Season ends on a (too) familiar note
The television season comes to an official end tonight on a pretty old-fashioned note. A winner of the 36th season of “Survivor” ( 8 p. m., CBS, TV-PG) is crowned as the contrived shenanigans on Ghost Island come to an end. A live reunion show follows (10 p.m., TV-PG).
If somebody had told me back in 2003 that “Survivor” and “American Idol” would still loom large as the 2018 TV season concluded, I would be surprised. If they had predicted a “new” “Roseanne” and “Murphy Brown,” I’d be a tad depressed.
Of course, nobody in 2003 would probably have predicted the rise of Netflix and other streaming services as the creative driving force in television programming.
The big theme we can take away from the just-concluded season and the just-announced 2018-19 fall lineup is that networks have all but given up on finding new and younger viewers. Television used to be about getting the audience you could until you reached the audience you wanted. Now networks are fighting over the slices of a diminishing and aging demographic pie. So networks swap series (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Idol” and “Last Man Standing”) and leave the creative approach to the streaming services.
Just a few weeks ago, Netflix launched “A Little Help With Carol Burnett,” a genial talk show where the 85-year-old TV legend, along with a panel of gradeschool children, chats with celebrity guests. It’s a feelgood variation of “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” And proof that you can reinvent new shows using rather venerable spare parts.
Fox just announced “The Cool Kids,” a blatant “Golden Girls” imitation, as a new addition to its fall lineup. It stars Martin Mull and David Alan Grier as cranky residents of a senior community whose lives are upended with the arrival of another brash personality, played by Vicki Lawrence. We all know that Lawrence was discovered by Burnett way back in the 1970s, so it’s curious to see Burnett’s unofficial “daughter” on a show that seems far less inventive and original than that of her 85- year- old “Mama.” But networks just aren’t taking chances anymore.
Along those lines, Benson tries to defuse a hostage crisis on the two-hour season finale of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14). “SVU” and all three of Dick Wolfe’s “Chicago” series will return to NBC next year.
How long has Wolfe been the backbone of NBC’s schedule? Way back in 2000, I reviewed an NBC comedy called “M.Y.O.B.” It starred Katharine Towne as a cranky teen runaway cared for by a pre-“Gilmore Girls” Lauren Graham, who played her aunt. I bring it up only because one of the teen’s memorable rants was how much NBC depended on “Law & Order” and spinoffs. Some things never change.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› Netflix launches the news series “Explained,” featuring the editors of Vox, the news website known for presenting concise explanations of current stories.
› The bidding war for the company heats up on the season finale of “Empire” ( 8 p. m., Fox, TV-14). Alfre Woodard and Forest Whitaker guest-star.
› Andy’s departure for college puts Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang at an emotional crossroads in the 2010 Pixar comedy “Toy Story 3” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-G).
› “Nature” ( 8 p. m., PBS, TV-PG) wraps up its 36th season documenting efforts to save the pangolin, considered the most trafficked animal in the world.
› The group’s future remains uncertain on the season finale of “Star” ( 9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› “Nova Wonders” ( 9 p. m., PBS, TV- PG) ponders the creation of artificial “life.”
› “20/20” ( 10: 01 p. m., ABC) anticipates the summer’s blockbuster films.
› Elizabeth feels torn and Philip runs into more than he anticipated on the next- to- last episode of “The Americans” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
› A lockdown at the Resistance camp brings tensions on “Colony” ( 10 p.m., USA, TV-14).
› Benson runs across a familiar face on “Law & Order: SVU” (8 p.m., NBC, repeat, TV-14).
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin. tvguy@gmail.com.