Neal Justin's TV picks for Sept. 11: 'Game Shakers,' Donald Trump, 'Ferrell Takes the Field,' Vanessa Williams

September 10, 2015 at 4:56PM
Hudson (Thomas Kuc), Kenzie (Madisyn Shipman), Triple G (Benjamin Flores, Jr.) Babe (Cree Cicchino) in "Game Shakers" on Nickelodeon. Photo: Robert Voets/Nickelodeon. © 2015 Viacom International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
From left, Thomas Kuc, Madisyn Shipman, Benjamin Flores Jr. and Cree Cicchino star in “Game Shakers.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

It's going to be huge

NBC may have wanted to keep its distance from its former "Apprentice" host, but ratings trump principles almost every time, which explains why The Donald will be making an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." If you expect hard-hitting questions from Fallon, you haven't been watching the program. 10:35 p.m. Friday, KARE, Ch. 11

Games people play

Many kids who once dreamed about being firefighters and pop stars have channeled their ambitions toward becoming gaming moguls. That's the pretense behind "Game Shakers," a new series about a pair of Brooklyn 12-year-old girls who create an empire, despite the fact that they're saddled with an unreasonable curfew. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nick

Playing the field

You can't go wrong picking Will Ferrell for your fantasy baseball league, as long as you restrict yourself to the games being played in "Ferrell Takes the Field," an amusing fundraising effort in which the comedian plays 10 positions for 10 different major-league teams over the course of one day. Ferrell is surprisingly adept, although he shouldn't be expecting a call from Paul Molitor anytime soon. 9 p.m. Saturday, HBO

Here comes the judge

All appears to be forgiven between the "2016 Miss America Competition" and Vanessa Williams, who was forced to relinquish her title 32 years ago after pictures of her in the buff appeared in Penthouse magazine. Williams, who will serve as head judge following a fairly successful career in music, should be honored with a replacement crown or, at the very least, a paper hat from Burger King. 8 p.m. Sunday, KSTP, Ch. 5

Neal Justin


Will Ferrell poses for photographers upon arrival at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2015 in central London, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP)
Ferrell (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR STAPLES - Actress Vanessa Williams is pictured at the Staples "Think It Up" press conference held on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, at the W New York. Staples announced today that it funded 176 local classroom projects in New York City, as part of it's recent $10 million pledge to "Think It Up", a national initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation in partnership with DonorsChoose.org. (Photo by Stuart Ramson/Invision for Staples/AP Images)
Williams (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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