Mike Hughes

1) Earth Day films, Disney+. On most Earth Days, DisneyNature has a gorgeous film in movie theaters. Now, however, “Polar Bear” has gone straight to streaming; it’s one of three documentaries debuting today on Disney+.  “Explorer: The Last Tepui” has climber Alex Honnold (“Free Solo”) take a biologist to an untouched “island in the sky”; “The Biggest Little Farm: The Return” (shown here) follows the city folks who have made an 81-acre mini-farm into an eco-friendly success Read more…

1) “Young Sheldon,” 8 p.m., CBS. Sheldon and his sister are trying to figure out more about the family drama. It’s a big one: Their brother Georgie, 17, lied to an older woman, Mandy, about his age; now she’s pregnant. Georgie is played by Montana Jordan, 19, the lone Texas native in the main cast of a show set in Texas. Mandy (they’re shown here) is played by Emily Osment, 30, a former child star who has emerged as a skilled actress in Chuck Lorre shows – “Mom,” “The Kominsky Method” and now “Young Sheldon.” Read more…

(This is slightly out of order; for the April 20 beat-bets, scroll down one.)
1)“Black-isn: finale, 9 p.m., ABC. One of TV’s most important comedies concludes. In its first seven seasons, “Black-ish” received 25 Emmy nominations, including four for best comedy series. It has Peabody and American Film Institute awards, a Television Critics Association win for best comedy and a Golden Globe for Tracee Ellis Ross, who stars with Anthoy Anderson (they’re shown here). Tonight, with his parents leaving and his kids pondering college, he considers a change … and gets advice from gymnast Simone Biles. That’s followed at 9:31 by “Black-ish: A Celebration.” Read more…

1) ”Snowfall” season-finale, 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11:11, 12:22, 1:33. “There might be a problem,” one character says, late in this high-octane episode. You think? By that point, there are huge problems for everyone. For just a moment, things seemed fine: After splitting from Teddy, Franklin (shown here in a previous episode) was in love, in real estate and maybe leaving the drug world. Then came crescendos of deceit, rage and violence. Intense and powerfully acted, this sends the show in fresh directions next season. Read more…

1) “Better Things,” 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11 and midnight. For this final season, Celia Imrie (left) — who plays the mother of Sam (Pamela Adlon, right) — couldn’t leave England during the pandemic. Adlon had a solution: She flew there to tape several two-person scenes for early episodes, pretending they were in California; then the entire cast arrived for this engaging hour. Amid pleasant moments in Liverpool and London, we get some humor and some life-changing decisions … setting up next week’s series finale. Read more…

1)“The First Lady” debut, 9 p.m., Showtime, rerunning at 10. Over the next eight weeks, we’ll see three fascinating stories entwine. Michelle Obama (shown here) is played by Viola Davis, with Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Pfeiffer as the surprising Betty Ford. Later, we’ll glimpse their early yearsb (with different actresses) and later years. Tonight focuses on their arrivals at the White House. Ford didn’t want to be there … but promptly emerged as a strong and outspoken force. Read more…