Hollywood Week on ‘Idol,’ Tracy Morgan Visits ‘The Neighborhood,’ Missing Maddie on ‘9-1-1,’ ‘NCIS’ Crossover
American Idol brings back several of its famous grads to mentor contestants during the fabled Hollywood Week. SNL and 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan guests on The Neighborhood as Calvin’s much-talked-about brother Curtis. 9-1-1 takes a detour to Boston to catch up on the MIA Chimney and Maddie. NCIS crosses over with its Hawai’i spinoff when Torres and Knight head to the Aloha state.
American Idol
While NBC’s rival musical competition American Song Contest works its way through more states and original songs, the veteran singing contest enters one of its most iconic phases as Idol’s “Hollywood Week” begins. This year, the contestants with the golden ticket get some help, when fan favorites from past seasons return as mentors. The roster includes past winners Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Ruben Studdard, Chayce Beckham and Lee DeWyze. Then it’s time for the hopefuls to take the stage for the Genre Challenge.
The Neighborhood
Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock veteran Tracy Morgan mixes it up with Cedric the Entertainer when he visits the block as Calvin’s (Cedric) wealthy lottery-winning brother Curtis, whose impromptu arrival causes chaos in the Butler home. Next door, Dave (Max Greenfield) and Gemma (Beth Behrs) tap into their inner Marie Kondo as they try to declutter their house.
9-1-1
It’s been a while since fans have heard from paramedic Chimney (Kenneth Choi), who left the firehouse to tend to his wife Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), suffering from severe post-partum depression. In a change-of-pace episode, 9-1-1 catches up with Chimney across the country in Boston, where he’s looking for Maddie while St. Patrick’s Day festivities consume Beantown.
NCIS
Crossover alert: Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Knight (Katrina Law) say “aloha” to Hawaii in a two-parter concluding on NCIS: Hawai’i (10/9c) that reveals just how tight Torres was with Hawai’i boss Jane Tennant (Vanessa Lachey) back in their pre-NCIS days. Tennant sets the plot in motion when she calls Torres to come follow a lead on a witness involved in a case they worked together years ago. Knight follows to bring key documents to techie Ernie Malik (Jason Antoon). Isn’t it nice when everyone plays well together?
Inside Monday TV:
- Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong’o (8/7c, Smithsonian Channel): The Oscar winner travels to Benin in West Africa to explore the history of the “Agoji” (we know them as “Amazons”), an ancient all-female army that inspired the creation of the Dora Milaje warriors from Black Panther.
- All American (8/7c, The CW): He’s put in the work, but will Spencer (Daniel Ezra) finally get to play in his first college game?
- Snowpiercer (9/8c, TNT): The eventful third season of the post-apocalyptic thriller ends with the train’s adversaries Layton (Daveed Diggs) and Wilford (Sean Bean) once again clashing, with the future of humanity and a warming New Eden hanging in the balance.
- Secrets of Playboy (9/8c, A&E): The docuseries has even more secrets to spill, extending beyond the original 10 episodes to give The Girls Next Door’s Karissa and Kristina Shannon (former Hef gal pals) an outlet to share their perspective about their time in the infamous Mansion.
- Writing with Fire (10/9c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): Independent Lens presents the Oscar-nominated documentary that goes inside India’s Khabar Lahariya newspaper, unique in being operated by Dalit (“low caste”) women in a male-dominated industry.
