Strike survivors key to NBC’s fall line-up

After helping NBC survive the strikes, two dramas will be rewarded with cushy timeslots this fall.
“The Irrational” (shown here) will be at 10 p.m. Tuesdays, after the second “Voice” night. “Found” will be at 10 p.m. Thursdays, after two “Law & Order” shows.
They’ll be joined by just one new drama – “Brilliant Minds,” with Zachery Quinto – and two new comedies. One, from the “Superstore” producer, is set in a hospital and will be paired with “Night Court”; the other, starring Reba McEntire, will be paired with “Lopez vs. Lopex.”
To make room, the network is moving “Law & Order: Organized Crime” to the Peacock streamer and dropping several others. They includes “Magnum P.I.,” the sci-fi shows “Quantum Leap” and “La Brea” and the Jon Cryer comedy “Extended Family.” Read more…

Best-bets for May 13: young dancers, young chefs, Young Sheldon

1) So You Think You Can Dance,” 9:02 p.m., Fox. This starts with a four-person routine that makes one thing clear: These are remarkably gifted dancers, working with great choreographers. (They’re shown here in a previous week.) One dancer faces sharp pain, but all four – Madison Alvarado, 21; Dakayla Wilson, 19; Anthony Curley and Easton Magliarditi, 18 – dance brilliantly. Three advance to next week’s finale. Read more…

Week’s top-10 for May 13: Sheldon leads a surge of finales

1) “Young Sheldon” series finale, 8 and 8:30 p.m.,Thursday, CBS. A great series wraps after seven seasons. Its finale has extra impact, after the jolting finish to the May 9 episode, when we learned Sheldon’s dad had died. Today (May 13), CBS reruns the pilot film (shown here) at 8 p.m. and another episode at 8:30. Then Thursday’s finale includes Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik as the adult Sheldon and Amy. Read more…

Best-bets for May 12: strong dramas and a recast vampire

1) “Interview With the Vampire” season-opener, 9 p.m., AMC. After deep mourning for her daughter, who died at 5, Anne Rice created Claudia, who has the body of a child (when she became a vampire), the soul of an adult. She was 5 in the book, 11 in the movie and 14 here. Now she’s been recast: Delainey Hayles (sown here) is richly emotive, in a sometimes-brutal hour in 1940s Romania. Read more…

Lots of TV news: super-streamer, “The Bear,” “Frasier,” “Ted,” more

As the season winds down, TV is filled with fresh news.
That includes a super-streamer combination, a “Law & Order” shift and a return of such shows as “The Bear” (shown here), “Ted” and (via spin-off) “Orphan Black.” Details include:
— Two large streamers plan to offer a combined deal this summer. One side already has Disney+ and Hulu; now it will offer a super-streamer combination with Max, which was created when Discovery gobbled up Warner Brothers. Read more…

Best-bets for May 11: Maya, ABBA, SWAT

1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Maya Rudolph has been a steady force on “SNL.” She was in the cast for seven years, then made at least 20 guest stops, winning an Emmy for her portrayal of Kamala Harris. She’s also starring in the terrific “Loot” (shown here) on Apple TV+. Still, she’s only hosted twice (winning another Emmy for one of those). Here’s her third turn, a week before the season finale; Vampire Weekend is the music guest. Read more…

Fox’s summer starts early, with games and balls

If you’re in a hurry to see summer-TV shows, then Fox is your network. It starts one on May 16 and willl add five more before the end of the month.
And if you don’t want summer shows? Alas, the other networks also begin soon.
NBC starts “America’s Got Talent” on May 28 … ABC adds Sunday movies on June 2 (starting with “Inside Out”), but holds everything else until a spurt starts with “Bachelorette” on July 8 ….CBS builds its summer around the three-a-week “Big Brother,” starting July 17.
By then, Fox’s shows will be deep into their run. The network has one new show (“The Quiz With Balls”), four season-openers (including “Food Stars,” shown here with Gordon Ramsayand Lisa Vanderpump) and two shows that are returning after filling in during or shortly after the strikes. The line-up — chronologically, with at least one more show expected — is: Read more…

Best-bets for May 10: new Who, old Hamlet, more

1) “Doctor Who” season-opener, Disney+. In its 61 years, this show has had stops, starts, cancellations, revivals … and 14 stars. It has also had bursts of British wit … especially since Russell Davies became showrunner in 2005. Now the time-trekking show has a new streaming home, plus the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa, 31, a Rwanda native) and a new companion (Millie Gibson, 19); they’re shown here. Read more…

Summer’s Sunday surplus: Sly, “Snowpiercer,” etc.

Summertime TV is looking less sparse now.
CBS has announced a schedule that includes “Big Brother,” “Let’s Make a Deal” and transplanted episodes of Sylvester Stallone’s “Tulsa King” (shown here).
That news came on the same day as others – the final “Snowpiercer” season, on AMC, and hard-rock biographies on A&E. Both are on Sundays, when PBS has its dramas.
Add some previous news and you have a shot at a no-rerun summer. Details include: Read more…

Best-bets for May 9: Fox finales, CBS fun

1) “Next Level Chef” finale, 8 p.m., Fox. This started with five professional chefs, five who just did social media and five who cooked at home. Then the pros faded quickly; only one reached the final seven. That’s Zach Laidlaw, 34, who is now in the final three. He faces Christina Miros (shown here with Gordon Ramsay), 35, a home chef, and Gabi Chappel, 29, a social media chef. One of them will win $250,000 and a mentorship. Read more…