In brief: ‘Cupid & Cate’ and ‘My Mother the Spy’

In spite of her verbally abusive father (Philip Bosco) and maybe because of her seemingly well-adjusted sisters (superdoctor Bebe Neuwirth, supermodel Joanna Going, supermom Rebecca Luker), Mary-Louise Parker is about to marry perfectly pleasant David Lansbury in Cupid & Cate (Sunday, May 7; 9 to 11 p.m.; CBS) and settle down to domesticity in her vintage-clothing shop, when she meets dashing lawyer Peter Gallagher, after which it’s true love, family secrets, and – well, I can’t tell you. But think Love Story or Terms of Endearment. Terrific cast in standard weepie. I mean, I’d marry Mary-Louise myself… . My Mother the Spy (Monday, May 8; 9 to 11 p.m.; Lifetime) is the agreeable surprise in a week that needs one. Book editor Jayne Brook discovers on an island in the Azores that her often-absent mother, Dyan Cannon, is really an undercover op for the CIA. Both are kidnapped by David Palffy – something to do with a vial of anthrax in a statue of a prince – after which there are horses, motorboats, and wisecracks (“so you’re a reformed sarcastic rabbi?”). Jayne and her killer dimples have been favorites of mine since the short-lived police-rookie series Sirens. From Chicago Hope, we never knew she had so much Kay Kendall in her.

In brief: ‘Cupid & Cate’ and ‘My Mother t […]