Hulu, 3:00 a.m. ET
With each episode focusing primarily on a different key player in the quest to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s, today’s Episode 7 brings Bella Abzug front and center. And that allows this FX production, presented as the first “FX on Hulu” exclusive, to give another meaty role to FX’s all-star utility player, Margo Martindale. First she was a backwoods power broker, matriarch and moonshine poisoner in FX’s Justified, then an often ruthless Russian handler of deep-cover spies on FX’s The Americans. Add to that her recurring roles on CBS’s The Good Wife and CBS Access’ The Good Fight, both playing the same character, and she’s done amazing work in one quality series after another. And in Mrs. America, credit her with another quality TV home run: as outspoken U.S. Representative Abzug, she’s the Bella the ball.
PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
You can continue to watch this multi-part Nature special, Spy in the Wild (this is week two of a three-week look), for the creatures it photographs. But I’m just as taken by the way the footage is shot – using “animal cams” that are drones or robots designed to look like other animals. Last week, it was the hummingbird cam that flew among the monarch butterflies that made my jaw drop. This week, who knows? Check local listings.
AXS TV, 8:00 p.m. ET
Dan Rather has grabbed some interesting, out-of-the-mainstream music interviews this season – Robbie Robertson, Debbie Harry – all of whom have some quite fascinating stories to tell. Tonight’s guest is Ian Anderson, the lead singer and flute player of Jethro Tull. I don’t know whether he’s going to flout his unusual rock-star past, but, then again, he is a flautist. And I saw Jethro Tull in concert once, when a super-inebriated Anderson vomited in mid-song, then began blowing back into his flute without missing a beat. Aqualung, my friend, don’t you start away uneasy…
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
This special Nova program is not only one of the first TV documentaries exploring the behind-closed-door scientific exploration for a vaccine to combat COVID-19, but it’s one of the first national TV documentaries made under full pandemic conditions. The Nova team put this together, often working remotely, in just seven weeks. And even then, had to keep adjusting to changing conditions, news events, and political movements. Check local listings.
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
In tonight’s episode, Laszlo the vampire turns into a fugitive. I just hope he’s not looking for a one-fanged man…