The TV Column

Old folks get 15 minutes on latest Harvey show

Steve Harvey (left) visits with 11-time Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and pastor Shirley Caesar on Little Big Shots: Forever Young.
Steve Harvey (left) visits with 11-time Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and pastor Shirley Caesar on Little Big Shots: Forever Young.

Here's a variation on a recent theme. Anything, I suppose, to kill time during the summer.

Little Big Shots: Forever Young premieres at 7 p.m. Wednesday on NBC. The variation? Instead of small fry amazing us with their talent, the acts will feature senior citizens. Let's hear it for us geezers!

Are we supposed to be amazed that granny can still do the shimmy at 84? I suppose so. NBC claims the folks may be old, but are "young at heart." Maybe we can have another update -- Geezers Say the Darndest Things.

Naturally the host is Steve Harvey. When does this man sleep? The semi-ubiquitous Harvey has a daily TV talk show and radio show and hosts Family Feud, Celebrity Family Feud, Little Big Shots and Steve Harvey's Funderdome.

Wednesday's episode kicks off the series with five "phenomenal" senior citizens, including an 80-year-old tap dancer who is a former performer on The Lawrence Welk Show, a 72-year-old opera singer, an illusionist/magician and an 81-year-old great-grandma daredevil who is part of the famous Wallenda family of circus performers. She will perform without a safety net on a sway pole 85 feet in the air.

Harvey also visits with gospel singer and pastor Shirley Caesar, who is receiving her 12th Grammy -- a Lifetime Achievement Award -- in July.

Added bonus: There will be a special guest appearance by America's favorite senior citizen, 95-year-old Betty White. I've had the pleasure of chatting with White a couple of times and she's just as delightful in person as she appears to be on TV.

The senior citizens featured in the six episodes range in age from 60 (which, seriously, ought not to be old enough) to 103. The hour is executive produced by the 60-year old Harvey and 59-year-old Ellen DeGeneres.

Steve Harvey note: On Sept. 4, KATV will launch an afternoon lifestyle show, Good Afternoon Arkansas, similar in format to its Good Morning Arkansas. The new show will air at 3 p.m., moving Steve Harvey to 4.

Dr. Oz will no longer air on KATV after Sept. 4.

The Story of China, 7 to 9 p.m. today on AETN and PBS. Here's a fascinating series for history buffs.

The Story of China, written and hosted by English historian Michael Wood, takes an in-depth look at the world's oldest continuous state, from ancient times to the present day.

Why should you care? Because China is home to a billion people and, Wood explains, is now a superpower that we all should want to understand.

Traveling across the country, Wood "explores the landscapes, peoples, stories and cultures that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over more than four thousand years."

There will be six episodes in the series, presented two at a time. They are: "Ancestors" with "Silk Roads and China Ships"; "Golden Age" with "The Ming"; and "The Last Empire" with "The Age of Revolution."

Wrecked returns to TBS for Season 2 at 9 p.m. today. A second episode follows at 9:30. The comedy parody of Lost follows a diverse group of survivors on a deserted island "learning to live without such modern comforts as indoor plumbing, Wi-Fi, social media and Chipotle."

Queen Sugar launches Season 2 at 9 p.m. today on OWN. That's the Oprah Winfrey Network for those who seldom venture that far up the cable listings.

The series tells the tale of the estranged Bordelon siblings in Louisiana. At the center of the family are Nova (Rutina Wesley), a journalist and activist; Charley (Dawn-Lynn Gardner), the wife and manager of an NBA player; and their ex-con younger brother Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), who is "searching for redemption."

The siblings must learn to set aside their complicated lives so they can come together to run the family's struggling sugar cane farm.

Winfrey serves as producer. Episodes air the next day on Hulu.

Comey numbers. Several readers have asked how many viewers watched the dramatic June 8 testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. I looked it up.

I daresay it may have set a record for a 9 a.m. event on a Thursday when normally we are watching a local morning show or the third hour of Today.

According to Nielsen, at least 19.5 million tuned in, some of them from watch parties. For perspective, that's about the same number who watched the second game of the recent NBA Finals between Golden State and Cleveland.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

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Style on 06/20/2017

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