‘Big Brother’ back despite COVID-19
Does anybody want to leave the house? Will a television audience tired of social distancing return to watch history’s most claustrophobic reality series? “Big Brother” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) returns for its 22nd season since 2000.
The series consists of many familiar elements, most notably the faces. Julie Chen Moonves returns as host and den mother. All of this summer’s players are returning “All Stars,” described by the network as “winners, finalists, legends, memorable personalities and some of the best to never win the game.”
But none of them have played the game under these conditions. All of the contestants, as well as unseen crew, will be tested and quarantined before the beginning of “play” and screened daily for symptoms. You don’t have to be a soothsayer to predict a considerable drop in the kind of exhibitionistic canoodling that has been captured by cameras in past summers.
As Major League Baseball’s very short season has shown, all the precautions in the world cannot prevent infection. On the other hand, the “Big Brother” house could become a safe space in a contagious world. That might incentivize these “All Stars.”
But will anybody want to watch?
› On a similar theme, an expectant couple and a college basketball player share stories of social distance on “True Life: Quarantine Stories” (9 p.m., MTV, TV-14).
› Next to “Big Brother,” nothing says summer television like a Canadian import. Over the years, Americans have learned to look forward to series like “Rookie Blue” and “Flashpoint” from their neighbors to the north. These Canadian television series have not broken new ground, but have managed to attract enough viewers to stick around for more than their rookie year. They’re competently made and familiar enough to become instantly addictive to fans.
Add “Coroner” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) to the list. A hit for the CBC, it’s an adaptation of a series of novels by M.R. Hall about coroner Jenny Cooper. Serinda Swan plays Cooper as a pretty, or rather, pert, woman of a certain age who becomes a Toronto medical examiner after the sudden death of her husband. This isn’t the first series to have the loss of a spouse fill the main character with motivating demons. “Coroner” follows a familiar path through the morgue and streets, with Cooper approaching things a little differently, a habit that exasperates and amuses her partner and tries the patience of other coroners, who condescend to the newcomer.
Toronto’s main English-language newspaper dismissed “Coroner” as “fake and forgettable,” but enough viewers have disagreed, making this very familiar series an international hit. It debuted in 2019 and has already been renewed for a third season.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
› The 2015 documentary “Amy” (7:30 p.m., Showcase) profiles the late Amy Winehouse.
› A blast from Halstead’s past on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, repeat, TV-14).