Worth Watching: Relationship Drama on ‘Good Doctor,’ Familiar Face on ‘Bull,’ Colbert’s New Zealand Adventures
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
The Good Doctor (10/9c, ABC): He can read a medical chart with unusual precision and insight, but autistic Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) isn’t nearly as confident when interpreting emotional signals — which makes his romantic relationship with Carly (Jasika Nicole) one of TV’s more fascinating. The frustrations mount when Carly urges Shaun to become more intimate. Another hospital relationship is tested as Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) and Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) continue to struggle to separate their professional interactions from their personal ones.
Bull (10/9c, CBS): Having left his post as Madam Secretary‘s former chief of staff, Sebastian Arcelus returns to CBS in a guest role as a college friend of Bull’s (Michael Weatherly) who needs his help in a tragic situation. Bull helps mount the defense for his buddy when he’s charged with negligent homicide after his youngest child accidentally kills his eldest with his own handgun.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (11:35/10:35c, CBS): All week, the late-night host will take temporary breathers from the circus of today’s politics with footage from his visit last month to scenic New Zealand. Colbert accepted the invitation from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who offered the lifelong Tolkien fan the prospect of citizenship to Hobbiton. Among the segments airing each night: a visit to Hobbiton with Lord of the Rings director/producer Peter Jackson, a tour of Wellington with Xena‘s Lucy Lawless and Flight of the Conchords‘ Bret McKenzie, a visit to the birthplace of bungee jumping and a rugby lesson from national team the All Blacks.
Inside Monday TV: With Sean Spicer‘s run mercifully over, it’s safe to tune back into ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (8/7c) for the semi-final round, in which the five remaining teams perform twice. Go, James Van Der Beek!… In honor of Native American Heritage Month, PBS’s American Masters profiles Kiowa writer/poet Navarro Scott Momaday, whose accolades include the National Medal of Arts and a Pulitzer Prize, in N. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear (9/8c, check local listings at pbs.org)… One of HGTV’s signature series, Love It or List It (9/8c), is back with the first of 13 new episodes… Bravo reboots Blind Date (11:30/10:30) with an updated social-media angle. Comedian Nikki Glaser offers jokey commentary as the total strangers (of diverse ethnicity, sexual orientation and age) meet up in hopes of finding a match.
