SUNDAY
MAY 20
2018

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

ABC, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: Part 1 of 2. For the first time since it was revived by ABC, American Idol is rolling rapidly towards its final competition – a competition that will compete directly tomorrow night against NBC’s latest wrapup of The Voice. Tonight’s Idol features the surviving Final 3 – Maddie Poppe, Gabby Barrett, Caleb Lee Hutchinson – whose performances tonight will dictate who gets enough votes to compete in Monday’s 2018 reveal-the-winner finale. Oh, and to help pad out this two-night finale, the judges will perform as well. But no one is judging them…

 
  
 
 

NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET

They aren’t quite the Grammys, but the Billboard awards have matured to the point where they have some intriguing things to offer. On this year’s live show, there are scheduled live performances by Cardi B, Taylor Swift and others, and an Icon Award given to Janet Jackson. The current Voice judge, and former Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, hosts.

 
  
 
 

Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET

SEASON FINALE: This is the last episode of the season for Homer Simpson and family – and it’s Season 29, which is quite impressive indeed. And tonight’s episode, “Flanders’ Ladder,” has Homer undergoing an out-of-body experience – which is just as well, because the body he’s had since the show’s 1989 premiere has been nothing to hold on to anyway.

 
  
 
 

PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET

MINISERIES FINALE: This new three-hour version of the Louisa May Alcott classic concludes tonight, with Maya Hawke continuing her starring role as Jo. Check local listings.

 
  
 
 

BBC America, 8:00 p.m. ET

In last week’s episode, there was a lot of betrayal. Eve, played by Sandra Oh, traveled to Moscow with her boss, who met with high-level Russian informants – one of whom, unknown to them both (or at least, if you’re paranoid, to Eve), was the handler of the very assassin they’re chasing, the deadly Villanelle (Jodie Comer). But that same handler was playing shady with his own charge, and had given Villanelle the assignment to return to the prison where she once was imprisoned. This time her assignment was to kill a new prisoner and former colleague – but by the time the episode was over, Villanelle was locked away in solitary with her boss having deliberately abandoned her there. So with only two episodes left, what happens now?

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET

The backstage access demonstrated in this show – who gets where, and gets to talk to whom – is impressive each and every week. But I’ve found that it’s not wise to approach this fast-paced, as-it-happens political documentary series on an empty stomach, because so much of the discussion, and so many of the interviews, take place in restaurants and bars, where the dishes are photographed more lovingly than in travel series on classic eateries.

 
  
 
 

TNT, 8:00 p.m. ET

In Game 2 of this Western series, the Houston Rockets evened its series against the Golden State Warriors 1-1. And now it’s Game 3…

 
  
 
 

Fox, 8:30 p.m. ET

SERIES FINALE: Technically, this is a series finale with an asterisk. After five seasons, Brooklyn Nine-Nine indeed is ending its run on the Fox network, and this episode, built around the long-planned, still somewhat iffy wedding of Jake and Amy, is the final entry in the Fox batch. But now that Fox has canceled the series, NBC has picked it up, and will continue the narrative in the fall. So even though Nine-Nine has been deep-sixed, it’s not over quite yet.

 
  
 
 

HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET

This is Episode 5 of Season 2, and it’s taken this long for Westworld to venture into new uncharted territory – which it does, in this episode, as Maeve (Thandie Newton) ventures into the strange new fantasy land known as Shogun World. No Richard Chamberlains in sight, though...

 
  
 
 

Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET

Last week’s show built to a great climax utilizing the song “Handle with Care” by the Traveling Wilburys, and gave a wonderful scene to Maggie Siff as Wendy, who got to face down Chuck’s father, and pay him back, and then some, for humiliating her earlier. The crux of the episode was that she persuaded Chuck not to run for New York governor, thwarting his father’s plans. So what comes now? For Chuck, it means staying put in the New York southern district attorney’s office… where nothing interesting ever happens, right?

 
  
 
 

HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET

More allegations of payments by Michael Cohen, this time to other women in the Trump universe. Another fatal school shooting. A royal wedding. The one-year anniversary of the Mueller investigation, and calls by both Rudy Giuliani and Mike Pence to end the probe. For John Oliver, it’s just another week… and once again, I can’t wait to see how he reacts to it.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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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.