1) “Sinners” (shown here), 9 p.m., HBO. With the Academy Awards coming Sunday, this is your last chance to catch some of the front-runners without streaming. HBO has another one — “One Battle After Another” — at 6:15 p.m. Friday. They lead with 16 and 13 nominations respectively and are also on HBO Max. Read more…
1) “Hollywood Squares” return, 10:30 p.m., CBS. After a four-week break, “Squares” returns … but is trimmed to a half-hour slot. Drew Barrymore (shown here with Thomas Lennon, a frequent panelist) lives in the center square. Tonight, she’s with reality-show veterans Rob Mariano, Niecy Nash Betts and Ms. Pat, plus singer Ariana DeBose and comedians Ron Funches, Tiffany Haddish, Pete Holmes and Jo Koy. Read more…
1) “Best Medicine,” 8 p.m., Fox. With this show’s format, anything is possible. Things can be goofy — sometimes too goofy — one moment, serious the next. This time. that leans mostly to the serious side. The story starts with a spinster who loves great birds and bad poetry, then (shown here) has a disaster. From therem it spins in many interesting directions. Read more…
1) “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Reggie’s ex-wife (played by Erika Alexander, 56, shown here) reluctantly re-enters the dating world … which, alas, has changed in the smart-phone era. Add another plot (a frantic search for a cat) and you have a sharp, funny episode. Read more…
1) “Marshals,” 8 p.m., CBS. For a furious stretch, this is in full military mode — rifles, grenade, trucks, horses and explosions. Surrounding that is lots of macho dialog, some of it sharp and some just repetitive. There’s also a cliche boss, some family warmth (shown here) and a country song. This sort of fits together, but it’s not clear if it can work from week to week. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Ryan Gosling is a great guest anywhere, including the Oscars and (shown here) “SNL.” Now he’s the host, three weeks before his “Project Hail Mary” movie opens. It’s his fourth time as host and the first for Gorillaz as the music guest. A week later, Harry Styles will have his second turn in both jobs. Read more…
1) “Outlander” (shown here in a previous season) opener, 8 p.m. Starz, rerunning at 9:05 and 10:08. A huge journey — eight seasons, sprawled over 12 years, telling a 225-year time-travel tale — starts its final round. Previous episodes rerun at 6 and 6:59, with Claire guiding Denzell through surgery. Then Jamie finds a disturbing truth and returns Claire to the Ridge, for a surprise. Read more…
1) “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” 9 p.m., FX., rerunning at 10:30. This was the wedding the masses speculated about … performed far from their view. In a tiny island chapel, Kennedy and Bissette (shown here in a previous episode) married. In an excellent episode, we see the bride have warm moments with Ethel Kennedy and cold ones with her own mother. Read more…
1) “America’s Culinary Cup” debut (shown here), 9:30-11 p.m., CBS. After 18 seasons on “Top Chef,” Padma Lakshmi knows a lot about food. Now she aims high — sleek kitchen, million-dollar prize and acclaimed chefs. One won the top international prize, another was his coach, five others have Michelin stars. The result is slick and entertaining. Read more…
1) “NCIS” return, 8 p.m., CBS. Emily Wickersham was 27 when she joined “NCIS,” playing a young agent surrounded by long-timers. She stayed for eight seasons, then was gone for five. Now — as the “NCIS” shows return from a 10-week break — she’s back (shown here) and in trouble. Her character (Ellie Bishop) is a cyber-terrorism suspect. Read more…
