1) “NOS4A2” season-finale, 10 p.m., AMC and BBC America. Here’s the confrontation we’ve waited two years for. Vic (the terrific Ashleigh Cummings) hops on her motorcycle and heads off to rescue her son, shatter the twisted Christmasland (shown here) and confront Charlie Manx. All of that is tough, high-octane … and over fairly quickly. Then Vic must cope with real life, in what may well be the show’s final hour. Read more…
1) “Love in the Time of Corona,” 8 and 8:30 p.m., Freeform; concludes Sunday. Here are dramas of human isolation – filmed in isolated conditions. Some stories cast families – Leslie Odom Jr. and his wife Nicolette Robinson, Gil Bellows and his wife and daughter – or friends (Tommy Dorfman and Rainey Qualey, shown here). Others use videochats or clever balcony scenes. We see the subtle effects of proximity – friends who could be more, a secret break-up, a forced separation, etc. The results are predictable, but skillfully written and acted. Read more…
1) “The King and I,” 9 p.m., PBS. After four days of convention coverage, PBS can relax and rerun a classic musical revival. “King” is too long (two hours, 40 minutes) and too stiff, offering a fictional version of the real Englishwoman who, in the 1860s, taught the children of the King of Siam. But Kelli O’Hara (shown here with Ken Watanabe) is superb and this is stuffed with Rodgers-and-Hammerstein hits – “Getting to Know You,” “Hello, Young Lovers,” “Something Wonderful,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune” and “Shall We Dance?” Read more…
1) Democratic convention, 8-11 p.m. ET, PBS; 10 p.m. ET, ABC, CBS, NBC; all night, news channels. The next two Thursdays should be required viewing – Joe Biden tonight, Donald Trump next week, the future at stake. In a late addition, Democrats are adding music by the Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks). Subject to change, from 9-11 p.m., the spealers will be Cory Booker (shown here), Pete Buttigieg, the Chicks, Gavin Newsom, Kesha Lance Bottoms, Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, Chris Coons, Andrew Yang and Biden. Read more…
1) “Tough as Nails,” 9 p.m., CBS. Half of the 12 people have already been ousted from the individual contest, including a farmer, a welder and an ironworker. (They stick around, as part of the team competition.) That leaves a sheriff’s deputy, a Marine veteran, a drywaller, a fisherman, a forester and Young An (shown here), a firefighter. An should be in his element, as the teams head to a fire training facility. There, they must save a victim, extinguish a fire …. then rappel from the top of a four-story building. Read more…
1) “Dead Pixels” debut, 8 p.m., CW. For years, these folks have been obsessed with a videogame. We see their avatars in the game; we also see furtive forays into the outside world. In their cubicle jobs, they only switch to work when the boss walks by. Meg (Alexa Davies, shown here) can’t focus on dating … or Usman on child-care … or Nicky on having any kind of life. Then a hot guy at Meg’s work complicates things. This British import has witty scripts (sometimes complicated by the accents) and thoroughly likable people. Read more…
1) Democratic convention. After a noisy year of struggle and surprise, the Democrats officially choose their presidential candidate. Joe Biden has to wait until Thursday; from 9-11 p.m. ET today, Michelle Obama (shown here) is expected to close tonight. Other speakers (subject to change) are Amy Klobuchar, Catherine Cortez Masto, Andrew Cuomo, Gretchen Whitmer, Jim Clyburn, Bennie Thompson, Gwen Moore, Doug Jones and Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama. PBS starts coverage at 8 p.m. ET; ABC, CBS and NBC arrive at 10. The news networks will be there all day. Read more…
1) “Lovecraft Country” debut, 9 p.m., HBO. Some of science-fiction’s favorite names are linked here. J.J. Abrams (“Lost”) and Jordan Peele (the “Twilight Zone” reboot) are among the producers. Like Peele’s “Get Out,” this blends racism with other horror. On a road trip to find his father and his legacy, a black man confronts racists and the sort of monsters envisioned by long-ago author H.P. Lovecraft. Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (shown in this poster) star with Courtney Vance. Read more…
1) “The Godfather” (1972), 5 p.m., AMC. It’s a slow night for TV series, but a great one for movies. Topping the list is Francis Coppola’s richly crafted mobster epic (shown here with Marlon Brando. It’s No. 2 on the American Film Institute’s all-time list, trailing only “Citizen Kane” … and “Godfather, Part II” (1974) – which follows at 9 p.m. – is No. 32, the only sequel on the 100-movie list. Read more…
1) “Greatest #At Home Videos,” 8 p.m., CBS. As CBS tells it, this is the end – wrapping up a four-week run of videos people made at home, often while isolated. Still, we’ll be surprised if there aren’t more. So far, (a previous moment is shown here), there’s been an endless cascade of bits – sometimes funny, usually fun, occasionally warm – involving people and pets and sheer imagination. And host Cedric the Entertainer keeps asking viewers to send more; we hope this keeps going. Read more…
