TV Best Bets

Friday, April 28: Netflix’s ‘Dear White People’ Pokes Fun at ‘Post-Racial’ America

Dear White People © 2014 Tesuco Holdings Limited. All Rights Reserved.

All Times Eastern.

Friday, April 28

Dear White People
Netflix
New Series!
Set against the backdrop of a predominantly white Ivy League university where racial tensions bubble just beneath the surface, this satirical series, picking up where the 2014 film of the same name left off, is a sendup of “post-racial” America.

Catastrophe
Amazon
Season Premiere!
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan’s BAFTA-winning sitcom makes its Season 3 U.S. debut today.

Casting
JonBenét 
Netflix
This “documentary hybrid” is a stylized exploration of the infamous and still unsolved death of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey. Over 15 months, filmmakers traveled to the Ramseys’ Colorado hometown to find how this crime and its resulting mythologies have shaped the attitudes and behavior of successive generations of parents and children.

Sofia the First
Disney Channel, 11:30am
Season Premiere!
Cable TV’s most-watched preschool series returns with new adventures for Princess Sofia, voiced by Modern Family’s Ariel Winter. The series also stars the voices of Sara Ramirez as Queen Miranda, Wayne Brady as Clover and Tim Gunn as Baileywick. Eric Stonestreet and Hugh Bonneville recur as Sofia’s flying horse Minimus and the Narrator, respectively, and the series frequently enjoys guest voices from big-name stars.

NFL Draft: Rounds 2-3
ESPN, ESPN2 & NFL Network, 7pm Live
Rounds 2-3 of the 2017 NFL Draft from Philadelphia air live on ESPN and NFL Network tonight. After the first hour, ESPN’s coverage will shift to ESPN2.

Undercover Boss: “Taco Bueno”
CBS, 8pm
New Episodes!
Undercover Boss returns after a few months off with the new episode “Taco Bueno.” Michael Roper, president and CEO of Tex-Mex restaurant chain Taco Bueno, goes undercover to see if everything is fantástico with their service.

Rosewood: “Blistering Heat & Brotherly Love”
FOX, 8pm
Season Finale!
Rosewood, Villa, Slade and Hornstock work to take down a highly skilled group of criminals suspected of a jewelry store heist, and Rosie decides that someone from the inner circle should run a new Magic City Lab on the West Coast.

First Dates: “Should I Try to Kiss You?”
NBC, 8pm
One dater comes on strong and proves that age is just a number when it comes to love; siblings go on the show’s first double date; the bathroom camera catches an honest reaction.

Ancient Aliens
History, 9pm
Season Premiere!
Season 12 kicks off with a look at how the search for proof of extraterrestrial life has been underway by the government for decades, and theorists offer evidence that similar efforts to find life were made thousands of years ago.

Vanity Fair Confidential: “Alter Ego”
OWN, 9pm
Tonight’s episode looks at Kansas family man J.R. Robinson, who led a second life for nearly two decades. Neither his wife nor children knew that he was a swindler, forger and serial murderer. As the case unfolds, his family has difficulty coming to terms with his true identity.

Blue Bloods: “Foreign Interference”
CBS, 10pm
Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) team up with two Russian operatives to search for a dangerous Russian man who entered the U.S. with a diplomatic visa in the new episode “Foreign Interference.”

Saturday, April 29

NFL Draft: Rounds 4-7
ESPN & NFL Network, 12pm Live
ESPN and NFL Network air the final rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft live today in Philadelphia.

Training Day: “Sunset”
CBS, 8pm
In the new episode “Sunset,” Frank (Bill Paxton) investigates a reclusive Hollywood producer after one of Holly’s (Julie Benz) call girls goes missing.

World War Z
FXX, 8pm
In this 2013 horror film, Brad Pitt stars as a U.N. employee who must race around the globe trying to help stop a zombie pandemic that has toppled governments and broken down society.

The Son: “No Prisoners”
AMC, 9pm
In 1849, an enemy forces Young Eli (Jacob Lofland) to question his loyalties. In 1915, the McCulloughs’ past comes back to haunt them, with deadly results.

White House Correspondents’ Association Awards Dinner
C-SPAN, 9:30pm Live
C-SPAN offers live coverage of this annual event. With President Trump not attending the dinner this year, he becomes the first president in more than three decades to skip the annual gathering. Host and speakers had not been announced at press time.

Verizon IndyCar Series: Phoenix Grand Prix
NBCSN, 9:30pm Live
Stars of the Verizon IndyCar Series head to the 1-mile tri-oval at Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona for the primetime Phoenix Grand Prix.

Class: “Nightvisiting”
BBC America, 10pm
BBC America’s Doctor Who spinoff series Class continues tonight with Episode 3, “Nightvisiting.”

Road Hauks: “Search and Rescue”
History, 10pm
Kenny has been hired by a local ski resort to turn their old rusted-out Bronco into the ultimate search-and-rescue vehicle. After realizing the Bronco is beyond saving, the crew attempts to combine kit parts with the original vehicle, which proves much more difficult than anticipated.

Sunday, April 30

“Jurassic Park” Marathon
BBC America, beginning at 12pm
Catch the three original Jurassic Park films — Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and Jurassic Park III (2001) — airing today and repeating in primetime on BBC America.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400
FOX, 2pm Live
Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and other top Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stars head to Virginia’s Richmond International Raceway for a race on the .75-mile short track.

Disney Channel Presents the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards
Disney Channel, 7pm
The RDMA Awards are known as music’s largest family-friendly awards, and kid favorites Justin Bieber, Meghan Trainor, DNCE, Selena Gomez and Kelsea Ballerini are among the night’s most nominated artists. Some of radio’s biggest artists and tomorrow’s rising stars are set to perform during the two-hour broadcast.

NCIS: Los Angeles: “Golden Days”
CBS, 8pm
A gold heist investigation has the NCIS team working with Hetty’s (Linda Hunt) former Vietnam War colleagues in the new episode “Golden Days.”

Major League Baseball: Chicago Cubs at Boston Red Sox
ESPN, 8pm Live
ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball heads to historic Fenway Park in Boston as the Red Sox host the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs in an interleague game.

Call the Midwife
PBS, 8pm
Nonnatus House welcomes a new recruit, Nurse Valerie Dyer. A vulnerable young man captures the hearts of Fred and Violet, while the whereabouts of Sister Mary Cynthia causes distress among the team.

Good Witch: “A Budding Romance”
Hallmark Channel, 9pm
Season Premiere!
In Season 3 of Hallmark’s magical series, the town of Middleton anxiously awaits the blooming of a rare plant, the Middleton Merriwick, for the first time in decades. Also, Grace (Bailee Madison) accidentally learns about the budding romance between her mother, Cassie (Catherine Bell), and Sam (James Denton).

Home Fires
PBS, 9pm
Steph risks losing the farm. Sarah finds herself in a dangerous situation, while Teresa has a big decision to make. Alison discovers the real reason behind the parachute accidents — but can she warn Frances before it’s too late?

American Gods
Starz, 9pm
New Series!
This new fantasy series is based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman and tells the story of a war brewing between the Old Gods and the New. The steamy and brutal world is presented with eye-popping visuals that are as overwhelming as Gaiman’s rich prose. The series cast includes Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily Browning, Kristin Chenoweth, Pablo Schreiber, Crispin Glover, Cloris Leachman, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Orlando Jones, Jonathan Tucker, Jeremy Davies, Gillian Anderson, Betty Gilpin and Peter Stormare.

American Crime
ABC, 10pm
Season Finale!
Kimara (Regina King) advises Dustin (Kurt Krause) to call the cops about the crime at the webcam house, leading to an unexpected outcome. Detectives investigate Clair (Lili Taylor) and Nicholas (Timothy Hutton), who maintain that Gabrielle (Mickaëlle X. Bizet) is really the guilty party. Jeanette (Felicity Huffman) confronts the costs and sacrifices of social change.

Monday, May 1

Kevin Can Wait: “Sting of Queens: Part One”
CBS, 8pm
Leah Remini reunites with her former King of Queens costar and TV husband Kevin James when she guest-stars in the two-part Season 1 finale of Kevin Can Wait. Kevin (James) agrees to come out of retirement briefly to reprise his undercover assignment in an ongoing police investigation where he and fellow cop Vanessa Cellucci (Remini) will, once again, pose as husband and wife. Part 2 airs May 8.

Supergirl: “Alex”
The CW, 8pm
Alex (Chyler Leigh) is kidnapped and the kidnapper threatens to kill her unless Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) releases a notorious criminal from prison.

Gotham: “Heroes Rise: These Delicate and Dark Obsessions”
FOX, 8pm
Ben McKenzie directs his first episode of the series when the Court of Owls devises a new plan regarding the future of Gotham. Gordon (McKenzie) uncovers information about his father and uncle’s past, which connects him back to the organization, and Bruce (David Mazouz) wakes up in the temple and learns of the Shaman’s (guest star Raymond J. Barry) wish for him.

Superior Donuts: “Art for Art’s Sake”
CBS, 9pm
Guest Star Alert!
Cedric the Entertainer guest-stars as Franco’s (Jermaine Fowler) estranged father in the new episode “Art for Art’s Sake.” Franco is shocked when his father suddenly shows up at the donut shop for his son’s first art show.

Lucifer
FOX, 9pm
New Episodes!
Season 2 of Lucifer resumes with the new episode “Candy Morningstar.” Lucifer (Tom Ellis) returns from a two-week disappearance with a new mystery woman, which causes tension between him and Chloe (Lauren German). Meanwhile, Lucifer’s mom (Tricia Helfer) realizes she may have found a way to finally get them back to heaven.

Quantico: “GLOBALREACH”
ABC, 10pm
Alex (Priyanka Chopra) risks everything to infiltrate the collaborators with Owen (Blair Underwood). But when they start testing her loyalty, Alex realizes she’s a pawn in their plan to take down both the president and the task force.

Scorpion: “Something Burrowed, Something Blew”
CBS, 10pm
Team Scorpion helps Toby (Eddie Kaye Thomas) and Happy (Jadyn Wong) race to the altar for their wedding after a simple job extinguishing a tunnel fire becomes catastrophic in the new episode “Something Burrowed, Something Blew.”

Warning: This Drug May Kill You
HBO, 10pm
This chilling documentary takes an unflinching look at the devastating effects of opioid addiction in America. Profiling four families whose lives have been decimated by addictions that sprung from legal prescriptions to dangerous painkillers, the film spotlights the struggles of ordinary people who were prescribed highly addictive opioid pain medications, a common gateway to heroin addiction. Featuring home videos and photos that humanize this public health crisis, along with important statistics and information about opioid use and treatment, Warning: This Drug May Kill You is an eye-opening look at a terrifying American epidemic.

Taken: “I Surrender”
NBC, 10pm
Season Finale!
The FBI threatens to remove Christina (Jennifer Beals) from command. Bryan (Clive Standen) and John (Gaius Charles) launch a rogue mission to stop Mejia’s (guest star Romano Orzari) associates before they cross the border, putting the ODNI team’s jobs — and lives — at stake.

Independent Lens: “National Bird”
PBS, 10pm
This film, the first in-depth investigation of the U.S. drone war, offers unique access to two courageous women: a drone-target analyst and a retired intelligence officer. They connect with a former NSA analyst to become whistleblowers on the drone program despite the risk of backlash.

Tuesday, May 2

NCIS: “Beastmaster”
CBS, 8pm
In the new episode “Beastmaster,” Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and the NCIS team partner with mounted police sergeant May Dawson (guest star Elisabeth Röhm) to solve the murder of a Marine and a string of related crimes in a national park.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: “Moo Moo”
FOX, 8pm
The goofy cop-com takes aim at a serious matter when Terry (Terry Crews) is racially profiled by a white cop — but star and executive producer Andy Samberg promises this isn’t a case of the Nine-Nine going grim. “We were very conscious of not changing the DNA of our show. We were gonna talk about issues like that, but not have it be too super dramatic.”

Victorian Slum House
PBS, 8pm
New Series!
This five-part series in the vein of Frontier House puts participants into a re-created Victorian Era slum to experience firsthand the desperation of the urban poor who suffered unimaginable living and working conditions in London’s East End tenements. Taking their places as shopkeepers, tailors, rent collectors, penniless immigrants or low-wage pieceworkers assembling matchboxes, the slum dwellers scrape by daily for food and rent money.

The Mick: “The Intruder”
FOX, 8:30pm
Season Finale!
Life gets even more chaotic when the kids catch a pair of intruders trying to break into the Pemberton mansion.

Below Deck Mediterranean
Bravo, 9pm
Season Premiere!
Season 2 cruises to picturesque Croatia, where the franchise’s first female captain, Sandy Yawn, steers her guests to paradise aboard the 154-foot mega-yacht Sirocco. The boat’s new and returning crew deals with the “yachtie” lifestyle as they serve demanding clientele and juggle severe cabin fever, hierarchy struggles and love triangles.

Bull: “Make Me”
CBS, 9pm
In the new episode “Make Me,” Bull (Michael Weatherly) aims to prove temporary insanity at a murder trial for his client who may have been brainwashed by a cult-like spiritual learning center.

Truth & Iliza
Freeform, 10pm
New Series!
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger gets her own late-night talk show. Each episode’s mix of studio and field pieces will attempt to answer a single question.

Frontline: “Second Chance Kids”
PBS, 10pm
Learn about the fight over the fate of juveniles in prison for murder following a landmark Supreme Court ruling. Examine the impact of the order to reevaluate thousands of juvenile murder cases and follow two of the first convicts to be released.

Wednesday, May 3

Speechless: “P-R—PROM”
ABC, 8:30pm
All three DiMeo kids are prom bound, leaving Maya (Minnie Driver) and Jimmy (John Ross Bowie) with a rare night to themselves — and how they choose spend the time shocks Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough). At the dance, Ray (Mason Cook) is about to finally make out with a girl — until she uses the “R” word — and a wary JJ (Micah Fowler) bonds with someone who is tired of being the center of attention at school functions.

Modern Family: “All Things Being Equal”
ABC, 9pm
Guest Star Alert!
Gloria (Sofia Vergara), Claire (Julie Bowen), Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter), Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons), Luke (Nolan Gould) and Manny (Rico Rodriguez) show their support for gender equality and the women’s movement — but in very different ways. Meanwhile, Jay (Ed O’Neill) and Phil (Ty Burrell) are at odds about how their parking lot attendant, Joan (guest star Niecy Nash), should do her job, and jealousy ensues when Pam (The Goldbergs’ Wendi McLendon-Covey) prefers Mitchell’s (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) help over Cam’s (Eric Stonestreet) with her baby.

Criminal Minds: “Green Light”
CBS, 9pm
Dr. Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) fears his mother has been abducted, and he asks the BAU to investigate while he’s stuck in prison in the new episode “Green Light.”

black-ish: “Liberal Arts”
ABC, 9:30pm
Guest Star Alert!
Might a new-generation A Different World be in the works? In tonight’s black-ish, Dre (Anthony Anderson) tearfully drops Zoey (Yara Shahidi) off for her two-day college orientation, where she ditches the campus tour to pal around with another incoming freshman, checking out boys instead of campus buildings. But when Zoey discovers that Dre never turned in her housing application, she pays a visit to President Schock (Matt Walsh, Veep) and Dean Parker (Chris Parnell, SNL) to plead her case.

Designated Survivor: “Misalliance”
ABC, 10pm
As the White House gears up for President Kirkman’s (Kiefer Sutherland) first international summit, Kimble Hookstraten (Virginia Madsen) faces her toughest political battle yet when her speakership is challenged. Meanwhile, Alex (Natascha McElhone) wrestles with whether or not to bring the kids back to Washington.

World’s Greatest Tribute Bands: “Dreamer the Supertramp Experience”
AXS TV, 10pm Live
The group Dreamer out of Toronto performs the music of Supertramp.

Andy Cohen’s Then & Now
Bravo, 10pm
New Series!
Andy Cohen and celebrity guests — including Anderson Cooper, Barney Frank, Kristin Chenoweth, Gayle King, Amber Rose, RuPaul, Joy Behar and numerous Bravo-lebrities — dive into today’s headlines, then look back at and discuss an iconic year in popular culture. In the series premiere, Cohen and guests take a look at 1997, when Titanic sailed into theaters, The Lion King roared on Broadway and the world mourned the death of Princess Diana.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders: “Type A”
CBS, 10pm
In the new episode “Type A,” the International Response Team is called to Taipei when it appears that an American committed a crime similar to an unsolved case in New York.

Fargo: “The Law of Non-Contradiction”
FX, 10pm
Gloria (Carrie Coon) revisits her stepfather’s past in search of answers in the new episode “The Law of Non-Contradiction.”

Archer Dreamland: “Sleepers Wake”
FXX, 10pm
Archer’s (voice of H. Jon Benjamin) ransom exchange goes up in smoke in the new episode “Sleeper’s Wake.”

Brockmire: “Road Trip”
IFC, 10pm
In the new episode “Road Trip,” Jules (Amanda Peet) and Brockmire (Hank Azaria) take a road trip to Pittsburgh. Brockmire tries to work out his father issues, while Jules has a pregnancy scare.

Plants Behaving Badly: “Murder & Mayhem”
PBS, 10pm
New Series!
Examine the extraordinary behavior of carnivorous plants, which have been a feature of many a sci-fi film over the years. The reality turns out to be far stranger than the fiction. See why.

Thursday, May 4

Grey’s Anatomy: “Leave It Inside”
ABC, 8pm
April (Sarah Drew) and Andrew (Giacomo Gianniotti) consult with a fiery patient who has a giant, inoperable heart tumor. Alex (Justin Chambers) and Eliza (Marika Domincyk) disagree over a young patient’s treatment, and Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton) and Ben (Jason George) make decisions that could affect their careers.

Superstore: “Tornado”
NBC, 8:30pm
Season Finale!
While store manager Glenn (Mark McKinney) is struggling with the possibility of having to lay off some employees, a real and more immediate danger proves to be lurking outside. “There’s a tornado warning,” executive producer Justin Spitzer previews. “It’s a big production. We’re building toward stuff I’ve never seen a comedy [series] do.” One of the show’s long-running conflicts will also be addressed: Jonah and Amy, best known for their light bickering, have recently grown closer — especially in light of her spoken-of marriage troubles — and find their will-they-or-won’t-they dynamic pushed to the forefront.

Scandal: “The Box”
ABC, 9pm
With the nation’s future at stake, Olivia (Kerry Washington) and Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) are at odds with Rowan (Joe Morton), and Jake (Scott Foley) tries surprising tactics to manipulate the mystery woman.

Mom: “A Few Thongs and a Hawaiian Funeral”
CBS, 9pm
In the new episode “A Few Thongs and a Hawaiian Funeral,” Christy (Anna Faris) and Jill (Jaime Pressly) make a surprising discovery when they take Emily (guest star Julia Lester) to see her biological mother (guest star Missi Pyle) in rehab.

Second Wives Club
E!, 9pm
New Series!
E! looks to capture some of the Real Housewives success that its sister network reaps, with this new eight-episode docuseries. In Hollywood, second wives are often painted as opportunists looking to take advantage of their husbands’ fortunes. Cameras follow six women who are married or engaged to wealthy, powerful men — Shiva Safai, Katie Cazorla, Veronika Obeng, Shawna Craig (the fifth wife of Lorenzo Lamas!), Tania Mehra and Morisa Surrey. While these ladies indulge in mermaid pool parties, live in multimillion-dollar homes and have luxury cars with champagne refrigerators, that doesn’t mean they live up to the stereotype … or does it?

Friday, May 5

The Mars Generation
Netflix
This film offers a definitive look at humanity’s future journey to Mars, as told through the eyes of the teens who will be the first ever to set foot on the Red Planet, along with leading experts currently pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation in space exploration. The film follows a group of trainees, ages 15-18, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center as they prepare to become the engineers, astrophysicists and astronauts of tomorrow.

Sense8
Netflix
Season Premiere!
Picking up where Season 1 left off, the series follows Capheus, Kala, Lito, Nomi, Riley, Sun, Will and Wolfgang as they come together both physically and mentally, plunged into the middle of each other’s tragedies and triumphs.

“Star Trek: The Original Series” Marathon
BBC America, beginning at 4pm
Catch a marathon of the original 1960s Star Trek TV series with episodes from Season 1, featuring favorites like “The Enemy Within” and the two-part episode “The Menagerie.”

Marvel Superhero Movie Marathon
FX, beginning at 5:30pm
FX airs a Marvel Comics superhero movie marathon today with Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011).

Hawaii Five-0: “He Ke’u Na Ka ‘Alae A Hina (A Croaking by Hina’s Mudhen)”
CBS, 9pm
McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) gets a tip that someone is plotting a terrorist attack on Oahu, and Five-0 searches for those behind it before it’s too late in the new episode “He Ke’u Na Ka ‘Alae A Hina (A Croaking by Hina’s Mudhen).”

Blue Bloods: “The Thin Blue Line”
CBS, 10pm
Season Finale!
In the season finale episode “The Thin Blue Line,” a Mexican drug cartel targets Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) after he intercepts a shipment of several million dollars that was heading to them.

Saturday, May 6

Batman & Bill
Hulu
Everyone thinks that Bob Kane created Batman, but that’s not the whole truth. One author makes it his crusade to seek justice for Bill Finger, a struggling writer who was the key figure in creating the iconic superhero, from concept to costume to the very character we all know and love. Bruce Wayne may be Batman’s secret identity, but his creator was always a true mystery.

Horse Racing: Kentucky Derby
NBC, 2:30pm Live
The 143rd Kentucky Derby takes place today from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., for the first leg of horse racing’s elusive Triple Crown (sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes).

The Son: “The Buffalo Hunter”
AMC, 9pm
In 1849, Young Eli (Jacob Lofland) makes a choice with dangerous consequences. In 1915, the McCulloughs deal with a tragedy, while Jeannie (Sydney Lucas) tries to save the family.

Training Day: “Tunnel Vision”
CBS, 9pm
In the new episode “Tunnel Vision,” the hunt for a suspected terrorist takes an emotional toll on Kyle (Justin Cornwell), who is convinced that he encountered the suspect during his service in Afghanistan.

Chris Gethard: Career Suicide
HBO, 10pm
Chris Gethard adapts his one-man, off-Broadway show of the same name into a comedy about unfunny things like depression, alcoholism and suicide. One of the freshest voices in comedy today, Gethard holds nothing back as he lays bare his experiences with mental illness and psychiatry and how he found hope in the strangest places.