Sing Along with Queen, Next Gen ‘Class,’ ‘Ghosts’ Gets Personal, Padma’s Holiday ‘Taste’ Treat

Matt Roush
16 Comments

ABC’s latest Singalong special celebrates Queen on the band’s 50th anniversary. HBO Max goes back to school with a Head of the Class next-generation reboot starring original cast member Robin Givens. One of CBS’s Ghosts reunites with a loved one. Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi savors holiday cuisine from immigrant communities in a special edition of Hulu’s Taste the Nation.

Darren Criss
ABC

The Queen Family Singalong

Special

I like “Bohemian Rhapsody” as much as the next person, but I’m not sure I want to hear the next person singing it. This Queen classic isn’t listed in ABC’s release about the network’s latest sing-along special, which encourages home audiences to belt out the lyrics to Queen standards like “Somebody to Love” (performed by Pentatonix), “We Will Rock You” (JoJo Siwa and Orianthi) and “We Are the Champions” (OneRepublic). Glee’s Darren Criss hosts this celebration of the rock band on its 50th anniversary, with highlights including Adam Lambert’s “The Show Must Go On,” Jimmie Allen teaming with Miss Piggy on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and Dancing with the Stars’ Derek Hough performing to “Another One Bites the Dust” featuring Alexander Jean. Sticking with the musical theme, the special is followed by two repeats of ABC’s new hip-hop drama Queens, for those who need to catch up.

'Head of the Class,' HBO Max Revival, Robin Givens as Darlene Merriman
Nicole Wilder/HBO Max

Head of the Class

Series Premiere

Today’s reminder of how quickly time flies: It’s been 35 years since the original Head of the Class debuted on ABC, starring Howard Hesseman as the unconventional teacher of a classroom of overachievers. Ted Lasso’s Bill Lawrence is among the executive producers involved the series’ reboot, which brings back original cast member Robin Givens as Darlene, now an ambitious Stanford-educated lawyer who’s co-head of the Parents’ Association. She’s keeping a close eye on the Individualized Honors Program’s latest offbeat teacher (played by One Day at a Time’s Isabella Gomez), who’s more about life experience than grades. You’d think Darlene would remember the good times with Mr. Moore.

Richie Moriarty as Pete in Ghosts
Cliff Lipson/CBS

Ghosts

A sweetly emotional episode of the terrific new supernatural comedy puts the spotlight on Pete (Richie Moriarty), the chipper scout leader with the arrow through his neck. It’s his heart that might get pierced when he convinces Sam (Rose McIver) to invite his widow (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Caroline Aaron) to the mansion upon his “death day,” only to learn an afterlife lesson about how life goes on after we go away. Another shocker awaits Wall Street bro Trevor (Asher Grodman) when he discovers he may have left behind an offspring. But my favorite subplot involves a spat between Viking Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long) and Native American Sasappis (Román Zaragoza) over who’s watching their favorite reality show ahead of the other. TV in the great beyond? What a comforting thought.

Taste the Nation Padma Lakshmi
Hulu

Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi

Season Premiere

The Top Chef host returns with four new holiday-themed episodes of her culinary travelogue series, sampling dishes from minority and/or immigrant communities to see how they celebrate at the table. Padma Lakshmi’s foodie adventures include eight nights of Hannukah on New York’s Lower East Side, a Thanksgiving reality check with the Wampanoag Nation, a savory visit with Miami’s Cuban community for the Christmas Eve feast of Nochebuena and ringing in Lunar New Year in L.A.’s Koreatown.

Inside Thursday TV:

  • Young Sheldon (8/7c, CBS): Meemaw (Annie Potts) is in hot water after buying a laundromat for its backroom gambling parlor, only for the local cops to shut her down. Grandson Georgie (Montana Jordan) thinks he has a solution.
  • Romance is on the agenda in two other CBS sitcoms, when Al (Adhir Kalyan) begins dating Ariana (Azita Ghanizada) on United States of Al (8:30/7:30c), and Drew (Thomas Middleditch) decides it’s time to finally tell his kidney donor Gina (Annaleigh Ashford) about his romantic feelings on B Positive (9:30/8:30c).
  • HBO Max piles on the streaming premieres with offerings including the stand-up comedy special Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words; a second season of Michael B. Jordan’s animated sci-fi adventure series Gen:Lock; and a second season of the raucous international comedy Frayed, starring Sarah Kendall as a harried widow trying to reclaim her life. She brings her family back to London from her native Australia, leaving behind a body in her mother’s house.
  • A Rich Christmas (streaming on BET+): Victoria Rowell directs a holiday movie about a spoiled socialite who gets the gift of social awakening when her wealthy father makes her spend time working at his first property, a family homeless center.
GhostsHead of the Class (2021)Taste the Nation With Padma LakshmiThe Queen Family Singalong



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  1. O

    OrangeWeights

    I'll eagerly watch the Queen Family Singalong and then flee that channel like something is chasing me. PBS Mysteries round out the evening.

    2

    1. B

      BlueProcessor

      I guess your not a Hip Hop fan, lol.

      The show is actually well performed and fun to watch , trashy though.

  2. J

    Jena

    Walker for me tonight. Also need to catch up on last night's episode of Legends of Tomorrow.

    1

    1. B

      BlueProcessor

      Did you enjoy FBI this week? I found it convoluted. Even Jubal was rolling his eyes and making dismissive expressions about the wacky case. Also there are way too many analysts working in that bureau. Each typing away and rotating info to Jubal and other agents just standing around crowding Jubal’s space.

      Also I never missed an episode and had no idea OA’s girlfriend wanted him to leave the bureau and be a security guard .

      That seemed to come out of thin air or it’s been too long that it was mentioned as a plot point. That’s what happens when a show has too many revolving characters. Very annoying . But I’m sticking with it because when FBI is good there is almost nothing better.

      1. P

        PurpleTeepee

        They do have an exceptionally good cast.

        1. B

          BlueProcessor

          Absolutely!

      2. J

        Jena

        I wasn't able to watch FBI (original version) this week.

        I thought I remembered OA's girlfriend urging him to leave the FBI. I don't remember her suggesting him being a security guard. Or working for a private security firm, or whatever.

  3. R

    RedApple

    Why is it that nobody lists Billy Connolly as part of the original cast of HEAD OF THE CLASS? I adored Howard Hesseman, but Billy did an amazing job as well.

  4. O

    OliveCactus

    No Big Sky?

    1. B

      BlueProcessor

      Next week!!

  5. O

    OliveCactus

    No Blacklist?

  6. A

    Arben70

    Halloween might’ve been our last stab at sticking with Ghosts. I want to like it but we’ve seen the BBC series and due to either rehashed plots or lesser talent it’s been hard to watch. Rose McIver is the sole bright spot. Meanwhile: “Jimmie Allen teaming with Miss Piggy on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’”? Um.

    1 1

    1. B

      BlueProcessor

      Should be an interesting sing along to say the least. Are you watching B

      Positive after Ghosts? That’s been quite funny. Excellent cast.

      1. A

        Arben70

        No. I burned out on sitcoms long ago, even nontraditional ones; thought about it, being an admirer of Annaleigh Ashford’s work elsewhere, but didn’t take the chance. Just so much TV and then, you know, the rest of life. 8^)

    2. A

      Arben70

      Welllll, Piggy singing Freddie went about like I expected.

      1. P

        PurpleHammer

        I think that was Darren singing Miss Piggy's part. Adam Lambert was amazing; I've seen him with Queen 3 times and he's light years ahead of Paul Rogers who was his predecessor with the band after Freddie passed.