Best-bets for March 18: basketball vs. “Blacklist”
1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m., NBC. With basketball gobbling up CBS this weekend, hour-long crime shows are hard to find. Fortunately, “Blacklist” is back, for only its third episode in eight weeks. The task force is tracking “The Chairman,” whose dark web helps criminals trade stock-market shares. Also, Ressler is angry when Red (shown here in a previous episode) goes to extremes to find a tracking device. Read more…
1) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m., NBC. With basketball gobbling up CBS this weekend, hour-long crime shows are hard to find. Fortunately, “Blacklist” is back, for only its third episode in eight weeks. The task force is tracking “The Chairman,” whose dark web helps criminals trade stock-market shares. Also, Ressler is angry when Red (shown here in a previous episode) goes to extremes to find a tracking device.
2) Basketball. The college tournament again sprawls over four networks. The best match-up should be with teams seeded 8 and 9 in their region; that’s Seton Hall and Texas Christian, at 9:57 p.m. ET on TruTV. The 7-10 matchups have Ohio State and Loyola (Chicago), 12:15 p.m., CBS; Southern California and Miami, 3:10 p.m., TruTV; and Michigan State and Davidson, 9:40 p.m., CBS.
3) “Movies for Grownups” awards, 9 p.m., PBS (check local listings). Alan Cumming hosts this virtual ceremony from the AARP, with Lily Tomlin getting a career award. Nominated for best picture are “Belfast,” “King Richard,” “The Power of the Dog,” “Meet the Ricardos” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” … which airs at 7:20 p.m. on HBO. There’s more on Turner Classic Moviesn– “Annie Hall” (1977) at 8 p.m., with Neil Simon comedies at 2, 4 and 6.
4) “More Than Robots,” any time, Disney+. While their elders were stifled by the pandemic, teens were busy with a robotics competition. That’s part of a global effort that now involves more than 100 nations; this documentary follows teams in Los Angeles, Mexico and Japan. Also arriving on Disney+ is a new version of “Cheaper by the Dozen,” now with Zach Braff and Gabrielle Union as overwhelmed parents.
5) More streaming. “Life & Beth” is a bittersweet Hulu comedy-drama, with Amy Schumer coping with a job and a fiancé, neither very fulfilling. Other new series include Netflix’s animated “Human Resources,” HBO Max’s comedy “Minx” and Apple’s “WeCrashed,” with Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway in the story of the WeWork startup. Movie thrillers include Hulu’s “Deep Water” (with Ana de Armas of “Knives Out” and Ben Affleck) and Netflix’s “Windfall.”