A Royal Overview, Spanish Horror in ’30 Coins,’ ‘Irrational’s Poker Adventure, TCM Salutes Dick Van Dyke
A special examines the state of the British royal family a year after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Billions’ Paul Giamatti joins the Spanish horror series 30 Coins for its second season. NBC’s new mystery The Irrational puts on its poker face for a jaunt to Las Vegas. A day after his Simpsons cameo, TV/movie legend Dick Van Dyke gets a prime-time showcase on Turner Classic Movies.
The Royals: A New Era
Special
Since the coronation of King Charles III in May, we haven’t heard much about the U.K.’s royal family, for which they’re no doubt overjoyed. But that hasn’t stopped producers from Entertainment Tonight Studios from getting the latest dish from palace confidants and insiders for a new special, with updates on the new monarch as he transitions “the firm” into a modern era a year after Queen Elizabeth’s death.
30 Coins
Season Premiere
Billions’ Paul Giamatti joins the cast of the Spanish horror thriller for Season 2 as New York billionaire Christian Barbrow, said to be “so perverse that even the devil fears him.” He should fit right in when he arrives at the village of Pedraza, so gutted by the frenzy over the titular cursed coins that most of the residents have lost their minds. Town veterinarian Elena (Megan Montaner) is comatose in a hospital bed in Madrid, with her consciousness caged in Hell, while remorseful mayor Paco (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) tends to her amid the demons plaguing the community.
The Irrational
I wonder what behavioral science expert Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) would make of “human lie detector” Charlie (Emmy-nominated Natasha Lyonne) on Peacock’s terrific Poker Face. This comes to mind as Alec and his team head to Las Vegas when a former colleague, now a pro poker player, reaches out after getting in a dangerous bind. A gambling mystery ensues, and we’ll put our chips on Alec being able to figure it all out.
Bye Bye Birdie
At the spry age of 97, Dick Van Dyke is having a moment. He appeared as himself in a cameo in Sunday’s episode of The Simpsons, and earlier this year was seen on Days of Our Lives and The Masked Singer. The latter appearance is a reminder that before he became a TV star in the classic The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66), he was a Broadway song-and-dance man. The musical that put him on the map, filmed in 1963, was Bye Bye Birdie, where he “Put On a Happy Face” as songwriter to the Elvis-like Conrad Birdie. The movie is the highlight in a night of movies starring Van Dyke, including 1968’s children’s fantasy Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (8/7c) and the 1965 comedy The Art of Love (12:45 am/11:45c), playing an artist in Paris who fakes his own death to boost demand for his paintings.
Inside Monday TV:
- Monday Night Football (8 pm/ET, ABC and ESPN): San Francisco 49ers take on the Minnesota Vikings in a broadcast-cable simulcast.
- Maine Cabin Masters (9/8c, Magnolia Network): In the season premiere, the Pine Tree State posse swoops in to help a family add space to their legacy lakeside lodgings just in time for Fourth of July celebrations.
- Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (9/8c, Fox): The remaining celebrity recruits face their toughest challenge to date, as they trek to a mountain top to attempt a cliff crawl over a ravine using a single rope.
- The Daily Show (11/10c, Comedy Central): Desus Nice, formerly a Showtime late-night host alongside The Kid Mero, takes over the anchor desk as a solo act this week.
