TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
TCM is saluting Dustin Hoffman this evening, with a lineup that includes three movies that, individually, would be called career highlights – but, in Hoffman’s case, are merely three great movies in a truly stellar career. First up, from 1982: Tootsie, which earned Hoffman his fifth Academy Award nomination as Best Actor. It also gave a prominent supporting role to Bill Murray, signaling some of the meatier cinematic roles he would get in the future. Also undervalued at the time, but blossoming later: Jessica Lange.
CBS, 10:00 p.m. ET
Tonight’s special hour-long report is called Live to Tell: The Long Road Home, and tells the story of Sebastien Bellin, the Brazilian-born former international basketball player, living with his wife and daughters in Michigan, who was one of the victims of the March 2016 terrorist bombings at the Brussels airport. The story is told, in part, by Bellin himself, who survived to tell his tale, and tells it in memorably honest and emotional fashion. We also hear from his wife, and the photographer who photographed him as he bled from the blast – and from 48 Hours reporter Vladimir Duthiers, who interlaces Bellin’s story with that of the surviving terrorist. It’s an emotional story, but a strong one, without being exploitive or manipulative.
TCM, 10:15 p.m. ET
Here’s another Dustin Hoffman triumph – one of two movies for which he’s won a Best Actor Oscar. And his performance in this 1988 drama, as an autistic and formerly overlooked man named Raymond, the older brother of a self-absorbed schemer played by Tom Cruise, is award-worthy for sure. But so is Cruise’s, the less showy but equally crucial and difficult role, so enjoy them both.
NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET
This is a repeat, but an excellent one: The guest host, from earlier this season, is Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who opens the show with a trademark rapid-paced rap number, moving through the SNL space with wit as well as energy. This episode already was shown in late night in October, but it appears Miranda is not giving away his slot...
TCM, 12:45 a.m. ET
This movie, from 1967, resulted in Dustin Hoffman’s first Oscar nomination as Best Actor – and is pretty much a perfect movie. Perfect performances (by Hoffman, Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson, and Katharine Ross as her daughter), perfect music (written by Paul Simon, performed by Simon & Garfunkel), perfect direction (by Mike Nichols), and perfectly ambigious ending. That’s three cinematic triumphs for Hoffman, shown on the same night – and this tremendous triple feature doesn’t even make room for Midnight Cowboy, Little Big Man, All the President’s Men, Marathon Man or Kramer vs. Kramer…