Q: Will "Switched at Birth" be returning? If so, when and where?
Award-winning teen drama "Switched at Birth" will absolutely be returning for a fifth season, but it's still up in the air as to when. The fourth season had already premiered by this time last year, but there's still no word on when the fifth will launch.
Branching out: 'Criminal Minds' spinoff crosses international lines
Gary Sinise stars in "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders"
You can't keep a good thing down, and CBS has been having great success with its hit FBI drama "Criminal Minds." Now in its 11th season, the series is coming off one of its best-ranked seasons in average total viewers, and it continues to pull in strong numbers. It makes sense, then, to want to continue this success, but in a fresh new way.
Q: The kids I babysit love the show "The Doozers." They say it's a new show, but it looks crazy familiar. Is it a reboot?
It's actually a spinoff, but one that comes about 30 years later.
The Doozers were originally characters on the Jim Henson-created puppet series "Fraggle Rock," which ran from 1983 to 1987. They were tiny characters who built things the Fraggles ate -- they were also minor characters, only showing up occasionally and never figuring too heavily into the plot.
The Carmichael Show, on NBC
Jerrod (Jerrod Carmichael) contends with his outspoken father (David Alan Grier), smothering mother (Loretta Devine) and larger-than-life brother (Lil Rel Howery) in this new episode. Amber Stevens West stars as his girlfriend, Maxine.
The long con: Food Network's newest competition pits amateurs against pros
Geoffrey Zakarian, Alessandra MacCarthy, Eric Grutka, Cindy Taffel and Michael Talalaev as seen in "Cooks vs. Cons"
Two nights of murder: Agatha Christie's most popular novel comes to Lifetime
The cast of "And Then There Were None"
Two nights of murder: One of the world's bestselling and most beloved novels is coming to television screens. Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," first published way back in 1939, has the enviable distinction of being the planet's bestselling mystery novel, even after all these years.
New Releases for the week of March 13 - 19
Brooklyn
Ellis (Ronan), a young Irishwoman, arrives in Brooklyn after a rough journey across the Atlantic, eager for a new and rewarding life in America. Shy, quiet and far from home, it takes some time for her to start opening up, but once she does, she meets Tony (Cohen), a charming Italian immigrant. The two strike up a romance and fall deeper and deeper in love, and when Ellis receives word that her older sister has died, she secretly marries him before making the return journey home for the funeral. Back in her small Irish hometown, though, everyone seems to be conspiring to keep her from returning to the country she's grown to love and the man she secretly loves even more.
Director: John Crowley. Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent. 2015. 111 min. Drama.
The Big Short
After concluding that the American housing market is unstable and on the brink of a meltdown, hedge fund manager Michael Burry (Bale) makes the decision to profit off of the impending financial crisis in this film based on a true story. Word of his eccentric actions begins to spread through investing circles, and soon other traders, including Jared Vennett (Gosling) and Mark Baum (Carell), also become convinced of the inevitability of the collapse of the housing market. Their scheming pays off in a big way when the 2007 financial catastrophe begins in earnest.
Director: Adam McKay. Stars: Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, John Magaro. 2015. 130 min. Biography.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
Dave (Lee) heads off to Miami with his girlfriend Samantha (Williams-Paisley) to work on producing an album for an up-and-coming star, leaving his three chipmunk children, Alvin (Long), Simon (Gubler) and Theodore (McCartney), at home with Samantha's mean and bullying son, Miles (Green). After discovering an engagement ring, the chipmunks realize that Dave is planning to propose to Samantha. Worried that his marriage to Samantha would mean that he wouldn't have time for the scrappy little rodents anymore, the three of them set out with Miles on a cross-country road trip to stop him before it's too late.
Director: Walt Becker. Stars: Jason Lee, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Kimberley Williams-Paisley, Josh Green. 2015. 92 min. Animated.
Late Laughs for the week of March 13 - March 19, 2016
The Late Late Show with James Corden
After saying he would never ditch his glasses, this week Jeb Bush appeared wearing contact lenses. Most people actually do look cooler without glasses, but Jeb looks like a turtle who has lost his shell. Also, is anyone else worried that Jeb got rid of his glasses the same week he got a gun?
Four's a 'Crowd': Empty nesters take in their grown daughters in NBC comedy
The cast of "Crowded"
For people in the throes of modern-day parenthood, the notion of an empty nest may seem like a distant oasis. Eventually, however, most young adults strike out on their own, leaving their parents to adjust to life without them -- at least temporarily.
Chicken Soup for the Soul's Hidden Heroes, on CBS
People show kindness and compassion to others in this heartwarming hidden camera series. Actress and model Brooke Burke-Charvet hosts the series, which captures footage of average people doing good deeds.
