WEDNESDAY
MARCH 13
2019

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES RETURN: Empire returns for its final two episodes of Season 5, but the character of Jamal Lyon, played by Jussie Smollett, won’t be seen. He’s been edited and written out, pending a resolution of the actor’s real-life controversy. Tomorrow in Chicago, Smollett is scheduled to be arraigned for allegedly staging a hate crime against himself. If found guilty, Smollett’s career may crumble – but Empire , still one of Fox's most popular scripted shows, may not.
 
  
 
 

AMC, 8:00 p.m. ET

Last weekend was the golden anniversary of the publication of the original Godfather novel by Mario Puzo. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 movie version was infinitely better than the novel, and his sequel movie, starring Robert De Niro as a young Vito Corleone in flashback scenes while Al Pacino moved forward as youngest son Michael, was even better than the first film. For a while there, every iteration of The Godfather improved impressively upon its predecessors. And then came The Godfather Part III…

 
  
 
 

IFC, 11:00 p.m. ET

Fred Armisen stars in this week’s new edition, playing an enterprising fan looking for Gary Larson, the cartoonist who created The Far Side, then stopped of his own accord and became reclusive in a J.D. Salinger “don’t mess with me” sense. It’s been close to 25 years since Larson put an end to his own ubiquitous output and career – which seems amazing, since several of his illustrations and captions remain etched indelibly in my laugh-loving brain (cows driving past a field of humans, and rolling down the car window to shout “Yakity yak yak yak!”). I love the concept behind this faux documentary, about a fan getting financial support from the Internet to track down his idol, and co-writer Bill Hader is one of the clever minds behind it. An inspiration here may be Joel Allen Schroeder’s 2013 documentary Dear Mr. Watterson, in which fans extol the work of similarly reclusive cartoonist Bill Watterson, who ended his Calvin & Hobbes comic strip in 1995 – the same year Larson stopped his. But even without context, these Documentary Now! shows are deliciously entertaining.

 
  
 
 
 
 
Read and add comments HERE for today's Best Bets!
 
 
 
 
Leave a Comment: (No HTML, 1000 chars max)
 
 Name (required)
 
 Email (required) (will not be published)
 
PNWIW
Type in the verification word shown on the image.
 
 
 Page: 1 of 253  | Go to page: 
5060 Comments
 
 
Really amazing post. I just stumbled beside your blog. I will definitely suggest your blog to all of my friends. Thanks for sharing this valuable information for free
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Really amazing post. I just stumbled beside your blog. I will definitely suggest your blog to all of my friends. Thanks for sharing this valuable information for free
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
It is an excellent blog, I have ever seen. I found all the material on this blog utmost unique and well written. And, I have decided to visit it again and again.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
It is an excellent blog, I have ever seen. I found all the material on this blog utmost unique and well written. And, I have decided to visit it again and again.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am definitely enjoying your website. You definitely have some great insight and great stories.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Sweet internet site , super pattern , real clean and employ genial .
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
It is somewhat fantastic, and yet check out the advice at this treat.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Really amazing post. I just stumbled beside your blog. I will definitely suggest your blog to all of my friends. Thanks for sharing this valuable information for free
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
think this is a really good article. You make this information interesting and engaging. You give readers a lot to think about and I appreciate that kind of writing.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am glad to be a visitor of this unadulterated web site, thanks for this rare info!
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Excellent article..ts a good site to explore ..Thanks for the blog post.Really thank you! Much obliged..
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Good post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Appreciate it!
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
I am glad to be a visitor of this unadulterated web site, thanks for this rare info!
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
You have performed a great job on this article.It’s very precise and highly qualitative. You have even managed to make it readable and easy to read. You have some real writing talent. Thank you so much.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Greatly composed article, if just all bloggers offered a similar substance as you, the web would be a much better spot.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
This specific seems to be definitely excellent. These very small facts are produced using wide range of qualifications know-how
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thats really a nice and worthy post, this Stiglitz topic is very interesting. Keep it up with the good work, thanks for sharing this article
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thank you for the update, very nice site.
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
Thats really a nice and worthy post, this Stiglitz topic is very interesting. Keep it up with the good work, thanks for sharing this article
Oct 21, 2026   |  Reply
 
 
 
 Page: 1 of 253  | Go to page: 
 
 

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.