American Idol judge Lionel Richie is the latest recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in a starry tribute. In the penultimate episode of This Is Us, the family gathers around Rebecca to say their last goodbyes. Ted Danson’s Mr. Mayor faces a recall election in the season finale that now doubles as a series finale. TLC’s Little People, Big World returns for a 23rd season.
PBS
Lionel Richie: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
All night long, they sing the praises of Grammy winner Lionel Richie (now better known to some as an American Idol judge) in a ceremony recorded in March in Washington, D.C. “If you don’t love Lionel Richie, something is wrong with you,” host Anthony Anderson declares in his introduction to the concert tribute. Among the performers showing their love: fellow Idol judge Luke Bryan singing “Lady,” previous Gershwin Prize honoree Gloria Estefan with “Dancing on the Ceiling,” plus Boyz II Men (“Easy”), Andra Day (“Hello”) and Chris Stapleton (“Say You, Say Me”).
NBC
This Is Us
In what promises to be an epic moment in the emotional final season of the time-spanning family drama, the Pearsons gather (as we’ve seen them doing in flash-forwards for quite some time) to pay their respects to their beloved matriarch Rebecca (Mandy Moore) at her deathbed-side. This is the next-to-last episode ever, so stock up on your Kleenex.
Ron Batzdorff/NBC
Mr. Mayor
Among the many casualties of last week’s pre-Upfront cancellation bloodbath was this Ted Danson comedy about a hapless Los Angeles mayor. In the Season 2 (now series) finale, Neil Bremer (Danson) faces a recall election in the wake of a social-media scandal, which pits him against his tightly wound deputy mayor Arpi Meskimen (Holly Hunter). Their televised mayoral debate is the centerpiece of the episode, but win or lose, we’ll only be able to imagine what happens next.
TLC
Little People, Big World
Huge drama as the 23rd season of the reality hit opens with son Zach and his pregnant wife Tori butting heads with dad Matt over their hope to raise their family on the Oregon farm. As the couple considers setting up home elsewhere, Matt makes a decision that could change the family’s and farm’s future forever. Followed by the Season 4 premiere of Welcome to Plathville (10/9c).
Inside Tuesday TV:
- FBI (8/7c, CBS): Kicking off a full night of all-new FBI procedural action, Tiffany (Katherine Renee Turner) is joined by Nina (Shantel VanSanten) to investigate the shooting of a retired DEA agent, but they clash over the use of an informant on the case.
- The Chase (9/8c, ABC): A new Chaser joins the rotation, with the introduction of top female quizzer Victoria “The Queen” Groce.
- Supermarket Stakeout (10/9c, Food Network): Fan-favorite Chopped judge Alex Guarnaschelli returns for a fourth season of the competition that puts quartets of chefs through mystery meal-prep challenges using whatever ingredients they can snag from shoppers leaving a grocery store. Their budget is $500 for three rounds, and as we all know, that doesn’t go as far as it used to.
- Black Gold (streaming on Paramount+): Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky presents an unsettling three-part docuseries about a climate-crisis cover-up within Exxon and a black-ops global conspiracy that prioritized profit over the planet’s health.
- Katt Williams: World War III (streaming on Netflix): Filmed in Las Vegas in January, the comedian’s 12th comedy special (his second for Netflix) speaks truth to lies as he breaks down conspiracy theories.
