Cardi B Co-Hosts ‘Tonight Show,’ Rachel Bloom on ‘iZombie,’ PBS Celebrates ‘The Art of the Shine’
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (11:35/10:35, NBC): In a first, Jimmy Fallon invites one of his more popular guests to appear throughout the entire show as his co-host. Bronx-born rapper and live wire Cardi B, who made her debut as a Saturday Night Live musical guest over the weekend, returns after a December Tonight Show appearance that went viral with more than 16 million views. She’ll perform from her upcoming debut album Invasion of Piracy, and after chatting with Fallon, will stay on stage to chat with other guests, including comedian John Mulaney.
iZombie (9/8c, The CW): Bless this little network for going all in on the delightfully versatile Rachel Bloom. Having just renewed her fabulous Crazy Ex-Girlfriend for a fourth and final season, The CW welcomes her to the world of this equally offbeat horror procedural as the victim du jour. In an episode puckishly titled “My Really Fair Lady,” she plays a pretentious theater actor whose murder puts Liv (Rose McIver) and Clive (Malcolm Goodwin) in the spotlight.
The Art of the Shine (10/9c, check local listings at pbs.org): Need to put some pep in your step? You can’t go wrong with this insightful and uplifting Independent Lens documentary that finds humanity and humor in the trade of shoe shining. With segments spanning the globe from Sarajevo to Bolivia to Paris and Toronto, filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum goes beyond spit and polish to reveal the pride these shiners take in their work. Full disclosure: I’ve had the privilege of having my loafers treated by one of the film’s more colorful characters: Don, who has operated for 15 years on a 6th Avenue street corner in Midtown Manhattan. “This is freedom,” he says, heckling passersby for their scuffed footwear as he goes about his business. (He has also been known to appreciate a patron’s colorful socks.)
Inside Monday TV: In yet another new twist for ABC’s revived American Idol (8/7c), 12 of the top 24 perform duets with celebrity partners, including Aloe Blacc, Andy Grammer, Pat Monahan and Sugarland. The remaining dozen get their shot next week. … Warehouse 13’s Joanne Kelly guests on Fox’s The Resident (9/8c) as the ex-fiancé of Conrad (Matt Czuchry), who can’t figure out the cause of the abdominal ailment that has brought her to the hospital. … Baseball fever infects Cubs fan Arthur (Judd Hirsch) on CBS’s Superior Donuts (9/8c), when the Chicago super-fan realizes he lacks a ticket to Opening Day and could miss the game for the first time in 43 years. Cubs shortstop Addison Russell guests as himself.
