Worth Watching: A Motown Celebration, ‘Madam Secretary’ Finale, Killer Twists in ‘Eve’ and ‘Barry’
A selective critical checklist of notable weekend TV:
Motown 60: A Grammy Celebration (Sunday, 8/7c, CBS): You don’t have to hear it through the grapevine, because all the talent is on stage. Motown legend Smokey Robinson and The Neighborhood’s Cedric the Entertainer host an all-star tribute to the fabled record label in a concert from L.A.’s Microsoft Theater, taped several days after this year’s Grammy Awards in February. Robinson performs a medley, and a duet on “Shop Around” with Pentatonix, with other highlights including medleys featuring Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder, John Legend‘s tribute to Marvin Gaye and a women of Motown salute including Thelma Houston, Fantasia, Tori Kelly, Chloe x Halle and Meghan Trainor.
Madam Secretary (Sunday, 10/9c, CBS): Fans have been waiting all season for Elizabeth (Téa Leoni) to announce her run for the presidency. In the fifth-season finale, just as Madam Secretary is about to leave the State Department to start her bid for the White House, a terrorist attack in Geneva on the U.N. climate-migration delegation could stop the secretary of state in her tracks. In the bigger picture, let’s just hope the network gives Bess a sixth season so we can see how the campaign plays out.
I Am Somebody’s Child: The Regina Louise Story (Saturday, 8/7c, Lifetime): Lifetime movies tend to fall into several categories: the woman-in-jeopardy potboiler, the rom-com/holiday movie, and the occasional film with a social conscience. This fact-based inspirational drama qualifies as the latter, based on author and motivational speaker Regina Louise’s experiences in the foster care system. Somebody’s Child stars Angela Fairley as Regina, who bounces between 30 foster homes and psychiatric facilities before she turns 18. Once Upon a Time‘s Ginnifer Goodwin plays Jeanne, a woman who never stops trying to adopt Regina after years of being blocked by a corrupt system.
Killing Eve (Sunday, 8/7c, BBC America and AMC): Eve (Sandra Oh) isn’t the only one gobsmacked by the surprise appearance of [redacted] at the end of last week’s episode. In another thrilling leg of the ongoing cat-and-mouse game between Eve and her fren-nemesis Villanelle (Jodie Comer), the dynamic is about to change again with yet another catalyst in the mix. But first, the elusive assassin gets unusually up close and personal when she intrudes upon a school mixer where Eve and math-teacher husband Nico (Owen McDonnell) are working out their many issues.
Barry (Sunday, 10/9c, HBO): The twists come even more furiously in this dark comedy, with Barry (Bill Hader) worrying more than usual about scene mate/love interest Sally (Sarah Goldberg) after her abusive ex pays a visit. Can he control his darker side? Or will he accept acting coach Gene’s (Henry Winkler) counsel that “human beings can change their nature?” Even if redemption is possible, Barry could face a reckoning thanks to the L.A. detective (John Pirruccello) who’s blackmailing his handler, Fuches (Stephen Root), to smoke Barry out of hiding.
Inside Weekend TV: Ovation’s Murdoch Mysteries returns for a 12th season with back-to-back episodes (Saturday, 7/6c), featuring Downton Abbey‘s Sophie McShera in the opener, during which a party at Murdoch’s (Yannick Bisson) Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home is rocked by an explosion that claims a man’s life… You know it’s Passover and Easter weekend when it’s time for ABC’s annual broadcast of Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 biblical epic The Ten Commandments (Saturday, 7/6c), starring Charlton Heston as Moses… Another holiday weekend treat: NBC’s Beverly Hills Dog Show Presented by Purina (Sunday, 1 pm/12c/10 am PT), hosted by John O’Hurley and expert analyst David Frei… Food Network’s there-but-for-the-grace-of-Chef-Boyardee-go-I series Worst Chefs in America: Celebrity Edition (Sunday, 9/8c) is back with an eclectic new group of kitchen klutzes, including Jim J. Bullock, Morgan Fairchild, Tonya Harding, Jonathan Lipnicki, Taryn Manning, Alec Mapa, Kym Whitley and Jimmie Walker. Will any of them be able to prepare a classic steakhouse meal that’s even medium edible?… Details are scarce on new episodes, but the lure of this week’s Game of Thrones (Sunday, 9/8c, HBO) is to see how Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) will acclimate to Winterfell — and vice versa.
Killing Eve where to stream
