PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
In shaping history, perspective is everything. This new PBS documentary looks at the evolution of human history, and looks at it from the perspective from outside our planet. This allows for some interesting computer work, and also some very egocentric thinking: Man may be the dominant global species, but the best one for the planet? Arguments could be made for the bees. Or, as both Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut have suggested, the dolphin. Check local listings.
PBS, 9:00 p.m. ET
This documentary, released theatrically last year, is about Joaquin Guzman Loera, the Mexican drug lord known as “El Chapo.” If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the drug lord who vowed to escape from his high-security prison – and just did. The documentary is updated with a new prologue reflecting the latest, but the main story is about the filmmakers, who set out to find and interview “El Chapo” prior to his 2014 capture. Check local listings.
Fox, 9:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: Knock Knock, who’s there? Ryan. Ryan who? Ryan Seacrest – who is smart enough, I guess, to see the writing on the wall and start thinking about life after American Idol. The concept of this summer series is a bit like that opening-month James Corden experiment on CBS’s Late Show, when he took his entire show on the road one night – surprising a local homeowner by asking to host his show from their house. In Knock Knock, Seacrest stays put, in the studio, but guides his on-location cohorts, who include Kellie Pickler, through their paces. The homeowner “hosts” are given game-show challenges, introduced to surprise celebrity “guests,” and so on. Is it any good? No idea. It’s live. I’ll find out when you do – if you decide to watch.
Spike, 9:00 p.m. ET
Part 3 of 3. This Spike miniseries about Tutankhamun the boy king concludes tonight. Which means, if you’re not aware of that fact, you won’t know whether he’s Tutankhamen or going.
Comedy Central, 11:00 p.m. ET
Do not miss this. Jon Stewart has said, several times, he didn’t want to load his final shows with special guests, but tonight’s show clearly is an exception. His guest is Barack Obama, making his seventh and final appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – and his third appearance as the sitting President of the United States. Obama first appeared on the show in 2005, before he even ran for the Oval Office. As President, he visted Stewart in 2010, and again in 2012.