1) “George Carlin’s American Dream,” 8-9:55 p.m., HBO; concludes Saturday. Carlin (shown here) seemed to be performing forever. He was the first host of “Saturday Night Live” … and then the first host of its competitor, “Fridays.” He had 14 HBO specials and 130 “Tonight Show” appearances. His style went from button-down to shaggy; he struggled with addiction and with police, but remained sharply organized. Now Judd Apatow has co-directed a profile that includes Carlin’s family and comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart and more.
2) “Great Performances: Merry Wives,” 9 p.m., PBS. The mood was understandably cheery: After an 18-month gap, theater was back in New York. With its outdoor setting, this Shakespeare in the Park production had a head-start on Broadway. A shortened version of“Merry Wives of Windsor,” it had an opening drum solo, a Brooklyn setting and a joyous mood. Still, it’s Shakespeare, with enough 17th-century phrases to complicate any celebration.
3) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m., NBC. Here’s the start of a two-parter, with Red and the task force learning who betrayed them. The The story – and the season – will wrap up next week; then “Blacklist”will wait until mid-season to start its 10th year.
4) “”Come Dance With Me,” 8 p.m., CBS. Tonight’s other CBS shows (“Magnum” and “Blue Bloods”) are already in reruns, but this one plans to contiunue through June. It still has eight kids (ages 9 to 15), each dancing with a parent – a doctor, a social worker, an engineer and more.
5) “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” any time, Paramount+. The winners of previous seasons return, chasing a $200,000 prize. That follows Thursday’s arrival of Peacock’s “Angelyne,” with Emily Rossum portraying someone RuPaul’s folks might like to emulate; At one point, the real-life Angelyne had her pink-clad, blonde-coiffed image on 200 billboards in the Los Angeles area. Also streaming today – the thriller “Now & Then: (Apple TV+) and Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons in the sci-fi tale “Night Sky” (Amazon Prime).