1) “Nolly” opener, 9 p.m., PBS. In real life, “Nolly” Gordon was a British TV pioneer, a talkshow host and program executive with a soap opera built around her. Fame and awards followed. It was a makeshift era, captured brilliantly by writer Russell Davies (“Doctor Who”) and Helena Bonham Carter (shown here). “Nolly” is funny and warm … and then, mid-way in the first of three parts, takes a sudden shift. Read more…
Happy endings are possible, it seems, even in the grimmest circumstances. That’s:
— Even in a post-apocalyptic world in which most folks have frozen to death; and
— Even in something that the Discovery people have touched.
In short, “Snowpiercer” (shown here) has been rescued. Its first three seasons will rerun later this year on AMC+; its fourth one will debut early next year on AMC. Read more…
1) Tournament time. College basketball gobbles up our TV time. (Shown here is top-ranked Houston.) On Thursday and Friday, that wll be at noon and 2:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m., ET on CBS; 12:30, 3, 7:30 and 10 p.m. on TruTV; 1:30, 4, 6:45 and 9:15 p.m. on TNT; and 2 a.m. and 4:30, 7:15 and 9:45 on TBS. (Many CBS shows – soaps, Thursday comedies and Friday cops – step aside.) Then a new round comes Saturday and Sunday. Read more…
1) “NAACP Image Awards,” 8-10 p.m., CBS, BET and VH1. Queen Latiifah returns as host, with special honors for musicians (New Edition, Frankie Beverly), designer June Ambrose and 25-year-old poet Amanda Gorman. There are awards for TV, music, books and movies – with best-picture nominees “American Fiction,” “Rustin,” “Oppenheimer,” “They Cloned Tyrone” and the vibrant “The Color Purple” (shown here). Read more…
There are roughly 3.7 zillion different routes to being an actor. At first glance, the stars of PBS’ new Alice & Jack” seem to have taken opposite ones.
For Domhnall Gleeson, 40, it looks quick and obvious. His dad, Brendan Gleeson, is a prominent actor, complete with an Oscar nomination (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), five Golden Globe nominations and a Harry Potter role, as Mad-Eye Moody.
And Andrea Riseborough, 42? Her parents were a car salesman and a secretary.
Now they trace 15 years of a sometimes-romance, in a six-parter that debuts at 10 p.m. Sunday (March 17), after the season-opener of “Call the Midwife” and the start of Helena Bonham Carter’s “Nolly.” But their careers aren’t as opposite as they seem. Read more…
1) Basketball tournaments. Thirteen college conferences have their semi-finals today, with the finals Saturday. That includes the ACC (shown here) on ESPN and the Big 12 on ESPN), both at 7 p.m. ET and about 9:30. Also, the Big East is at 8 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1. Read more…
In the olden days, the Academy Awards were followed by a rush to movie theaters.
And now? We’ll just amble to our living rooms, where most things are streaming.
Yes, the key Oscar-winners are there. Peacock has “Oppenheimer” and “The Holdovers,” Hulu has “Poor Thiings” (and adds “Anatomy of a Fall” on March 22), Max has “Barbie,” Amazon Prime and MGM+ have “American Fiction,” Netflix has the delightful winner for best live-action short, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”
But even without the Oscar films, this is a packed weekend for streamers. Three music-based films arrive Thursday – Taylor Swft’s concert film on Disney+, a Brian Jones/Rolling Stones documentary on Hulu and the “Girls5Eva” series on Netflix. They’re joined by two seven-part mini-series – “Apples Never Fall,” Thursday on Peacock, and “Manhunt” (shown here), Friday on Apple TV+. Let’s look at those two: Read more…
1) “Grey’s Anatomy” season-opener, 9 p.m., ABC. Here’s one of the last shows to return post-strike … and one that people really missed. It’s the 20th season, tying the show with “Gunsmoke” for No. 3 among dramas (trailing only two “Law & Order” shows). The season starts with a doctor (Teddy) and patient (Sam) in peril. Meredith re-thinks her research and the young interns (shown here is Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin) face a tough case Read more…
If you’re the new guy (in town, in school, at work), you want to make an impression.
You might bring treats or buy drinks … or maybe capsize an ocean-liner. That’s what “9-1-1” does at 8 p.m. Thursday, to mark its move to ABC.
The show thinks big. “We’ve done an earthquake (and) a tidal wave,” Peter Krause (shown here dancing with Angela Bassett, pre-crisis) told the Television Critics Association. “Now we’re doing ‘The Poseiden Adeventure.’” Read more…
My favorite part of the Oscars came just before my least-favorite.
The good part: Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monolog. It was just what we’d hoped for – a clever guy who knows movies, thinks about them and is willing to take some chances.
And the bad: The godawful notion of having a separate tribute to each nominated actor. That meant 20 mini-speeches over the course of the show, some of them fawning. After a red-carpet preview in which every gown was proclaimed fabulous, this was too much.
Still, much of the night was great, including the music (Billie Eilish is shown here) and, especially, Kimmel. Read more…
Best-bets for Feb. 11: early mammals, evolved skaters 
Best-bets for Feb. 10: Men’s duel begins anew 
Best-bets for Feb. 9: survivors, skaters, librarians 
