Worth Watching: ‘Schooled’ Does ‘Rent,’ a ‘Chicago Fire’ Road Trip, the Final Six on ‘Masked Singer’
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
Schooled (8:30/7:30c, ABC): The middling spinoff of The Goldbergs goes musical, when Lainey (AJ Michalka) decides to prove to Coach Mellor (Bryan Callen) that the arts are every bit as important as sports at William Penn. Somewhat ambitiously, she chooses a production of the hit Broadway musical Rent as to demonstrate her point. Let’s hope it turns out better than Fox’s recent botched version.
Chicago Fire (9/8c, NBC): A first responder’s work is never done. The truth of which Brett (Kara Killmer), Foster (Anie Ilonzeh) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Maho) are reminded as their road-trip getaway to Indiana is disrupted by a bus accident involving a boys’ hockey team. The team on Chicago PD (10/9c) also goes out of state, with Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) going undercover at a Wisconsin gun show to take down a machine gun supplier whose weapons fire ammo powerful enough to penetrate cops’ bulletproof vests. Burgess makes another discovery along the way: that Upton is dating Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger).
The Masked Singer (9/8c, Fox): The winter’s surprise reality hit — especially considering the underwhelming nature of the reveals of who’s wearing those costumes — is now down to the final six Masked Singers: the Alien, Bee, Lion, Monster, Peacock and Rabbit. All six form one big group for the first time, each performing again for the panel, which this week includes J.B. Smoove. Someone will be unmasked, and if it follows the show’s history, the identity will be greeted with a resounding shrug.
Inside Wednesday TV: For nature lovers: Smithsonian Channel presents an eye-opening salute to Amazing Pigs (8/7c), traveling the world to marvel at the underrated animals’ ability to adapt to environments as diverse as Siberia and the Bahamas… PBS’s Nature goes back in history to reveal the Wild Way of the Vikings (8/7c, check local listings at pbs.org), spotlighting the wildlife of the North Atlantic as we travel the trajectory from Norway to Newfoundland, much as the ancient invaders did… If my mailbag is any indication, many loyal CBS viewers will be relieved to hear that Celebrity Big Brother (9/8c) is signing off with a two-hour finale, and the schedule can return relatively to normal without this ridiculous multi-night disruption… Harvey (Gabriel Macht) is caught in the middle on USA’s Suits (10/9c) when forced to choose a side in a dispute between Samantha (Katherine Heigl) and Scottie (Abigail Spencer).
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Bleah, another week without SEAL Team. I may tune in to PBS' Nature to see the "Wild Way of the Vikings." ... which is pretty much what I originally expected History Channel's Vikings show would be.
So, what did anyone think of Miracle Workers? I thought it was cute and, yes, whimsical. :-p
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It wasn't as good as I expected it to be considering the talent involved. It doesn't help that all the funniest lines were revealed in the promos. Maybe it'll seem fresher next time.
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I thought it was pretty good, although I too knew the setup of what was going to happen before it aired. But now that the "introductory" episode is over I'm sure it'll get to the meat of the series.
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I'm ashamed to admit I watch the Masked Singer. I'm not even sure why I'm intrigued.... the reveals are a total "Meh", but I can't seem to force myself to change the channel. And although I like Ken Jeong, his over-the-top freak-outs are beyond annoying. At this point, I'll just be glad when this show's run is over.
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I miss Ken Jeong's sitcom Dr. Ken. I used to laugh out loud all the time.
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"Meh"..."glad when it's over"...sounds like my (two) marriages!!??!!
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ABC comedies are back! World's Best, Suits and Deadly Class are new too!
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I may be mistaken but I think Modern Family is the only ABC comedy rerun amidst new comedies. Like I mentioned before this is one weird month.
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Yeah. I didn't even notice that. The way I have my listings displayed, the word "new" often gets hidden unless I click on the description.
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Modern Family is still ABC's highest rated comedy (or close to it). Why would they ruin another night with a repeat? FOX will win the night again and by a decent margin, especially tonight. And ABC already lost Monday to NBC with that Good Doctor rerun.
They most definitely would have won Monday with the Bachelor and a new GD.
It's like ABC is throwing in the towel, they have almost zero chance of getting out of 4th place.
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Fred...since you seem to be up on this...what are the current broadcast TV rankings???
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Last time I checked (after the CBS Super Bowl) in the 18-49 demo , NBC and FOX were tied for first , CBS a close third and ABC far behind in fourth. CW as usual fifth. CBS aired the Grammys this week so they might be even closer to NBC and FOX now.
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In the overall ratings, CBS is #1 followed by NBC, FOX and ABC again in 4th.
But these rankings sometimes change week to week, especially with huge ratings events like Super Bowl and Grammys.
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As for shows: FOX's new Masked Singer tops everything , ABC's The Bachelor, Grey's Anatomy , Modern Family and The Goldbergs are highly rated. CBS's Big Bang and NCIS are still hits. NBC's America's Got Talent and This Is Us are top rated
FBI and The Neighborhood are CBS's most successful new shows.
NBC's Manifest is their top new show, although ratings dropped considerably since the premiere.
ABC's A Million Little Things has become a solid performer thanks to the big move after top rated Grey's Anatomy. The comedies are still most solid performers but only The Conners, Modern Family and The Goldbergs are hits.
FOX's The Passage (a favorite of mine) is only performing so so. Not sure high enough for a renewal, but hoping it doesn't drop like Manifest did.
The Gifted is struggling badly, and likely wont be renewed.
CW's biggest show is still The Flash, although ratings are around how FOX's The Gifted is.
That's how low CW ratings are.
Although renewed, CBS's Magnum P.I. has been a ratings disappointment.
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WOW...Thanx!!!
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Wow. I'm not shocked about Fake Magnum being a disappointment or the success of NCIS, Big Bang, Modern Family or This is Us but surprised to hear that The Neighborhood and A Million Little Things are doing well considering everyone predicted they'd be canned but that's great for them though. Must also mention the Friday night conquerors of Blue Bloods and Last Man Standing that continue to make Friday nights relevant. ABC are 4th because they lack direction, initiative and vision. They keep making the same type of shows or clones of their hits over and over again. People get bored
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It was so jam-packed with stuff that I think I need to watch it again.
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