'About a Boy,' 'Growing Up Fisher' get Olympics premieres

* ABOUT A BOY. 11:07 p.m. Saturday, NBC10. Moves to 9 p.m. Tuesdays next week.

* GROWING UP FISHER. 10:38 p.m. Sunday, NBC10. Moves in 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays next week.

* MASTERPIECE: DOWNTON ABBEY. 9 p.m. Sunday, WHYY12.

NBC competes in the trickiest of winter events this weekend as it uses the final two days of its Olympic coverage to introduce two sitcoms too late at night for some of their logical viewers.

Scheduling gets a bit better on Tuesday when, after "The Voice," "About a Boy," based on the Nick Hornby book and the subsequent movie, airs at 9 p.m., followed at 9:30 by "Growing Up Fisher."

David Walton is a good fit for "About a Boy's" Will Freeman, a San Francisco musician whose one hit affords him a life of leisure. In the pilot, which burns through most of the movie's plot, the less fortunately positioned Fiona (Minnie Driver) moves in next door with her son, Marcus (Benjamin Stockham), and sets up the conflict by taking offense at the smell of meat wafting from Will's barbecue.

Driver's at her funniest in scenes where she and Marcus revel in their oddness, but "About a Boy" left me less sure of who Marcus is: He veers between painful naivete and canny opportunism with alarming speed.

Al Madrigal ("The Daily Show") plays the best friend whose married-with-children life provides a counterpoint to Will's. But he's hilarious with Driver in a later episode that gave me hope that the series is headed in a funnier, less predictable direction.

I'm already charmed, though, by "Growing Up Fisher," thanks to J.K. Simmons' performance as the blind father (and lawyer) Mel Fisher. He's spent years pretending to be sighted, often with the help of his son, Henry (Eli Baker), but gets a guide dog when he and his wife (Jenna Elfman) break up.

Narrated by Jason Bateman and inspired by creator DJ Nash's childhood, it looks like, yes, another "Wonder Years" wannabe, with a golden retriever named Elvis thrown in.

Baker's adorable, but it's Simmons, as the hilariously confident dad, who makes Henry's a childhood well worth exploring.

So will it be the closing ceremonies of the Olympics or the closing of the fourth season of "Downton Abbey" for you Sunday night?

It seems almost an afterthought to have Shirley MacLaine return as the earl's brash mother-in-law, bringing her rude son (Paul Giamatti) with her.

And, really, aren't you wondering more about what will happen to Bates (Brendan Coyle)?

All will be revealed (or, in some cases, remain concealed, at least until next season) in a two-hour finale that, I promise, won't end in a horrific crash.

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