When TV shows take a break, our reactions vary.
Some shows are gone for a couple years and we barely shrug; others are gone for a couple weeks and we feel cheated.
Now things are getting better: Fox’s “The Simpsons” returns Sunday (March 30), after a six-week break; CBS’ Thursday and Friday shows return April 3-4 (starting with “Georgie & Mandy,” shown here), after a two-week break that seemed approximately forever. Read more…
1) “Rescue HI-Surf” season-finale, 9 p.m., Fox. On his daughter’s graduation day, Sonny confronts his friend Vince – who’s been dealing drugs from the lifeguard stand. His team, awash in romantic woe, has a bigger task, rescuing snorkelers. It’s a mildly interesting hour, with a party-time finish (shown here). Read more…
1) “The Simpsons” return, 8 p.m., Fox. For 31 years, “Simpsons” has been a Sunday staple. So it was a jolt, when Fox actually rested it. After six sad, Homer-less weeks, it’s back; Bart becomes a celebrity DJ (shown here) and Homer pushes Ned Flanders too far. “Family Guy” slides to 8:30, “Great North and “Krapopolis” stay at 9 and 9:30 and “Grimsburg” rests. Read more…
1) Basketball, 6:09 and about 8:39 p.m. ET Saturday, CBS. It’s final-four time, as the teams collide in San Antonio. The winners will be back next Monday, for the national championship. Meanwhile, CBS has some of its top shows back after a two-week break. It’s cop-and-firefighter shows on Friday (“Fire Country” is shown here) and (see No. 8) comedies and mysteries Thursday. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Fresh from her Oscar-winning work in the excellent “Anora” (shown here), Mikey Madison has her first turn as host. Country singer Morgan Wallen is the music guest Read more…
1) “Jacqueline du Pre: Genius and Tragedy,” 9 p.m., PBS. At 17, du Pre (shown here) burst onto the music scene. “She was simple, she was caring, she was smiling,” conductor Zubin Mehta says here. Friends called her “Smiley”; others called her the “golden girl.” Then multiple sclerosis ended her cello-playing at 28. This is a superb profile, filled with great music Read more…
1) Basketball. The college tournament is down to 16 teams and will eliminate four of them tonight. CBS has Alabama and Brigham Young at 7:09 p.m. ET, Arizona and Duke (shown here) at about 9:39. TBS and TruTV have Maryland and Florida at 7:39 and Michigan and Auburn at about 10:09. Read more…
After 35 years on the job, some people might get a gold watch, a dinner or maybe a fishing pole. Heather Tom got extra work.
That’s fine with her, she said. “I don’t like not working.”
Brad Bell, the producer of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” was aware of that. “This is a celebration of my 35 years of work,” Tom said. “So Brad said, ‘Let’s give you three jobs.’”
She wrote, directed (shown here) and acted in an episode — possibly the first woman to do that in one daytime episode. It airs at 1:30 p.m. Thursday (March 27) on most CBS stations. Read more…
Two Midwestern songwriters who seem worlds apart – Bob Dylan and Cole Porter – will be featured this May, in PBS’ annual Broadway series.
Porter grew up on an Indiana farm; his “Kiss Me Kate” concludes the series May 30. A week earlier is the “Girl From the North Country,” with 20 songs from Dylan, who grew up in small-town Minnesota.
In their original versions, both shows drew Tony nominations for best musical; so did “Next to Normal” (shown here in its Broadway production), which opens the series. (“Kiss Me Kate” won, back in 1949; the others didn’t.)
They’re joined by the lone play in this group, “Yellow Face.” The shows, each at 9 p.m. on “Great Performances,” are: Read more…
1) “The Conners” (shown here) season-opener, 8 p.m., ABC. It’s the end of a great run that spans 37 years. “Roseanne” thrived from 1988-97, then came back big in 2018. When Roseanne Barr was fired, it changed title and said her character had died. Now a six-episode final season begins. Darlene lands a promotion; her aunt Jackie wants to sue a drug company. Read more…
Best-bets for Sept. 28: One drama’s final hour, another one’s second 
Best-bets for Sept. 27: Homer & Madonna & more 
Best-bets for Sept. 26: “Farm Aid” is back; so is “SNL” 
