1) “The Bachelor” finale, 8 p.m., ABC, with follow-up at 10. Zach Shallcross started with 30 women, including four nurses, a nursing student, a therapist (Charity Lawson, the next “Bachelorette” star) and a rodeo racer. Now Shallcross, 26, a 6-foot-4 sales guy from California, is down to two: Kaity Biggar (shown here with Shallcross), 27, is a Canadian travel nurse; Gabi Elnicki, 25, is a marketer from Vermont. Read more…
1) “Succession,” 9 p.m., HBO, rerunning at 10:05. One of the most honored dramas in years starts its final season. In each of its three previous ones, Jesse Armstrong has won an Emmy for his scripts; there have been 10 other wins, including – for the second and third seasons – best drama series. During that time, people have vied to be the successor to Logan Roy (Brian Cox,shown here, center), atop a media empire. Now, however, he plans to sell it all to a tech visionary. Read more…
1) Basketball and figure-skating. The 7-footers and the 5-footers each have their moments tonight. The big guys are in the college basketball tournament, at 6 and 8:30 p.m. ET on TBS, setting half of next Saturday’s final four. And the petite folks (shown here) are in the finals of the World Figure Skating Championships; that’s tape-delayed from 8-10 p.m. on NBC. For more sports, catch XFL football (7 p.m., FX) or pro hockey (Capitals-Penguins, 8 p.m. ET, ABC). Read more…
1) “Up Here” debut, Hulu. Robert Lopez has already triumphed as a composer for Broadway (“Avenue Q,” “Book of Mormon”) and — with his wife, lyricist Kristen Anderson Lopez — for movies (“Frozen,” “Coco”). Now they link with director Tommy Kail (“Hamilton”) for a gem. We see young lovers (Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdez, shown here) and hear the lingering voices in their heads. It’s a delightful musical in eight parts, all available at once. Read more…
1) Basketball. The second weekend of the college tournament begins, with only one game that fulfills predictions. That’s at 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS, when Gonzaga and UCLA (shown here), seeded No. 2 and 3 in their region; collide; at 7:15 on CBS, that region has Connecticut (No. 4) and Arkansas (No. 8). Elsewhere, TBS has Kansas State (No. 3) and Michigan State (No. 7) at 6:30 and Tennessee (No. 4) and Florida Atlantic (No. 9) at 9. Read more…
1) “Chicago P.D.,” 10 p.m., NBC. Here is “P.D.” at its best – with an intense, time-factor story that skirts the edge of ethics. Voight (shown here) guesses a juror has been intimidated. Can his team find a solution, without disrupting the trial and risking someone’s life? Two late scenes defy credibility: Why is Voight going in alone? How did he (a trial witness) meet the juror in a restroom? Still, it’s tautly constructed and Sara Bues is subtly perfect as the prosecutor. Read more…
1) “American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci,” 8-10 p.m., PBS. For most of its 280 episodes, “Masters” has focused on arts and entertainment, not immunologists. But here is a slowly engaging look at Fauci (shown here), 82, who was the U.S. infectious-disease chief for 38 years. We see a gentle guy who laughs often – despite verbal assaults – and listens to his critics. In a great segment, he chats with the AIDS activists – now his friends – who fervently fought him 30 years ago. Read more…
1) “The Bachelor,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. It’s “fantasy suite” time, when Zach Shallcross invites the final three women to each spend a night with him. This season started with lots of women from serious fields – four nurses, a nursing student, two other health-care people and a therapist. Now most are gone, but Kaity Biggar, 27, a Canadian travel nurse, remains. So do Ariel Frenkel (shown here, center, with Biggar and Shallcross), 28, and Gabi Elnicki, 25, who are marketing and account executives. Read more…
1) “Sanditon” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. There’s lots of work left to do – and only six episodes in this final season. Sweet Charlotte has just returned from a visit to her home town, where she got engaged to a local guy. (They’re show here.) But what about the widower’s unspoken love for her? And his daughter and Georgiana, courted because of their wealth? All of that – and much more — will be settled in these crowded (and well-crafted) hours, part of a busy drama night for PBS. Read more…
1) “Succession,” 9 p.m., HBO. A much-praised drama (shown here) starts its fourth and final season, 15 months after the third ended. Each year has been nominated for the best-drama Emmy and the second and third seasons won. There have been 11 other wins, including three straight for Jesse Armstrong’s scripts. Throughout, family members have vied for control of the media conglomerate. Now, instead, there are plans for a sale to a tech visionary; lives are in flux. Read more…
