1) “The Irrational” return, 10 p.m., NBC. This was one of the few scripted shows that helped rescue us from an all-rerun autumn. It had nine new episodes, were filmed before the strikes; now it returns for the season’s final four. Alec (Jesse Martin, shown here), the survivor of a church bombing, tries to help a boy who is a burn victim. Read more…
1) Football, 3 p.m. ET, CBS; 6:30 p.m., Fox. Now we learn which teams will be in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. Today has the Chiefs at the Ravens, then the Lions (shown here) at the 49ers. For the Chiefs, this is an annual custtom; they’ve been in three of the past four Super Bowls, winning twice. The Lions, by comparison, have never been there. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Justin Timberlake (shown here) used to be a steady force on the show. He was just the host twice, just the music guest twice (once in ‘NSync), both on three other times. He also had four uncredited stops. But he hasn’t been back for a decade, except for the 40th-anniversary special. Now he’s the music guest, with Dakota Johnson getting her second turn as host. Read more…
1) Figure skating, 8-11 p.m., NBC. The national championships continue through Sunday, but this is the night viewers prefer – the women’s finals. (Shown here, in a previous event, is returning champion Isabeau Levito.) Still coming are finals for dance (2:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC), pairs (8 p.m. Saturday, USA Network) and men (2 p.m. Sunday, NBC). Read more…
1) “Hell’s Kitchen” finale, 8-10 p.m., Fox. Three young chefs remain in the running for the $250,000 prize and the head-chef spot at a Las Vegas restaurant. Ryan O’Sullivan, 25, is from Ireland; Johnathan Benvenuti, 28, is from California and Sammi Tarantino (shown here), 25, is originally from Ohio. In the first hour, they impress guest chefs; in the second, the top two prepare a menu and a full dinner service. Read more…
1) “Nature: Big Little Journeys” finale, 8 p.m., PBS. This three-week gem has followed small animals on big journeys. Now a chameleon in Madagascar and a water vole (shown here) in Scotland must each find a mate and a place for babies to be born. Skillfully using technology and trickery (several animals merge into one story), this offers a dazzling look at tiny creatures in a big world. Read more…
1) “NCIS: Sidney” season-finale, 8 p.m., CBS. This Aussie/American blend (shown here) has done a fairly solid job of wielding cop-show cliches. Now it amps up the odds, with mixed results. It starts with one of the strangest kidnapping in TV history and ends cleverly. In between, it requires people to behave out-of-character, in the way TV fiction prefers. Read more…
1) “The Bachelor” opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. After being runner-up on “Bachelorette.” Joey Graziadei is now in charge. He’s 28 and teaches tennis; he’ll meet four women in their early 30s and 28 in their twenties. There are three nurses, a mental-health therapist and a mental-health counselor. There’s also an actress, an artist, an “esthetician,” a nanny (Evalin, shown here) and a pro-football cheerleader. Read more…
1) “Encanto” (2021), 8 p.m., Disney Channel, or “Soul” (2020), 9 p.m., ABC. These films have much in common. Each streamed at Christmas, rippling with music and ethnic flavor; each won the Oscar for best animated picture. But “Soul” (with a jazzy sound) hit the pandemic and skipped theaters in the U.S.; “Encanto” (shown here), with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Latino sound, had better luck a year later. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29, NBC. One quick route to being an “SNL” host seems to be portraying Elvis Last season had Austin Butler, the “Elvis” star; tonight is Jacob Elordi, the “Priscilla” (shown heee) co-star. (He also did “Euphoria” and the “Kissing Booth” movies.) “SNL” had eight new episodes in 10 weeks, before airing four straight reruns. Now it’s back; Renee Rapp is the music guest. Read more…
