1) “Great Performances: Anything Goes,” 9 p.m., PBS. Mix three immense talents – Sutton Foster, director Kathleen Marshall, songwriter Cole Porter – and you get … well, a fairly entertaining show. What’s missing is a good story; this one just has lots silly twists. Still, Foster and Marshall turn Porter’s clever songs into zestful blurs of song, dance (shown here) and general good cheer. Read more…
1) “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021), 8-11 p.m., ABC. Not long ago, Asians were scarce onscreen. Now? On Wednesday, Disney+ debuted “American Born Chinese,” which is both a teen comedy and an action drama; today adds “Shang-Chi” (shown here0, a Marvel adventure about a trained assassin trying to simply be Shaun. Both were directed by Destin Cretton; both have Chinese mythology and Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh. Read more…
CBS has finally acknowledged (sort of) that the writers strike will disrupt its fall schedule.
The network is starting some of its summer reality shows later than usual. That will nudge them into what would would usually be the start of the new season. The dates are:
— “Big Brother” (shown here with host Julie Chen) starts its 25th season on Aug. 2. Last year, it started four weeks sooner.
— “Superfan” sdebuts a week later, on Aug. 9. It had originally been set for June 9.
— “Secret Celebrity Renovation” starts July 28, but “The Challenge: USA” will wait until Aug. 10. Read more…
1) “Survivor” finale, 8-11 p.m., CBS. On the final day of the official TV season, it’s time to pick the 44th winner, then hold a reunion of this season’s contestants. The finalists range from engineering student Carson Garrett, 20, to engineering manager Heidi Legares-Greenblatt, 43. Others are an elementary-school teacher (Lauren Harpe, 31, shown here), a salon owner (Yamil Arocho, 36) and a drug counselor (Carolyn Wiger, 35). Read more…
For many people, it’s a brief blip: On Memorial Day, they remember fallen soldiers; then life goes on.
But for Michael Trotter, it seemed to be daily – writing and singing tributes to his late colleagues. “Sometimes it would be six in a week,” he said. “Sometimes six in a month.”
These days, he’s half of the powerhouse, married duo called The War and Treaty (shown here), which will sing at the National Memorial Day Concert, at 8 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday (May 28, the eve of the holiday) on PBS. They’ll be alongside gospel great Yolanda Adams, country stars Trace Adkins and Jo Dee Messina, “American Idol” champion Phillip Phillips and more.
It continues a journey that began two decades ago, when Trotter wrote a song on (really) Saddam Hussein’s piano. Along the ways, there have been harsh detours. “We’ve gone through a lot of difficulties,” said Tanya Trotter, his wife and music partner. “We were homeless a lot.” Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 8-11 p.m., NBC. Blake Shelton(shown here) has been with the show from the start. In 22 seasons, he’s had nine champions and 14 runners-up; three times, he’s had both. As the finals began Monday, he had two contenders (Grace West and NOIVAS), facing Gina Miles, D.Smooth and the sister trio, Sorelle. Here’s a recap (8-9 p.m.), then guest perforners (CeeLo Green, Maroon 5, Toosii and Diplo & Lily Rose), tributes to Shelton … and a winner. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 8-10 p.m.,NBC. In his last season, Blake Shelton has two finalists – Grace West, 19, and NOIVAS, 30. They perform tonight, along with Gina Miles, 18; D.Smooth, 25; and the sister trio Sorelle (shown here), plus guest performers Lewis Capaldi and Alex Newell. A re-cap will be from 8-9 p.m. Tuesday, leading into the two-hour finale. Read more…
All the major TV networks have now set their plans for next season.
That used to be a big deal, you know. It’s a smaller deal now (with viewers fleeing to streamers), but it offers an intriguing look at different approaches to the writers’ strike, ranging from family-friendly (“Wonderful World of Disney” revived) to frisky (“FBoy Island,” shown here, That includes:
— Three networks – ABC, Fox and CW – are already resigned to the strike lingering. They’ve assembled makeshift fall plans that can be devoid of new, scripted, live-action shows.
— The other two – CBS and NBC – show some optimism … which they might have to discard. Read more…
1) “NCIS: Los Angeles” series-finale, 9 p.m., CBS. On the final Sunday of the season, lots of shows wrap up for now … and this one ends its long run. “NCIS: LA” has been around for 14 seasons, putting it in the all-time top-10 among dramas. Anna (a former Chicago cop and the estranged daughter of a former KGB agent) and Callen were planning their wedding. (They’re shown here.) Then chaos intervened: A federal agent and some military-grade weapons are missing. Read more…
Dealing with duo forces – new owners and the ongoing writers strike – the CW is tossing out most of its schedule.
Gone next season will be the superheroes that filled the mini-network. Only two scripted shows will be back: “All American” arrives this fall, paired withg Courtney B. Vance’s “61st Street” (shown here); “Walker” is expected at mid-season.
The rest of the line-up has reality shows, plus scripted ones that have already started airing in other countries, mainly Canada. Read more…
Best-bets for Nov. 19: surfers, vampires and da Vinci 
Best-bets for Nov. 17: As “Yellowstone” nears the end, new show arrives 
Best-bets for Nov. 16: great “Grinch,” awesome “Oz” 
