THE FOUR: BATTLE FOR STARDOM
Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: Fox begins 2018 by unveiling its newest singing competition show, an American variant of a successful TV series from Israel. For the U.S., the host is Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, and the judges include Sean Combs and Meghan Trainor. The supposed twist is that the series begins in the middle, essentially, with the four “finalists” already chosen as the show begins – and forced to defend their individual perches as finalists against new opponents who try to unseat them. So it’s a bit like Iron Chef with music – and, like all these shows, the singing contestants generally will get less air time, and emerge with less fame, than the celebrity judges. The competition may be fair, but life isn’t.