‘Frontline’ Investigates Harvey Weinstein, ‘Once’ Returns for Its Final Hours
A selective critical checklist of notable Friday TV:
Weinstein (9/8c, PBS, check local listings at pbs.org): As a curtain-raiser to Oscar weekend, which powerful Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein once ruled, TV’s finest investigative news program delves into the pattern of sexual harassment and abuse perpetrated by Weinstein over 40 years. Not a pretty picture, but a story that needs to be told as the industry comes to grips with its sordid past.
Blue Bloods (10/9c, CBS): The family/cop drama has its own #MeToo moment, when Nicky (Sami Gayle) experiences sexual harassment from her boss (Sean Kleier) during her new internship, and tries to deal with it without involving the rest of the Reagans. Her uncle Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) is otherwise engaged, thinking about taking a more lucrative job. Wouldn’t count on it.
Once Upon a Time (8/7c, ABC): It’s the beginning of the end for the fairy-tale fantasy drama, returning from hiatus to close out its seventh and, we now know, final season. You’d think by now they’d be wary of magic, but that doesn’t stop Robin (Tiera Skovbye) from forging a bond with Mother Gothel (Emma Booth) to hone her skills.
Inside Friday TV: The Urban Movie Channel streaming service premieres a gritty new series, 5th Ward (episodes arrive weekly on Fridays through April 6), starring Grammy-winner Mya as a single mother trying to raise two sons in Houston’s historically black title neighborhood. … New to Amazon Prime: the feature film Brad’s Status, starring Ben Stiller as a Sacramento suburbanite who reassesses his life while accompanying his son (Austin Abrams) on a college tour to Harvard. … The sixth season of Fox’s Masterchef Junior kicks, or should we say cooks, off with a two-hour opener (8/7c) in which a field of 40 hopefuls, split evenly between boys and girls, vie for 12 aprons per group. The girls prepare filet mignon (medium rare, of course) and the boys whip up a chicken breast for judges Gordon Ramsay, Christina Tosi and the returning Joe Bastianich.
