Like many of us, NBC is eager for the endless winter to conclude.
For summer, it has a safe collection of reality shows. That includes two returning ones (“America’s Got Talent” and “American Ninja Warrior”), one new one (“Dancing With Myself”) that has people trying to match the moves of Shakira (shown here) and others … and one that’s returning to the network after a decade elsewhere, “Who Do You Think You Are?”
The schedule: Read more…
Many of us might feel mired in one side of our brain. We’re left-brained scientists and engineers, right-brained artists and authors.
But there are rare exceptions, the both-brained sort. They’re as exotic as Leonardo da Vinci … or as down-to-earth as Benjamin Franklin, the subject of Ken Burns’ latest PBS documentary (8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, April 4-5, repeating at 10).
“He was able to connect art and science, able to connect the humanities and the technology,” biographer Walter Isaacson said of Franklin (shown here in an artist’s rendition). “He cared about everything you could possibly learn about, from art to anatomy, math to music.” Read more…
1) Grammy awards, 8 p.m., CBS. After a nine-week delay, the show booms ahead with Trevor Noah hosting. Performers include H.E.R. (shown here), Billie Eilish, BTS, Olivia Rodrigo, Jon Batiste, Lil Nas X, Brandi Carlile, John Legend and J Balvin, plus country’s Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne. A Stephen Sondheim segment has Cynthia Erivo, Ben Platt, Rachel Zegler and Leslie Odom Jr.; there are also gospel, bluegrass and Latin-tropical moments. Read more…
1) “Benjamin Franklin,” 8 p.m. today and Tuesday, PBS, repeating at 10. Here is Ken Read more…
The world has had plenty of reasons for actors to be unemployed. There’s Covid, halting Read more…
1) Basketball, 6:09 and 8:40 p.m. ET, TBS, TNT and TruTV. We’re down to the final four in the college tournament … only one of which was top-seeded in its quadrant. That’s Kansas, which faces Villanova (a No. 2 seed) in the opener. Then another No. 2 seed – Duke, whose coach (Mike Krzyzewski, shown here) is in his final season, going for his sixth national title – faces a surprise, the 8th-seeded North Carolina. Read more…
1) “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” 9 p.m., PBS. Long before his big-city fame – including as graphic director and columnist for the New York Times – Charles Blow grew up in an impoverished family in rural Louisiana. That became the subject of his memoir, adapted into this opera (shown here). The Metropolitan Opera’s first work by a Black composer (Terence Blanchard), it opened the Met’s post-Covid season. The result ripples with passion, pain and powerhouse music. Read more…
Chances are, this isn’t what a kid in rural Louisiana expects:
Some day, his youth will be turned into … an opera. A real one, opening the Metropolitan Opera season, with bejeweled fans applauding and bespectacled critics praising.
That’s what happened to Charles Blow (shown here). His memoir — “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” at 9 p.m. Friday (April 1) on PBS – was the first show after the Met’s long Covid break. Read more…
Surveying the glittery chaos of Oscar night, ABC took a common approach: Declare victory.
The ratings “skyrocketed,” the network said. So did the social-media responses; this was the biggest entertainment special in two years.
That’s true … sort of. I’d also add that the show was an overall success; sucker-punch aside, it had clever hosts (shown here), strong music and, as usual, a few flaws. But first, those numbers: Read more…
1) “How We Roll” debut, 9:30 p.m., CBS. In real life, Tom Smallwood was laid off after a half-year at an auto factory near Detroit. At 31, he made one last stab at a bowling career — and succeeded. Now that’s been turned into a comedy that’s OK, but no match for CBS’ other Thursday shows. There are some good moments from Pete Holmes, Katie Lowes (as his wife; they’re shown here) and Chi McBride (as the bowling-alley owner), but his mom is poorly written and played. Read more…
