‘Idol,’ ‘Voice’ Enter New Phases, ABC’s ‘Crossing,’ Martin Luther King Jr. Specials
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
American Idol (8/7c, ABC): With Hollywood Week behind them, it’s time for the surviving singers to step up for the “Showcase Round,” where they perform solos in front of a live audience and the judges at Exchange LA in downtown L.A. After the applause dies down, the judges (Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie) sit down with the contestants to make the Final Judgment and reveal the Top 24.
The Voice (8/7c, NBC): Not to be outdone, NBC’s singing competition recruits past winners to help advise the 32 remaining performers in the Knockout Rounds. Cassadee Pope (Season 3) joins Team Kelly, Jordan Smith (Season 9) goes to Team Adam, Chris Blue (Season 12) to Team Alicia and incumbent champ Chloe Kohanski (Season 13) to Team Blake. In another twist, the Knockout Rounds will now feature a “Save,” in which a coach can give a second chance to someone who doesn’t win their round. Because “Steals” are still in play—like “Saves,” the coaches get one each in this round—singers have the option to go with a different coach at this stage of the game.
The Crossing (10/9c, ABC): Judging solely from the drab pilot of this convoluted sci-fi mystery, which aspires to Lost cult status but feels more like a weak cousin to The 4400, ABC is going to regret ending the first season of The Good Doctor so early. This middling midseason replacement stars the always likable Steve Zahn as the sheriff of a generic Pacific Northwest fishing town—perhaps neighboring the one in Freeform’s Siren?—that becomes Ground Zero for a cosmic puzzle when multiple bodies wash up from the sea with no sign of a vessel. Once the 47 survivors dry off, they insist they’ve traveled from the future, refugees from a war that, as usual, threatens the future of humanity, thanks to genetically engineered humans who may also have taken the leap backwards.
Martin Luther King Jr. Remembered: This week marks the 50th anniversary of the civil-rights leader’s assassination (on April 4), inspiring a number of new documentaries about Dr. King’s historic legacy. Prominent among them: HBO’s King in the Wilderness (8/7c), from director Peter Kunhardt, which focuses on the last three years of his life, when King weathered criticism from the Black Power movement over his doctrine of nonviolence while the Johnson administration objected to his anti-Vietnam War stance. … The digital DECADES Network presents 1968: The Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (9/8c) takes a broader biographical overview, with interviews including Rev. Jesse Jackson.
The Terror (9/8c, AMC): In a pivotal episode of the icy historical thriller, Capt. Crozier (Jared Harris) tries to convince his pompous superior, Sir John Franklin (Ciarán Hinds), to send a rescue party southward before a new winter further seals the stranded ships’ fate. And that’s not accounting for the beast lying in wait for these British interlopers.
Inside Monday TV: If you notice a few more repeats than usual, it’s to spare many shows from competing against the typically high-rated NCAA National Championship game, airing on TBS (9/8c), which pits Michigan against Villanova. … Turner Classic Movies’ “Star of the Month” is the great William Holden, with movies airing every Monday through April, starting with his first starring role in 1939’s Golden Boy (8/7c), opposite Barbara Stanwyck, from Clifford Odets’ play about a violin prodigy who gives up music for prizefighting. … It’s not what it sounds like. HGTV’s Flipping Virgins (9/8c) returns for a second season, with real-estate pro Egypt Sherrod walking first-time house flippers through the process, starting with an East Atlanta bungalow.
The Terror (2018) where to stream
