NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
Both The Voice and American Idol swapped out some members of the judges’ panels this season, and the results couldn’t be more different. On Idol, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj don’t even speak to one another, except in the language of silent disapproving eyerolls. Meanwhile, on The Voice, the judges all make fun of one another, but good-naturedly: Usher gets gently ridiculed for his sexy seated posture, Shakira lobs insults at all her male cohorts, and everyone despairs at how no one seems able to steal a country singer from Blake Shelton. In other words, The Voice, in this lengthy audition-round phase, is fun to watch. Idol, even in its Top 10 finalists phase, is not.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
If you liked the musical Chicago, you have to see this. It’s the 1942 non-musical version of the same basic tale, starring Ginger Rogers as a dark-haired Roxie Hart, and Adolphe Menjou as her flashy attorney, Billy Flynn. As docudramas go, it’s pretty loose with the facts: Hart, after all, is based on the story of accused murderess Beulah Annan, so even the names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. But entertaining? Absolutely – and Rogers clearly revels in playing a bad girl for once.
CBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
Michigan beat Syracuse to make it to this year’s championship game, and Louisville – the team with, by now, one of the most compelling sports stories in recent years – staged a furious comeback to steal victory from impressive underdogs Wichita State. For Louisville, it’s the first title game since 1986. For Michigan, it’s the first since 1993. For everybody watching, it should be an emotional, exciting game. March Madness? For this title game, it’s more like March Magnificence.
Sundance, 10:00 p.m. ET
It’s Episode 5 of this miniseries – and Sundance provided only the first four episodes for preview, so I’m as much in the dark about what happens next as you are. But with Elisabeth Moss at this mystery drama’s center, I’m happy to wander around in the dark and be led wherever Top of the Lake wants to take me.
Showtime, 11:00 p.m. ET
David Steinberg’s guests tonight, on this breezily entertaining talk show about comedy, are Bill Maher and Robert Klein. I haven’t seen this one in advance, but I know for a fact – from interviewing Maher for my Smothers Brothers book – that those guys were instrumental in inspiring young Maher to want to try comedy. Let’s see if Steinberg, who has a strong link to the Smothers Brothers, goes down that particular conversational avenue.