Winter’s a good time to premiere the six-part sequel “Frozen Planet II” (BBC America, 8 p.m.), with David Attenborough exploring wildlife in the Arctic and Antarctic, starting with a look at polar bears, penguins and snow monkeys. Speaking of the outdoors, even the made-for-TV romance “Love in Glacier National: A National Park Romance” (Hallmark, 8 […]
Category Archives: What’s On TV
Friday TV: ‘Shrinking’ Expectations
Jason Segel plays a therapist who starts breaking rules while grieving a dead spouse on the new series “Shrinking” (Apple TV+, streaming), which turns out to be a comedy only that it’s 30 minutes and from Bill Lawrence, who has had a long history with such things (most recently, “Ted Lasso”). It seems like we’ve […]
The Spirit of ‘Columbo’ in New ‘Poker Face’
Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” movies are popular enough to have him doing Hollywood features full time. But he steps away from that success to bring something that really hasn’t been on TV in too long: A perfectly-made procedural. The super enjoyable “Poker Face” (Peacock, streaming) stars Natasha Lyonne (of “Russian Doll”) as a unrooted woman […]
Also Thursday: ‘The 1619 Project’ on Hulu
Bad news for white supremacists trying to ban Rebekah Hannah-Jones’ Pulitzer Prize-winning tome from schools. Now there’s a six-part documentary series of “The 1619 Project” (Hulu, streaming) available to all (with a subscription). As she did in the book, the author takes a striking approach, in this case tying long-hidden aspects of American history with […]
Wednesday TV: Hulu’s ‘Extraordinary’
There’s no shortage of shows where the star somehow attains superpowers. In the brash new “Extraordinary” (Hulu, streaming), a woman struggles because everybody’s got a superpower but her. Mairead Tyers stars with in the UK import that has kind of a “Fleabag” vibe, but younger. A third documentary on the notorious sex cult comes on […]
Tuesday TV: The Life of Roberta Flack
Born in Black Mountain, N.C., but raised largely in the Washington, D.C. area, Roberta Flack was discovered singing in a local jazz club and became one of the most influential soul singers of the 70s, helping create quiet storm genre and dedicating her life to civil rights activism. Her profile on “American Masters” (PBS, 9 […]
Monday TV: Rose Distribution Resumes
Zach Shallcross, a 26-year-old castoff from the last season of “The Bachelorette,” is now “The Bachelor” (ABC, 8 p.m.), choosing from 30 women who line up for the 27th season. Among the candidates: four nurses, one nursing student, a rodeo racer, a former Miss South Carolina and ex- Miss Florida World and the niece of […]
Sunday TV: New ‘Accused’ After Football
For as many sharp shows that Howard Gordon has been a part of, from “24” to “Homeland,” his new “Accused” (Fox. 9 p.m.) is a bit of a puzzle. It’s an anthology series with a new cast each week in which a defendant is on trial and their case is unveiled through the course of […]
Saturday TV: Aubrey Plaza’s ‘SNL’ Debut
Newly blonde Aubrey Plaza hosts “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) for the first time, with Sam Smith as musical guest. The “SNL” rerun at 10 p.m. is a show from 2010 with Sigourney Weaver and the Ting Tings. The NFL divisional playoff rounds begin with Jacksonville at Kansas City (NBC, 4:30 p.m.) and Giants […]
Friday TV: ‘Truth Be Told’ Returns
Octavia Spencer returns for season three of “Truth Be Told” (Apple TV+, streaming) about an investigative reporter turned true crime podcaster. Gabrielle Union joins the cast as a teacher fighting to find out what’s happened to a number of missing Black girls. From France comes the new comedy series “Represent” (Netflix, streaming) directed and starring […]