Year: 2021

1) Streaming. This is a busy day for the streamers. At the same time that Disney starts “Mighty Ducks” (see next paragraph) and continues Marvel’s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (shown here), others have series. Amazon Prime has animation for grown-ups, launching “Invincible”; Hulu has horror, with the season-finale of “Into the Dark.” Others have non-fiction – “Cocktails and Tall Tales with Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy” debuts on Discovery+; “Nailed It” starts a new Netflix season, now with duos doing the baking. Read more…

1) “Superstore” series finale, 8-9 p.m., NBC. For six seasons, this has been a likable (if inconsistent) view of the rag-tag workers at a big-box store. Now the chain plans to close most of its stores; at corporate headquarters, Amy (America Ferrera, shown here in a previous episode) tries to help her former colleagues. They want to make this a “perfect store” – not easy when random body parts are found (again). There are some fairly funny moments (as usual) … and then “Superstore” has a terrific finish, giving viewers just what they’ve wanted. Read more…

1) “SEAL Team,” 9 p.m., CBS. After loaning its timeslot to a music special last week, the show returns with its central character in jeopardy: Jason (David Boreanaz, shown here, center, in a previous episode) has been accused of committing a horrific crime on a mission. His colleagues are barred from conta\cting him, leaving him on his own. Read more…

1) “American Masters: Flannery,” 8-9:30 p.m., PBS. For a brief spurt, Flannery O’Conner (shown here) strayed far from her rural-Georgia roots. She went to the Iowa Writers Workshop and tp a writers colony in New York, getting praise and friendship from literary masters. Then she was diagnosed with lupus, which her father had died of; she retreated at 27, spending her final 12 years with her mom. Her two novels and 37 short stories kept a Southern Gothic tone, becoming classics. Here’s an excellent profile. Read more…

1) Music overload. For the first time this season, the new ratings giant (NBC’s “The Voice”) faces the original one (ABC’s “American Idol,” now on Sundays and Mondays). Both are 8-10 p.,m.; tonight, “Voice” closes its auditions and looks back at highlights; “Idol” is in Hollywood Week, with Ryan Seacrest (shown here) introducing duets. But for truly great singing, catch Cynthia Erivo as Aretha Franklin, in National Geographic’s “Genius.” Sunday’s openers reruns at 6:56 and 8:03, with new hours at 9 and 10; it continues through Wednesday. Read more…

1) “Genius: Aretha” opener, 9 and 10:08 p.m., National Geographic; rerunning at 11:05 p.m. and 12:12 a.m. Over the next four nights, an epic life will unfold, spiced by great music. Aretha Franklin was plagued by overbearing men, including her dad, a famous preacher (played by Courney Vance, shown here) and her first husband. Still, she soared. This opens with her one trip to record in Muscle Shoals, Ala.; then it flashes between her childhood and early career. Cynthia Erivo’s portrayal is quite stoic, but her singing is magnifcent and Aretha-esque. Read more…