TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
This is a repeat showing of the American Film Institute’s recent salute to Steve Martin – a salute that boasts not only a generous sampling of clips from Martin’s decades-long movie career, but appearances, and funny short speeches, by lots and lots of Martin’s cinematic colleagues and friends. Martin Short alone is worth tuning in to see, but there’s so much more. And afterward, TCM presents two of Martin’s films: At 9:30 p.m. ET, 1991’s Father of the Bride, and at 1 a.m. ET, the rarely televised, only intermittently successful, but still fascinating 1981 big-screen version of the 1978 Dennis Potter TV miniseries classic, Pennies from Heaven (pictured).
CW, 9:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s new dates feature more returning characters, who haven’t given up on dating entirely yet. In the first of this evening’s two episodes, Stephen and Mia (Ben Chaplin, Oona Chaplin) agree to meet for another date – but she’s a no-show, leading to another dating adventure entirely. And in the second episode, Jenny (Sheridan Smith) decides to try, try again, and go out on another date with a guy she met online: this time, a guy named Christian (Andrew Scott), who is charming initially, but may not be totally honest with her. Imagine that.
CNN, 9:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s new episode is called “Terrorism at Home and Abroad” – and it’s kind of amazing, when you start tallying up all of the domestic and international terrorist incidents that occurred in the Seventies, how frequent and brazen they were. And it’s all recounted here, from the kidnaping of Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army to the rash of airline hijackings that led to intensified airport security, and from dozens of bombings by the anti-war Weather Underground to the kidnaping and murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
FX, 10:00 p.m. ET
In this episode, Johnny Rock (Denis Leary) learns that his reformed band, now with his daughter as lead singer, is popular again – just not in this country.
Comedy Central, 11:00 p.m. ET
On one of their final shows, Jon Stewart and his staff gleefully get to geek out: Tonight’s guest is J.J. Abrams, who’s not only a producer of the new Mission Impossible film, but is responsible for the reboots of both the Star Trek and Star Wars cinematic franchises.