DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Contributors

ALEX STRACHAN

MIKE HUGHES

KIM AKASS

MONIQUE NAZARETH

ROGER CATLIN

GARY EDGERTON

TOM BRINKMOELLER

GERALD JORDAN

NOEL HOLSTON

 
 
2018
Sep
8
 
 
This 2017 musical biography returns Hugh Jackman to the musical form, the genre from which he first burst forth, in a revival of Oklahoma!, before becoming a movie star and a Wolverine. Here, he plays ringmaster and circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum, whose vision of popular entertainment, under the same big tent, included everything from tigers and elephants to opera singers and bearded ladies. This very colorful and loose biography is co-written by Jenny Bicks, creator of The Big C and a writer-p
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
8
 
 
Next year, The Shawshank Redemption, released in 1994, will celebrate its silver anniversary. Writer-director Frank Darabont, who later crafted AMC’s still-running TV adaptation of The Walking Dead, adapted this outstanding movie from a Stephen King novella, and the key starring roles went to Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins – all of whom contributed immeasurably to this movie’s impact and excellence. Next year, when this film turns 25, raves and appreciations will be everywhere.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
8
 
 
The technological advances of late allow this series to present some amazing photos, on land, in the air, and under the sea. Yeah, I think that about covers it. But what amazes and impresses me even more is the bravery and enthusiasm of these young scientists, whose passions for nature exploration lead them to the edge of lava floes, to previously unexplored ocean depths, and to take their submersible crafts in current so strong that they risk being bashed against the island coastline. Tonight&r
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
7
 
 
Marvel still hasn’t quite figured out what to do with Iron Fist...
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
7
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Marvel’s Iron Fist is, by far, the weakest of the Marvel Comics series generated for Netflix – a gamut that is represented, on the other, excellent end, by Marvel’s Jessica Jones. By contrast, Iron Fist is such a leaden show that I’ve given up on it, at least enough to not bother to burden the last days of my vacation by watching previews of this new season. The reasons I’m mentioning it in Best Bets, therefore, are twofold. One fold is for diehard
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
7
 
 
SPECIAL PREMIERE: This annual special, a benefit to raise money for cancer research and treatment, arguably is as noteworthy for the breadth of its TV presence as for the depth of its guest roster. Oh, there are celebrities aplenty – tonight’s list includes musical performances by Stevie Wonder and Little Big Town, and appearances by Jennifer Garner, Jon Hamm, and Matthew McConaughey – but check out the places where you can check them out. The networks simulcasting this fundrai
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
7
 
 
Andrew Wyeth, the artist son of the illustrator N.C. Wyeth, is the subject of tonight’s new American Masters profile – though the title could have referred to either. Check local listings.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
7
 
 
It’s not my imagination, right? Even after more than a year where it seemed as though the cable news networks never bothered to remove or rest their superimposed “BREAKING NEWS” warning graphics, this week has seemed incessantly, almost insanely packed with news, revelations and drama – and that’s just emanating from Washington, D.C. After a week off, Maher is back to tackle it all. He’d better talk fast: There’s a lot to cover. Tonight’s guests in
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
6
 
 
SEASON PREMIERE: Getting a jump on Sunday, Sunday Night Football tonight presents the first official game of the 2018 NFL season. It’s a battle between birds: the Atlanta Falcons vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2018
Sep
6
 
 
Season 2 of The Deuce, David Simon’s intricately structured story about the arrival and impact, in New York of the early 1970a, of a newly above-ground pornographic film industry, begins Sunday. Here’s a chance to catch the final two episodes of Season 1 – episodes that showed the opportunistic upward trajectories of characters played by Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Franco, and a season that ended just as a film named Deep Throat was hitting Times Square.