Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
In the dozen years of this show’s often tempestuous history, no judge has ever missed the start of a live show. Not until last night, that is, when host Nicki Minaj was absent for the beginning of Wednesday’s live edition of American Idol, represented only by an empty chair nestled between Keith Urban and Randy Jackson. She did show up after the first contestant had sung and been judged, and slipped into her seat during the commercial break – trying to look cool and unobtrusive, but coming off more like a female Unabomber. And later in the same show, another unpredictable judge, Mariah Carey, went on so long with her remarks that the band came in and played over her, like she was an Oscar winner with a too-long acceptance speech. What a crew.
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
On tonight’s episode, Howard comes across a letter written to him by his long-gone father – and agonizes over whether to read it. Admittedly, Howard has it tough in the parenting department. Not only is his father absent, but his mother, though present in a big way, has never been seen. At least not by us viewers.
AMC, 8:00 p.m. ET
On Thursdays, AMC has begun repeating The Walking Dead in sequence, but with a difference: with the color drained from the image, so that it’s presented in old-school black and white. That gimmick alone may not be enough reason to revisit the show, but here’s a better reason: Tonight’s episode is the one set at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, where Rick and his band of desperate survivors beg for answers, and help, from a barricaded scientist played by Noah Emmerich – the intense actor now playing the FBI neighbor on The Americans.
IFC, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 1997 Paul Thomas Anderson movie has a ridiculously talented cast – many of whom were much smaller stars when this period movie about the porn industry was filmed. Mark Wahlberg stars as a young man with a natural gift for that particular film genre, Burt Reynolds plays the producer who discovers him, and the supporting cast includes – ready? – William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham and more.
Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. ET
This daily feature is called Bianculli’s Best Bets, so this particular recommendation is fair, even though it comes from my 29-year-old son, Mark, who asked last night if I had seen this odd new show co-created by and starring Nathan Fielder. I hadn’t, but based on Mark’s enthusiastic description, I’ll tune in tonight, and urge you to do the same. In this reality-show spoof (well, he’s spoofing, but his guests are serious, like a Daily Show report), Fielder plays an expert giving advice to small businesses, like a retail non-food version of Gordon Ramsay. Except Fielder isn’t hot-tempered, just odd. Tonight he advises a retail clothing store to permit shoplifting by attractive patrons, because they’ll look good in the clothes they steal, and bring uglier people into the store.