Year: 2019

1) “Modern Family” season finale, 9 p.m., ABC. This is the sort of episode “Modern Family” savors, bouncing through several small stories. It’s almost time for Haley and Dylan to have their twins; that causes others to recall the birthdays that came during this hectic year. It wraps up the 10th season; only one more remains, for a top series (shown here with last week’s graduation episode) that once won five straight Emmys for best comedy series. Read more…

1) “Fosse/Verdon,” 10 p.m., FX. On a rainy weekend, some remarkable people gather at a beach house. There’s Bob Fosse, who recently was briefly in a mental institution … his wife, Gwen Verdon … his girlfriend, Ann Reinking … Verdon’s boyfriend … and two gifted writers, Neil Simon and Paddy Chayefsky. The idea is to comfort the widowed Simon, but other agendas surface. People want Fosse to do a movie or do a musical or just rest. Beautifully directed by Tommy Kail, this ends with a jolt. Read more…

1) “State of the Union” debut, 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT), Sundance. “This is a ridiculous conversation,” Louise (Rosamund Pike) says. It is, but it’s also quite wonderful. She and Tom (Chris O’Dowd) are in a pub, waiting for their first marital-therapy session. She’s a doctor; he wrote about music until that market vanished. They skirt around subjects, in a ridiculous/sublime way. This is a series of ten 10-minute shows, one per weekday, for two weeks. Cleverly written by Nick Hornby, it’s perfectly played. Read more…

1) “World of Dance” finale, 8-10 p.m., NBC. Last week, the show picked its four divisional winners. Now they compete for the million-dollar top prize, alongside one wildcard pick. In the first two seasons, that prize went to hip hoppers; this time, both of the team winners are hip hop – Vpeepz, from the Philippines, in junior (17 and younger), the Kings, from India, in upper. For small groups (1-4 people), both winners are contemporary – Ellie & Ava (shown here), junior; and Briar Nolet, upper. Read more…

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Adam Sandler was enmeshed in a wild “SNL” era, alongside Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and more. He left in 1995 – he and Farley were fired, he said later – and has made only brief appearances on the show since then. Here’s his first time as host. Shawn Mendes – born three years after Sandler left “SNL” — is the music guest. Read more…