AXS TV, 8:00 p.m. ET
When this series began earlier this fall, Paul Shaffer was not yet unmasked as the Skeleton on The Masked Singer. Now he has – but I’m pointing out tonight’s episode for another reason. Shaffer’s guest tonight is an old, old friend of his from when they both were young performers in Canada: Martin Short. And I’m sure this episode, with two such effervescent and musically talented show-biz hams, will be an especially entertaining conversation, and compilation of impromptu duets.
Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET
Another week of politics, another series of dizzying days – and, at the end, another welcome, necessary recap…
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
One of TCM’s most supportive and artistic supporters and occasional contributors, Martin Scorsese, usually writes or talks about other films when inside the TCM tent. And this month, TCM shows why it’s so fortunate to have him, by showing occasional double features of his influential, memorable movies. First up are samples from his earliest days of filmmaking: At 8 p.m. ET, 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, starring Ellen Burstyn, Kris Kristofferson and Diane Ladd – a sweet character study that somehow was adapted into the more saccharine TV sitcom Alice, starring Linda Lavin, Polly Holliday and, eventually, Diane Ladd. Then, at 10 p.m. ET, it’s an even earlier film, the one that made Scorsese a new cinematic force: 1973’s Mean Streets, starring a couple young actors who would work with Scorsese again over the years: Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel (pictured).
HBO, 9:00 p.m. ET
Keep watching The Watchmen. Each week, it gets deeper, more unsettling – and showcases more and more instances of intense, nuanced acting, from newly introduced actors and characters.
Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET
SEASON PREMIERE: The Gallaghers are back! Well, most of them, anyway. Emmy Rossum, as Fiona, left the series at the end of last season’s finale, and now the dysfunctional clan, with and despite patriarch Frank (William H. Macy), must learn how to function, and dysfunction, without her. But as one Gallagher leaves, another returns: Cameron Monaghan, now that his run as the Joker-ish villain on Gotham is over, is back as Ian. And since Lip (played by the always believable Jeremy Allen White) now has a baby, there’s a brand new Gallagher in the house. Literally.
Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: From BBC3 in England comes this new comedy series – a fairly dark one, starring Daisy Haggard as Miri Matteson, a woman who returns to her small coastal beach town community after spending nearly two decades in prison. Haggard co-wrote this series with Laura Solon, and the executive producers include Harry and Jack Williams of Fleabag. The story plays as emotionally as it does comedically: Haggard is kind of like the female version of the character in Rectify, not sure where to turn, what to do, or whom to trust while attempting to be integrated back into society. Geraldine James and Richard Durden are quirkily endearing, and complicated, as her parents, with whom she returns to live after serving her sentence. Haggard is outstanding here – and if you recognize her, it’s probably as Myra, the network TV comedy executive from another Showtime series, Episodes. She’s the one who reacted to jokes or story lines told to her with a wordless, groaning grimace – a bit that always made me laugh. Now, as an actress, she’s center stage, and she’s nothing to sneer at…
Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET
Here’s another comic actress doing impressive work, much of it dramatic, in a series about a character entering a strange new phase of life. In Back to Life, it’s existence outside the prison walls. In Mrs. Fletcher, Kathryn Hahn plays a newly empty-nest single mother trying to navigate the uncharted waters of what she should do with the next phase of her life.
HBO, 11:00 p.m. ET
Another week of politics, another series of dizzying days – and, at the end, another welcome, necessary recap…