TV best bets with American Music Awards, Tucker Carlson, 'Mars,' 'The Affair'

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Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

This is posted by Rodney Ho on AJC's Radio & TV Talk blog on Sunday, November 13, 2016

Need a break now from politics?

You can gaze at "Mars" on NGC Monday, ponder the travails of Noah, Alison, Helen and Cole inseason three of "The Affair" on Showtime Sunday or watch pop stars perform on ABC's "American Music Awards" on Sunday. Plus, starting Monday, Tucker Carlson gets the 7 p.m. slot on Fox News vacated by Greta Van Susteren a couple months ago. (Brit Hume had been covering.)

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Credit: Rodney Ho

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Credit: Rodney Ho

There are also new series to sample on TNT ("Good Behavior" on Tuesday), USA ("Shooter" on Tuesday), MTV ("Sweet/Vicious," also on Tuesday), Pop ("Nightcap" on Wednesday) and Netflix ("Paranoid" on Friday).

Plus Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Story" finishes season six Wednesday night on FX.

Amazingly, "Duck Dynasty" returns for an 11th season on A&E Wednesday while E!'s 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians" closes its 12th season Sunday. A cross-over episode of those two shows would be a serious red/blue explosion of epic proportions. Let's do it!

This covers Monday, November 14 through Sunday, November 20.

MONDAY

"Dancing With the Stars" 8 p.m. ABC — NFL great Calvin Johnson, formerly of Georgia Tech, has now made the top five.

"Gotham" 8 p.m. Fox — Suspicious of Barnes, Gordon and Bullock examine the evidence of the murder at Lee and Mario's engagement party.

"Supergirl" 8 p.m. the CW — Supergirl faces a new challenge from a ruthless gang who are armed and dangerous with cutting-edge alien technology

"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — Atlanta's Aaron Gibson is in the top 12.

"2 Broke Girls" 9 p.m. CBS — The girls take a bartending class in order to add cocktails to their dessert bar menu.

"Mars" 9 p.m. NGC (new series) — The effort to send humans to Mars is featured.

"Lucifer" 9:01 p.m. Fox — When a human steals Azrael's blade, Lucifer links the theft to a rash of violent stabbings that point to a local yoga studio.

"Scorpion" 10 p.m. CBS — The team travel to Ireland to attend Megan's memorial.

"Timeless" 10:01 p.m. NBC  — Secrets surface when the trio land in Watergate-era Washington, D.C.

TUESDAY

"The Middle" 8 p.m. ABC— Frankie and Mike realize it's Brick's 15th birthday and time for their youngest to learn to drive.

"NCIS" 8 p.m. CBS — Mike and Amy hunt for the creator of "Candle Cove."

"The Voice" 8 p.m. NBC — Elimination night.

"Rickey Smiley For Real" 8 p.m. TV One (third season debut) — Rickey hosts a family dinner, but Brandon, Craig and Aaryn don't attend.

"Channel Zero" 9 p.m. Syfy (first season finale) — Mike prepares to confront Candle Cove and save his daughter Lily.

"Fresh Off the Boat" 9 p.m. ABC — Louis and Jessica open Cattleman's Ranch on Thanksgiving.

"This is Us" 9 p.m. NBC — Randall and Kevin's rocky relationship is explained.

"Good Behavior" 9 p.m. TNT (new series) — A lady con artist (Michelle Dockery), newly sprung from jail and trying to go straight, gets entangled in a dangerous and seductive relationship with a killer (Juan Diego Botto) in the series premiere of this thriller.

"Teen Wolf" 9 p.m. MTV (sixth and final season debut) — A supernatural force crosses paths with Scott and his friends.

"David Blaine: Beyond Magic" 10 p.m. ABC — David Blaine entertains in a revealing performance of his patented street magic.

"Chicago Fire" 10 p.m. NBC — Herrmann is out to catch a mystery tagger who's targeting the firehouse

"NCIS: New Orleans " 10 p.m. CBS — A Navy Seal candidate who was murdered just before his graduation leads the team to investigate unorthodox training exercises.

"Shooter" 10 p.m. USA (new series) — Retired Marine sniper Bob Lee Swagger returns to the line of fire.

"Sweet/Vicious" 10 p.m. MTV  (new series) — The premiere of the comedy about two college gals who attend class by day and battle crime by night.

WEDNESDAY

"The Art of More" 3:01 a.m. Crackle (second season debut) — Jane and Weller vanish while working undercover.

"Blindspot" 8 p.m. NBC — Jane sends a covert SOS to her FBI team when she learns about an imminent attack Sandstorm is ready to launch.

"Nightcap" 8 p.m. Pop (new series) — Chaos happens behind the scenes at a fictitious late-night talk show.

"Survivor" 8 p.m. CBS — Is Adam in the driver's seat now? Probably not.

"Empire" 9 p.m. Fox — The hacking of Empire leads to feuds breaking out between the artists and members of the Lyon family.

"Criminal Minds" 9 p.m. CBS — Three children disappear while riding bikes on the same path as a similar unsolved disappearance 30 years ago.

"Chicago PD" 9 p.m. NBC (back-to-back new episodes) — The team investigates the death of a witness in a rape-and-murder case.

"Duck Dynasty" 9 p.m. A&E (11th season debut) — Williw and Jase run for president of the neighborhood HOA.

"Modern Family" 9 p.m. ABC — Cameron's Thanksgiving feast promises to be one for the ages.

"Black-ish" 9:31 p.m. ABC — Pops' older sister joins the family for Thanksgiving.

"American Horror Story" 10 p.m. FX (sixth season finale) — Will Matt Bomer finally show up - or did he show up already?

"Designated Survivor" 10 p.m. ABC — President Kirkman negotiates a hostage exchange involving the CIA.

"Code Black" 10 p.m. CBS — Willis and Campbell are sent to a Russian submarine in U.S. waters to treat a sailor who was badly wounded during an explosion.

"Younger" 10 p.m. TV Land — Liza finalizes her divorce.

THURSDSAY

"Grey's Anatomy " 8 p.m. ABC — Alex makes a fateful decision as he faces a scary future and a possible departure for jail.

"Rosewood " 8 p.m. Fox — A food-truck vendor's murder appears to be an open-and-shut case, but there's more than meets the eye when it's discovered that Slade and the victim had a secret connection that goes back years.

"The Big Bang Theory " 8 p.m. CBS —A geologist coworker's MacArthur Genius fellowship award leaves Sheldon stone cold jealous.

"Chicago Med " 9 p.m. NBC — Two warring brothers are brought together when one desperately needs a kidney.

"Project Runway" 9 p.m. Lifetime — The clothiers reach new heights when they take a helicopter ride above New York City for inspiration to create high-fashion magazine looks.

"Pitch" 8:59 p.m. Fox — A rain delay at Petco Park leads the team to hold kangaroo court in the clubhouse to pass the time.

"Mom" 9:01 p.m. CBS — Christy and Bonnie grow concerned that Roscoe has a drug problem after he's caught smoking pot.

"How to Get Away With Murder" 10 p.m. ABC — Annalise argues with Nate after getting a tip about Renee Atwood.

"Falling Water" 10 p.m. USA — Tess, who believes Charlotte was involved in the taking of her son, enters her mother's dreams.

"Pure Genius" 10 p.m. CBS — Walter disagrees with James over a risky robotic surgery the tech titan wants to use to save his beloved elementary school teacher.

FRIDAY

"Paranoid" 3:01 a.m. Netflix (new series) — A British-German crime series focuses on a group of detectives working for the fictional Woodmere police, who are attempting to solve the murder of a GP who is stabbed in a children's playground.

"Hell's Kitchen" 8 p.m. Fox — A change leaves the chefs in shock as they prepare to host the International Ballroom Invitational.

"MacGyver" 8 p.m. CBS — With only a chisel and matchbook, MacGyver and team must defend themselves the U.S. embassy workers in Latvia from extremists who are attempting to retrieve their leader.

"The Vampire Diaries" 8 p.m. the CW— Damon spirals down a dangerous path of self-destruction, which forces Stefan to make a gut-wrenching decision that threatens to change their relationship forever.

"Shark Tank" 9 p.m. ABC — An entrepreneurial couple from San Francisco, California, ply the Sharks with adorable puppies in hopes of getting them to invest in their subscription service for puppy products.

"Hawaii Five-O" 9 p.m. CBS — A conspiracy theorist with compelling evidence that JFK's cabinet ordered his assassination is murdered.

"Blue Bloods" 10 p.m. CBS — Danny chaperones Grace's winter formal but terrorists seize the venue and hold everyone hostage in order to kidnap a diplomat's son.

WEEKEND

"My Christmas Dream" 8 p.m. Saturday Hallmark — A woman wants a promotion to her company's Paris location, so she makes promises to her boss about creative holiday displays. Struggling to make good on these promises, she seeks help from a recently fired single dad who has artistic talent.

"Saturday Night Live" 11:29 p.m. Saturday NBC — Kristen Wiig returns as host.

"2016 American Music Awards" 8 p.m. Sunday ABC — Performances by Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Twenty One Pilots, Green Day and Sting.

"The Librarians" 8 p.m. Sunday TNT (third season debut) — The Librarians clash with the Egyptian God of Chaos.

"The Walking Dead" 9 p.m. Sunday AMC — Surrounded by enemies and saddled with grief, members of the group hope to find safety at the Hilltop before it's too late.

"Keeping Up With the Kardashians" 9 p.m. Sunday E! (12th season finale)  — The family plan a baby shower for Rob and Chyna, who end up ruining the party with their fighting.

"Madam Secretary" 9:30 p.m. Sunday CBS — Will faces a big decision, torn between helping earthquake victims in Venezuela and saving his marriage by accepting a job at Walter Reed Medical Center.

"Westworld" 9 p.m. Sunday HBO — Dolores has trouble separating her dreams from reality.

"The Affair" 10 p.m. Sunday Showtime (third season debut) — Noah is haunted by a recent hardship and struggles to navigate the challenges of his old life while trying to adapt to a new one.

"Elementary" 10:30 p.m. Sunday CBS — Holmes and Watson search for two murderers after a base jumper is shot out of the sky by one killer and has his parachute sabotaged by another.