Mike Hughes on TV

1) “United We Fall” season-finale, 8 p.m., ABC. This pleasant-enough comedy has has a rough ride. ABC planned to run the eight episodes this spring; when COVID shutdowns hit, it considered promoting the show to the fall … then, instead, dumped it in the summer. All of this back-and-forth has been for an OK show, with Will Sasso, Christina Vidal and Jane Curtin as struggling parents and his mom. Tonight, they plan a celebration (shown here) to renew their vows; naturally, there’s a snowstorm and more. Read more…

1) “Dead Pixels,” 8 and 8:30 p.m., CW. In real life, we hear a chorus of rage whenever Hollywood tries something new. Female ghostbusters? Gay superhero? The attacks begin. We might imagine that these are foul internet trolls, but now they get a human dimension: Last week’s fun opener (rerunning at 8:30) introduced likable young people who happen to obsess on one videogame (shown here). Now they get word that Vince Vaughn will star in the movie version. Rage ensudes; so does humor. Read more…

1) Republican convention, 8-11 p.m. ET, PBS; 10 p.m., ABC, CBS and NBC; all night, news channels. There may be a fairly quiet start today (with official business in Charlotte, N.C.) and a high-decibel finish Thursday (with Donald Trump at the White House. The program starts at 9 p.m. ET today and 8:30 p.m. on other days and will bealot like the 2016 convention (shown here), but with fewer balloons, fewer people and less … well, everything. Speakers scheduled include Melania Trump on Tuesday and Mike Pence on Wednesday, plus Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Joni Ernst, Kevin McCarthy, Kristi Noem and others. Read more…

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…