Worth Watching: ‘Ambitions’ Goes on Hiatus, Brit Import ‘Age Before Beauty,’ Talent Shows Narrow Field
A selective critical checklist of notable Tuesday TV:
Ambitions (10/9c, OWN): The juicy prime-time soap is only halfway through its freshman season, but there’s already plenty of hell to pay as conniving lawyer Stephanie (Robin Givens) goes all in to wreck the marriage of her rival Amara (Essence Atkins), a U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, and Titus (Kendrick Cross), whom Stephanie has already got on the ropes professionally. Fashion designer Bella (Erica Page) has an unpleasant wake-up call in her latest romantic escapade, because what would a sudsy drama be without a midseason cliffhanger or two?
Age Before Beauty (streaming on Britbox): British fan fave Robson Green, whose latest season of Grantchester was over far too soon, stars in a soapy 2018 family drama from Poldark writer Debbie Horsfield, set in a Manchester beauty salon. Polly Walker runs the show as Bel, a homemaker and mother of two who takes over the struggling family business, with Green as her adoring brother-in-law Teddy, married to the less-then-adorable stylist/nail technician Leanne (Kelly Harrison). The hair’s not the only thing that’s tangled in this combative workplace.
America’s Got Talent (8/7c, NBC): A third set of quarter-finalists takes the Dolby Theatre stage in hopes of moving through to the next round — we’ll find out who makes it and who gets cut on Wednesday — while the network’s comedy competition Bring the Funny (10/9c) advances to the Semi-Final Showcase. Six of the remaining 12 comics perform, but the judges can only pick two to move on to the finale to vie for the $250,000 grand prize, while viewers get to pick a third semi-finalist to continue.
Inside Tuesday TV: HGTV has a new self-explanatory series, Stay or Sell (9/8c) featuring real-estate/home renovation experts Brad and Heather Fox. They counsel clients in Minneapolis who must decide whether to renovate their current home or move to another property in need of customizing. Whether they stay or go, it’s up to the Foxes to work their magic to create a dream home… More real-estate shenanigans on Bravo’s Flipping Exes (10/9c), in which renovators and former couple Nina Klemm and Michael LeSure make a bid to revamp David Letterman‘s childhood home in Indianapolis. As you’d expect, they’re not the only ones hot to get their hands on the humble abode… If you only remember demon king Pazuzu from the Exorcist movies, Viceland wants to introduce you to The Devil You Know (10/9c), aka John Lawson, a Satanist sex-cult leader who adopted the demon’s name as Pazuzu Algarad while wreaking havoc with orgies that turned to murder in the outskirts of Winston-Salem, N.C. The five-part true-crime series recounts the would-be Manson’s exploits in sensationalist detail.
