1) Presidential inauguration, noon ET, everywhere. It’s the start of a new era … or, at least, the end of a noisy one. Joe Biden will be sworn in and give his inaugural address. The news channels and the big networks plan to be there long before — starting with the morning shows — and afterward. Garth Brooks, Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga perform at the ceremony; at night — see next item — Bruce Springsteen (shown here) and others perform. Read more…
1) “The Resident,” 8 p.m., Fox. Here’s the rare case of a show that keeps getting better. Merely OK at first, it keeps adding depth. That peaked with last week’s season-opener, which focused on the COVID crisis, but also flashed ahead to a post-pandemic time and the Nicolette/Conad wedding. Tonight’s excellent hour stays in the future, with a high-profile patient (shown here) and aftershocks from last week: Devon’s father, a cab driver, died of COVID. Dr. Cain, nudged by his boss, did unneeded surgeries. And Austin and Okafor had a surprise kiss. Read more…
1) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. This has quickly become one of TV’s best comedies, built around two sorta-opposites. Bob is wealthy and sometimes whimsical; Abishola is neither – she’s a diligent nurse who’s been raising her son ever since her husband returned to their native Nigeria, eight years ago. Now the husband is back; Abishola is still married to him … and is engaged to Bob, who meets him (shown here) today. It’s the first half of a two-week story that offers big laughs and strong emotions. Read more…
1) “Miss Scarlet and the Duke” debut, 8 p.m., PBS. Eliza Scarlet has always wanted to solve crimes, like her dad did. She learned his skills, but now faces a roadblock: This is Victorian London, when women aren’t taken seriously … and Eliza (Kate Phillips, shown here) is the very image of a society beauty. To succeed, she needs the reluctant support of Detective Inspector William Wellington, kmown as The Duke. The result spins some good mysteries, brightened by bits of humor and human quirks. Read more…
1) Football, 4:35 p.m., Fox, and 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC. We’re two steps from the Super Bowl, with this weekend’s winners colliding next week for the conference championships. First, the Packers (shown here with Davonte Adams), who are used to the cold, host the Rams, who aren’t; the winner faces Sunday’s Bucs-Saints winner. Then the Bills (another cold-weather team) host the Ravens; the winner faces Sunday’s Browns-Chiefs winner. Read more…
1) “Erin Brockovich” (2000), 8 p.m., Pop. This is clearly a night to watch Julia Roberts, with three strong choices, at 8 p.m. The best is “Brockovich,” the true story of an office assistant who used brains and people-skills to confront a giant power company; Roberts (shown here with Albert Finney) won an Oscar and there were four more nominations, including best picture. In TNT’s “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001), she’s the ex-wife of a heist master (George Clooney); in the Movie Channel’s “Eat Pray Love” (2010), she tries mid-life changes. Read more…
1) “Superstore,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. Racial justice, it seems, can come in unlikely areas. For the store, that includes the hair-care products: Only the Black-oriented ones are locked away. That leads to what “Superstore” does best – a mass meeting, where quirks escalate. Garrett (Colton Dunn, foreground, in a previous episode) is expected to speal for an entire race; it’s a witty episode, with subjects soon range from vending machines to “reparation pizzas.” Read more…
1) “Call Your Mother” debut, 9:30 p.m., ABC. Jean (Kyra Sedgwick, shown here) is an empty-nester with an empty life. “I haven’t had sex in four years,” she confides. “And it was four years before that. It should be an Olympic sport.” Now she tries to stir up her life: She’ll to California and insert herself into the worlds of her son and daughter. This is from writer-producer Kari Lizer, a decade after her “New Adventures of Old Christine” concluded. Sherri Shepherd plays Jean’s phone friend. Read more…
1) “This Is Us,” 9 p.m., NBC. TV’s best drama series is in top form when using flashbacks to tell a story. Now it has a big one: Randall (Sterling K. Brown, shown here) grew up without knowing his birth parents. He later found his dad (now deceased), who believed that the mom had died shortly after giving birth. Last week brought news that she lived a full life before dying in Louisiana; now he goes there. That’s surrounded by the amiable “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” at 8 p.m. and an OK episode of “Nurses” at 10. Read more…
1) College football championship, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. This is the way all seasons should end, with two undefeated powerhouses colliding. There were some doubts about Ohio State, because it had only played six games in the regular season; then, in the Rose Bowl, it thumped second-ranked Clemson, 49-28; Alabama followed with its 12th win, beating Notre Dame, 31-14; its receiver and quarterback (DeVonta Smith, shown here, and Mac Jones) finished first and third in Heisman voting. This should be a fun game. Read more…
