A first love can have a powerful grip on someone – even on a well-bred British lad.
So Hugh Laurie says he’ll always remember “my first-ever crush.” Frankie Derwent was “quick and bold and ready to take a chance.”
And fictional. She’s a character in a novel – “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” (shown here) – that he’s adapted and directed; it reaches the Britbox streaming service on Tuesday (April 12). Read more…
1) CMT Music Awards, 8 p.m. today, CBS. Eight days after the Grammys, CBS focuses on country. It has the Judds’ first TV performance in 20 years, plus other duos – Maren Morris with Ryan Hurd, Cole Swindell with Lainey Wilson, Mickey Guyton with Black Pumas, Jason Aldean with Bryan Adams, Thomas Rhett with Riley Green, Jimmie Allen with Monica and Little Big Town. Also: Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert and Kelsea Ballerini (shown here), who hosts with Anthony Mackie. Read more…
1) “The Ten Commandments” (1956), 7-11:44 p.m., ABC. Back in 1956, this was considered a movie marvel – an epic that traced the life of Moses (Charlton Heston, shown here), even managing to part the Red Sea. It won an Oscar for special effects and was nominated for six more, including best picture. By modern standards, it’s a bit stiff; still, it’s become an Eastertime tradition, this year airing on the eve of Palm Sunday. Read more…
The Fox network is planning a low-key summer of music, dance and Legos.
It will also have some cooking and wrestling; there’s always wrestling. And alongside lots of reality shows, it will have two scripted ones – “Fantasy Island” (shown here) and “Duncanville.”
All of that starts early, with everything in place by the end of May. It includes: Read more…
1) “Now Hear This” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. In the first two seasons, Scott Yoo (shown here) traveled Europe, visiting places where classical masterpieces began. But this year he stays in the U.S. … and finds ample greatness. This hour traces Amy Beach, who (in 1896, at 29) was the first American woman to have a symphony published and performed. Yoo (a violinist) and his wife Alice Dade (a flutist) sample gorgeous music from Beach and other women. Read more…
1) “Welcome to Flatch,” 9:30 p.m., Fox. In its slow, droll way, “Flatch” can be both funny and poignant. Pretending to be a documentary about small-town life, it often views two cousins (shown here in a previous episode), drifting through their post-school life. Tonight, Kelly gets a rare chance to be with her dad; Shrub has two milestones – asking a girl for a date and (unrelated) seeing a naked female. There are also key moments for the pastor and his ex-wife, who edits the newspaper. Read more…
The good news is that “So You Think You Can Dance” – one of the best of the summer shows – will finally be back.
In fact, it won’t even wait until summer. It starts its 17th season at 9 p.m. May 18 on Fox, right after the season-finale of “The Masked Singer.”
And the bad? Nigel Lythgoe won’t be back as one of the judges. Read more…
1)“Snowfall,” 10 p.m., FX, rerunning to 11:05 p.m. and 12:15 and 1:20 a.m. At a perilous point in its story, “Snowfall” pauses for an odd interlude. Last week, Jerome finally proposed to Louise … who secretly ordered a hit that could set off gang warfare. Trouble looms … but first, there’s an odd twist at the wedding. Some viewers will love it, some won’t, but it has great performances – especially by Damson Idris (shown here in a previous episode), whose character (Franklin) is usually stoic. Read more…
1) “Benjamin Franklin” conclusion, 8 p.m., PBS, rerunning at 10. The Declaration of Independence rippled with youthful zeal. Thomas Jefferson, 33, wrote the first draft; tweaking was done by John Adams, 40 … and Franklin, 70 (shown here in artist’s rendering). Franklin’s convivial manner then was key in getting French help for the revolution and in soothing anger during the Constitutional Convention. Ken Burns’ superb film shows a man who lived to 84 and belatedly opposed slavery. Read more…
1) Basketball championship, 9 p.m. ET, TBS, TNT and TruTV. After much fuss and occasional upsets, the college tournament concludes. On Saturday, Villanova faced Kansas and Duke (shown here in a previous game) faced North Carolina; now the winners go for the title. TBS has a pre-game show at 7 p.m. and a post-game one at about 11:30. Read more…
