Here’s what’s up in the world of TV for Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3. All times are Eastern.
TOP PICK
White House Correspondents’ Dinner (Multiple channels, 9 p.m., Saturday): Are you a big fan of presidents making awkward jokes? Perhaps you just like decrying the incestuous relationship between Beltway journalists and the politicians they cover. Or are you just a really big fan of Joel McHale and wish to support all he does outside of Community and The Soup? Well, if you’re all three, then, congratulations, tonight’s your night! Joel McHale hosts the annual dinner, at which President Obama will crack wise, journalists will dutifully laugh, and other celebrities will be in attendance, too. Just don’t go looking for it on Fox News. They’re not broadcasting it. (CNN, in true CNN fashion, begins broadcasting at 8, for a full three hours of pointless political fluff.)
ALSO NOTED Grimm (NBC, 9 p.m., Friday): Kevin McFarland checks in for an episode called “My Fair Wesen,” which will hopefully conclude with all of the characters getting together to help a common gutter Wesen look like a fine lady, just by helping her learn the proper manner of speech.
Hannibal (NBC, 10 p.m., Friday): Mason Verger appears for the first time in this week’s episode, and we can assure you that Michael Pitt is all kinds of fun in the role, and we kind of want a spinoff called The Vergers in which he and Margot open a bed and breakfast. Molly Eichel would watch it.
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:30 p.m., Saturday): Andrew Garfield, Spider-Man himself, drops by the studio to host, with Coldplay as musical guest. Dennis Perkins secretly hopes that Emma Stone shows up to co-host, because he squeals in delight every time he sees those two holding hands.
REGULAR COVERAGE Orphan Black (BBC America, 9 p.m., Saturday)
ELSEWHERE IN TV CLUB In a
For Our Consideration essay some have likened to John Lennon’s most famous solo hit, Todd VanDerWerff imagines a world where
cancelations are no longer to be feared. We’re not quite there yet, but Todd hopes someday you will join us, and all the beautiful TV shows romp and play.
WHAT ELSE IS ON Shark Tank: Swimming With Sharks (ABC, 8 p.m., Friday): Sadly, this is
not a special where the sharks are made to swim with actual sharks but, instead, a special that catches us up on where prior investments. Which is already a weekly segment on the show! Shark swimming would have been cooler.
Pennsylvania Ballet At 50 (PBS, 9 p.m., Friday): Holy wow if you don’t like sports, this is just a dead weekend for television. Fortunately, we like sports, so we probably should have just turned this whole thing into “sports!” But no. We soldier on with the format. Watch some culture, assholes!
Blue Bloods (CBS, 10 p.m. Friday): We remember liking some of the first season of this, then promptly losing track of it. Our mother still likes it though. Tell us, oh What’s On Tonight commenters: Is she right to keep it on her DVR list?
Wild West Alaska (Discovery, 10 p.m., Friday): The show begins its second season tonight. This is odd, because we weren’t even aware it had a first season. For fun, insert the word “Alaska” into common phrases to see if you can come up with a reality show title. We like Everything’s Coming Up Alaska.
A Daughter’s Nightmare (Lifetime, 8 p.m., Saturday): A mother fears that her daughter will suffer the same fate as her husband when her family is targeted by a mysterious man with designs on God knows what. Knowing Lifetime, though, it won’t be soul stealing, which is too bad.
History Of The Eagles (Showtime, 9 p.m., Saturday): True story: For a long time as a child, What’s On Tonight thought that popular solo recording artist Glenn Frey had been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, not the rock band Eagles. You can perhaps see why.
Space Jam (VH1, 8 p.m., Friday): It’s failed franchise Friday here at What’s On Tonight, which means that you should begin your evening by watching this movie that failed to turn Michael Jordan into an acting legend. Why, even the Looney Tunes were unable to capitalize on it for a film franchise.
Terminator Salvation (TNT, 8 p.m., Friday): There are okay moments scattered throughout this attempted reboot of the Terminator franchise set during the robot wars and featuring Christian Bale. But for the most part, it’s a big “eh!” And another failed franchise! Sort of!
In The Heat Of The Night (TCM, 8 p.m., Saturday): This more conventional choice beat out Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate for Best Picture of 1967, but that doesn’t make it a terrible film. It’s a damn sight better than the other two nominees, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner and Doctor fucking Doolittle.
NBA Playoff: Game 6: San Antonio at Dallas (ESPN, 8 p.m., Friday): This has been a terrific set of first-round playoffs (outside of that Miami-Charlotte series), and tonight sees the Spurs try to put Dallas away, while the Mavs hope to force a game seven.
The Kentucky Derby (NBC, 4 p.m., Saturday): We rarely note this event (or its Triple Crown cousins) because it’s What’s On Tonight, but we don’t want to make horse racing feel any worse about the way that it’s largely fallen out of the public eye but for this weekend every year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED ITMoone Boy (Thursday): Just in case you didn’t notice, the second season of
Moone Boy debuted on Hulu last week, and Phil Dyess-Nugent compared it favorably to the terrific first season. Go read his TV review, then hop down in comments to ramble on about your thoughts on how it all worked out.
