1) “Hell’s Kitchen” finale, 8 p.m., Fox. The show’s 24th champion will be either Jada Vidal (shown here) or Ellie Parker. Last week, they drafted the other chefs for their teams and began planning fancy dinners — one a Cuban-Asian fusion, the other steakhouse-style. Tonight, one will land a major chef job. Read more…
1) “Nova” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. Asteroids (shown here) get a bad rap, what with bringing death, destruction and the end of dinosaurs. But this asks the flip side: Is it possible that they brought the elements that were needed to create life on Earth? Deep, detailed (and sometimes a bit dry), this starts a season that also re-examines the first mammals and civilizations. Read more…
Before settling into tonight’s college football championship game — 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 on ESPN — let’s flash back a bit.
It’s Oct. 5, 1991, and the Indiana Hoosiers are hosting Michigan State. Folks in Indiana are interested … somewhat.
With some tickets unsold, the crowd is listed at 46,882. That’s less than half the size of the crowd that will be in Ann Arbor two weeks later, when the Hoosiers visit Michigan.
And don’t expect to see all 46,000 in their seats. As the game starts, many students are still outside the stadium, tailgating. Read more…
A new mini-series, “The Beauty,” has all the things we expect from an action- adventure tale.
There are fierce fights, wild chases and intense sex scenes. There are beautiful places — Paris, Venice, Rome — and beautiful people who sometimes explode.
But underneath that, the opener (9-11:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, on FX, and then on Hulu) has strong themes.
People keep “trying to create the fountain of youth,” Ashton Kutcher (shown here) said in a Zoom press coference.
It’s an age-old obsession, Rebecca Hall added. “There’s a lot to be said about the chase for perfection.” Read more…
1) “Doc,” 9 p.m., Fox. A potent story hits its peak tonight. Convinced that Amy spurred their father’s suicide, a young doctor (shown here, cxenter) and her brother schemed to destroy her. Their plan imploded, he’s in the hospital with an overdose, their mother (left) is there … and the hospital investigates Amy. Despite one flaw — an absurdly one-note investigator — this is a strong, well-crafted hour. Read more…
Another TV network is adapting Fox’s idea: If you REALLY want someone to sample a new show, put it after a football game.
Now it’s NBC’s turn: In a late change, it will air “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” (shown here) at about 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) Sunday, Jan. 18, after the Rams-Bears playoff game.
That will be a week before Fox does the same thing: It will debut Patrick Dempsey’s “Memory of a Killer” at about 10 p.m. ET Jan. 25, after the game that decides which NFC team will be in the Super Bowl. Read more…
1) College football, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. The playoffs have been strewn with upsets. In the six quarter-final and semi-final games, only twice has the higher-ranked teams won. Both times it was Indiana (shown here), winning 38-3 and 56-22; now it faces 10th-ranked Miami for the title. Read more…
1) “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” debut. 10 p.m., HBO. Duncan the Tall isn’t your ordinary hero. In George R.R. Martin’s tales, he was a former street urchin who became a squire and then a 6-foot-11 knight, egged on by “Egg” (Aegon), his squire. In this six-part “Game of Thrones” prequel (shown here), he’s played by Peter Claffey, who is a mere 6-5. Read more…
1) Football championships, today and Sunday. There are three big ones this week. First, the college title game, at 7:30 p.m. ET today on ESPN. Top-ranked Indiana (shown here) — fresh from 38-3 and 56-22 wins — faces 10th-ranked Miami. Then, on Sunday, the pros decide the conference champions (and Super Bowl teams). It’s the AFC at 3 on CBS and NFC at 6:30 on Fox. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. After a three-week break, “SNL” is back with a string of three new episodes. Tonight, Finn Wolfhard (shown here) becomes the fourth “Stranger Things” star to hosts; the music guest is A$AP Rocky. Coming up as hosts are Teyana Taylor and Alexander Skarsgard. Read more…
