SUNDAY

FEBRUARY 19

2017

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Strap yourself in, because this particular Sunday is one overcrowded, overachieving night of television. It begins with a new CBS drama series that, after this first taste, moves exclusively to the network’s streaming sister site, CBS All Access. The good news is that it’s a spinoff sequel of The Good Wife, starring Christine Baranski and other returning faces and new regulars, and it’s excellent (she’s seen here, with guest stars Bernadette Peters and Paul Guilfoyle). The bad news is that it’s excellent, which means there’s one more TV provider you have to decide whether or not to let into your house, TV set and budget. You can watch the premiere episode on CBS to decide for yourself – but you also can get one week of CBS All Access for free on a trial basis, so you may as well try it there, where you can see and hear everything in its notably unedited version. For full reviews, refer to my report on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and, here on TVWW, reviews from Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes and David Hinckley’s All Along the Watchtower.

THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA SALUTES NBC’S 90TH ANNIVERSARY

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

I was in the second year of my career as a TV critic when NBC presented its golden anniversary prime-time celebration, NBC: The First 50 Years. That 1976 special was four-and-a-half hours long, and hosted by Orson Welles. Forty years later, with almost twice as much network history to celebrate, tonight’s The Paley Center for Media Salutes NBC’s 90^th Anniversary special is only three hours long, and is hosted by Kelsey Grammer. But as a TV historian and long-time critic, I applaud the presence of this special – TV looks back at itself way too seldom, especially in any critical or socially relevant sense. And looking back, in 2017, may be more comforting than looking forward.

VICTORIA ON MASTERPIECE

PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET

In tonight’s episode, the pregnant Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman) appoints a regent in case she dies during childbirth, but the Tory party is livid at her selection. So if you’re seeking some escapist entertainment, and want to watch a period costume drama built tonight around about controversial appointments by powerful rulers, here you go. Good luck. Check local listings.

THE WALKING DEAD

AMC, 9:00 p.m. ET

Last week’s midseason premiere ended with a seemingly happy cliffhanger for a change: An expression of happiness on the face of a character, Andrew Lincoln’s Rick, who had just come upon and recognized a familiar person from the past. Who is it, and what happens next? That’s the launching point for tonight’s episode, which continues the twin themes of reunions and resistance. And there you go – The Walking Dead, these days, is a drama about scrappy survivors banding together to resist the tyrannical demands and moves of an unpredictable new ruler who has taken charge. More pure escapism…

BIG LITTLE LIES

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES PREMIERE: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern star in this new HBO miniseries, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty. Each of the seven episodes is directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild, The Dallas Buyers Club), and adapted by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, Boston Legal), so it has a uniform voice, tone, and look. I’ve seen all but the final hour, and while I recommend Big Little Lies, the central mystery – both the murderer and the victim remain unidentified until the final hour – is less compelling than some of the character studies. Both Witherspoon and Dern are flashily fierce, and the most stirring scenes come from Kidman and True Blood and Generation Kill veteran Alexander Skarsgard, who plays her sometimes passionate, sometimes brutal husband. For full reviews, refer to my report on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and, here on TVWW, reviews from David Hinckley’s All Along the Watchtower and Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.

BILLIONS

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

SEASON PREMIERE: Damien Lewis and Paul Giamatti, as billionaire Bobby Axelrod and prosecuting attorney Chuck Rhoades, haven’t forgotten about how much they hate one another – but in this Season 2 premiere, there are other imminent foes and distractions as well. Most interesting, perhaps, is where Chuck’s now-estranged wife Wendy (Maggie Siff), who also has severed ties as a former valued employee of Bobby’s, will end up.

CRASHING

HBO, 10:30 p.m. ET

SERIES PREMIERE: Here’s a new series, created by and starring comedian Pete Holmes, that’s partly, wryly autobiographical, and has to do with an unsuccessful young comic who becomes adrift after catching his wife cheating, and ending his marriage. This premiere episode serves as a launching pad, but once it hits orbit, the design of Crashing has poor Pete “crashing” on the couches of various comics as he works his way through his emotional riptide and tries to find a workable place on the professional comedy circuit. One of this show’s executive producers is Judd Apatow, and you can see his comic sensibility, and demand for relatable and honest characters, all through this. Tonight’s featured comic: Artie Lange, who helps Pete through his first days of being on his own. But not much… For a full review, see Ed Bark's Uncle Barky's Bytes.

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET

Last week, John Oliver returned with a vengeance – or, at least, a brilliant stunt in which he established the early-morning cable news TV viewing habits of President Donald Trump, then introduced ads he and his staff had written and produced specifically to run on cable news shows in the Washington, D.C. market the next morning. They starred a drawling, friendly, aging cowboy, who, instead of hawking a mail-order type of catheter, was targeting a very specific audience – POTUS himself – with ad after ad full of valuable information. “Just because it’s sometimes cold, that doesn’t mean there’s no global warming,” goes one such ad. “You’re confusing climate with weather, partner.” It brings new meaning to the term “infomercial” – and presents the funniest extended, outside-the-box political satire bit since Pat Paulsen’s presidential run for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour back in 1968.

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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.

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BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

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AMC, 9:00 p.m. ET

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Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET

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