What’s On This Week
A daily updated summary of the week in TV.
On Thursday, “CSI” bids a tender farewell to William L. Petersen’s character with an episode that also exudes nostalgia for a beloved but changing genre.
Patrick Swayze’s performance in “The Beast,” a new crime drama beginning on Thursday on A&E, is impressive for its resistance to cliché and remarkable for the mere fact of its execution.
An anniversary episode of the CW show to air Thursday will include additional champions familiar to comic book fans.
Mr. Montalbán, one of Hollywood’s first Latino leading men, had a long career as a television and movie actor but is perhaps best remembered as the as the debonair concierge of “Fantasy Island.”
Just over 30 million viewers tuned in for the season premiere of Fox’s “American Idol” on Tuesday, according to Nielsen’s estimates.
Add Jennifer Hudson to the mix of overly ambitious beer commercials, office bets, French onion dip and assorted accouterments that go with America’s favorite sporting event.
Mr. McGoohan was a multifaceted actor who spun television legend by creating and starring in the 1960s program “The Prisoner.”
Beginning on Wednesday night the acclaimed psych-ward drama “Wonderland,” canceled nine years ago by ABC, will be shown on DirecTV.
Richard Lewis and Richard Belzer, two old friends with much in common but little overlap within their material, are scheduled for a double bill at Town Hall on Saturday.
Mr. Galloway played well-groomed, straight-arrow characters in myriad television shows and movies.
AT&T sent out text messages to 75 million customers -- urging subscribers to tune into the season premier of “American Idol.”
The Screen Actors Guild appeared determined to go ahead with a strike authorization vote after a group of board members failed in an attempt to oust the union’s lead contract negotiator.
MSNBC will simulcast its coverage in movie theaters and Starbucks stores, and other screenings are being planned across the nation.
The actor, comic and game-show host Howie Mandel has been hospitalized in Canada, The Associated Press reported.
Viewers were back for more Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on Monday as Part 2 of Fox’s seventh-season premiere of “24” remained steady in the ratings.
This season the show will devote less time to contestants whose sole purpose in auditioning seemed to be to make fools of themselves.
Niall Ferguson moves at whirlwind speed in “The Ascent of Money,” a somewhat frustrating PBS documentary based on his recent book of the same title.
“The Best of Red Skelton,” an hour of Skelton sketches and interview snippets, has its premiere on Tuesday on WLIW in New York before national PBS distribution in March.
Hilary Duff will play Kathleen Holtz, the youngest person to ever pass the California bar exam, in a Fox sitcom.
At the Golden Globes ceremony, the gowns were strapless and bejeweled, but the mood was business casual.
CBS has redesigned TV.com to showcase new and old television episodes. The site aims to give Hulu, another TV site, a run for its money.
Mr. Gilborn was a ubiquitous stage, film and television actor best known for his role as Ellen DeGeneres’s father on the TV sitcom “Ellen” in the 1990s.
As the new judge on “American Idol,” the feisty, heartfelt and outspoken Kara DioGuardi will have to get comfortable under the pop microscope.
“How much funny is too funny?” Finding the right tone for a show about personality disorder.
How to approach a history of humor in the United States? Quirkily, of course.
As the brusque Lt. Frank Ballinger of the Chicago police in “M Squad,” Lee Marvin is possessed of a blithe cockiness that’s enormous fun to watch.
Ms. Holdridge was a popular Mouseketeer on the “Mickey Mouse Club” TV show in the 1950s.
For consumers, interactive entertainment is an opportunity. For critics, it’s a challenge.
AMC’s drama will return for its third season this summer, but the network has not yet announced an agreement with Matthew Weiner.
The hour-by-hour conceit of “24” and its characters are all familiar. The fun is in seeing how the creators will rejigger the pieces this time around.
When “24” begins its seventh season on Sunday with a two-night, four-hour premiere, much will have changed in the world since Jack Bauer was last on the job.
“The Real World: Brooklyn” the latest version of the reality television progenitor that has aired on MTV for 17 years, places its young cast in a loft in Red Hook.
With less than two weeks to go until a historic presidential inauguration, more television networks than usual are finalizing ambitious coverage plans.
“Damages,” a hit in its first season for FX, is back but the intrigue is not as intriguing the second time around.
“13 Fear Is Real,” a fizzled effort at scaremongering that begins Wednesday on CW, reveals just how badly reality television can go astray when the casting fails to get creative.
“Homeland Security USA,” an ABC reality series about the men and women who police our borders, is more homage than reportage.
The first few months of 2009 will be rich with new and returning shows.
The pleasures of the new series “The City” are greater than any attempted in “Bromance,” a completely unwatchable reality show.
If you like the idea of watching a really good National Geographic article brought to life, you’ll love “The Story of India.”
The BBC has announced its new Dr. Who: the 26-year-old actor Matt Smith.
Kristen Wiig has emerged as a comic standout on “Saturday Night Live,” using oversize, wacky-yet-true characters to build an audience.
For adventures in digital culture, don’t miss The Medium, a blog by Virginia Heffernan.
Go to Blog »Monty Python, the comedy troupe that's been around for over 25 years, is not going anywhere.
HBO's four-part miniseries about the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein has its premiere on Dec. 7.
“TRL,” the afternoon video show that has been an MTV flagship for 10 years, came to an end.
Jack Bauer receives a subpoena to testify before a Senate committee.
Barack Obama at the Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York City.
John McCain gives a humorous speech at the Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York City.