Thursday 23“The Blacklist: Redemption” (KOB-4 9pm) James Spader’s evil supervillain Red became an antihero by turning crimefighter and tracking down bad guys on “The Blacklist,” so why shouldn’t the criminals he hunted down get the same opportunity—securing redemption by hunting down other criminals … who, I’m assuming will hunt down still other bad guys in a yet-to-be-named spin-off.“Sun Records” (CMT HD/Nickelodeon/TV Land 8pm) Following in the footsteps of such shows as “Nashville,” “Vinyl” and “Empire,” CMT’s musical melodrama attempts to spin drama from the recording industry—in this case the birth of rock ’n’ roll as witnessed by real-life music pioneer Sam Phillips (Chad Michael Murray). Despite the authentic historical pedigree, it’s hard to envy the young actors who’s responsibility it is to live up to the talent and charisma of such superstars as Elvis Presley (Drake Milligan), Johnny Cash (Kevin Fonteyne) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Christian Lees).Friday 24“Ultimate Beastmaster” (Netflix streaming anytime) Sylvester Stallone produces one o’ them there obstacle course survival elimination-type game shows. See for reference: “Unbeatable Banzuke,” “Takeshi’s Castle,” “American Ninja Warrior,” “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge,” “Wipeout,” “Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge,” “Tough Mudder” and “Legends of the Hidden Temple.”“Patriot” (Amazon streaming anytime) New Zealand actor Michael Dorman (“Wonderland”) stars in this very odd, blackly comic spy thriller about an intelligence officer who tries disrupting Iran’s nuclear ambitions by infiltrating an industrial pipefitting company in Milwaukee. (Don’t ask.) Also, he’s a folk singer. And his dad is Terry O’Quinn (from The Stepfather and “Lost”). “Mama June: From Not to Hot” (Women’s Entertainment 11pm) “Mama” June Shannon’s reality show shambles “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” got booted from TLC after she hooked back up with her child-molesting ex-boyfriend. But apparently she lost some weight and got plastic surgery—so here she is with another reality show.Saturday 25Infidelity in Suburbia (Lifetime 6pm) OK, who should suburban wives be scared of this week, Lifetime? Hunky, marriage-wrecking home renovation contractors? Hmm, I must have missed that episode of “Ask This Old House.”Media (TV One 6pm) This TV movie about a wealthy, African-American family heading the world’s “premier urban media conglomerate” is what the industry calls a “backdoor pilot.” In other words: Expect more of this “Empire”-esque drama.Sunday 26“Tia Mowry at Home” (Cooking 6:30pm) Don’t care about the Oscars? Um … Well, you could watch the season 3 finale of this reality/cooking show in which Tia moves into a new house and makes her guests arugula farro salad with garlic vinaigrette.Monday 27“The Obama Years: The Power of Words” (Smithsonian 6pm) Oh, the creeping nostalgia for those halcyon days three months ago when our politicians could speak in intelligible sentences.When We Rise (KOAT-7 6pm) This four-part docudrama miniseries traces the nearly 50-year history of the modern LGBT movement in America courtesy of Academy Award-winning scribe Dustin Lance Black (Milk).“Taken” (KOB-4 9pm) I’m still assuming (rightly or wrongly) that this spin-off/prequel to the Liam Neeson movie series finds intelligence agent Bryan Mills (now played by Clive Standen of “Vikings”) hunting down people who kidnap his daughter on a weekly basis.Tuesday 28“President Donald Trump’s Address to Congress” (KASA-2/KOB-4/KOAT-7/KRQE-13 7pm) [Insert Michael Jackson eating popcorn GIF.]Wednesday 1“Conan Without Borders: Made in Mexico” (TBS 8pm) Conan O’Brien sneaks South of the Border for a show with an all-Mexican staff, crew, guests and audience.“Chicago Justice” (KOB-4 9pm) Thanks to “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago PD,” “Chicago Med” and this new series, NBC is one step closer to “Chicago Sanitation Dept.”
Week In Sloth
Alibi
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4 min read
