TCM, 6:00 p.m. ET
Here comes another TCM double feature featuring the same actor, and this one really shows the subject’s range. From 1967, it’s The Graduate, in which Dustin Hoffman, as Benjamin, drives a spiffy sports car through a particularly bumpy stretch of his life, just after college graduation. He has an affair with the wife of a friend of his father, then becomes attracted to their daughter. What to watch for, in this relentlessly clever film directed by Mike Nichols, with music by Simon & Garfunkel? Everything. But one of my favorite moments comes late in the film, at the gas station, when the attendant is giving directions very slowly, when Benjamin is in a major hurry. So Ben slams his hand down in frustration – and to punctuate the gesture musically, Paul Simon, on the soundtrack, strums a loud guitar chord in perfect unison. Never saw that before. Never saw it since. The Graduate is on at 6 p.m. ET, and is followed at 8 p.m. ET by 1982’s Tootsie, in which Hoffman plays two roles, only one of them a man. What to watch for here? How about the performances by two actors who were all but dismissed at the time, but who have amassed tons of praise in the decades since: Jessica Lange and Bill Murray.
HBO, 8:00 p.m. ET
Luc Besson, writer and director of 1990’s La Femme Nikita, wrote and directed this 2019 movie, an almost next-generation update with a similar plot. Sasha Luss plays the title role, a beautiful Russian woman who is recruited as a superspy and deadly assassin. Some of the story points are so similar – an imperious female trainer (this time Helen Mirren) running the would-be killer through their paces, and an assigned hit intentionally botched to test her mettle under fire – that you may have waves of déjà vu. But the action sequences are better than in most Bond or Bourne films, and Luss’ Anna, in each of her disguises, is captivating. So enjoy.
BBC America, 9:00 p.m. ET
If you’ve watched this series from the start, and seen all its promos, you’ve probably seen one image dozens of times: an elephant on its hind legs, stretching with its trunk to reach and pull down some leaves from the top of a tall tree. Well, this week’s episode is devoted to Africa, and that elephant is bound to appear tonight.
NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET
This week’s new episode features former SNL writer John Mulaney returning, once again, as host – and if his previous appearances are any indication, he’ll arrive with a particularly funny monolog. And tonight’s musical guest is worth anticipating, too: It’s former Talking Heads front man David Byrne.