1) Oscar prep. On Academy Awards eve, here are two best-piicture nominees. “Past Lives” (7:15 p.m., Showtime) is also up for best original script; it’s extremely slow and subtle, sort of the opposite of a soap opera. “American Fiction” (8 p.m. and midnght, MGM+) is up for adapted scriipt, music, actor (Jeffrey Wright, shown here) and supporting actor (Sterling K. Brown). It has a wonderfully clever plot Read more…
1) “SWAT,” 8 and 9 p.m., CBS. For the second time in four weeks, this ambitious show (shown here in a previous episode) has a two-parter. This time, the parts air together: A Chilean arms dealer kidnaps a woman and her daughter in Los Angeles. Then bikers steal a cache of armor-piercing bullets; the team tries to catch them before they can pull off a heist. Also, there are personal crises for Tan, Nichelle and others. Read more…
1) State of the Union address, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and news channels. In an election year, this speech is crucial; so is the Republican response (by Katie Britt, a U.S. senator from Alabama), set for 10 p.m. If you insist on skipping these, we’ll list alternatives (one is shown here) for most time zones; then we’ll view the 8 p.m. hour. Read more…
1) “Animal Control” season-opener, 9 p.m., Fox. The network’s only comedy (cartoons excluded) is a good one, skillfully mixing sight gags and verbal humor. It’s always fun to see raccoons misbehave in a bowling alley, but there’s also joy in the personal bits: Victoria (shown here) is in danger of being deported … leading her co-workers to a startling discovery: They’re not considered essential workers Read more…
1) “The Cleaning Lady” season-opener, 8 p.m.,, Fox. A month after the death of one of its stars, this adjusts nimbly. Adan Canto died at 42 of appendix cancer; he was terrific as Arman, a good-hearted drug boss who rescued Thony, the doctor-turned-cleaner. Now we’re told Arnan plans to use a drug plane to extricate her sister from the Philippines; a crisis forces a fragile pairing of Thony (shown here, center) and Arman’s wife-or-widow. Read more…
1) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8 and 8:30 p.m., CBS. One of TV’s best comedies gets two episodes, propelling some plot shifts for its final season. First, Bob’s sister (shown here, center) says she’ll have a baby on her own; that nudges Abishola and Bob to re -examine the notion of having a baby. Then Abishola’s ex-husband suddenly arrives from Nigeria; he charms most people … and makes others suspicious. Read more…
1) “I Am Jackie O,” 7-9 p.m., CW. “So many of my boyfriends are dumber,” the future Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis wrote in a letter. “It’s a curse for a woman to be bright.” Then came Jack Kennedy, who matched her in intellect and education. (They’re shown here, with Caroline.) She helped him get elected, campaigning in Spanish and Italian … then retreated behind an image of wispy-voiced blandness. Here’s a profile of an intriguing life. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. At 26, Sydney Sweeney (shown here) already seems to be everywhere. Lately, she’s done movies, successful (“Anyone But You”) and not (“Madame Web”). Earlier, she had simultaneous Emmy nominations for “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.” Now she gets her first turn as “SNL” host; country singer Kacey Musgraves is the music guest. Read more…
1) “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin” opener, Apple TV+. The real Turpin grew up as a butcher, then became a poacher, horse thief and highway robber; later, he was elevated by fiction and myth. Now we get a fresh take, rippling with odd fun in the Monty Python/Rowan Atkiinson style. This wonderfully self-centered Turpin (left, in disguise) stirs lots of laughs, some of them just silly. Read more…
1) “Elsbeth” debut, 10 p.m., CBS. During the 12 seasons of “Good Wife” and “Good Life,” Elsbeth Tascioni was merely a bonus. A lawyer with a sharp mind and a quirky soul, she did 19 episodes, bringing an Emmy for Carrie Preston and fun for viewers. Now she moves to New York for a weekly mystery. The opener is great fun, centering on Stephen Moyer (shown here with Preston) of “True Blood” as a theater director. Read more…
