No Section

Top TV picks for May 31: 'America's Got Talent,' James Cagney, 'Maya and Marty'

May 30, 2016 at 3:00PM

$July 3, 1992 Critic's choice -- Before he became a Yankee Doodle Dandy, a real live nephew of our Uncle Sam and the toast of Broadway, George M. Cohan (James Cagney, second from left) was a member of his family's musical-comedy act, the Four Cohans. Although the flag-waving, flashy-dancing finale of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (7 p.m., KMSP-Ch. 9)\ Jeanne Cagney, James Cagney, Rosemary DeCamp, Walter Huston.$

Jeanne Cagney, James Cagney, Rosemary DeCamp and Walter Huston in “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The producer

Until someone gets Matthew Broderick a decent script for "Ferris Bueller's Never-Ending Coffee Break," he has time to curate a night at the movies, two of which feature James Cagney. The evening kicks off with the underrated 1930 gangster flick "Doorway to Hell" (7 p.m.) and wraps up with 1942's "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (12:30 a.m.), which shows off its star's sunnier side.

TCM

Simon's back

Howard Stern's departure from "America's Got Talent" should be easier to swallow with the addition of "American Idol" veteran Simon Cowell, but I can't help fantasizing about how this season would unfold with two such refreshingly blunt personalities sitting side by side. For the time being, Heidi Klum will have to do.

7 p.m. KARE, Ch. 11

M&M

Maya Rudolph's delicious cameo on the "Saturday Night Live" season finale was a nice appetizer in preparation for "Maya and Marty," an anything-goes experiment hosted by Rudolph and Martin Short, another versatile performer consistently underserved by television. If any vehicle gives these two personal favorites a proper shot, it's this live variety show produced by Lorne Michaels.

9 p.m. KARE, Ch. 11

Neal Justin