Acorn TV, 3:00 a.m. ET
MINISERIES PREMIERE: This new three-part drama from the U.K., rolling out on Mondays beginning today on Acorn TV, stars Sheridan Smith as Jo Gillespie, a policewoman whose husband, an undercover cop, is killed under suspicious circumstances. Jo is told to leave the investigation to her fellow cops – but the more she persists and discovers, the more she feels her fellow cops may be in on the murder. For more, visit
the Acorn TV website.
Fox, 8:00 p.m. ET
Tonight, the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) finds himself cornered, and desperate, and determined to save his only loved one from the clutches of rivals. This means war. And, on Gotham, it’s a war in which both sides of the law will get heavily involved, and be very heavily armed.
CW, 8:00 p.m. ET
In this week’s episode, one of the musical interludes is presented in the style of the black-and-white musicals of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – only when Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) and Greg (Santino Fontana) sing and dance about love, the dance steps may be easier, but the emotional subtext is a lot more complicated.
CBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
Now that the pilot of this series has been televised, tonight’s second episode will reveal whether CBS’s new Supergirl series really can fly. It probably can, based on its initial reception from critics and audiences, which, when you include Fox’s Gotham, makes it quite a Monday lineup for fans of DC Comics. (And that’s not to mention CW’s The Flash on Tuesdays or Arrow on Wednesdays – though I just did.) On Mondays, Gotham and Supergirl are shown in the same 8 p.m. ET time slot. So if you’ve ever wondered who would win in a fight between Supergirl and a boyish Batman, we’re about to find out.
PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET
SEASON FINALE: I’m writing Season Finale, rather than Series Finale, because I’m hoping PBS will be smart enough to order more installments of this engaging, inspirational and wholly delightful food and travel show from Phil Rosenthal. Otherwise, tonight is the final outing of
I’ll Have What Phil’s Having, and though he doesn’t travel far – tonight’s subject is his adopted city of Los Angeles – he serves up good food and great fun. On-camera guests invited along for various legs in this week’s journey include Martin Short, Paul Reiser and Norman Lear – and after all those laughs, the episode ends with a truly touching visit to a place where food preparation is used to heal, and rehabilitate. For one last peek at my TVWW interview with Rosenthal, see
Bianculli's Blog. Check local listings.
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
Episode 4 of this second season of Fargo is intense, outrageous, and brilliantly wry, hurtling its characters towards an obviously bloody and deadly confrontation. Tonight, one of the bad guys, doing some detective work, links some broken glass found at the crime scene outside the Waffle Hut to a particular car under repair – and getting to learn the identity of the car’s owners makes for another superb low-key interrogation scene on this show. People seldom raise their voices, but you’re never sure if every character is going to survive the conversation, much less the series.
HBO, 10:00 p.m. ET
This is the movie that fledgling film director Jason Mann (pictured), the winner of this season’s Project Greenlight, toiled so hard to make, working with – and often against – his film crew. The stars of the movie are Bruce Davison, Ed Weeks and Bridget Regan, but the real star of Project Greenlight this year was Effie Brown, the project’s female producer, diversity conscience, and sole voice of reason. Tonight, we see, finally, the result of the collaboration, and clashes, between woman and Mann.