1) “What We Do in the Shadows,” 10 p.m., FX. A week from its season-finale, this offbeat comedy takes a neat detour. Laszlo (shown here in last week’s episode) has been in a funk lately, so Nandor plans a good-natured “roast.” Vampires, alas, aren’t adept at giving (or receiving) gentle jests. Tied into that is the fact that Guillermo is turning into a vampire – secretly, slowly and clumsily. It’s an odd and funny episode. Read more…
1) “Riverdale” finale, 9 p.m., CW. For decades, CW has been the home of shows based on comic books or youth novels. Now, under new owners, that era is ending. “Riverdale” (shown here) has had strong production and solid acting (especially by Lili Reinhart as Betty), but bizarre plot twists. This season, the characters slid back to the 1950s, then returned. Now we flash forward; Betty is 86 and wants to relive the final day of her senior year. Read more…
A TV era will end Wednesday (Aug. 23).
Not a great one — eras don’t have to be perfect – but one that often felt fresh and interesting: The CW network fed us a steady stream of heroes, super and semi-super.
There was Superman and Batman, Supergirl and Star Girl and Bat Woman. There was Flash and Black Lightning and Arrow and the “Legends of Tomorrow” crew. There was one show about zombies, one about witches, several about vampires, two about demon-hunters.
And there were ones about almost-ordinary teens in extraordinary situations. “Nancy Drew” (shown here) and “Riverdale” have their finales at 8 and 0 p.m. Wednesday. Read more…
1) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m., NBC. It’s finally time for live episodes; 55 acts have survived, led by seven “golden buzzer” awards from the judges and host (trhey’re shown here) and audeince. Two buzzer acts (Lavender Darcangel, 27, of Massachusetts, and Putri Ariani, 17, of Indonesia) are blind singers. There’s another singer (Gabriel Henrique, 28, of Brazil), plus a youth choir from South Africa, dancers from Japan, a hands-based dance troupe from France and young drummers from Atlanta. Read more…
1) “The Bachelorette” finale, 8-11 p.m., ABC. For a while, Charity Lawson (a Georgia therapist, 27, shown here) was down to two guys — Joey Graziadel (a Hawaii tennis pro, 27) and Dotun Olubeko (a Fresno medical consultant, 30). But then Aaron Bryant (a Texas software salesman, 29), whom she’d already dismissed, somehow returned. Now she confers with her family and makes her choice. Also, we meet the new “Bachelor” and peek at “Bachelor in Paradise.” Read more…
Defying the wise counsel of his career advisors, Adrian Scarborough became an actor – and a busy one.
He had subservient roles – the valet in “Blunt Talk,” butler in “Upstairs Downstairs,” chauffeur in “Don Juan in Soho.” He had bigger ones – Villanelle’s handler in “Killing Eve,” the iffy doctor in “Sanditon.” He played more doctors, plus vicars, a goblin, a bunny, a mole and Winston Churchill.
It’s been an enviable career, sort of. “You have these great character roles,”said Scarborough, 55, “but only for two or three days …. You parachute in, do a few scenes and don’t really get to meet people.”
Then came “The Chelsea Detective” (shown here). It’s a chance to dig into a person and place he finds fascinating. Read more…
1) “761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers,” 8 p.m., History. Tonight is filled with pioneering Black military units. Reruns tell of the Tuskegee Airmen (7 p.m.), Buffalo Soldiers (10:03) and Civil War heroes (11:05). This new film, produced by Morgan Freeman (shown here), tells of the unit that trained for two years, then was sent to Europe shortly after D-Day. It fought in the Battle of the Bulge and its men won 11 Silver Stars and a Medal of Honor. Read more…
1) “Riverdale” finale, 9 p.m. Wednesday, CW. A fun tradition ends. For decades, CW has been the home of shows based on superheroes or other youth-culture folks. Now, under new owners, that mostly stops with “Riverdale.” This season, Archie and pals jumped to the ‘50s, then returned to now with their memories wiped. It’s been an odd show, but Lili Reinhart has been excellent as Betty (shown here with Veronica). In this finale, she’s 86 and want to relive the final day of her senior year. Read more…
This fall, the FX people will deliver something that is becoming scarce – new, scripted TV shows.
That will include a double shot of horror – in time for Halloween – plus a crime-solving mini-series and a “Fargo” mini-series (shown here with Dave Foley).
Even if the strikes are settled, TV will mostly lack new, scripted shows this fall. The exceptions will be premium cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz) and streamers, which work far in advance
FX occupies both worlds. Some of the shows it produces air only on the Hulu streaming service; others debut at 10 p.m. on basic-cable (FX or FXX), then reach Hulu the next day. Read more…
1) “Stand Up to Cancer,” 8 p.m., ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and more. Every two years, people combine for comedy sketches and talks, raising millions for cancer research. This show, the eighth, comes during the writers’ and actors’ strikes, so it will rerun sketches with Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Melissa McCarthy Bill Hader and more. It also reruns music by The Who, Brittany Howard (shown here) and the widow of Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer at 43. Read more…
