Worth Watching: Classic Alex on ‘Jeopardy,’ Ariana Grande on Tour, ‘Industry’ Finale
A selective critical checklist of notable Monday TV:
Jeopardy! (syndicated, check local listings): Where in the world was Alex Trebek? As host of Jeopardy! for 37 seasons, he got to go all over the globe, often starring in his own categories as he provided clues from exotic and historical locales. In a holiday tribute to the late host, the show will replay episodes through this and next week that feature him in far-flung locations including Japan and Machu Picchu. (His final week of original episodes, taped shortly before his November death, will now air the week of Jan. 4, pushed back to avoid any pre-emptions for holiday and sports programming.)
ariana grande: excuse me, i love you (streaming on Netflix): Did this pop superstar become e.e. cummings while we weren’t looking? Lower-case title aside, this documentary film covers Grande during her all-caps 2019 Sweetener World Tour. Unfiltered footage follows her at home and on the road with her dancers and band, putting everything they have on stage for her fans.
A Suitable Boy (streaming on Acorn TV): I loved this vivid adaptation of Vikram Seth’s acclaimed novel, which in the fourth episode reveals incidents of noble if modest heroism. Lata’s (Tanya Maniktala) on-and-off college suitor, Kabir (Danesh Razvi), rescues a boy from a stampede and later joins Lata in a school production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, while humble shoemaker Haresh (Namit Das) takes a stand over workplace conditions, seeking employment elsewhere. And Maan (Ishaan Khatter) comes to the aid of his friend Firoz (Shubham Saraf) during an anti-Muslim attack as mob violence roils the streets of India.
Industry (10/9c, HBO): The turning point for the young “graduates” at Pierpoint has arrived in back-to-back episodes marking the end of the financial drama’s tumultuous first season. Reduction in Force Day (pretty much the opposite of a holiday) is coming for the firm’s probationary employees, who will go to any lengths or depths to score recommendations from their mercenary overlords. Can they prove to senior management that they’ve got what it takes? At least a few are bound to make it through, because HBO has already renewed Industry for a second season.
Inside Monday TV: True Royalty TV, the subscription VOD service that can’t enough of their majesties, looks back at The Royal Beat: Top Ten Royal Moments of 2020, with journalists and insiders rehashing such headline events as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex bolting from the family fold, Prince Andrew’s scandalous past with the notorious Jeffrey Epstein, and the uproar over the latest season of Netflix’s The Crown. … With the final rose ceremony one episode away, ABC’s The Bachelorette (8/7c) moves into fantasy suite mode, as Tayshia decides whether to invite Brendan, Ivan and Zac to partake… The countdown to Christmas has begun, but Lifetime isn’t out of holiday movies yet. Spotlight on Christmas (8/7c) stars Tori Anderson as an actress who heads back to her small-town homestead after heartbreak, but will her attraction to a charming local (Victor Zinck Jr.) be jeopardized by the reporter on her trail?… Mom‘s Emmy and Oscar-winning Allison Janney gives back to Ilana, her longtime assistant and close friend of 20 years, in HGTV’s Celebrity IOU (9/8c). With the help of Drew and Jonathan Scott, Janney transforms Ilana’s galley kitchen, dining room and living area into a more functional and stylish space for entertaining.
