1) “Independent Lens: Sam Now,” 10 p.m., PBS. Reed Harkness used to make goofy movies, with his half-brother Sam as a superhero. Then he suggested something bigger – trying to find the mother who had vanished when Sam was in his early teens. The resulting film – sort of 25 years in the making – tells a remarkable story, with a deep empathy for Sam (shown here) and mom.
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1) “Lucky Hank” finale, 9 p.m., AMC, rerunning at 11:02. This superb mini-series finds Hank (Bob Odenkirk, shown here) flailing. The school president wants him to fire three faculty people … his wife (Mireille Enos) is in New York, with a big, new job and a tiny, new apartment … and their daughter’s marriage is crumbling. It’s a busy hour that, as usual, offers deep characters and witty dialog. Read more…
1) Coronation. The actual ceremony for King Charles III (shown here) starts at 6 a.m. ET and is expected to last a couple hours. Most networks, however, are planning all-out coverage, from 5-10 a.m., bringing some of their stars. Anchors include Anderson Cooper at CNN, Savannah Guthrie at NBC, Martha McCallum at Fox News, Alex Witt at MSNBC, Michael Strahan at ABC and the Saturday-morning trio at CBS. Each will be joined by reporters and royalty experts. Read more…
1) “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon Prime. It’s been a big streaming week, with the season-finale of the delightful “Schmigadoon” (Apple TV+) and season-opener of “Bridgerton” (Netflix). Now it adds the futuristic “Silo” on Apple and a terrific “Maisel,” jumping ahead to a tribute/roast for Susie (shown here, left, in a previous episode — now powerful and alone. Also streaming today are shows that will reach cable Sunday — Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” and AMC’s superb “Lucky Hank” finale. Read more…
1) “Bridgerton,” Netflix. Thursdays have become strong nights for Netflix mini-series. There was “Florida Man,” a sunny adventure spiced with great characters … followed a week later by Kerri Russell’s “The Diplomat” … and now, two weeks after that, this six-episode prequel to a lush series. We’ve known Queen Charlotte as a stone-faced ruler. Now we meet her as a brainy teen (shown here), falling for a young king who shares her love of science.
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1) “A Million Little Things” series-finale, 10 p.m., ABC. It isn’t easy building a drama out of regular lives – ones without cops, crooks or courts. “This Is Us” did it brilliantly; “Million” (shown here in an early epiode) has done it fairly well, at a frantic pace. It started with a suicide, then added new crises. One person became paraplegic, two had cancer. There was deceit, despair, Alzheimer’s, more … plus warmth and humor. Now the show ends – as it had planned, it says — after five seasons. Read more…
1) “Accused,” 9 p.m., Fox. After some tough episodes lately, “Accused” offers a brisk ride at the edge of soap turf. A teen (Bebe Wood) is obsessed with learning the identity of the sperm-donor who is her biologic father; her mom (Betsy Brandt) promptly panics. A caper (shown here) follows, along with some large plot twists that actually add up, especially when handled by sharp dialog and a talented cast. Read more…
1) “A Small Light” opener, 9-11:29 p.m., National Geographic. People worldwide know Anne Frank, the teen whose diary described her life while hiding from the Nazis. Now we meet the heroic Miep Gies. A young woman who worked for Anne’s father Otto, she took huge risks for two years, bringing supplies. (She’s shown here, right, helping Anner’s older sister.) The story is told slowly (eight-plus hours on four Mondays) and well, with great work from Bel Powley and Liev Schreiber, as Miep and Otto.
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1) “Masterpiece: Tom Jones” opener, 9 p.m., PBS. Fresh from the celibacy of “Sanditon,” PBS goes in a different direction. The 1749 novel and the 1963 movie both celebrated a lad’s lusty adventures. There’s a lot of that here, including bedroom mix-ups and an older seductress. But this time Tom (the likable Solly McLeod, shown here) is a decent chap, looking for his true love. The resulting four-week story is light, loose, sometimes goofy and often fun. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. There’s one more rerun tonight, before “SNL” returns to new episodes … unless a writers’ strike scuttles the rest of the season. Pedro Pascal (shown here), the star of “The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us,” hosts, with Coldplay as music guest. Next Saturday (barring a strike) has Pete Davidson, two days after his “Bupkis” series debuts on Peacock. Read more…
