TV picks for April 11: Conan O'Brien, 'America Inside Out With Katie Couric, 'Staten Island Hustle'

"Staten Island Hustle" comes across as the Sopranos taking over "Shark Tank."

April 10, 2018 at 8:06PM
Staten Island Hustle -- Angelina's Ristorante -- Pictured: (l-r) Dom Detore and Tony D. -- CNBC?s ?Staten Island Hustle? premieres Wednesday, April 11 at 10pm ET/PT (Wednesdays at 10p ET/PT on CNBC). The series follows a group of animated, life-long friends and businessmen from Staten Island who've yet to come up with an idea or product too far-fetched for them to invest in. -- (Photo by: Mark Sagliocco/CNBC) ORG XMIT: 1
Dom Detore and Tony D. talk business in “Staten Island Hustle.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

On the road again

For the ninth time in three years, Conan O'Brien is a road act. In "Conan Without Borders: Italy," the host travels with producer Jordan Schlansky, the unintended master of deadpan comedy, to Chianti wine country and the set of the country's popular soap opera, "Un Posto al Sole."

9 p.m., TBS

It's just that simple

One of the reasons "America Inside Out With Katie Couric" works is that its host isn't afraid to ask naive questions, a trait too many of her male counterparts are too cocky to adapt. Her approach is effective in tonight's series premiere, which looks at the future of statues and schools that commemorate leaders of the Confederacy, and next week's focus on how Muslims are treated in this country. That episode includes a short feature on Dr. Ayaz Virji, a physician in Dawson, Minn.

9 p.m., National Geographic

Good fellas

"Staten Island Hustle" comes across as the Sopranos taking over "Shark Tank," with real-life buddies wheeling and dealing over piles of pasta. In the series premiere, the amiable bunch tries persuading pizzerias to buy a machine that will bring New York water to their dough while the show's alpha among alphas tries pitching a salad product that would make Bugs Bunny's stomach churn.

9 p.m., CNBC

Neal Justin

(Photo: National Geographic/Tom Daly)
Charlottesville, VA - (L to R) Katie Couric with Zyahna Bryant, a high school student who started a petition to have the Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville taken down.
Katie Couric with Zyahna Bryant, a high school student who started a petition to have the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Va., taken down. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
EXCLUSIVE - Conan O'Brien participates in a discussion at "The Rise of the Cerebral Comedy: A Conversation with Bob Newhart" presented Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017, at the Television Academy's Wolf Theater at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images) ORG XMIT: INVL
O’Brien (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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