The CW’s long-running football drama All American spins off with Homecoming, about the sports program at an HBCU. Another spinoff puts an Extreme twist on America’s Got Talent. NBC rips off The Blacklist with the overheated The Endgame. As a companion piece to the ongoing Abraham Lincoln docuseries, History offers a take on Black heroes of the Civil War.
The CW
All American: Homecoming
The long-running teen football drama spins off, as Simone (Geffri Maya) moves into her dorm at the prestigious HBCU Bringston University, hoping to get back into the swing of college tennis. Damon (Peyton Alex Smith), a baseball prodigy from Chicago, has similar ambitions on the diamond. But anyone who knows the show that spawned Homecoming knows that winning the game of life will be the greater challenge.
Sami Drasin/NBC
America’s Got Talent: Extreme
The latest spinoff of the hit talent competition might as well scream “Don’t try this at home” as it spotlights an even more outrageous and turbo-charged gallery of exhibitionists vying for a $500,000 prize. If watching a guy ride a bicycle over a flaming highwire is your cup of adrenaline, dig in. Terry Crews returns as host, with Simon Cowell judging the acts alongside WWE’s Nikki Bella and motocross veteran Travis Pastrana.
Alison Rosa/HBO
The Gilded Age
Nathan Lane makes a memorable appearance as society gatekeeper Ward McAllister (an authentic historical character), who’s invited to meet social-climbing Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) to ascertain her suitability. “I don’t want the facts. Only the gossip,” he declares as they’re introduced. Another historical figure, Red Cross founder Clara Barton (Madam Secretary’s Linda Emond), also isn’t fooled by Bertha’s strategy of using charity as a “ladder to climb into the ballrooms of New York.” Not that it matters to her, as she reveals her progressive side by allowing herself to be interviewed by Peggy (Denée Benton) to the horror of the snobby matrons of 1880s New York.
Eric Liebowitz/NBC
The Endgame
Homeland’s Morena Baccarin adopts a Cheshire cat grin as the Big Bad who may end up being a force for good in a derivative but fast-paced knockoff of The Blacklist. She’s Elena Federova, an international arms dealer who has been taken into custody by feds who will soon learn who’s really pulling the strings. One person who doesn’t underestimate Elena is FBI agent Val Turner (Ryan Michelle Bathé), still trying to prove herself after helping put her own husband away on bribery charges. As usual in twisty thrillers like this, nothing is quite what it seems. Say what you will about the ridiculous mayhem that ensues when Elena orchestrates seven New York City bank takeovers, her backstory in Ukraine (with The Americans’ Costa Ronin as her husband and partner in crime) has its compelling moments of tragedy and surprise.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Photo by Jai Lennard Copyright 2020
Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War
While History’s three-part Abraham Lincoln biographical documentary continues (8/7c, concluding Tuesday), producer/narrator Kareem Abdul-Jabbar provides another angle on the Civil War with a special that celebrates famous and lesser-known Black figures who played critical roles in the War Between the States. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the Underground Railroad’s Harriet Tubman have long been revered, but Black Patriots also reveals the stories of slave-turned-war hero Robert Smalls, Union spy Mary Richards and others.
Inside Monday TV:
- Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride (streaming on Acorn TV): Leaving so soon? The fourth season of the comedic mystery series ends with Agatha (Ashley Jensen) in an even more awkward situation than usual, called on to snoop into the murder of her ex-fiancé’s fiancée, who was killed on the eve of their wedding.
- Conviction: The Case of Stephen Lawrence (streaming on Acorn TV): A three-part docudrama examines the fallout from the 1993 murder of 18-year-old student Stephen Lawrence in a racially motivated attack. His parents and a detective dedicate 18 years to see that justice is done.
- 9-1-1: Lone Star (8/7c, Fox): Prolific character actor Neal McDonough, who has stirred things up on Yellowstone, Justified and all across the Arrowverse, clashes with Owen (Rob Lowe) as arrogant police Sgt. Ty O’Brien. Their rivalry extends to the softball field.
- Black Ink Crew: New York (8/7c, VH1): The bicoastal franchise flexes its tattooed prowess with back-to-back season premieres of the New York and Compton (at 9/8c) editions.
- Curse of the Chippendales (9/8c, Investigation Discovery): As seen on 20/20, also the subject of an A&E docuseries in March, this four-part true-crime series (first shown on discovery+) airs over two nights (concluding Tuesday), exposing the dark side of the exotic male dance troupe and the murderous falls of masterminds Paul Snider and Steven Banerjee.