TV this week: ‘Academy of Country Music Awards’ honors top stars
Chuck Barney’s TV and streaming picks for April 18-24
DON’T MISS: “56th Academy of Country Music Awards” — Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton are our hosts for this year’s festivities in Nashville. Once again, the show will originate from three iconic country music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, the historic Ryman Auditorium and the Bluebird Cafe, and will feature performances from more than 25 of the genre’s biggest stars. As for the prizes, Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton lead the nomination list with six apiece. (8 p.m. Sunday, CBS).
Other bets:
SUNDAY: Set in 1964, Season 2 of the “Godfather of Harlem” finds Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) trying to elude assassins and battling the New York crime families for control of the lucrative “French Connection.” It’s the pipeline for heroin that runs from Marseilles to New York Harbor. (9 p.m., Epix).
SUNDAY: Oscar-winner Kate Winslet shines in the seven-part limited series “Mare of Easttown.” She plays a small-town Pennsylvania detective — and former high school basketball hero — who investigates a sordid local murder as life crumbles around her. The impressive cast also includes Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Guy Pearce and Evan Peters. (10 p.m., HBO).
MONDAY: “American Oz” is a new documentary that strolls down the Yellow Brick Road to explore the life and times of author L. Frank Baum. Possessing a relentless appetite for success and an extraordinary imagination, he’s the guy who gave us “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its many sequels. (9 p.m., PBS).
MONDAY: The first responders of “9-1-1” return from their midseason hiatus and, as usual, there’s chaos. Athena and the 118 race to save lives after a drunk driver causes a deadly freeway pile-up. Meanwhile, Maddie goes into labor at an inopportune time. (8 p.m., Fox).
TUESDAY: Yes, even the crabbing industry has been greatly affected by the global pandemic. Shot last winter, Season 17 of “Deadliest Catch” begins with the captains banding together to save the fishery and their way of life in a year where nothing seems normal. (8 p.m., Discovery).
TUESDAY: The twisty new psychological mystery “Cruel Summer” follows two young characters: Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt), the popular girl with a charmed life who suddenly goes missing, and Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia), the nerdy wannabe who is implicated in Kate’s disappearance. But perceptions might be deceiving. (9 p.m., Freeform).
WEDNESDAY: “Sasquatch” is a three-part true-crime documentary that follows investigative journalist David Holthouse as he attempts to crack a bizarre, 25-year-old triple homicide in Northern California that some believe was the work of the mythical creature Bigfoot. The truth might be even scarier. (Hulu).
THURSDAY: Premiering on Earth Day, “Secrets of the Whales” is a four-part National Geographic special that takes viewers on an epic journey within the world’s oceans and seas to reveal the extraordinary communication skills and social structures of five different species — orcas, humpbacks, belugas, narwhals and sperm whales. Sigourney Weaver narrates. (Disney +).
FRIDAY: Based on the bestselling books by Leigh Bardugo, “Shadow and Bone” is a fantasy series set in a war-torn world where a lowly soldier and orphan (Jessie Mei Li) has just unleashed an extraordinary power that could liberate her homeland. But as she struggles to hone her power, she learns that allies and enemies can be one and the same. (Netflix).
SATURDAY: The Canadian drama series “Murdoch Mysteries” wraps up its 14th season with the first half of a two-part finale. In “Everything Is Broken,” the brutal murder of a woman from Murdoch’s past greatly complicates his life. (4 p.m. PT; 7 p.m. ET, Ovation).
Contact Chuck Barney at cbarney@bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/chuckbarney and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.chuckbarney.