1) “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 10:11. Here’s a remarkable detour, beautifully written and played. It imagines what might happen if Maggie (shown here) and Negen had met in a no-zombie world. She’s a cool-headed farmer, visiting her sister in the city; he’s calm and thoughtful … with rage still at the core. The result is compelling. Read more…
It will be a double Dolly night Sunday (Aug. 30) on TV.
Both CBS and ABC will have new Dolly Parton specials. ABC will also include her movie, “9 to 5.”
Parton (shown here) died Tuesday at 80, in the cancer wing of a Nashville hospital. There have been waves of tributes for her music, her philanthropy and the sheer joy of her personality.
CBS had a special that night, but will follow with another Sunday. “Remembering Dolly: A Rhinestone Life” will be at 8 p.m., nudging “Big Brother” to 9 and removing “Tracker.” Read more…
1) “Marble Hall Murders” opener, 9 p.m. Sunday, PBS. For the third time, Anthony Horowitz has written a six-part mini-series on two levels: A book editor (Lesley Manville) probes a murder, while imagining chats (shown here) with a fictional detective … whom we see in a related novel. Like the others, this is a wondrously clever blend of character and mystery. Read more…
1) College football. For most schools, the season is still a week away. A few start early, however, including two neutral-site games. At noon ET, ESPN has North Carolina and Texas Christian in Ireland. And at 7:30 p.m., ABC has the annual opener for historically Black schools; this time, it’s Howard (shown here last season) and Alabama A&M, in Atlanta. Read more…
1) Vienna Philharmonic, 9 p.m., PBS. Each year, PBS has a lush, end-of-summer concert (shown here), amid palace gardens. This time, Lorenzo Viotti, 36, a second-generation, Swiss conductor has a busy program, from a cavalry overture to encores with a high-octane Brazilian piece and a Strauss waltz. Also, baritone-bass Bryn Terfel ranges from Tevye to Satan. Read more…
Barbara Walters interviewed approximately three zillion people, but when I asked about her favorite, she didn’t hesitate.
It was Dolly Parton.
Yes, Dolly — who died today (Aug. 25) at 80 — had the three elements of great interviewees: They need to be open and unfiltered, of course, but they also need to have given some real thought to their life. And they need to have a great life to recount.
Parton (shown here) had them all, as people will keep reminding us. At 10 p.m. today, CBS has a special about her. The news channels, I’m sure, have much more. Search the streamers and you’ll find movies and dramas based on her songs, on Netflix and Peacock. You’ll also find “9 to 5,” “Steel Magnolias,” “Rhinestone,” “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and more. Read more…
1) “Adults” season-openers, 9 and 9:34 p.m., FX and FXX. Five friends (shown here) share a house in Queens; in their mid-20s, they face the looming possibility of grown-up lives and jobs. That’s been done before (from “Real World” to “Friends”), but never with such exuberant twists. Some people will find it too gen-Z or too R-rated; others will find it hilarious. Read more…
Shelley Fabares fit neatly into many eras.
In a time of gentle comedies, she was the “Donna Reed Show” daughter. In an age of rock stars, she played the love interest of everyone — Elvis (three times!), Fabian, Peter Noone (of Herman’s Hermits), even Hank Williams Jr.
In better times, Fabares — who died Saturday (Aug. 22) at 82 — played a strong-willed TV newswoman on “Coach” and a villainous sort on “One Day at a Time.” She was a producer on 14 Screen Actors Guild award shows and shared the passionate human-rights causes of her husband, Mike Farrell.
But there was one quirky blip I wanted to mention here: In the anyone-can-do-it era, Fabares was a pop star … sort of against her will. Read more…
1) “Freddie Mercury — The Final Act,” 8-10 p.m., CW. For the second straight year, CW announced it was airing the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants, then bailed out. This time, the reversal was just six days before the teen pageant. Now that reverts to the internet (8 p.m. today, apparently charging about $35); CW reruns a film that focuses on Mercury (shown here) — his death and the massive the memorial concert. Read more…
1) “American Masters,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. In her childhood, Mary Oliver (shown here in her early years) found despair at home and joy in nature. She became a poet at 15, worked on Edna St. Vincent Milay’s papers at 17, then became a Pulitzer Prize-winner and the best-selling American poet. This fascinating profile is filled with admirers, from Stephen Colbert to John Waters Read more…
Best-bets for Aug. 30: drama, Dolly and gospel 
Best-bets for Aug. 29: Football begins; Harry returns 
Best-bets for Aug. 28: Viennese beauty, American football and a jerk 
