As networks drift away from scripted shows, here are morsels of good news:
“Sullivans’s Crossing” (shown here) will be back with a new season in April on CW. And the AspireTV channel is preparing its first scripted show. Details are: Read more…
1) “Boston Blue,” 10 p.m., CBS. Back from a nine-week break, here’s a potent hour. Jonah, a rookie cop, was on a solo mission to avenge the murder of his dad, a judge. That creates a fresh crisis; At the shooting scene (shown here), Jonah’s family has to step aside, with Danny and Sean taking over. The result is what “Boston Blue” thrives on — a mixture of tough, cop-show action and family emoti0n. Read more…
The “Yellowstone” world is back now, surprising viewers … and surprising the people involved.
“I thought ‘Yellowstone was over,” said Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton. “I didn’t see any chance of it continuing — especially with Kayce’s arc ending so sort of perfectly.”
But now “Marshals” (shown here) debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday (March 1) on CBS. with a familiar feel. “We shot on the same sound stages that we started ‘Yellowstone’ on, in 2017,” Grimes told the Television Critics Association.
And in the same settings. “We still have the great cinematography landscape,” said Gil Birmingham, who plays the tribal leader on both shows. “And we’re going to still have the center and the nerve of ‘Yellowstone.'” Read more…
1) “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage” and “Elsbeth” return, 8 and 10 p.m., CBS. Two fun shows are back, after two-month breaks. First, Mandy’s dad (shown here, right) is clearly in need of a hobby. Then Elsbeth tangles with a rich bio-hacker (Hamish Linklater) who obsesses on extending his life. Read more…
When CBS’ Friday dramas finally return, they’ll find tough times.
There’s a big blaze in “Fire Country” (there usually is) at 9 p.m., Feb. 27, a big case in “Blue Bloods” at 10. And a siege in “Sheriff Country,” at 8.
Yes, a siege, sort of like the old days of catapults and fireballs and such. In this case, the sheriff’s headquarters is being overwhelmed.
“It was a very carefully choreographed, staged area,” Morena Baccarin (shown here) told the Television Critics Association. “We had to … tell a very consistent story of being under siege, running out of ammo and having no radio connectivity to the outside world.” Read more…
1) “Scrubs” return, 8 and 8:32 p.m., ABC, rerunning at 9:58 and 10:31. After a nine-year run, this show ended in 2010 …. Except now, 16 years later, it’s back. J.D. (Zach Braff) returns to the hospital and finds that his old colleagues are still there. Donald Faison and Judy Reyes (shown here with Braff) plus Sarah Chalke, Neil Flynn and John C. McGinley are all back. Read more…
1) State of the Union address, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and news channels. Just four days after the Supreme Court declared his tariffs illegal, Donald Trump gives his speech; Abigail Spanberger, the Virginia governor, will give the Democratic response from the colonial Williamsburg historical area.
2) “Best Medicine,” 8 p.m., Fox. Networks still get a primetime hour before the speeches (or after them, on the West Coast). This is an amiably goofy one that has townsfolk agog when a body is found. There are key personal moments for Dr. Best and for his office assistant, Elaine (shown here). Read more…
1) “Independent Lens: The Interrogator,” 10 p.m., PBS. Emerging from a hard-scrabble Houston neighborhood, Barbara Jordan (shown here) was an instant leader. Her Texas Southern University debate team beat Yale and tied Harvard. She got a law degree and was a pioneering state senator and congresswoman, delivering a potent impeachment talk. Here’s a compelling profile. Read more…
As the team portion of Olympic figure skating peaked, NBC’s Terry Gannon had a question.
“Is Alys Liu ever NOT smiling?” he asked.
Apparently not. Liu (shown here) had finished her part, the short program, and now was sitting with her teammates, mostly beaming. A week later, she had something more to smile about: She became the first U.S. woman to win figure-skating gold in 24 years.
Viewers can get a sampling Saturday, when NBC has the Olympics skating gala in two bursts, at 2:55 p.m. and 3:50 p.m. ET. There will be no rules, no judges, just the medalists skating for fun. Read more…
(These are slightly out of order; the Feb. 22 one appears below this)
1) Winter Olympics. It’s the last full day, with a flurry of medal finals. The USA Network is mostly live from 4 a.m. ET to the hockey bronze-medal game, at 2:40 p.m. NBC is mostly live from 10 to 6, then repackages the day from 8-11 p.m. And CNBC has curling, from 1-7 p.m.
2) Skating gala, 2:55 to 3:15 p.m. ET and 3:50 to 4:30. Amid all of that competition, here’s the opposite. It’s a figure-skating exhibition, with no rules, no judges and lots of dazzle. The medalists — including the U.S.’ Chock-and-Bates dance duo (shown here) and solo sensation Alysa Liu — can simply have fun. Read more…
Best-bets for March 23: clever comedies, plus bowlers 
Best-bets for March 22: a big, busy night 
Best-bets for March 21: lots of basketball … and lots of alternatives 
