1) “Yellowstone,” 10 a.m. to midnight, Paramount Network. This modern-day cowboy series with Kevin Costner (shown here) has become a ratings hit. You can catch up with it on Paramount+ or on TV. Today starts with the debut episode and ends early in the second season;; Sunday (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.) will reach midway into the third of four season; the fifth doesn’t arrive until November. Read more…
1) America’s Got Talent” season-opener, 8-10:01 p.m. Tuesday, NBC. The summer season is taking hold now. We already have fun-and-games nights Monday (Fox), Tuesday (ABC) and Wednesday (Fox); also, NBC has an “American Ninja Warrior” special, with past contestants, from 8-10 p.m. today, a week before the new season. But this is the big show, the summer ratings leader. Now the auditions begin, with Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara as judges; they’re shown here with host Terry Crews. Read more…
1) “Great Performances,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” reached Broadway in 1970,drawing raves and six Tonys, including best musical. It was back in 1993 and in 2006 (winning a best-revival Tony); then a gender-flip version (starring Katrina Lenk, shown here) was set for March of 2020. Instead, Broadway shut down. At a preview, 20 months later, Sondheim drew a standing ovation; he died 11 days later, at 91. This film has way too much abstract talk, but also has glimpses of a great show, now up for nine more Tonys. Read more…
A decade ago, “The Lincoln Lawyer” was an OK movie that felt like a pretty good TV episode. Afterward, there was talk of turning it into a TV series, the sort where our hero wins a case each week. Fortunately, David E. Kelley has crafted something better (shown here).
Kelley has already done TV’s best lawyer shows – “L.A. Law,” “The Practice” and more. Lately, he’s spent more time on mini-series, including “Big Little Lies” and “Nine Perfect Strangers.”
Now he’s adapted some Michael Connelly novels into a 10-part”Lincoln Lawyer” mini that arrived recently on Netflix. “The Lincoln Lawyer” could go another season, but doesn’t have to. Read more…
1) “Grey’s Anatomy”, 8 and 9 p.m., ABC. This is the one primetime drama that seems to go on forever. Tonight’s second episode is the 400th overall; by comparison, “This Is Us” ended at 106. And Ellen Pompeo (shown here, right) has been at the core throughout, as Meredith. Now she wants to move to Minnesota for a key research job; first, she tries to help in Seattle, where the residency program is in trouble and there’s a blood shortage. Other problems pile up, including possible prison time for Owen. Read more…
1) “MasterChef” season-opener (shown here), 8 p.m., Fox. Forty contestants from past seasons get one more shot. Derrick Pelz was a drummer in 2015 … Brandi Mudd was an elementary school teacher in 2016… Lindsay Haig was a lawyer in 2018 … Wuta Onda was an English teacher in 2019. None won (although Mudd was runner-up), but all four became food professionals. In this brisk opener, they’re among 12 people competing for six spots. Read more…
1) “This Is Us” (shown here) series finale, 9 p.m., NBC. It’s farewell time for the best broadcast-network drama in recent years. Life has been especially tough on Rebecca, who has lost two husbands and much of her memory. But she has three excellent offspring (one adopted) who keep remaking their lives. For six seasons, this has brought richly nuanced emotion. Now the family is together for the 106th and final episode. Read more…
Craig Morgan (shown here) woke at 4:30 one morning, with a song forming in his head.
That happens often; he keeps a notepad near his bed. But this was different, he recalled: “I don’t ever remember getting up and picking up the guitar.”
In less than an hour, he had finished “The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost.” That’s the song he’ll do on the Capitol lawn for the “National Memorial Day Concert,” at 8 p.m. Sunday (Memorial Day eve) on PBS, with most stations repeating it at 9:30. Read more…
1) “NCIS” season-finale, 9 p.m., CBS. Parker (Gary Cole, shown here, left) has at least one thing in common with his predecessor, Gibbs – ex-wives. Gibbs has several; Parker has at least one. She’s an FBI agent (Teri Polo) who arrives to help when he’s being framed for murder. She’ll stick around this fall, for the show’s 20th.season. Read more…
1) “American Idol” finale, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Three young singers remain. Noah Thompson (shown here) and HunterGirl are from small-town South; Leah Marlene is from Illinois, but spent two college years in Nashville. Now they’ll each do two songs (one from Bruce Springsteen) and viewers will pick a champ. The judges will also perform; so will Carrie Underwood, Sara Bareilles, Michael Buble, Melissa Etheridge, Flo Rida, Thomas Rhett, Gabby Barrett, Tai Verdes, and more, including Earth, Wind and Fire. Read more…
