Reality Finales, ‘The Terror,’ ‘Who Do You Think You Are’
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
Dancing With the Stars (8/7c, ABC): Seems we just get started, and before you know it … Apologies to Carol Burnett’s theme song, but this ridiculously truncated cycle of the ballroom competition crowns its winner after just four episodes. In the hour finale, presumed favorite Adam Rippon performs a jazz routine to the aptly titled “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)” from Annie Get Your Gun, while Josh Norman fox-trots to “Conqueror” by the Empire cast and Tonya Harding waltzes to “The Time of My Life,” which also seems appropriate. A freestyle dance follows, and with “last chance” viewer votes in the ET/CT time zones factored in, someone’s getting a mirrorball.
That’s just the beginning of a reality logjam, as the final four contestants on NBC’s The Voice (8/7c) perform in the first part of the live finale — a winner will be announced Tuesday — with each finalist performing a solo, a duet with his or her coach, and the debut of their first original single. And in a two-hour finale of ABC’s revived if not improved American Idol (9/8c), we’ll learn if Caleb, Maddie or Gabby wins America’s vote.
The Terror (9/8c, AMC): The haunting finale of the historical horror thriller shrouds the fate of Capt. Crozier (Jared Harris) and his desperate, dying crew—including the despicable Hickey (Adam Nagaitis)—in the mists of mystery and Inuit legend. What a strange, savage and surreal journey this has been.
Who Do You Think You Are? (9/8c, TLC): The celebrity genealogy series returns for a new season of discovery with back-to-back episodes. In the first, Two and a Half Men’s Jon Cryer traces his ancestry back to Scotland and learns of a nine times great-grandfather who came to the U.S. as an indentured servant. Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black) is the second subject, inspired by the history of her three times great-grandfather and his life after emancipation from slavery.
Inside Monday TV: HBO goes deep inside The Final Year (8/7c) of Barack Obama’s presidency in a behind-the-scenes documentary from Greg Barker (Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Bin Laden). … Vanessa and Nick Lachey host the 2018 Miss USA competition (8/7c, Fox) from Louisiana. Nick also performs during the ceremony with his 98° boy band. … Watson (Lucy Liu) makes the mistake of reading her own therapy file while investigating the murder of her former psychologist on CBS’s Elementary (10/9c), prompting her to consider a major life change. Given that the series was renewed for another season — yay! — we doubt this will result in her severing ties with Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller).
The Terror (2018) where to stream
