TV best bets for the week of April 19
Sunday, April 19
“The Hustler”
TCM, 6:45 p.m.
“The TCM Classic Film Festival — The Home Edition” concludes Sunday with more movies that have been spotlighted at the network’s annual fest. A prime-time highlight is 1961’s “The Hustler,” starring best actor Oscar nominee Paul Newman as small-time pool hustler “Fast Eddie” Felson, who seeks to beat the legendary “Minnesota Fats” (Jackie Gleason). Newman reprised the role of Fast Eddie 25 years later, with the character in more of a mentor role, and with Newman winning the best actor Oscar this time, in “The Color of Money.”
“The Last Dance”
ESPN, 9 p.m.
New series
ESPN bumped up this five-week, 10-part documentary series (originally scheduled for June) about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. Directed by Jason Hehir (“The Fab Five”), the doc features never-before-seen NBA Entertainment footage from the Bulls’ 1997-98 season as they chased their sixth title in eight years.
“Dragnificent!”
TLC, 10:55 p.m.
New series
Cameras follow four of America’s favorite drag queens — Alexis Michelle, Bebe Zahara Benet, Jujubee and Thorgy Thor — in this heartfelt and outrageous transformation series. In each episode, the queens will help someone reimagine their appearance for a special day and reveal themselves as they have only dreamed, while taking viewers on a touching journey of their life and struggles up to this point. The series moves to its regular time slot Monday.
Monday, April 20
“The Voice”
NBC, 8 p.m.
The Knockout rounds conclude Monday, with each artist paired against a teammate to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits. Famed singer-songwriter James Taylor will serve as the Mega Mentor and be on hand to work with all of the coaches and their artists as they prepare for this challenge. The coaches alone will choose the winner from each Knockout to advance. Each coach will have one steal in the Knockouts, and in a new twist, the four artists who were saved during the Battle Rounds will compete in a four-way Knockout.
“Better Call Saul”
AMC, 9 p.m.
Season finale
In the Season 5 finale, “Something Unforgivable,” Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) and Kim (Rhea Seehorn) make a sideways move that takes a serious turn, and Nacho (Michael Mando) gets closer to the cartel than he’d like. We’ve got one more season left of Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould’s riveting storytelling before it comes to an official end.
“Generation Columbine”
Starz, 9 p.m.
More than two decades after the mass shooting at Columbine High School, an entire generation has grown up knowing the threat of school violence. This documentary explores the epidemic of school shootings and the lasting impact on survivors.
Tuesday, April 21
“Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince”
CBS, 9 p.m.
A lineup of all-star artists pays tribute to Prince and his musical influence in this concert special recorded at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Beck, Common, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Mavis Staples, St. Vincent, Usher and Susanna Hoffs are among the performers and presenters. Also appearing are Prince’s band, the Revolution, and frequent collaborators Sheila E. and Morris Day and the Time.
“Empire”
Fox, 9 p.m.
Series finale
“Empire” wasn’t quite supposed to go out like this, but the COVID-19 crisis forced production to shut down before the intended series finale could be shot. Producers cobbled together episodes 18 and 19 to create something resembling finality in the episode “Home Is on the Way,” in which the Lyons face their biggest threat yet. Lucious (Terrence Howard) prepares for the battle of his life and realizes that family is what matters the most.
“Accused: Guilty or Innocent?”
A&E, 10 p.m.
New series
Imagine being accused of a crime, knowing you may spend years in prison. This compelling documentary series follows the dramatic inside stories — as they unfold — of people facing trial for serious crimes they are alleged to have committed.
Wednesday, April 22
“The Story of Plastic”
Discovery Channel, 2 p.m.
Grammy-nominated artist and environmental activist Jackson Browne is an executive producer of this film airing in honor of Earth Day. Using original animation, archival industry footage and first-person accounts, it looks at the man-made crisis of plastic pollution and the effect it has on the health of our planet and the living things that inhabit its ecosystems and communities.
“Ghost Nation”
Travel Channel, 8 p.m.
Season premiere
In the new season, paranormal investigators Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango call in an old friend, investigator Shari DeBenedetti, to help explore potential hauntings. In the two-hour season premiere, the team answers a distressed Pennsylvania couple’s call for help. The newlyweds report seeing apparitions and hearing unexplained noises in their 18th-century farmhouse and believe a cursed “witching tree” in the yard is at the heart of the disturbances.
“Jane Goodall: The Hope”
National Geographic & Nat Geo Wild, 9 p.m.
Picking up where Nat Geo’s award-winning 2017 documentary “Jane” left off, this two-hour special highlights pioneering primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall’s four-decade legacy of advocacy and leadership on behalf of chimpanzees and humanity. It chronicles how she has transformed environmentalism, nonhuman animal welfare and conservation through her innovative approaches.
Thursday, April 23
2020 NFL Draft: Round 1
ABC, ESPN & NFL Network, 8 p.m.
The NFL canceled 2020 NFL draft events in Las Vegas, but teams will still select players Thursday through Saturday and the process will be televised. The Cincinnati Bengals have the No. 1 overall pick and are expected to take Joe Burrow, LSU’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. Rounds 2-3 air Friday night and Rounds 4-7 begin Saturday afternoon.
“Superstore”
NBC, 8 p.m.
Season finale
The comedy ends its fifth season Thursday, and star America Ferrera recently confirmed that she is leaving the series. Because of the global pandemic, however, it is not the episode that was originally planned as the season finale, which probably would have been a more formal farewell for Ferrera.
“Will & Grace”
NBC, 9 p.m.
Series finale
The iconic sitcom — which originally aired from 1998 to 2006, then returned with a reboot in 2017 — ends its run. With the apartment packed up, Will (Eric McCormack) tries not to reminisce about his life in the city or his ex, McCoy (guest star Matt Bomer). Grace (Debra Messing), on the verge of giving birth, keeps having false alarms of going into labor. At the behest of Stan, Karen (Megan Mullally) goes to the top of the Statue of Liberty to get closure with her ex-husband. Jack’s (Sean Hayes) dream of taking a bow on a Broadway stage becomes a very real possibility.
Friday, April 24
“After Life”
Netflix
Season premiere
The comedy-drama created, written, directed by and starring Ricky Gervais returns for a six-episode second season. “After Life” follows Tony (Gervais), a newspaper writer whose life is upended after his wife dies of cancer. In Season 2, while still struggling with his grief, Tony tries to become a better friend to those around him, even amid the looming threat of his paper being shut down.
“Extraction”
Netflix
This action drama stars Chris Hemsworth as a fearless black market mercenary who embarks on the most dangerous extraction of his career when he is enlisted to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) also stars in the film written by Hemsworth’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Endgame” co-director Joe Russo and directed by the actor’s frequent Marvel film stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave.
“Stanwyck & MacMurray”
TCM, beginning at 5 p.m.
In the 1940s and ’50s, Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray co-starred in four films, three of which are spotlighted Friday. First on the bill, both actors portray shady characters (with Stanwyck receiving an Oscar nomination for her performance as one of moviedom’s quintessential femme fatales) in Billy Wilder’s 1944 film noir classic “Double Indemnity.” This is followed by the romantic drama “There’s Always Tomorrow” (1956) and the 1953 Western “The Moonlighter.”
Saturday, April 25
Unforgiven
AMC, 10:30 a.m.
Clint Eastwood directed and stars with Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris in this 1992 revisionist Western classic that became only the third film in the genre to win an Oscar for best picture. Among its other Oscar wins were best director for Eastwood and best supporting actor for Hackman. Within just 12 years, the movie was added to the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” Check it out again, or for the first time, to see why.
“Bad Education”
HBO, 8 p.m.
Long Island’s Roslyn School District was the seat of one of the largest school embezzlement scandals in history — one that was revealed only after an assistant superintendent made a crucial mistake that was uncovered by a student journalist. Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney star in this comedy based on real-life events.
“My Paranormal Nightmare”
Travel Channel, 10 p.m.
New series
This series features people recounting terrifying true tales of violent hauntings that have plagued their nightmares since childhood. Now adults, they revisit their horrific encounters with first-person testimonies. In the premiere, homes become haunted grounds when poltergeists take up residence; a seance stirs up grim ghosts from the past; a young girl encounters the tortured spirit of a dead bride; and a boy discovers that a potential playmate is not human at all.
