The Eclipse on TV, Celebrating Elton John and Bernie Taupin, NCAA Championship Game, Anticipating an ‘NCIS’ Milestone
If you’d rather watch the historic solar eclipse live on TV, there are plenty of options. Classic pop songwriters Elton John and Bernie Taupin accept the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in an all-star musical tribute. Purdue and UConn face off in the championship game of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. A prime-time special from Entertainment Tonight celebrates the upcoming NCIS milestone of 1,000 episodes across the popular franchise.
NOVA
For those who’d prefer to watch the historic solar eclipse from home, sparing any risk to their eyesight (beyond the usual), TV is there for you. Most of the major broadcast and news channels and many streaming platforms are planning extensive coverage, most beginning around 2 pm/ET. PBS’s Nova science franchise presents a livestream over YouTube with NASA scientists participating, and NASA has its own livestream on its website. Here’s a helpful rundown of how and where to experience this special event.
Elton John & Bernie Taupin: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
Special
For more than a half-century, pop vocalist Sir Elton John has collaborated with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin on a succession of hit songs that make the team a natural for the coveted Gershwin prize. A two-hour concert special, featuring highlights from an invite-only ceremony in Washington D.C. in March, is hosted by Billy Porter, who performs (what else) “The Bitch Is Back,” with a stellar lineup including 2023 Gershwin Prize recipient Joni Mitchell (performing “I’m Still Standing” with Brandi Carlile and Annie Lennox) and 2020 honoree Garth Brooks delivering “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and “Daniel.” The eclectic talent roster includes Metallica, Maren Morris, Charlie Puth and Jacob Lusk, with Sir Elton taking the stage with signature hits like “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting:” and “Your Song” joined by Taupin.
NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship Game
The field of 64 is now down to two. Who will prevail and cut down the nets at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona when Purdue faces UConn for the national championship?
NCISVerse: The First 1,000
Special
Entertainment Tonight digs into its vaults with highlights from 20 years of coverage of the NCIS franchise, in anticipating of next Monday’s NCIS episode marking 1,000 episodes across all of the franchises. Stars of the mothership, as well as from spinoffs past (NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Los Angeles) and present (NCIS: Hawai’i), share memories, with a look back to the show’s origins as an extension of JAG and behind-the-scenes footage of next week’s 1,000 NCIS-verse episode.
INSIDE MONDAY TV:
- The Voice (8/7c, NBC): Country superstar Keith Urban comes aboard as Mega Mentor to get the contestants ready for the Knockouts, where two singers perform against each other, with one moving on to the Playoffs. The coaches get one steal each.
- All American (8/7c, The CW): The media spotlight becomes a burden for Spencer (Daniel Ezra) as the team prepares for its first football game of the season.
- 2 to Life (9/8c, ESPN): An award-winning documentary spotlights inmates of San Quentin Prison who find purpose and possibly redemption while training for the 1,000 Mile Club, with the main even a 26.2 mile marathon over 105 laps around the prison yard.
- Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s (10/9c, PBS): An Independent Lens documentary profiles three vibrant people adapting to life with Parkinson’s disease: a political cartoonist who turns his struggle into a graphic novel, a mom who becomes a boxing coach to promote exercise as a way to slow the disease’s progression, and an optician who turns to deep brain stimulation.
