1) “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” openers, 10 and 11:30 p.m., FX. This starts with a delicate glimpse (shown here): A cheated-on wife despairs; a guy deftly calms her with words and pills. She’s Babe Paley, wife of the CBS chairman; he’s Truman Capote, a brilliant writer and eccentric soul. Perfectly played by Naomi Watts and Tom Holland, they launch a mini-serieis that is elegant, intelligent and not for everyone.
Read more…
Lately, some wise souls have said the “peak TV” era has ended..
They may be right, but you can’t prove it right now: Two lushly crafted mini-series are opening back-to-back.
And no, these aren’t on pay-extra channels. They will stream, but they’re mainly on basic-cable. They debut with two hours, then are weekly for six more; they are: Read more…
1) “Quantum Leap” return,10 p.m., NBC. “Quantum” leaped from a fairly good first season to an excellent second. Alongside its time-trekking, it now has Ben’s personal pain, after he vanished into a time-twisted fog, His ex-fiancee has a new guy who plans to propose. Also, Ben keeps bumping across Hannah, a physicist he loves. This episode (he’s a bounty-hunter, shown here) brings much of that together Read more…
There are plenty of movie directors who have mastered a genre.
Then there was Norman Jewison, who died Jan. 20 at 97. He mastered them all.
He directed two powerful racial dramas, “In the Heat of the Night” (shown here) and “A Soldier’s Story.” He made two musicals, one Christian (“Jesus Christ Superstar”), the other Jewish (“Fiddler on the Roof”). His comedies ranged from the light fun of two Doris Day films to the satire of “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.”
Jewison never won a competitive Academy Award, but one of his films won best-picture and four others were nominated. The winner, and then the nominees, were: Read more…
1) “The Irrational” return, 10 p.m., NBC. This was one of the few scripted shows that helped rescue us from an all-rerun autumn. It had nine new episodes, were filmed before the strikes; now it returns for the season’s final four. Alec (Jesse Martin, shown here), the survivor of a church bombing, tries to help a boy who is a burn victim. Read more…
At the core of New York society, an unusual bond formed.
There were the social divas – mostly tall, slender and well-bred. They were related by marriage to a president, a prime minister, movie stars and the head of CBS. They “were like the original influencers,” said producer Ryan Murphy.
And there was Truman Capote – 5-foot-3, eccentric, partly molded by his early years in a tiny town in Alabama.
They begame warm friends and then fierce enemies. That’s depicted in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” (shown here), an eight-parter with opening episodes at 10 and 11:30 p.m. Wednesday (Jan. 31) on FX and then on Hulu. Read more…
1) Football, 3 p.m. ET, CBS; 6:30 p.m., Fox. Now we learn which teams will be in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. Today has the Chiefs at the Ravens, then the Lions (shown here) at the 49ers. For the Chiefs, this is an annual custtom; they’ve been in three of the past four Super Bowls, winning twice. The Lions, by comparison, have never been there. Read more…
1) Grammy awards, 8-11:30 p.m. ET Sunday, CBS. Trevor Noah hosts a night stuffed with music. The first performers announced were Billy Joel, Dua Lipa, Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, Luke Combs, Burna Boy and Olivia Rodrigo (shown here) – who is also up for album of the year. She faces Sza (the leader with nine nomination), Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey, Janelle Monae, Boygenius and Jon Batiste. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Justin Timberlake (shown here) used to be a steady force on the show. He was just the host twice, just the music guest twice (once in ‘NSync), both on three other times. He also had four uncredited stops. But he hasn’t been back for a decade, except for the 40th-anniversary special. Now he’s the music guest, with Dakota Johnson getting her second turn as host. Read more…
Jodie Foster was talking about life’s phases, about sometimes stepping back.
The important thing, she said, is “being able to recognize that it’s not my time. It’s someone else’s.”
That’s a fine concept for many 61-year-old actors. But right now actually IS her time. She’s just received an Academy Award nomination (for “Nyad,” shown here), while she’s starring in an acclaimed cable series (“True Detective,” 9 p.m. Sundays on HBO and then on Max).
All of this arrives 32 and 35 years after she won best-actress Oscars for “The Silence of the Lambs” and “The Accused.” This nomination is for best-supporting actress … just like the oe she got (for “Taxi Driver”), 47 years ago. Read more…
Best-bets for Nov.8: a semi-happy place; a musical salute 
Best-bets for Nov. 7: ABC is back; CBS is fun 
Best-bets for Nov. 6: San Diego goes wild; Fox has fun, fun, fun 
