1) “Now Hear This,” 9 p.m., PBS. The second half of this four-week series is as much a gorgeous travelog as a music show. Next week is Iceland; today is Istanbul, an ancient city aglow with sights and sounds. Host Scott Yoo (shown here) brings his wife, Alice Dade. He’s a violinist, but its her flute talent that fits the local music. An “International Jazz Day” concert follows at 10.
2) Football. Yes, we’re still in the basketball season (three playoff games tonight on Amazon Prime) and early in the baseball season. But it’s football’s night. The second and third rounds of the draft are from 7 to 11:30 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network, while the USFL has a game at 8 on Fox.
3) “Sheriff Country” (CBS) or “Happy’s Place” (NBC), both 8-9 p.m. On her daughter’s 24th birthday, the sheriff probes a brutal attack linked to a land-grab. And on NBC, there are the final two episodes of the second season. First. it’s time for performance reviews; then arguments send the half-sisters to couple’s counseling.
4) Big movies, cable. We’re talking about real epics here. The Paramount Network has the second and third “Lord of the Rings” (2002, 2003) at 6 and 10:30 p.m. … AMC has “The Hunger Games” and its sequel (2012, 2013) at 7 and 10 … and Showtime has “Titanic” (1997) at 7.
5) And little ones. Turner Classic Movies. This concludes a four-Friday look at Roger Corman, the master of micro-budget movies. At 8 p.m. ET is “Boxcar Bertha” (1972), directed by Martin Scorsese, then 29. That’s followed by “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (1966) at 9:45. At 11:30 is the 2021 documentary, “Roger Corman: The Pope of Pop.”