Hawaiian kids can end up in surprising places – the White House, a Disney cartoon, a football field.
Then there’s Keala Settle, who keeps being surprised. She’s gone from “Greatest Showman” (shown here) to a supporting role in “Murder in Provence,” arriving March 1 on the BritBox streaming service. Read more…
1) “The Amazing Race” finale, 8-10 p.m., CBS. The longest race in TV history ends. Filming started two years ago, took an 18-month Covid break, then resumed. Now comes the Greece-Portugal-U.S. finish. Kim and Penn Holderness, internet stars since their “Xmas Jammies” video, are in the running. So are Ryan Ferguson (exonerated after 10 years in prison) and his friend Dusty Harris, Arun Kumar and his daughter Natalia; and flight attendants (shown here) Raquel Moore and Cayla Platt. Read more…
Anthony Bourdain was the guy who other guys wanted to be.
He was tall (6-foot-3) and handsome, in a craggy sort of way. He went everywhere and ate everything. He could talk easily to a master chef, a fish peddler or a rock star. Growing up, he once said, “all my heroes were musicians or writers.”
Bourdain (shown here) seemed wonderfully at ease with life, but that was an illusion; he committed suicide at 61.
This weekend (barring breaking news), CNN will look back at a remarkable life. At 9 p.m. Saturday (March 5), it has six episodes of “Parts Unknown,” Bourdain’s Peabody Award-winning series. At 9 p.m. Sunday (repeating at 11:30), it has the TV debut of “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.” Read more…
Music, once a prime part of television, has been nudged to the fringe.
Mostly, it shows up in award shows, in competitions, in the final minutes of latenight talk shows. And it fills PBS pledge drives.
That’s where we are now. Stations are stuffing this pledge period with the songs of Billy Joel, Kenny Rogers, the Rolling Stones and more, from a Pink Floyd cover band to, as usual, Celtic Woman.
And in a change-of-pace (shown here with Jenn Colella), they have Broadway’s Lerner-and-Loewe songs, given a fresh twist. Read more…
1) State of the Union address, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and news networks. For the first time, we had to wait until March to learn what state the union is in. Since 1934, the speech has been in January or February; before that, it was November or December … except for George Washington, on Oct. 25, 1791. (Hey, he was new at this.) Now Joe Biden speaks and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds gives the Republican response. And yes, there are alternatives, including “Naomi” (shown here); see No. 4. Read more…
One of TV’s best shows is nearing its “mid-season finale,” getting a fraction of the attention it deserves.
“Resident Alien” (9 p.m. Wednesdays on Syfy) has it all – droll humor, zestful science-fiction, intriguing characters and a talking octopus. Its March 2 episode is another good one, with two more before the show rests after March 16.
Our hero (well, our protagonist) had a simple assignment: Secretly land on Earth, trigger a device to destroy all humans, then return home.
That started smoothly, when he killed a cabin-dwelling loner and assumed his body (shown here). Then the problems began: Part of his kill-everyone device was lost in the crash; he must find or replace it. Also, Harry (the guy whose body he has) was a doctor who suddenly is needed in town. The new “Harry,” a fast learner, had to take over the clinic. Read more…
1) “Better Things,” 10 and 10:46 p.m., FX; repeating at 11:21 and 12:07 and 12:42 and 1:25. This is one of TV’s best shows – once you get used to it. It has subtle, scattered moments in the random life of Sam Fox (Pam Adlon, right, who also writes, directs and produces), her three daughters and mom (they’re shown here) and more. The openers bring a genealogy jolt, a black-out, a dreaded job and more. There’s a crisis coming later, but mostly this is about life’s better and lesser things. Read more…
1) “American Idol” season-opener, 8-10 p.m., ABC. Starting its 20th season (and its fifth on ABC), this is a piece of TV history. It hit No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for 2005-6, after two years at No. 2. Ryan Seacrest remains as hosts; the judges (shown here) are Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. This year’s tours reach Nashville, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Read more…
1) “The Amazing Race” finale, 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, CBS. TV’s longest race ends. Filming started two years ago, then was delayed by Covid. The final stretch (Greece to Portugal to Los Angeles) has four duos. Kim and Penn Holderness (shown here) launched an Internet career with “Xmas Jammies.” Others are Ryan Ferguson (exonerated after a decade in prison) and his friend Dusty Harris; Arun Kumar and his daughter Natalia; and flight attendants Raquel Moore and Cayla Platt. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. For three Olympic weekends, we’ve had laughless Saturdays. Now the drought is over and John Mulaney hosts a new episode. He was an “SNL” writer for four years, co-creating Bill Hader’s Stefon character. (They’re shown here.) This is his fifth time as host and his first since finishing drug-rehab a year ago. He’s also returned to do uncredited bits and to write for some hosts. The music guest is LCD Sound System, which won a Grammy for “Tonite.” Read more…
