Innholdsfortegnelse for January 6, 2020 i TV Guide Magazine

GET SET FOR a little motorcycle Zengineering during Season 4 of AMC’s latenight travel series Ride With Norman Reedus (returns Sunday, March 8, midnight/11c), in which the Walking Dead star explores impressive sights and cultures around the globe on his beloved Triumph Tiger cycle. On the March 22 episode, Reedus takes a personal journey from historic Kyoto to the hub of Osaka, Japan, alongside three-time This Is Us Emmy nominee Milo Ventimiglia (near left, with Reedus, at Kyoto’s Hontakiji Temple). “I lived in Japan a long time ago and just fell in love with it,” Reedus says. “There is such a love of authenticity there.” Ventimiglia is himself no two-wheel novice; he suits up soon to play famed ’60s and ’70s motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel for an upcoming limited series…

OUTMATCHED Premieres Thursday, Jan. 23, 8:30/7:30c, Fox Handyman Mike (Jason Biggs) and wife Cay (Maggie Lawson), a casino pit boss, are in way over their heads raising three geniuses and one, well, slightly less gifted 8-year-old in Atlantic City, New Jersey. BREEDERS Premieres March, FX Martin Freeman and Back to Life’s Daisy Haggard play a couple with the usual responsibilities: kids and a mortgage. All is relatively well until her estranged father (Better Call Saul’s Michael McKean) moves in, adding another mouth to feed—and an opinionated one at that. BLACK EXCELLENCE Premieres Spring, Netflix Black-ish creator Kenya Barris kicks off his exclusive Netflix deal with this unconventional family sitcom (he’s compared the tone to Curb Your Enthusiasm) inspired by his own approach to parenting. Barris also stars, opposite Rashida Jones.…

Launches: May Price: $14.99 per month How to watch: Visit hbomax.com for updates. Original programming: HBO Max has announced a robust slate of series but has yet to confirm when each will debut. High-profile projects include The Flight Attendant, a thriller starring Kaley Cuoco in her first live-action series since The Big Bang Theory; Grease: Rydell High, a musical show based on the hit movie; Ellen DeGeneres’ competition series Ellen’s Home Design Challenge; and Superintelligence, a comedy film starring Melissa McCarthy as a woman who must save humanity from a sentient, artificially intelligent being. Library content: If you’re not a couch potato yet, you just might be soon! HBO Max has the rights to several big-ticket series including Friends (which left Netflix in December), The West Wing, The Big Bang…

GENIUS: ARETHA Premieres Spring, National Geographic GENIUS IS SHOWING a true musical prodigy some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. After honoring two accomplished European men—Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso—in its first two Genius installments, National Geographic explores the life of Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, the legendary American singer whose six-decade recording career has been the soundtrack for millions of lives the world over. One fan, Tony-, Grammy-and Emmy-winning actress-singer Cynthia Erivo (earning raves for her big-screen portrayal of American icon Harriet Tubman in Harriet), plays the diva in this eight-part series. “Aretha,” Erivo says, “is definitely one of my inspirations.” Franklin’s story is remarkable indeed. “Everybody knows she was a gifted singer, but she was also an incredibly gifted pianist and arranger and was active in the Civil Rights Movement with Dr. Martin…

WORLD ON FIRE Premieres Sunday, April 5, 9/8c, PBS (check local listings at pbs.org) COUNTLESS SERIES ABOUT World War II have told the stories of frontline soldiers. But what about the everyday civilians who were affected? World on Fire, coming to PBS’s Master piece, dives into those “human stories of the war,” says executive producer Helen Ziegler. Over seven episodes, the interwoven tales of these fictional characters unfold. —Eric Andersson HUNTERS Premiere TBA, Prime Video AL PACINO IS mesmerizing as Meyer Offerman, a Jewish business titan who secretly organizes an unlikely group of so-called hunters in 1977 New York City. Their prey? A cabal of undercover Nazi bigwigs plotting to create a Fourth Reich in the U.S. “This is not murder—this is mitzvah [Yiddish for ‘good deed’],” Offerman preaches. Like-minded…

ACROSS 1 Yo! MTV ____ 5 My Two ____ 9 ____ Good Place 12 Egg 13 Landed 14 Extreme 15 Luke Skywalker mentor 16 Campbell of Party of Five 17 Witches of East ____ 18 Charles in Charge costar (2 wds.) 21 Semi-Homemade Cooking With Sandra ____ 22 Grand ____ 23 A ____ of Fry and Laurie 26 Any Day Now’s state (abbr.) 28 Southeast Asian country 31 Charlie’s Angels executive producer (2 wds.) 35 Annoying bug 36 Manipulate 37 Large amount 38 La Dolce ____ 41 Early SNL actor George 43 Former Daily Show correspondent (2 wds.) 47 Erin Burnett network 48 Halt 49 Actor Richard 51 The Atom ____ Show 52 Jennifer Slept ____ 53 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Eisenberg 54 Mai ____ cocktail 55 War god on Xena: Warrior Princess 56 As Lurch asks: “You ____?” DOWN 1…

LOVE IT! Cheers to The Morning Show for getting its act together. After a scattered first season—with a WTF musical bit—Apple TV+’s glossy drama delivered a nerve-shredding, perfectly paced finale that saw feuding news anchors Alex and Bradley (Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, above) uniting on-air to take down the toxic men at the top. Cheers to The Witcher for being a suitable heir to Game of Thrones. With star Henry Cavill (left) killing it as a demon hunter to die for, Netflix’s brutal, big-budget adaptation of the popular book and video game series is filling the Westeros-size hole in our hearts with television that isn’t afraid to add some quiet, human moments to its epic fantasy. Cheers to You for pulling off one hell of a transplant. With homicidal…

@TVGMMattRoush Do you think the Disney+ series The Mandalorian might start a new trend of shorter episode lengths for streaming shows? As someone who has endured the interminable length of so many Netflix shows—is there an episode of one of their Marvel series that wouldn’t have benefited from being 15 minutes shorter?—I’m finding the curtailed episode length of The Mandalorian refreshing. —Darren MATT ROUSH: I couldn’t agree more. I can only hope other shows will follow the lead of The Mandalorian, with episodes averaging around 40 minutes (sometimes less), and realize that just because streaming gives you the freedom to fashion episodes of any length, it doesn’t mean it should always be an endurance test. (That groan my coworkers often hear is me queueing up the next episode of an…

Steve Harvey’s daytime talkfest wrapped last June, leaving fans missing his signature unfiltered humor, celebrity chat and “Hey Steve” audience advice. But starting January 6, the multifaceted Family Feud host picks up the conversation again when Steve on Watch comes to your computer or favorite device via Facebook Watch. Airing on the same platform as Candy Crush Saga has its benefits. “This show feels more intimate,” Harvey tells TV GUIDE MAGAZINE. “I have the freedom to do and say more and be myself more than [before].” The series won’t be completely unfamiliar—“Steve on Watch will feature the best of the previous show,” Harvey adds—but he’ll also moderate new interviews and guidance segments on a redesigned set. For schedule info, visit facebook.com/SteveHarveytv and click “Follow” to get notifications. Folks who prefer…

Sanditon SERIES PREMIERE Sunday, Jan. 12, 9/8c, PBS (check local listings at pbs.org) YOU WANT PRIDE? And some aggravating prejudice? Masterpiece knows just what the Jane Austen fan desires, having exhausted the beloved author’s canon (adapting some titles more than once). With the eight-part (you’ll want more) romantic drama Sanditon, the PBS staple tackles Austen’s last novel, for which she wrote only 11 chapters before dying in 1817. Luckily, the prolific Andrew Davies has the witty sense and sensibility to carry the story forward, concocting a delightful diversion that feels to her manner born. Charlotte Heywood (the effervescent Rose Williams) is a quintessential Austen heroine, a plucky farmer’s daughter introduced to a wider world of passionate intrigue when invited to the title seaside town. She’s taken under the wing of…

MORNING GLORY [I’m so glad to have] two firecrackers in the morning. Rachael Ray and Kelly Clarkson start my day off with a bang! They are two of the most charismatic entertainers on TV today. —Jan FAUX-VERKILL I’ve been watching Carol’s Second Act. Man, the laugh track is out of control! Twice somebody just said “No” and the laugh track roared. Very annoying. —Jackson SNAPPY SONG Thanks a lot to the writers on Evil for their December 12 episode featuring a catchy tune that I could not stop singing. They planted an earworm in my head that is hard to forget. Creative genius. Keep up the good work. —Mary Ann Email us: letters@tvgm.com COMING NEXT ISSUE STAR TREK: PICARD A new captain’s log! Patrick Stewart (below) previews CBS All Access’…

NASCAR’s top drivers will soon head to Florida for weeks of practice prior to the Daytona 500 (Sunday, February 16, 2:30/1:30c, Fox), but the sport’s fans have something else to look forward to down the road: Kevin James starring in the firstever NASCAR sitcom. The actor is signed up for Netflix’s The Crew, his first regular TV gig since CBS’s Kevin Can Wait ended in 2018. He’ll play the classic old school crew chief of a stock-car team who will no doubt frequently butt heads with Catherine (Jillian Mueller), the modern-minded team owner who wants more higher-tech thinking under the hood. Freddie Stroma (UnReal) costars as a charming but somewhat clueless driver. A successful series would notch an important pop culture victory for a sport that has been trying to…

INDEBTED Premieres Thursday, Feb. 6, 9:30/8:30c, NBC POP THE CHAMPAGNE! Fran Drescher is coming back to TV. It’s been a while since the actress, best known as bubbly Fran Fine from the ’90s sitcom The Nanny, delighted us with her delivery of hilarious one-liners in that signature nasally voice. Drescher’s last sitcom, TV Land’s Happily Divorced, ended in 2013; now, seven years later, she’s headlining the NBC midseason comedy Indebted. “When I first started out, I always said I played the hooker with the heart of gold, but now I’m playing the grandma,” Drescher says with a laugh. “It’s a crazy awakening to [my] own journey. The common denominator [among my roles] is a woman who’s comfortable in her own skin, funny and maybe self-deprecating—she doesn’t take herself too seriously.”…

Schitt’s Creek Returns Tuesday, Jan. 7, 9/8c, Pop TV At first, the once-wealthy Roses couldn’t wait to escape their small-town purgatory. But as the sitcom closes with Season 6, Johnny (Eugene Levy), Moira (Catherine O’Hara) and the kids may find leaving unimaginable. Plus, will fashion-victim son David (Daniel Levy) make it down the aisle with grounded Patrick (Noah Reid)? Homeland Returns Sunday, Feb. 9, 9/8c, Showtime In Season 8, newly ascended President Warner (Beau Bridges) asks National Security Advisor Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) to negotiate a peace treaty with the Taliban. But Saul can’t succeed without CIA protégée Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes)—unstable after months in a Russian gulag without her bipolar meds. Strike Back Returns Friday, Feb. 14, 10/9c, Cinemax One last mission for Section 20! Mac (Warren Brown), Sam…

MacGyver adds Henry Ian Cusick Returns Friday, Feb. 7, 8/7c, CBS Cusick (The Passage) will help Angus MacGyver (Lucas Till) and gang bring down baddies as ex-military Russ, a wealthy master manipulator. Billions adds Julianna Margulies Returns Spring, Showtime Can Margulies hold her own in the drama’s cutthroat world as Catherine Brant, a bestselling author and Ivy League sociology professor? We think yes! The Crown adds Gillian Anderson Return TBA, Netflix In Season 4, Queen Elizabeth II (Olivia Colman) faces off with the formidable Margaret Thatcher (The X-Files’ Anderson), prime minister from 1979 to 1990. Fargo adds Chris Rock Return TBA, FX Funnyman Rock gets serious in the anthology’s fourth round, playing the patriarch of a 1950s African-American crime syndicate doing battle with the Kansas City Mafia. Uzo Aduba (Orange…