1) “Grey’s Anatomy” (shown here) return, 10 p.m., ABC. In the midst of a heat wave, Jo and Lucas went to a convenience story to get ice. There was a gunman, a fight and a shot; now – 15 weeks later – we learn what happened. There’s chaos in the hospital and Ben’s emergency plan faces challenges. Also, Amelia and Winston disagree about a patient. Read more…
As AMC moves out of the witches’ den and back to the reservation (shown here), it’s time for a nagging question:
What’s ahead for scripted shows on basic-cable? Will they all go away?
Cable “is in a state of steady decline,” Variety (the show-business trade paper) wrote recently. “Some would call it a state of decay.”
Others wouldn’t. The collapse “is irreversible,” one expert (Naveen Sarma) told Variety, “but there is no immediate cliff. We expect the decline will be a steady one that will take years.” Read more…
1) “The Amazing Race” opener, 9:30-11 p.m., CBS. It’s the show’s largest line-up, with 14 duos. There are married nurses and dating nurses. Three more duos are married, including Las Vegas performers and the parents of eight boys. There are father-son lumberjacks (shown here) and Chicago’s retired gangs-and-narcotics chief, who’s with his daughter. Read more…
This year’s Academy Award show gave us 31 great minutes.
It also gave us 194 not-great (and, sometimes, not good at all) minutes. But at least we got something.
The great ones were at the very start. There was a musical burst from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo that took an 85-year leap from “Over the Rainbow” to “Defying Gravity.”
Then came Conan O’Brien’s sharp monolog. (We’ll forgive his nasty mini-film that preceded it; O’Brien made up for that later with a terrific little film introducing younger generations to movie theaters.) Read more…
1) Presidential address, 9 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS and news channels. Technically, it’s not a “State of the Union” speech until a year into the term. But the last seven presidents also delivered a talk their first year, so here it is. The follow-up (including Democratic response by new Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan) continues to at least 11 ET. Alternatives, listed next, include “Will Trent” (shown here), Tom Hanks and more. Read more…
1) “Sullivan’s Crossing,” 9 p.m. today, CW. If you missed the second season (a good one), catch it now. In this rerun of the opener, Maggie (shown here) rushes to her dad, who is s hospitalized and has forgotten his financial deadline. Also, she thinks Cal ignored her; in truth, he left a note that Lola hid. Read more…
