MINISERIES PREMIERE: Part 1 of 4. The 1977 ABC miniseries classic is remade for a new generation – and remade well. Malachi Kirby stars as Kunta Kinte, the enslaved African whose story occupies the entire first installment, and more, of this new four-night, eight-hour version. To hear my review on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, visit the Fresh Air website. And for another full review, see Ed Bark’s Uncle Barky’s Bytes.

2016

May

POV: "OF MEN AND WAR" By David Bianculli

This new documentary looks at a special facility devoted to the treatment of veterans with PTSD – and though it’s a documentary that should be seen on any day of the year, on Memorial Day it’s almost a viewer’s duty. Check local listings.

2016

May

GUY PEARCE STARS AS PRIVATE EYE IN ACORN'S 'JACK IRISH' By David Hinckley

If you’re ready for a short binge toward the end of the holiday weekend, you could do a lot worse than the Australian series Jack Irish, which has been brought to these shores by Acorn TV...

2016

May

NO TIME FOR SERGEANTS By David Bianculli

The roster of war-related movies continues on TCM’s Memorial Day weekend tribute, and today Andy Griffith stars in one of the lightest of them. This 1958 comedy, based on the stage play in which Griffith became a Broadway star as country bumpkin and recent military inductee Will Stockdale, led almost directly to The Andy Griffith Show – and even features, as one of the supporting players, future Mayberry co-star Don Knotts. It also serves as a basic blueprint for what eventually beca

2016

May

THE CARMICHAEL SHOW By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: This show has made a reputation, or tried to, by taking on subjects that may seem to be as divisive or uncomfortable as funny – including the reputation of Bill Cosby. Tonight, in its Season 2 finale episode, the family members stake out their respective viewpoints on yet another third-rail subject: Donald Trump.

2016

May

GAME OF THRONES By David Bianculli

Once again, Daenerys Targaryen has risen from the ashes like a phoenix – or one of her own dragons – and has gone from captive to ruler. Similar power shifts are taking place in other kingdoms, and so quickly that it’s not wrong to suspect a major battle, and some major bloodshed, is imminent.

2016

May

PENNY DREADFUL By David Bianculli

When this show started, I never expected parts of it to turn into a Western – yet that’s what happened when Ethan was captured and sent back to the States, supposedly to stand trial or be slaughtered by an enemy. Tonight, on the run in the wild wild West, he tries to avoid both those fates.

2016

May

VEEP By David Bianculli

The recount failed to produce the desired results, so any chance for grabbing the presidency now is in the hands of Congress. Watch for the vice president on the ticket, played by Hugh Laurie, to make some sort of a move. Laurie just concluded such a powerful run as a ruthless arms dealer on The Night Manager, it’d be a mistake to trust any character he plays, at least for a while…

2016

May

500 QUESTIONS By David Bianculli

This quiz show ought to get fairly exciting, should its contestants ever make it close to the end of its marathon of questions. So far this season, though, most of them have had difficulty making it past the opening 20-question round. Still, when one of the previous game shows on TV was one that required its players to do nothing other than choose a briefcase, the level of difficulty here is quite welcome.

2016

May

THE EIGHTIES By David Bianculli

Breaking news events over the past month have wreaked havoc with the presentation of this documentary series – pre-empting some episodes, substituting others, and making it hard to catch every installment. Maybe this will help: a Memorial Day weekend Saturday night compilation of several of the episodes so far, starting at 8 p.m. ET. Scheduled among them: Repeats of the two-hour opener about Eighties television (in which I appear, so be forewarned), and the so-far elusive installment about

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