‘Perry’ Part II: HBO reboot returns for more ‘30s drama
Matthew Rhys is “Perry Mason”
Amid a jazzy Christmas celebration on a dark Los Angeles street in 1931, a fedora-clad man cradles a bundled blanket, its woolen plaid bright under the light of a single streetlamp. As the music turns somber, a gravelly voice comes over the telephone to instruct a local grocer and his wife, both shaking with fear, to leave $100,000 on the desk behind them and meet an approaching streetcar.
Alaska Daily, on ABC
After a lengthy winter break, the crime drama returns with a new episode. Hilary Swank stars as disgraced reporter Eileen Fitzgerald, who left her New York life behind to take a job at a newspaper in Anchorage, Alaska. Jeff Perry also stars.
Q: Is "Ghosts" coming back for another season? Also, why do I know the actor who plays Jay?
Good news! You're going to get to know Utkarsh Ambudkar even better when he returns, likely next fall, in Season 3 of "Ghosts."
His role as Jay, aspiring chef and co-owner of a haunted bed-and-breakfast in the CBS sitcom, is his highest-profile one yet, but he already knew his way around a hit comedy series going in.
FBI: International, on CBS
The FBI's International Fly Team works quickly to neutralize another threat in this new episode. Currently in its second season, the Dick Wolfe series stars Luke Kleintank, Heida Reed and Vinessa Vidotto as elite globe-trotting operatives.
America's Got Talent: All-Stars, on NBC
Voted by the Superfans, the winner of this "All-Stars" edition will be revealed tonight, as the Top 11 acts perform alongside Weezer, Babyface, Adam Lambert, Lindsey Stirling, Terry Fator, Mat Franco and choir group Voices of Hope.
Q: I love Karen Gillan, but I'm not sure which accent is her natural speech. She is British in "Doctor Who" but not in "Jumanji." Not a lot of people can pull off accents like that, so I'm curious which is real.
The Scottish brogue she has in "Doctor Who" is the closest thing to her real, natural voice.
She was born in Inverness, Scotland, the largest city in the northern Highlands region. "Doctor Who" made a big deal of her character's Scottishness, occasionally contrasting it with the Englishness of the Doctor himself (when he was played by "The Crown" star Matt Smith, at least).
Spring forward: Goldman moves from one ‘Baking Championship’ to another
Duff Goldman with fellow "Kids Baking Championship" judge Valerie Bertinelli
Another edition of the Emmy-nominated “Kids Baking Championship” is winding down, but that doesn’t mean Duff Goldman is taking a TV break. On the contrary, he’ll be moving from one “Baking Championship” to the next.
Late Laughs for the week of Feb. 26 - Mar. 4
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
I come to you tonight [Jan. 31] breathing easy because the White House has finally announced they plan to end the COVID Public Health Emergency in May. Take that, COVID. We beat you. Shove that up your nose and rotate it five times. This has been a long time coming. I wish you could see the smiles on the faces of my audience and I wish I could, too, because they're still wearing masks.
New Releases for the week of Feb. 26 - Mar. 4
Detective Knight: Independence
Following a last-minute assignment, Detective Knight (Willis) and his partner, Fitzgerald (Munro), find themselves in the midst of a bank robbery. Paramedics Dezi (Kilmer) and Ally (Shields) are also called to the scene after a police officer is shot, but when Dezi attends to the wounded thief instead of the bank manager, he is fired for his actions. Dezi embarks on a trail of chaos and destruction that only Detective Knight can stop in time for the Fourth of July. “Detective Knight: Independence” is the third and final film of the Detective Knight trilogy and a sequel to 2022’s “Detective Knight: Redemption.”
Director: Edward Drake. Stars: Bruce Willis, Jack Kilmer, Lochlyn Munro, Willow Shields, Lorenzo Antonucci, Dina Meyer, Dax Campbell, Nadine Leon Gobet, Jimmy Jean-Louis. 91 mins. 2023. Action.
God’s Country
After her mother’s cremation and burial, university professor Sandra (Newton) returns to her home in remote western Montana to find a red pickup truck parked in her driveway. She leaves a note on the windshield urging the occupants to park elsewhere, but the following day, Sandra find her note on the ground near a dead bird. The truck and its drivers, Nathan (Jarsky) and Samuel (White), return day after day despite Sandra’s strong insistence, and Sandra finds herself pulled into a misogynist and racist world that creeps closer to ultimate violence.
Director: Julian Higgins. Stars: Thandiwe Newton, Joris Jarsky, Jefferson White, Tanaya Beatty, Kai Lennox, Lynn Solomon. 102 mins. 2022. Thriller.
Devotion
This biographical film tells the story of Jesse Brown, the first Black aviator in the U.S. Navy. During the Korean War, Lt. Tom Hudner (Powell) is transferred to Fighter Squadron 32 at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, in Rhode Island. Upon meeting Ensign Jesse Brown (Majors), the only Black member of the squadron, the pair form a quick and close friendship that extends to Brown’s wife, Daisy (Jackson). As Hudner and Brown embark on their mission to support the Marines in South Korea, their close bond is ultimately tested. “Devotion” is based on the book “Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice” by historian Adam Makos.
Director: J.D. Dillard. Stars: Jonathan Majors, Glen Powell, Christina Jackson, Thomas Sadoski, Daren Kagasoff, Joe Jonas, Spencer Neville, Nick Hargrove, Boone Platt, Dean Denton. 139 mins. 2022. Action.
Mayfair Witches, on AMC
Season 1 comes to a close, but don't worry: the series has been renewed for a second season. Alexandra Daddario stars as Rowan, a neurosurgeon grappling with newfound powers after learning she is the heir to a family of witches. Harry Hamlin also stars.
