1) “Young Sheldon” season-finale rerun, 8 p.m., CBS. Unlike some comedies, this is at its best when it has a busy story; now that peaks. In last week’s rerun, Sheldon and his mom planned to go to Germany for his summer classes also, his brother finally had his marriage proposal accepted. Now comes the trip and a tornado (shown here), setting up next week’s great start for the final season. Read more…
1) “Abbott Elementary” (shown here) season-opener, 9 and 9:30 p.m., ABC. One of TV’s top shows is back. In its first two seasons, it’s had 15 Emmy nominations (including two for best comedy) and four wins – writer and actress (both Quinta Brunson), supporting actress (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and casting. This two-part opener has Janine (Brunson) planning a district-wide Career Day Read more…
1) “Extended Family,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. This show often has Jon Cryer (right) as TV’s usual bumbling dad. Tonight, however, offers a neat exception: With his ex-wife elsewhere, Jim (Cryer) and her new boyfriend (Donald Faison, left) are supposed to watch the kids. Emerging is a teen trauma – the sort of thing Jim is really good at. Cryer, who used to star in teen-trauma movies, handles it neatly. Read more…
For Justin Hartley, this is a new world – strong and silent … subtle sub-text … muted emotions …
That’s in “Tracker” (shown here), which debuts Feb. 11 after the Super Bowl, then stays in CBS’ Sunday line-up. It definitely was not the vibe of “This Is Us,” his previous show.
“After six years of babies and dogs, we wanted to do something (different),” Ken Olin, a producer-director on both shows, said in a virtual press conference. He added, tongue-in-cheek, that Hartley “wanted to carry a gun and get in fights.” Read more…
1) “NCIS” season-finale rerun, 9 p.m., CBS. For CBS, this is recap week. After the Super Bowl on Sunday, it will start the season for virtually all of its shows. First, this pre-Super week has eight of them rerunning their season-finales. On “NCIS,” Torres (Wilmer Valderrama, shown here) is in jail as a terrorist attack looms. Read more…
At times, gospel music might be overlooked in a rock/rap world.
Not now, though. Coming is a five-day stretch overflowing with big voices and huge passion. That includes:
— Friday (Feb. 9): “Gospel Live,” at 9 p.m. on PBS, with some stations repeating it at 10. Henry Louis Gates hosts the show with Erica Campbell, who opens with some impressive vocals. More big moments are coming from Shelea, John Legend (shown here in a previous performance), LaTocha, Anthony Hamilton, Mali Music, Lena Byrd Miles and more. Read more…
1) Grammy awards, 8-11:30 p.m. ET, CBS. Trevor Noah hosts a night stuffed with music. Performers includes Sza (shown here), Billy Joel, Dua Lipa, Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, Luke Combs, Joni Mitchell, Burna Boy and Olivia Rodrigo. Sza leads with nine nominations; for album of the year, she faces Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Janelle Monae, Boygenius and Jon Batiste. Read more…
Every Super Bowl is a new adventure, but this year’s might seem a tad less new.
It will be the third time in the last four years for Patrick Mahomes (shown here) and the Kansas City Chiefs … and Tony Romo’s third time as analyst … Jim Nantz’s sixth doing play-by-play … James Brown’s 11th anchoring the pre-game show.
The half-time star, Usher, has been there before, albeit briefly, And “Tracker,” the post-game show? It stars Justin Hartley, who was in a post-game “This Is Us,” in 2018.
Well, familiar is good sometimes. Here’s a look at the Super Bowl marathon. Read more…
1) “The Grio Awards,” 8-10 p.m., CBS. This aired on Thanksgiving weekend, when viewers were scarce; now it gets a second chance. There’s music (Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones (shown here), Smokey Robinson, Patti LaBelle, Boyz II Men) plus awards for Black icons – Denzel Washington, Mariah Carey, Eddie Murphy. Misty Copeland, Al Sharpton and more. Sheryl Underwood and Roy Wood Jr. host. Read more…
1) Super Bowl, 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS. For the Kansas City Chiefs (shown here), this is familiar turf. It’s their fourth Super Bowl in five years; they’ve won two of those and their stars (Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce) fill pop culture. The San Francisco 49ers have five Super Bowl wins, but none in the past 30 years. They were 12-5 in the regular season (the Chiefs were 11-6), then needed two come-from-behind wins. Read more…
