‘Genius: Aretha’ celebrates the Queen of Soul
Aformer “American Idol” lands a family comedy, fans of Nordic drama welcome back a love story, and an anthology series gives some respect to the life and career of a musical icon.
Dispatches: Weekly TV news
• Anheuser-Busch and Panay Films launch “Not A Sports Show.” The six-episode sports-talk show is hosted by comedian Lil Rel Howery, who chats with athletes at a bar filled with, you guessed it, lots of Anheuser-Busch beverages.
The show premieres on free streaming-video service Facto on March 25, with new episodes on Thursdays in April.
Contenders: Shows to keep on your radar
• Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) were last seen together at the end of “Avengers: Endgame.”
They return as they are better known in “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” (Disney+). The six-episode series features the pair teaming up for a global adventure that challenges their superhero skills.
• On tap this week on Netflix is another season of fast cars and drama
in “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and a new family comedy, with music, called “Country Comfort.”
It stars Katherine McPhee (“American
Idol”) as an aspiring country singer whose stalled career leads her to a job as a nanny for a widower and his five kids.
• “Genius: Aretha” (March 21, Nat Geo, 9 p.m. ET) dramatizes the musical icon’s career, impact and lasting influence as one of the greatest singers of the past 50 years.
Cynthia Erivo, who has won Tony, Emmy and Grammy Awards, plays Aretha, along with Emmy-winner Courtney B. Vance, who plays Aretha’s father, C.L. Franklin.
• Filmmaker Cullen Hoback spent three years traveling the world to uncover the forces behind the conspiracy fueled QAnon movement.
The result is a six-part documentary series, “Q: Into the Storm” (March 21, HBO, 9 p.m. ET). The series explores how “Q” uses information warfare to shape people’s thinking.
• The dream of a romantic year abroad turns into a nightmare in “The Attaché” (March 22, Acorn TV). When successful musician Avshalom (Elie Ben-David) relocates to Paris with his wife Annabelle (Heloise Godet), an attaché to the Israeli embassy, a terrorist attack disrupts their lives. In Hebrew and French with English subtitles.
• One of the biggest hits in Nordic drama in the last 10 years, “The Restaurant” returns with “The Restaurant: 1951” (March 25, Sundance Now).
In this installment, the Lowander family is operating a restaurant in the Stockholm archipelago when the romance between socialite daughter Nina (Hedda Stiernstedt) and chef Calle (Charlie Gustafsson), now married to other people, reignites.
Report Card: Ratings winners and losers
• Winners: Starz renewed “Outlander” for season seven.
• Losers: It was a good night for Beyonce and Taylor Swift but in the early numbers, this year’s telecast of the “Grammys” was the lowest rated in the show’s history.
Melissa Crawley is the author of “Mr. Sorkin Goes to Washington: Shaping the President on Television’s ‘The West Wing.’” Email her at staytuned@ outlook.com or follow her on Twitter at @mcstaytuned.