FX, 7:30 p.m. ET
This 2010 movie is directed by David O. Russell, who also showed how well he worked with actors in the subsequent Silver Linings Playbook. Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams star as a determined Boston pugilist and his equally tough girlfriend. They were nominated for Oscars, but didn't win — though two supporting actors in The Fighter did: Christian Bale and Melissa Leo, as Wahlberg's brother and mother, respectively.
Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
This week begins the competition by the Top 10 finalists – so if you’ve wearied of Idol and stayed away thus far, this is the night to check back in and see whether this new season, and its new judges, is worth going along for the ride. So far as the talent goes, we’ll see. As for the judges – the one flat note comes from Mariah Carey, who seems to have studied sentence structure and brevity from Sarah Palin.
NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
It takes something special for me to recommend Whitney, and tonight’s episode has something special: a guest appearance by Dean Norris of Breaking Bad, who shows up to play Alex’s father, who inadvertently barges in on Alex and Whitney’s honeymoon.
Showtime 2, 8:00 p.m. ET
This 2011 movie gave juicy roles to Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, but also provided standout parts for many of this film’s supporting actresses. Allison Janney as the mother of Stone’s Skeeter, for example, and Bryce Dallas Howard as the unlikable Hilly. But pay special attention, this time around, to Jessica Chastain (pictured) as the curvy Celia – quite a departure from Chastain's determined federal investigator in Zero Dark Thirty.
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
Last week, Elizabeth and Phillip (Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys) were abducted by their own agency and tortured for information – which they refused to reveal, thus passing the paranoid loyalty test. A furious Elizabeth ended up pummeling, and almost drowning, her handler (guest star Margo Martindale), and this week they meet again, with Elizabeth offering an apology – of sorts. “I’m sorry,” she says, “I didn’t kill you.”