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TV TODAY

Queen and Adam Lambert Take a Curtain Call on ABC

ALSO: Legends of Tomorrow, Vanderpump Rules, Busy Tonight, and more
  • Adam Lambert performs with Queen (ABC)
    Adam Lambert performs with Queen (ABC)

    We have had a LOT of opportunities to think about Queen over the last year. Which is not bad for a band that hasn't been fully formed for about 30 years. Of course, not all of this attention has been positive. Bohemian Rhapsody was a massive hit movie, and probably came closer than most of us realize to winning Best Picture. At the very least it shot Rami Malek into the stratosphere. But the backlash was massive, and while a lot of said backlash was focuised on the filmmaking and the personal controversies of Bryan Singer, the remaining band members also took a hit for their creative apprval over a biopic that many saw as elevating themselves at the expense of Freddie Mercury’s legacy.

    So it’s tough to imagine what kind of gambit the ABC documentary special with Queen and Adam Lambert is meant to be. While performing at the Oscars, Lambert was kind of an iPhone screen protector against charges that Bohemian Rhapsody’s flattening of the life of Freddie Mercury amounted to homophobia. Here, it seems like ABC is trying to cash-in on any residual BoRhap enthusiasm. Which makes total sense, actually; you just hope Lambert — who is nearing the 10-year anniversary of his runner-up finish on American Idol — can get more of out of it than he did at the Oscars.

    SPECIAL PRESENTATION: The two-hour documentary special The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story chronicles Adam Lambert's ten-year journey from the American Idol stage to a spot as Queen's regular frontman, performing at the Academy Awards. Exclusive concert footage and revealing interviews, the special tells a chapter in Recent Queen History and plays often as a continuation as the story in Bohemian Rhapsody. 8:00 PM ET on ABC

    SEASON FINALE: The season finale of Vanderpump Rules (well, before the big, loud, squabbly reunion, where inevitably Tom Sandoval will get so angry about an argument that has nothing to do with him that his eyes will go all wide and he’ll start crying) takes us to the event we all thought would (and should) never come: Jax and Brittant’s engagement party. And while Stassi finds herself in the unlikely position of defending Jax, James remains at his wit’s end for how to work his way back into this group of people that he hates. 9:00 PM ET on Bravo

    NEW EPISODE: And if you somehow haven’t gotten your fill of the SUR set after Vanderpump, loop back around for Watch What Happens Live, where host Andy Cohen welcomes the illustrious Stassi Schroeder and Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong. 11:00 PM ET on Bravo

    NEW EPISODE: On tonight’s episode of The Voice, the top 24 perform live in front of judges Adam Levine (the hot one), Kelly Clarkson (the nice one), Blake Shelton (the problematic one), and John Legend (the one who’d be a lot cooler if his wife were in his chair instead). 8:00 PM ET on NBC

    ALSO TONIGHT

    • Legends of Tomorrow is back with an episode titled “Egg MacGuffin,” which honestly should be enough for you. If it’s not, also consider that Ray (Brandon Routh) appears to get possessed by some kind of mirror demon/the smoke baby that Melisandre gave birth to on Game of Thrones that one time. 8:00 PM ET on The CW
    • In a brand new 9-1-1, Bobby (Peter Krause) reflects back on what brought him to Los Angeles in the first place. Tune in to see if it’s so he could write a personal essay about why he was leaving New York! 9:00 PM ET on FOX
    • Busy Tonight welcomes special guest Martin Short, who is a reliable provider of much big comedy and little time for anyone else to get any attention. 11:00 PM ET on E!

    Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.

    TOPICS: Queen, Vanderpump Rules, The Voice, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Adam Lambert