David Willis of Mount Dora will sing on Thursday's 'American Idol.' Photo credit: Michael Becker/Fox
A few highlights to keep in mind this week:
1. The new celebrity cast for “Dancing With the Stars” will be revealed on Tuesday’s “Good Morning America.” Nothing is for certain until ABC announces the names. But TMZ. com says that four celebrities will be Kellie Pickler, formerly of “American Idol”; country singer Wynonna Judd; Sean Lowe, current star of “The Bachelor”; and Aly Raisman, the gold-medal-winning gymnast at the Olympics last year. [UPDATE: The three women will take part; Lowe won't.] The season finale of “The Bachelor” will be March 11. “Dancing” starts its season a week later on March 18. Does Sean qualify as a celebrity?
2. “American Idol” continues the sudden-death round from Las Vegas at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. The women perform Wednesday, and the men are slated for Thursday. Look for David Willis of Mount Dora on Thursday. The show will have its Top 20 when Thursday’s show concludes.
3. It has been a terrible midseason for drama. ”Do No Harm” flopped on NBC. Renewal seems highly unlikely for ”Deception” on NBC and ”Zero Hour” on ABC. Maybe CBS can reverse the trend with “Golden Boy,” a promising drama that debuts at 10 p.m. Tuesday. This one is a police procedural as a character study. The show flashes forward to reveal its young detective hero (Theo James) will become New York police commissioner at age 34. James, who was briefly in “Downton Abbey,” is fine as the ambitious hero with a cocky manner and a troubled past. But the real golden boy may be the dynamic Chi McBride as a veteran cop who teaches the hero to wise up. The strong cast includes Bonnie Somerville, Kevin Alejandro and Holt McCallany as other detectives.
4. The February sweeps ratings period ends Wednesday, so you’re likely to see more reruns than usual beginning Thursday. But we have three more nights of mostly new fare. “Modern Family” offers Elizabeth Banks as Sal, the friend of Mitch and Cam. She is getting married, right away, and best men Mitch and Cam wonder if marriage is the right move. The episode airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday on ABC.
5. The “NCIS” team fears that Ducky and Jimmy have been kidnapped. You can see what has happened at 8 p.m. Tuesday on CBS.
6. Comedian Kevin Hart will host “Saturday Night Live” at 11:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will be the musical guest.