1) “Deputy” season-finale, 9 p.m., Fox. The first season ends the way it started – with fierce waves of emotion. We’ve grumbled about some overwrought episodes in-between, but this one makes the passions feel justified. Sheriff Hollister rage at the outing of his informants,but also savors the joy of his daughter (Latina on her mom’s side) at her quinceanera (shown here). Things are wrapped up potently. Read more…
1) “CMT Crossroads” (shown here), 10 p.m., CMT. Here are gifted stars with opposite roots: Kelsea Ballerini grew up on a farm near Knoxville and sang in church. Halsey is a city kid from New Jersey; she had some rough years and homelessness in Manhattan. But they’re similar in age (26 and 25 respectively) and in the ability to propel emotion. A sampling of this concert hour shows great duets on Halsey’s “Graveyard” and on Ballerini’s “Homecoming Queen.” Read more…
1) “This Is Us” season-finale, 9 p.m., NBC. This richly layered drama manages to end each season with jolts of emotion. We’ll expect that tonight, much of it coming from the two brothers. As last week’s fascinating episode ended, their mom reluctantly agreed to go away for a clinical trial, trying to head off Alzheimer’s disease. That soothed Randall (Sterling K. Brown, show here), but may enrage Kevin. They collide tonight, at the first birthday party for Jack, the blind son of their sister Kate and her husband Toby. Read more…
1) “The Hidden Kingdoms of China” debut, 8-11 p.m. ET, Nat Geo Wild; reruns at 11 ET, then concludes March 30. China is known for its cities and its 1.4 billion people. Still, this is a sprawling place – almost 20 percent bigger than the U.S., minus Alaska – with lots of wilderness. That’s captured here with stunning beauty. The first hour sees the mountain creatures; the second has the South Hunan jungles. The third is a delight, with giant pandas (shown here)P, golden pheasants, bamboo bats and moustache toads. Read more…
1) “Little Women” (shown here), 8-11 p.m., PBS. Yes, the 2019 movie was masterful. Still, this 2018 mini-series is also first-rate. Given more time (but not more money), it has Louisa May Alcott’s special blend of unapologetic warmth and sentiment, alongside sibling rage and worldly ambition. Newcomer Maya Hawke (daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) is a superb Jo, in a tradition from Katharine Hepburn in 1933 to Saoirse Ronan in 2019. Emily Watson and Angela Lansbury offer fine support. Read more…
1) Sports override, everywhere. This was supposed to be an all-sports night – pro basketball on ABC, college basketball on CBS (and cable), figure-skating on NBC. Now all three are gone, replaced by reruns and newsmagazines. ABC has “Shark Tank” and “American Idol” (Hollywood Week begins) … NBC has “Ellen’s Game of Games” and “Dateline” … CBS has “FBI” (Sasha Alexander, shown here, as an endangered presidential candidate), “NCIS: New Orleans” (a theater explosion) and “48 Hours.” Read more…
1) “The Blacklist” return, 8 and 9 p.m., NBC. After a three-month rest, this clever show is back with two episodes that are smart and twisty … but, in some ways, total opposites. Yes, both involve a valuable gold box; both link Red with an imposing blonde – Gillian Alexy in the first hour, Joely Richardson (shown here) in the the second. But the first hour is a smart art-theft tale; the second throws logic aside, for a fun throwback tale: People are in a mansion on a dark and stormy night, with no escape and much death. Read more…
1) “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” 8:30 p.m., NBC. This was supposed to be when NBC’s overlooked comedies finally got noticed. CBS was turning to basketball, benching its own comedies for two weeks; NBC could shine … except, alas, basketball was canceled and the CBS comedies (via rerun) are back. Still, try NBC – “Superstore” at 8 p.m., the sometimes-hilarious “Will & Grace” at 9 and this dandy one (shown here). Jake meets his criminal friend (Craig Robinson), in a wild plot that zooms to Miami amid schemes. Read more…
1) “Motherland: Fort Salem” debut, 9 p.m., Freeform. They forgot to tell us this in history class: Ever since the Revolutionary War, it seems, witches have been a key part of the American army. Now we meet three young ones (two are shown here) in basic training. There’s the privileged daughter of an officer … an angry youth mourning her mom … and an idealist who just wants to do good. Their arguments feel contrived, but other scenes work well – especially the opening and closing ones, showing how potent the enemy is. Read more…
1) “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968), 10:30 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. With many St. Patrick’s Day events canceled, people can settle for TCM’s full day of Irish films. Logically, there are two that John Ford filmed in his parents’ homeland – “Rising of the Moon” (1965) at 4:30 p.m. ET and John Wayne’s “The Quiet Man” (1952) ar 8. But no, you don’t have to be Irish: Before directing “Godfather” films, Francis Coppola made “Finian’s Rainbo,”(shown here with Fred Astaire and Tommy Steele), a gem of a musical with zesty visuals and bursts of satire. Read more…
