SUNDAY

MARCH 13

2016

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

THE CIRCUS: INSIDE THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

The political race has given fuel to two must-see Sunday night shows on premium cable. The one that arrives first is Showtime’s The Circus, which affords backstage and on-the-scene looks from the campaign trail. And the reason it’s must-see is because of what’s been happening, week in and week out, on that trail. Happy trails to you? Not on this show… but divisive, disappointing, surprising, even violent? The gang’s all here.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

Lifetime, 8:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: This imported 2015 miniseries is in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie TV adaptations – and starting with David Suchet as Poirot, that’s a grand tradition indeed. This is a four-hour, two-night adaptation (stretched from the original British three-episode drama) of one of Christie’s most famous and best-selling mysteries. Part 2 is televised tomorrow night at 9 ET. Stars include Charles Dance, Toby Stephens and Miranda Richardson. For a full review, see David Hinckley's All Along the Watchtower.

THE CARMICHAEL SHOW

NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET

This is a milestone of sorts, no matter what you think of the subject. Tonight’s The Carmichael Show, which is making a point this season of becoming known for being an issues-oriented sitcom, tonight takes on the issue of fallen idols – and the specific subject is Bill Cosby. Considering how Cosby, for NBC, not only made racial history with I Spy in the 1960s by becoming the first African-American to star in a drama series, but his The Cosby Show in the 1980s virtually saved the sitcom, and NBC’s fortunes, almost singlehandedly. So this show tonight may be very funny, and may even be bold – but one thing it’s not, just for the record, is grateful. Not that it should be…

THE WALKING DEAD

AMC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Every week since The Walking Dead came back from its midseason break, I’ve been thinking, well, surely the show can’t keep up this sort of intensity for another episode – and every week, I’ve been wrong. Last week’s episode, the raid on the enemy camp, was white-knuckle territory even by Walking Dead standards. And just when I thought the tension was over, it ratcheted to a new level with a cliffhanger that makes tonight’s episode a must-see – but maybe not a must-see-alone…

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET

Here’s another Sunday night cable show that has become must-see viewing because of the way it covers the weekly race by presidential candidates. John Oliver doesn’t spend all his time dissecting the week’s political candidates, gaffes, and outrages – but he gives them enough time to make this an invaluable, and strangely soothing, recap.

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3685 Comments

Gerda Lundgren

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Mar 21, 2026 | Reply

Dave Bianculli

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Sincerely,

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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.

New From TVWW

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

Lifetime, 8:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 9:00 p.m. ET

AMC, 9:00 p.m. ET

HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET

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