is now a-swirl with new projects.
This week (March 4-6), the network is launching three new nights. That includes some scripted shows, after months when Fox (cartoons excluded) had none.
Now Fox has set its summer reality-show plans, including the return of Jamie Foxx and his daughter Corinne (shown here) and the addition of Lisa Vanderpump. It has also set other projects, including a sort of male strip special. Details include: Read more…
1) State of the Union address, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and news channels. In an election year, this speech is crucial; so is the Republican response (by Katie Britt, a U.S. senator from Alabama), set for 10 p.m. If you insist on skipping these, we’ll list alternatives (one is shown here) for most time zones; then we’ll view the 8 p.m. hour. Read more…
If “Young Sheldon” works, then why not a “Young Leroy Jethro”?
That’s sort of what CBS hopes to do, but it will entitle the show “NCIS: Origins.”
The network has announced the casting of Austin Stowell (shown here in a previous role with Lucy Hale) in the lead role. He’ll play an early version of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the “NCIS” hero. The show will be narrated by Mark Harmon … just as Jim Parsons narrates “Young Sheldon,” tracing the early years of the guy he played in “Big Bang Theory.” Read more…
So you’re looking for a little fun on a Tuesday. You flip on your TV at 8 p.m. and find – well, the FBI … and the GBI … and some drug-dealers.
Clearly, there’s a void here for NBC’s only comedies to fill. “Night Court” (shown here) and “Extended Family” face CBS’ “FBI,” ABC’s “Will Trent” (a Georgia Bureau of Investigation cop) and Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady.” Alongside that tough turf, we get: Read more…
1) “Animal Control” season-opener, 9 p.m., Fox. The network’s only comedy (cartoons excluded) is a good one, skillfully mixing sight gags and verbal humor. It’s always fun to see raccoons misbehave in a bowling alley, but there’s also joy in the personal bits: Victoria (shown here) is in danger of being deported … leading her co-workers to a startling discovery: They’re not considered essential workers Read more…
In its formative years, nature-on-TV was a BBC artform. Its masters were English and white and, especially, male.
For “30 years, I worked in wildlife filmmaking,” Vanessa Berlowitz said. Whenever “I looked around, I didn’t see women.”
As she said this, she could see plenty of them. She was one of eight women telling the Television Critics Association about “Queens” (shown here), a documentary epic on Hulu, Disney+ and (at 8 p.m. March 4 and 11) the National Geographic Channel. Read more…
