The Oscars—with Hosts, ‘Dune’ on HBO, Hallmark’s ‘Second Chance,’ ‘Dead’ Heroics

The Oscars show has enlisted a funny-lady triumvirate of hosts (Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Regina Hall) in hopes of lifting the movie awards’ ratings. One of this year’s best-picture candidates, the sci-fi epic Dune, arrives on HBO. Hallmark Channel launches its “Spring into Love” movie series with a mini-ER reunion of Gloria Reuben and Eriq La Salle. Once sworn enemies, Maggie and Negan fight a common foe on The Walking Dead.

The Oscars 2022 key art
ABC

The Oscars

SUNDAY:  After several years of declining ratings (exacerbated by the pandemic’s effect on moviegoing), the Oscars hopes to get a boost by enlisting three funny ladies—Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall—to lift the spirits within Hollywood’s cavernous Dolby Theatre in between awards. (In a controversial move, several crafts awards will be presented before the broadcast begins, edited into the show.) Look out for a major production number built around Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” in the musical lineup, which includes performances from nominated songs: Beyoncé with King Richard’s “Be Alive,” Billie Eilish and FINNEAS with the title song from No Time to Die, Sebastian Yatra with Encanto’s “Dos Oruguitas” and Reba McEntire singing “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days. (Van Morrison wasn’t available to perform Belfast long-shot “Down to Joy.”) This year’s Oscars is poised to make history by awarding Best Picture to a movie made for a streamer, with Netflix’s The Power of the Dog and Apple’s CODA the front-runners.

Dune Timothee Chalamet Rebecca Ferguson
Chiabella James / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Dune

SATURDAY: Defying skeptics with memories of David Lynch’s 1984 debacle, director Denis Villeneuve delivered one of the year’s most acclaimed epics with his dazzling take on Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic, covering just half of the book. (Will the sequel make another splash at the Oscars?) Nominated for Best Picture, and favored to sweep many of the technical awards, Dune stars Timothée Chalamet as the pensive Paul Atreides, who’s thrust into a war on the desert planet Arrakis. Zendaya, Oscar Isaac and Jason Momoa are among the starry supporting cast

A Second Chance at Love

Movie Premiere

SATURDAY: Hallmark kicks off its “Spring into Love” parade of romantic TV-movies by reuniting ER stars and former love interests Gloria Reuben and Eriq La Salle as divorced exes Brenda and Jack. Their second chance comes when “love doctor” daughter Alicia (Alvina August), who has her own relationship issues, signs them up separately on a dating app, and they begin trading messages incognito. Will sparks fly when they realize what’s up? Have you ever seen a Hallmark movie?

Walking Dead - Season 10 Episode 22 - Lauren Cohan as Maggie
Josh Stringer/AMC

The Walking Dead

SUNDAY: There are few odder TV couples than Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the reformed villain who murdered Maggie’s beloved Glenn back in the day of the so-called Saviors. She still doesn’t trust him (who can blame her), but once again they’re yoked together to take on the Commonwealth commandos sent to massacre the residents of the Riverbend Apartment Complex, where Negan has found a new home. Joining in the fight: Aaron (Ross Marquand), Lydia (Cassady McClincy), Elijah (Okea Eme-Akwari)—and a stowaway who has a special animus against Negan. Back on the home front, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Rosita (Christian Serratos) reluctantly take on an assignment from the governor’s loathsome son, Sebastian (Teo Rapp-Olsson)—the character we most eagerly anticipate getting his zombie comeuppance someday.

Inside Weekend TV:

  • Be My Guest with Ina Gartin (Saturday, noon/11c, extended version streaming on discovery+): The Barefoot Contessa welcomes celebrity guests to her East Hampton home for food, drink and conversation. First up: The Good Wife’s Julianna Margulies, who shares her halibut with herb butter over Ina’s Real Margaritas before taking a jaunt to the beach.
  • Collector’s Call (Sunday, 6:30/5:30c, MeTV): The nostalgic series returns for a third season of appraising pop-culture junkies’ collections of goodies. The opener surveys film/TV lover Patrick Brickley’s treasure trove of movie props and costumes from such classics as Seinfeld, Good Will Hunting and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
  • NCIS: Los Angeles (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): Once upon a time, no network would schedule original episodes against the Oscars, whose days as a ratings behemoth are behind them. Living proof: CBS has scheduled back to-back new episodes of the long-running procedural. In the first hour, Sam (LL Cool J) goes undercover as “Switch” to find the killer of a DOJ agent. In the second (9/8c), the team goes undercover again as black-market buyers in the art world.
  • Sanditon (Sunday, 9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): Charlotte (Rose Williams) begins her new vocation as governess, but her moody employer (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) promises to be a tough nut to crack. This season being more Hallmark than Jane Austen, expect a thaw before it’s all over.
  • March (Sunday, 9/8c, The CW): In the Season 1 finale, the marching band from Prairie View A&M kicks back after their own long season, with Kaylan preparing to graduate and the drum majors letting Dr. Z know who they think should take up the baton next.