Once a fixture of summer TV, “So You Think You Can Dance” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) returns for its 18th season. A glance at the Fox schedule reveals that it has become the network where summer “replacement” series air year-round.
Cat Deeley will return as overall host. “Dance,” a showcase of unknown dancing talent, has shuffled the formula a bit this season. Challenges will change on a weekly basis and reflect “real world” situations. So, expect to see participants perform at a football halftime show, in a music video or in a dance competition against reigning Broadway talent.
Dancer JoJo Siwa returns to the judging panel, alongside Allison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, with dancer and choreographer Comfort Fedoke guest judging during the auditions.
Proof that not even the most escapist variety/reality/competition TV fare can avoid the harsh realities of life arrived in the form of a rather radical and recent talent shuffle on “Dance.” Nigel Lythgoe, a longtime member of the “Dance” family, was recently dropped after Paula Abdul accused him of sexual assault back in the early days when he was producing “American Idol.” As of last week, Abdul has been joined by at least three other female accusers.
— Familiar faces and stars of other renovation-related series appear on season five of “Rock the Block” (9 p.m., HGTV, TV-PG), where they compete to see who can add the most value to seaside homes in Treasure Island, Florida.
Follow them as they unclog kitchen designs and open up floor plans, etc. Winners receive bragging rights over their fellow cable stars and the prospect of a street named in their honor. Egypt Sherrod and Mike Jackson of “Married to Real Estate” fame are the judges. Episodes also stream on Max every Monday night.
— “Barbie” may have been the most talked-about movie of 2023, sparking conversations about gender roles and stereotypes. But its popularity was also met with some trepidation and fears that a franchise-crazy and highly imitative entertainment industry would soon seize direct-to-screen projects for every trinket in the corporate toybox.
Netflix introduces the 2024 kids’ action-comedy series “Hot Wheels: Let’s Race.”
While “Barbie” was a satire aimed at adults old enough to get its tongue-in-cheek humor, “Hot Wheels” is labeled by Netflix as a kids’ show. For decades there has been a debate about blending kids’ programming with flagrant product placement. But those discussions and laws revolved around broadcast standards. YouTube and other streaming options are filled with series directly advertising to young people and often consist of nothing but “influencers” telling the tots what to buy. It can’t be easy to be the parent of a child subjected to this consumer propaganda.
— A dozen amateur bakers compete to concoct sweet fantasies inspired by spring break vacation on “Spring Baking Championship” (8 p.m., Food). Now in its 10th season.
— Emma Watson and Dan Stevens star in the 2017 adaptation of the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast” (9:45 p.m., TNT, TV-PG).
Touted and marketed as a live-action variation on the tale popularized in the Disney animated musical, it continues a tradition of beauties and beasts dating at least as far back as Jean Cocteau’s 1946 French-language version “La Belle et la Bete,” starring Josette Day and Jean Marais. This version has inspired songs by Stevie Nicks and an opera by Philip Glass. Cocteau’s film can be streamed on Max.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Chairs swivel on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— “MasterChef Junior” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) enters its ninth season.
— A wedding proposal turns into a missing-person case on “NCIS” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— A pilot’s murder points to a criminal enterprise on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Heartaches by the number on “Bad Romance: A Special Edition of 20/20” (10 p.m., ABC).
CULT CHOICE
No krakens were hurt in the making of the 2012 fantasy epic “Wrath of the Titans” (9:20 p.m., Syfy) starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Rosamund Pike, Bill Nighy and Toby Kebbell.
SERIES NOTES
On two episodes of “Bob Hearts Abishola” (CBS, TV-PG): maternal stirrings (8 p.m.); a familiar face (8:30 p.m.) … “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Deal or No Deal Island” (10 p.m., NBC).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Julianne Moore, Lindsay Lohan and Joe List on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Jeremy Strong, David Sedaris and Paloma Faith visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
