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…
1) “The Cleaning Lady” season-opener, 8 p.m.,, Fox. A month after the death of one of its stars, this adjusts nimbly. Adan Canto died at 42 of appendix cancer; he was terrific as Arman, a good-hearted drug boss who rescued Thony, the doctor-turned-cleaner. Now we’re told Arnan plans to use a drug plane to extricate her sister from the Philippines; a crisis forces a fragile pairing of Thony (shown here, center) and Arman’s wife-or-widow. Read more…
1) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. One of TV’s best comedies gets two episodes, propelling some plot shifts for its final season. First, Bob’s sister (shown here, center) says she’ll have a baby on her own; that nudges Abishola and Bob to re -examine the notion of having a baby. Then Abishola’s ex-husband suddenly arrives from Nigeria; he charms most people … and makes others suspicious. Read more…
For an actor, the notion of “career plannng” is sheer whimsy.
Just ask Matthew Jeffers (shown here), who delivers a stunning, Emmy-worthy performance in the latest “Walking Dead” spin-off.
“When I moved to New York, I envisioned … this happening – going from 15th-century England to post-apocalyptic America,” he deadpanned.
Nobody really imagines that,.but it happened. After co-starring in a Shakespeare in the Park production of “Richard IIII” in New York, he soars in the second episode of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live”; it airs at 9 p.m. Sunday (March 3) on AMC and streams on AMC+. Read more…
1) “I Am Jackie O,” 7-9 p.m., CW. “So many of my boyfriends are dumber,” the future Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis wrote in a letter. “It’s a curse for a woman to be bright.” Then came Jack Kennedy, who matched her in intellect and education. (They’re shown here, with Caroline.) She helped him get elected, campaigning in Spanish and Italian … then retreated behind an image of wispy-voiced blandness. Here’s a profile of an intriguing life. Read more…
1) Academy Awards, 7 p.m. ET Sunday, ABC, rerunning at about 11. The no-host, no-fun years are gone. Jimmy Kimmel has his second straight turn (and fourth overall) as host, with music that includes Billie Eilish, Becky G, Ryan Gosling (shown here in “Barbie”), Jon Batiste and the Osage Singers. And this year has nominees people have actually seen, led by the buoyant “Barbie” and front-runner “Oppenheimer.” Read more…
Miss Scarlet will be back, but now she’ll be Dukeless.
PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre” announced today (Feb. 29) that there will be a fifth season of “Miss Scarlet and the Duke.” But it will be renamed “Miss Scarlet,” with Kate Phillips starring alone. Stuart Martin (they’re shown here) will no longer be there as police Inspector William Wellington, nicknamed “The Duke” because of his surname.
Martin, 38, said the departure is his idea and gave no explanation. He has finished his most-recent filming project, the two-part “Rebel Moon.” He’s married to Lisa McGrillis, who has regular roles on multiple British shows; they have two children. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. At 26, Sydney Sweeney (shown here) already seems to be everywhere. Lately, she’s done movies, successful (“Anyone But You”) and not (“Madame Web”). Earlier, she had simultaneous Emmy nominations for “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.” Now she gets her first turn as “SNL” host; country singer Kacey Musgraves is the music guest. Read more…
There seems to be a two-way street now, linking CBS and its corporate partner, Paramount+. Separate announcements said:
— A fresh spin-off of CBS’ “NCIS” is coming, bringing back Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo (shown here) as Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David. But this one, confined to a 10-episode season, will be on Paramount+.
— “Tulsa King,” the Paramount+ series starring Sylvester Stallone, will rerun its first season this summer on CBS. Read more…
