Various Networks, 7:00 p.m. ET
SPECIAL: There are millions of shut-in families, I’m certain, who can really, really use this right now. The Sesame Street folks have produced a new special for families, and especially youngsters, to watch, which acknowledges, and explains, the social distancing brought on my coronavirus concerns, while working hard to entertain. Last weekend, Saturday Night Live did a great job of doing the latter. Remember how soothing that was, to watch Tom Hanks and company, dancing and joking from the safe distances of their own homes – and now imagine being a little kid, and watching Elmo and Cookie Monster and pals doing the same thing. Doing virtual dance exercises and such with the Muppets would be enough – but there are celebrity guests, too, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne Hathaway, and Tracee Ellis Ross. This new TV special is being simulcast at 7 p.m. ET not only by HBO, the first-rights holder of the franchise these days, but also by corporate relatives TBS, TNT, TruTV, Toon, and Boomerang. I’m of two minds about this. One mind says that it’s a shame that Elmo’s Playdate isn’t also being simulcast, in these troubled times, on PBS, the original home of Sesame Street more than 50 years ago – and a place where the poorest American homes, without access to cable TV of any sort, could nonetheless benefit from such an uplifting children’s special. My other mind, though, is grateful that Elmo’s Playdate is being produced and televised at all. That’s no simple task at the moment, either.
PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE: Part 2 of 2. This two-part, four-hour documentary has Ken Burns as its primary executive producer, and is based on the book by physician and New Yorker writer Siddhartha Mukherjee. Veteran Burns collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward is co-writer, and anything he has a hand in writing, going all the way back to The Civil War, manages to be both emotionally involving and eye-openingly instructive. Last week’s first two-hour installment of The Gene was precisely that, managing to invest your heart in the story of some dedicated doctors and brave patients, while engaging your brain with its detailed explanations of the history, breakthroughs and potential moral quandaries regarding genetic research. If all this sounds more boring than fascinating, that’s because I’m no Ken Burns, and no Geoffrey C. Ward. But trust me. And my advice is to trust them. Check local listings.