Month: September 2019

1) Emmy awards, 8-11 p.m. ET, Fox. Sadly, there’s no host this year; Fox says it wants to focus on tributes to departing shows, including “Game of Thrones” (shown here, leading with 32 nominations), “Veep” and “The Big Bang Theory.” At least, fun people will be presenters. Many have been awards hosts in the past — Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers. Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler and Anthony Anderson. Others include Bill Hader, Lilly Singh, Billy Porter, Maya Rudolph, RuPaul, Ben Stiller and Cedric the Entertainer. Read more…

1) “Schitt’s Creek,” 4-11 p.m., Pop. It took five years for this oft-clever show to get attention. Now “Schitt’s Creek” has Emmy nominations for best comedy and for its costumes and stars, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (shown here); TV Guide named it the best current show. It’s not THAT good, but it is above average, with a once-rich family settling for life in the tattered town it once bought. The sixth and final season starts in January; here’s the fifth, starting with O’Hara’s awful horror movie. Read more…

1) “Magnum P.I.” (shown here), 9 p.m., CBS. A week before their season-openers, all three CBS shows rerun their season-finales – big, busy ones. In this case, Magnum’s ex-girlfriend (Jordana Brewster) arrives. It’s not a cheery reunion because: a) She has a gunshot wound; b) She needs a favor; and c) She’s the reason Magnum and his SEAL team became POW’s. Read more…

1) “The Paley Center Salutes: The Good Place,” 9 p.m., NBC. The trouble with great shows is that they insist on staying great. They end early, while bland shows go on forever. “Good Place” (shown here) — wonderfully weird show, richly imaginative – plans to end after this season, which is only its fourth. It started with four undeserving people seemingly getting an ideal afterlife … then kept twisting and re-twisting. This special was originally set for 8 p.m., then moved to 9 … exactly a week before its season-opener. Read more…

1) “Country Music,” 8 p.m. (rerunning at 10), PBS. When Johnny Cash (shown here) left the Air Force, he had no clear plan. He was an Arkansas guy, newly married to a Texan he’d met during training. After moving to Memphis, where his brother lived, he was a bad salesman and an aspiring musician. He learned from a black bluesman and eventually met Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and more. That story – plus others, including the rise of Patsy Cline – wraps up the first half of Ken Burns’ brilliant, two-week series. Read more…

1) “America’s Got Talent” finals, 8-10:01 p.m., NBC. The 10 finalists get one more chance to impress us. Then viewers vote; on Wednesday, the show will have its 14th champion. There are lots of singers – Kodi Lee, Emanne Beasha and Benicio Bryant, plus the Detroit Youth Choir (shown here), the Ndlovu Youth Choir and Voices of Service. But there’s also variety — comedian Ryan Niemiller, violinist Tyler Butler-Figuera and two dance groups, the acrobatic V.Unbeatable and the light-up Light Balance Kids. Read more…