1) Stephen Colbert farewell, 11:35 p.m. Thursday, CBS. After floundering in late-night for decades, CBS scored big — 22 years of David Letterman and 11 of Colbert. The show often drew big ratings, always had smart comedy. Now it’s been canceled; CBS says that’s to save money, others say it was to appease Donald Trump. Either way, Letterman will be on the finale. Read more…
1) “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers” season-finales, 8 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. For “Guy,” it’s a comic version of epic events — the French Revolution (shown here), Civil War and World War II. And for “Burgers” (which also has an 8:30 episode), the crisis is closer to home: Dead fish are washing ashore, just as the town prepares for a festival. Bob must save the day. Read more…
For public-TV, America’s 250th-birthday celebration has added a key step.
Now it will be a “weekend celebration.”
Previously scheduled on PBS was the tentatively titled “America Made in Virginia: 250 Years Together,” on Saturday, July 4. Now the night before has “A Capitol Fourth” (shown here in a previous year) including a new song (“American Made”) from Trace Adkins and fireworks above George Washington’s Mount Vernon home.
Yes, that means this “Fourth” event will actually be on the third, but that’s nothing new: Through its 37 years, “The National Memorial Day Concert” has been on the eve of the holiday; now “Capitol Fourth,” from the same producers, will do the same.
Those two events help bookend the public-TV celebration: Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live” season-finale, 11:29 p.m.,, NBC. The 51st season ends big, with two familiar guys. Will Ferrell was a regular for seven seasons, many of them as the show’s main star (shown here). Here’s his sixth turn as host, with Paul McCartney’s sixth as music guest. Both men have also popped into “SNL” specials, including the 50th-anniversary one. Read more…
1) “Top Hat,” 9 p.m., PBS. The silly plot stretches a mistaken identity to the breaking point; still, the show redeems itself with superb song and dance. Based on a 1935 movie (with extra Irving Berlin songs added), this has gifted stars Phillip Attmore (shown here) and Amara Okereke doing “Cheek to Cheek,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” and more. Read more…
TV networks are shedding one of their grandest traditions — the debut of big-deal shows each fall.
Today (May 12), ABC announced a schedule with zero new shows. That comes a day after Fox did the same.
Add in CBS and NBC (three apiece) and you still have only six new shows this fall. In the old days, there would be 20-plus.
The flip side is that current shows keep surviving. ABC says this is the first time in its history that it has renewed all of its scripted shows. That includes “R.J. Decker” (shown here) that debuted in March.
To do that, it has many wait for mid-season. That includes a comedy (Tim Allen’s “Shifting Gears”) and three dramas (“High Potential,” “Will Trent” and “The Rookie”), plus “The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise.” Read more…
1) “Fear Factor: 48 Hours of Fear” opener, 9 p.m., Fox. We thought the first two versions of “Fear Factor” were creepy enough. But this two-week show adds more: People face challenges while going 48 hours without sleep. Contestants (shown here)P are a yacht captain, a firefighter captain, a lawyer, a dental hygienist and people who work in marketing and health care. Read more…
Even as sports gobble up the network, NBC has room for new shows.
Its schedule — announced today (May 11) — has three new ones this fall, with three more for mid-season. In both cases, there’s one of each — a comedy (including “Newlyweds, shown here), a drama and a reality show.
That’s being done with only moderate cancellations. The network is dropping one comedy (“Stumble”) and two dramas (“Brilliant Minds” and “Law & Order: Organized Crime),” while keeping “The Hunting Party” in limbo. Read more…
There will be one thing missing from Fox’s new fall line-up. That’s … well, “new.”
The network has renewed most of this season’s shows (including “Best Medicine,” shown here), but will start the season with zero new shows.
There are a few coming later — a “Baywatch” reboot, plus Stephen Fry’s “Interrogator” and the “Marriage Market” reality show — but they’re not expected until January.
“We have a rich history of launching shows in the mid-season,” said Michael Thorn, the network president. Read more…
1) “Chicago P.D.” season-finale, 10 p.m. NBC. The season began by adding a potent character: Arienne Mandi (shown here) is an American actress who has Chilean and Iranian roots and speaks four languages. She plays Eva Imani, who worked for a private military company, speaks Farsi and was fiercely convincing doing undercover work. Now she confronts her past. Read more…
Best-bets for May 17: cartoons and country 
Best-bets for May 16: “SNL” wraps with Will & Paul 
Best-bets for May 15: top hats and cowboy hats 
