Staying Fit
At last, the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes are over, so a parade of new and returning shows are lighting up TV. From tense procedurals with Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck and Queen Latifah to sitcoms and spin-offs of legendary shows, there’s plenty to put on your must-watch calendar. TV schedules for later in the year are still up in the air, so check AARP’s Entertainment page for updates, and mark your calendars with this must-watch guide.
Tracker (Feb. 11, CBS)
How optimistic is CBS about this new show starring Justin Hartley (This Is Us) as a witty, likable lone-wolf survivalist, math whiz and expert tracker who roams America with his truck and Airstream, hunting for lost people (and reward money)? It premieres right after the Super Bowl, guaranteeing a huge initial audience. We bet it’s a hit.
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NCIS (Feb. 12, CBS)
Yes, like most of this military police procedural’s 300 million–plus viewers, we’re eager to see what happens in the 21st season, now that NCIS Agent Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) has been arrested for murder. And nobody wants to miss the Feb. 19 episode, a tribute to Ducky (the late David McCallum) in which the eccentric sleuth’s work manages to help solve a case even though he’s dead. But what we really want to know is whether Ducky’s pal Gibbs (Mark Harmon, 72) will return, either to honor Ducky or to promote the upcoming Harmon-produced prequel series about Gibbs’ 1990s youth, NCIS: Origins, narrated by Harmon. It will likely air this fall or early in 2025.
Young Sheldon (Feb. 15, CBS)
After seven years, the prequel show about Sheldon, the child genius who grows up to be the quirky physicist on The Big Bang Theory, airs its final season. We won’t get to see Annie Potts, 71, as Sheldon’s potty-mouthed grandma anymore. But don’t despair: Potts is on-screen again, along with Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray, in the movie Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (March 22), and there’s a new Young Sheldon spin-off series in the works.
Blue Bloods (Feb. 16, CBS)
After 14 years, the family saga of Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck, 79) and his cop sons, TV’s number 1 prime-time hit and number 3 broadcast drama, ends this season. We’re looking forward to the conversation between Selleck’s top cop and his chronic opponent, the liberal New York mayor (Dylan Walsh, 60) when the mayor mentions retirement and Frank ponders whether his job defines his entire life. To find out how Selleck feels looking back on his own life, read his forthcoming book, You Never Know: A Memoir (May 24).
The Equalizer (Feb. 18, CBS)
In Season 4, Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah, 53), single mom and defender of the defenseless, tries to save her friends from being burnt alive before her eyes, and deals with her former best friend and CIA partner (Ilfenesh Hadera), who wants revenge on the agency.
CSI Vegas (Feb. 18, CBS)
Marg Helgenberger, 65, is back as the Vegas casino owner’s daughter turned ace forensic sleuth Catherine Willows, hunting a mysterious killer in Sin City. But will any of the other veterans of the original CSI show up as guest stars — like (we hope) William Petersen, 70, whose Dr. Gil Grissom was in Season 1 of CSI: Vegas?
The Good Doctor (Feb. 20, ABC)
In the seventh and last season of the show about a doc with savant syndrome, the brilliant Dr. Murphy (Freddie Highmore) confronts his neurologist mentor, Dr. Glassman (The West Wing’s Richard Schiff, 68).
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