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…
ABC will add a burst of Florida-quirkiness to its Tuesday line-up.
“RJ Decker” (shown here with Scott Speedman) — based on a Carl Hiasson novel — debuts at 10 p.m. March 3. It will follow “Will Trent” and “High Potential,” nudging “The Rookie” to Mondays behind “American Idol.:
The “Florida gothic” genre — mixing sunny settings, weird characters and the occasional alligator — has surged with the novels of Elmore Leonard, Dave Barry and more, including Hiasson. Read more…
1) “Stumble,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. This cheer-team comedy has been inconsistent, but with some big-laugh moments. Now its best episode involves a mandatory sex-relations lecture (shown here), complete with role-play, an ancient VCR machine and a semi-ancient lecturer. The result is hilarious. Read more…
An upcoming TV series has found a fresh way to link the birthdays of the United States and (shown here) its Route 66 highway system.
“The Great American Road Rally: Celebrity Edition” will start May 13 on the CW network. It will continue on Wednesdays and conclude on July 22 — two-and-a-half weeks after the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on Independence.
This won’t be a race, with fast-and-furious cars smashing speed limits. Instead, the 10 cars — each aligned with a charitable cause — will pause in different towns, for fundraising and awareness events. Still pending are: Read more…
1) “Animal Control,” 9 p.m., Fox. Ever since their “Community” years, Joel McHale has had fun ribbing Ken Jeong. Now that they’re Fox stars, Jeong (shown here with a date and McHale) sometimes plays his nemesis on this show. In a funny episode here, they spend the day together. That’s followed by the so-so season-opener of “Going Dutch”; Quinn (Denis Leary) plots to win the war game. Read more…
