1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m.. NBC. The show’s 150th episode is stuffed with guest stars – Tom Wopat as a warden, Fisher Stevens(shown here) as an ex-con working in a toy store, Al Roker as … well, Al Roker, but an intense version. The main story – a seemingly impossible suspect – is far-fetched, but intriguing. Alongside that are divided loyalties for both Dembe and Liz. It adds up to a strong and well-crafted hour. Read more…
TV keeps finding new ways to create social-distance entertaiment.
Coming next weekend (May 15-16) are a video show and (really) a graduation ceremony, with the Obamas (shown here) as speakers.
Before that, the emphasis will be on at-home music. On Sunday, ABC has “Disney Family Singalong II” at 7 p.m. and “American Idol” from 8-10 p.m.; on Monday and Tuesday, NBC has “The Voice.” Then come the variations: Read more…
Now two big network shows are in their music-from-home phase.
It’s “American Idol” on Sundays, “The Voice” on Mondays and Tuesdays. That’s five hours a week, to remind us that fun continues even when people stay home.
But as similar as they are, the shows are opposites in a key way: “Idol” seems to embrace its at-homeness; “Voice” (shown here with Mandi Castillo) seems almost in denial. Read more…
1) “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 8 p.m., ABC. Brad Rutter is back, partly via rerun. First, there’s “Jeopardy,” rerunning its “Greatest of All Time” tournament (check local listings); that continues through May 14, with (from left) James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Rutter. Then he’s part of the new “Millionaire” twist: Each contestant is allowed to bring one guest to confer with; tonight, Hannibal Burress concludes and Catherine O’Hara begins … with Rutter as her guest. Read more…
There’s a reason we need all those big-deal cable and streaming mini-series.
They let Marvel stars remind us that they’re also serious actors. Now we have:
– Chris Evans in “Defending Jacob,” which is halfway through its eight-episode run on Apple TV+. He plays an assistant district attorney whose teen son becomes a murder suspect.
– Mark Ruffalo in “I Know This Much is True,” a six-parter that starts Sunday on HBO. With the help of editing, he plays twins (shown here). One of them is schizophrenic … which is not to be confused with when Paul Rudd recently played a guy and his clone in “Living With Yourself” on Netflix. Read more…
Welcome to Star Wars Days, on May the Fourth.
(Isn’t it nice when a holiday is on a Monday, extending the weekend?)
This is when we’re expected to sit in front of a screen, staring at “Star Wars” shows. Possible exemptions are for essential workers and/or people who are busy doing “Star Wars” puzzles, games or art projects.
Fortunately, three networks make it easy for us, with marathons (shown here with “The Last Jedi”) and such. That includes: Read more…
1) “Brockmire” series finale, 10 p.m. ET, IFC. When the show started, Jim Brockmire (Hank Azaria, shown here) – a former big-time sportscaster — was at the bottom of the minor leagues. Now, after just four seasons and 32 episodes? We’ve jumped ahead to 2034 and the nation is in ruins. So is baseball, which has made Brockmire its commissioner. He ponders aligning with an artificial intelligence that has already crushed Google and Facebook and plans to rule the world. It’s a clever – and quite funny – finale. Read more…
1) “The Voice,” 8 p.m., NBC. The show slated its first social-distance episode for Monday: After naming which of four people (includings before the finale. Nelson Cade III, shown here) would get the 17th and final spot, it had them all perform, with viewers voting. Here’s the results show, just two weeks. Read more…
Any experiment – Wright Brothers’ flight, man on the moon, mixing chocolate with marshmallow – will have its problems.
Let’s think of the upcoming “All Rise” episode (son here) — 9 p.m. Monday, May 4, on CBS — that way. It’s flawed, but fascinating.
As COVID-19 struck, productions shut down and actors were sent home. Then came the idea of concocting an episode that could be done from their homes … representing the characters’ homes. Read more…
1) “All Rise,” 9 p.m., CBS. Consider this a grand experiment, flawed but fascinating, For the first time, a major network drama has made a full social-distance hour. Judge Carmichal (Simone Missick, shown here) is preparing her first virtual trial, with two of her friends (Mark and Emily) as prosecutor and defense attorney; Judge Benner supervises … while learning to cook. We see the whole thing via video chats, sometimes punctuated by a mellow Los Angeles disc jockey. The whole thing is shot at the actors’ homes, then edited cleverly. The people parts are great; the virtual-courtroom parts are an illogical mess. Experiments are like that. Read more…
