What’s On: ‘Nashville’ lightens up, Ted Danson on ‘Good Place’ and ‘Actors Studio,’ ‘Young Sheldon’ sees God
A critical checklist of notable Thursday TV:
Nashville (9/8c, CMT): Here’s a new concept for the musical drama as it continues its sixth and final season: fun. Though there’s still quite a bit of melodrama brewing among the country-music regulars—especially (inevitably) Juliette (Hayden Panettiere), the slowly reforming diva who’s now falling for the manipulative pitches of a self-improvement cult—the show is lightening up a bit. Which is a relief after last season, which killed off its leading lady Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton, now seen to lesser effect on Fox’s 9-1-1) and sent her widower Deacon (the estimable Charles Esten, now essentially the series’ anchor) into a depressive tailspin. Deacon even smiles a bit in this week’s episode, as he considers going on a dinner date with the seemingly ambivalent Jessie (Kaitlin Doubleday), despite fallout from pouty daughter Daphne (Maisy Stella). And in the best news, Luke (Chris Carmack) proves again to be Nashville’s unsung hero as he single-handedly pulls jilted Gunnar (Sam Palladino) and henpecked Avery (Jonathan Jackson) out of their funks by putting them all on stage together to do what they do and enjoy best: music. More of that please in these remaining chapters.
The Good Place (8:30/7:30c, NBC): We’ve all heard forever that the road to “the bad place” is paved with good intentions. But in this most inventive of fantastical network comedies, the bedeviling question is: How to get to the actual “good place?” The latest gambit by Eleanor (Kristin Bell) and her self-defeating pals is to once again try to bring out the best versions of themselves—and that includes their deceptively charming overseer Michael (Ted Danson), who they’ve decreed an “honorary human” for the occasion. As usual, there are unforeseen complications as they lay a new course and try to avoid the judgment of hell’s gatekeepers.
No one would doubt Ted Danson’s actual creditials when it comes to humanity—or talent. He’s the latest to visit Bravo’s Inside the Actors Studio (8/7c) and host James Lipton to discuss his career on TV, which hit a peak early in the long-running hit Cheers, and movies (Three Men and a Baby, Body Heat).
Young Sheldon (8:30/7:30c, CBS): Good place, bad place—it’s all theoretical to young Sheldon Cooper (Iain Armitage) in the hit prequel/spinoff, recently renewed for a second season. When the budding genius is sent to Sunday School by concerned mom Mary (Zoe Perry) when she catches him playing Dungeons and Dragons, the unexpected fallout finds the curious lad studying a variety of religions.
Inside Thursday TV: Molly Shannon guests on NBC’s Will & Grace as Val, a wacky neighbor of Jack’s (Sean Hayes) who becomes the victim of his new occupation as Lyft driver. … At the risk of developing early-onset awards fatigue, The CW offers the 23rd annual Critics’ Choice Awards (8/7c), with Olivia Munn hosting from Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar. Among the nominees, I’m rooting for Hank Azaria from IFC’s Brockmire as comedy actor, since he’ll probably be overlooked everywhere else. … Intriguing streaming import of the week: Contact (Walter Presents), a supernatural crime drama from France about an FBI consultant (Thomas Jouannet) who can intuit secrets and memories by touching objects. He decamps back to his home country of France when his gift reveals his investigator brother may be in danger. … Allison Janney, who just won a Golden Globe for her performance in I, Tonya, once again demonstrates her gift for extreme comedy in CBS’s Mom (9/8c) as Bonnie goes through withdrawal when she tries to give up coffee.
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Two networks of comedies tonight: Big Bang and Sheldon on one and Superstore, Good Place, and Will & Grace on the other.
No mention of the special about Tonya Harding? Is it that bad?
After the boring Globes this week, I don\'t want to see another awards show this soon.
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Out of curiosity, I may check out that Tonya Harding interview. But back when the incident occurred 20/20 and other news magazines documented the violent act to death!
That\'s why I didn\'t rush to watch the movie yet. I guess for younger viewers that aren\'t familiar with the story it may interest them more.
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I agree, Fred, the coverage was just way, way too much when it occurred. When it came down to it, it was just aggravated assault, thousands of cases which happen each day, both in 1994 and now. That said, a quarter century has passed, the Winter Olympics are coming up, and the new movie has rekindled interest in the incident. I might look at it as well, but it\'s a lot of hype of something that really didn\'t mean all that much in the scheme of things. I bet most people can\'t honestly answer without consulting a search engine who won the gold medal in figure skating in 1994 or where the Winter Olympics were held.
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Your right, I don\'t recall who won or where the Olympics were held. I do remember Nancy Kerrigan getting beat with a stick or baton by Harding\'s ex. I think she won a medal that year. Not gold though.
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Nancy won the silver. I think she only missed winning by 1 point. It was quite controversial.
Edit: Make that one-tenth of a point. Just heard it on TV.
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It was (excuse the spelling) Oxana Baiul. Was it Lillehammer, Norway?
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Oksana Baiul and Lillehammer, Norway are correct. I\'m confident that more people remember Tanya and Nancy than much else from those Olympics though. I remember that was a terribly cold winter in the Midwest.
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Of course. I\'m a big Winter Olympics fan, and I don\'t remember much else from that Olympics. I don\'t even remember who the top men skaters were that year.
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I can\'t see young people who never heard of Tonya or Nancy having any interest in the Movie. It\'s not a very compelling story if you think about it.
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Yeah, I guess when I think about the incident it really isn\'t that intriguing.
I guess that\'s why the theatrical movie that was recently released didn\'t really lure too many theatre goers. I\'ll check the younger demo ratings (18-49) tomorrow and see how it performed.
Now this new FX American Crime story about the murder of Gianni Versace looks very compelling. I will hopefully watch that. Last summer 20/20 aired a detailed docudrama about the tragic crime. Very well done, I might add.
I\'m sure this series will entice viewers of all ages.
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Yeah...the Versace story has sex, glamour, exotic locations, murder, a serial killer...much more interesting than a girl getting hit in the knee by a fat guy in boring old Detroit.
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That\'s a good observation, DonMI. She\'s had a lot of news coverage this week so I would\'ve thought this interview would\'ve merited a mention here.
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Wow, a detailed preview of a show I actually enjoy and have watched for many seasons. Nashville has been one of my favorite dramas since 2012! The actors are all multi talented and the music and storylines usually mesh so well. I will savor every episode this season.
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Do you still enjoy it even though Connie Britton is no longer part of the cast?
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Yes indeed. There are so many great actors and singers on this show.
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I guess I\'ll watch TBBT since Supernatural isn\'t back yet. THen probably Nova and SWAT.
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Nova was on last night here. I thought about watching it but didn\'t catch the repeat.
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Nova was on last night too, on another PBS station I get. I saw bits and pieces of it then (during commercials) but hopefully tonight I can pay it a little better attention. (Even though I\'ll only see one of the two hours of it.)
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I checked out Runway Allstars last week. I\'m not crazy about most of the contestants. I don\'t even remember most of those black women...if any. As much as I like the other big cooking competitions, I just can\'t get into Top Chef.
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They probably have Casanova back because he\'s such a character. He\'s fun to watch even if his designs aren\'t that good.
I don\'t care for Hell\'s Kitchen either because I can\'t stand the way Gordon treats the contestants. He\'s a lot nicer to the cooks on MasterChef.
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Nothing of much interest...(FOR ME)...
Guess I\'ll hit the ol\' DVR for this week\'s Happy! and Shameless...(a little surprised they\'re still there...since these are in my Top Shows for the season)...
(Will also probably do a little catching up on The Young and The Restless.)
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Just a heads up about Marvelous Mrs. Maisel:
\"The series will be available to stream at no cost beginning Friday, Jan. 12, at 12:01 a.m. local time through Monday, Jan. 15, 11:59 p.m. Audiences can stream the series through the Prime Video app for television, connected devices or online at Amazon.com/Maisel.\"
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