1) “Sense & Sensibiility” (shown here), 8 p.m., Hallmark. Wrapping up its four-Saturday stretch of movies linked to Jane Austen, Hallmark remakes a classic, this time with a Black cast. Two British actresses star – Bethany Antonia (Lady Baela in “House of the Dragon”) as Marianne and Deborah Ayorinde as Elinor. Read more…
There are different kinds of actors out there – some verbal, some physical. You could call them Streepians and Stallonians.
Then there’s Danai Gurira, now returning to the zombie world. She masters it all.
Nine months ago, TV viewers saw her in the title role of Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” An English king was played by a Black American woman, catching fresh nuance.
And now she’s back to her alternate life. When “Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” debuts (9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, on AMC), Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his wife Michonne (Gurira, they’re shown here) are desperate to re-unite, despite the hordes of zombies. Read more…
As an ambitious mini-series ends, a question lingers: What was Malcolm X (shown here) really like?
“So many people, all they know about Malcolm X is the one picture of him holding a gun, looking out the window,” Gina Prince-Bythewood told the Television Critics Association. “Or some of his words, taken out of context.”
She’s one of the producers of “Genius: MLK/X,” an eight-parter that has its final two episodes at 9 and 10:08 p.m. Thursday (Feb.22) on the National Geographic Channel,” but then remains available on Disney+.
This is a joint biography of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. “Way too often, these two men are pitted agaist each other,” she said. But “they were coming closer and closer together. They had the same goal. They just had two different ways of going about it.” Read more…
1) “George Jones: Still Playin’ Possum,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Leaping from song to song, this is like a turbo-charged history of country music. Some of Jones’ hits zip zestfully (Justin Moore’s “White Lightning,” Tim Watson’s “One Woman Man”), some dig pits of pain, closing with Brad Paisley’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (shown here). Dierks Bentley, Sara Evans, Trace Adkins, Wynonna and more perform vibrantly. Read more…
1) “Genius: MLK/X” conclusion, 9 and 10:08 p.m., National Geographic Channel. A well-crafted miniseries peaks in tonight’s first hour (shown here), with the passage of the Civil Rights Act … and the only time that Martin Luther King and Malcolm X met. The second hour sees them in transition– Malcolm to a global view, King to fresh issues, including Vietnam, before each was killed (three years apart) at 39. Read more…
1) “Abbott Elementary,” 9 p.m., ABC. “Abbott” is off to a strong start this season, with Janine working in a school-district job. Now she tries – reluctantly – to train a substitute for her classroom work; also at Abbott (shown here), the staff tries to update the drug policy, after a student is caught smoking. That’s in a mostly comedy night, from “Conners” (Bev and Jackie in Chicago) to “Judge Steve Harvey (a clown goes rogue). Read more…
Science and fiction have always had a cozy relationship. Magnify the facts a tad and you have wild whimsy.
That’s clear in “Constellation,” an Apple TV+ eight-parter that has its first three episodes Wednesday (Feb. 21).
This is a blend, producer-director Michelle MacLaren told the Television Critics Association, with parts “drama, thriller, horror.” Still, she said, “we The story clearly sounds like fantasy/horror. Having barely survived in space, an astronaut returns to what doesn’t feel like her world. “Her gut feeling,” said Noomi Rapace, who plays her, “is saying. ‘This is not my baby, (shown here), but she looks like my baby.’”wanted it to be based in reality.” Read more…
1) “The Good Doctor’ season-opener, 10 p.m., ABC.. Over six seasons, Shaun has evolved from a timid teen, autistic and socially clumsy, to a gifted surgeon who’s now a husband and a new dad. Now the 10-episode final season begins, with a crisis. As Shaun and Lea (shown here) adjust to parenthood, he has a dilemma, with two babies needing a transplant. Read more…
Some roles require little acting – a subtle smile, a sly smirk, maybe a pregnant pause.
Then there’s Max, on “Wild Cards,” who does … well, everythinng. “It’s kind of like a dream role,” said Vanessa Morgan (shown here), who plays her.
The show (8 p.m. Wednesdays on CW) has a cop (Giacomo Gianniotto) reluctantly paired with Max. A lifelong con artist, she has a bag of tricks (literally) from which she has produced wigs, pistachios and a grappling hook. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” finale, 8-10 p.m. today, NBC. The show has its top ten acts – three apiece on the Simon Cowell and Howie Mandel teams, two with Heidi Klum and Mel B. There’s a singer, a choir and a drumline, plus two aerialists (including Aidan Bryant, shown here), two dance acts, an acrobat duo, a rollerblade duo and a shadow act. Last Monday, all 10 performed and viewers voted; now one wins $250,000. Read more…
