HBO Max, 3:00 a.m. ET
MOVIE PREMIERE: Yet another 2020 movie that was produced, financed and planned for theatrical release, only to go straight to home viewing during this pandemic, this Robert Zemeckis remake of Roald Dahl’s The Witches stars Anne Hathaway in the leading role played in the 1990 film by Anjelica Huston. It also reunites her with her The Devil Wears Prada cohort Stanley Tucci. So where does this film first surface? Not on HBO – but on the premium streaming service HBO Max. Will this be reason enough for more viewers to subscribe? Even though I’m intrigued, I don’t think so. Not when most people presume that if they just wait a while, it’ll show up somewhere on a service they already subscribe to. Isn’t that right, CBS All Access?
Various Networks, 9:00 p.m. ET
A week ago, instead of holding the second scheduled presidential debate of 2020, Donald Trump and Joe Biden held separate town halls, dueling in the same time slot on separate networks. And even though Trump was simulcast on several NBC-Universal networks – NBC, MSNBC, CNBC – while Biden was on ABC only, Biden’s telecast ended up drawing more viewers than Trump’s. I wouldn’t have predicted that – in fact, I predicted just the opposite. But that may be the most encouraging sign yet for people in the Biden camp. If Trump can’t t high ratings than Biden on television, maybe he can’t in the election either. I’m just saying… Meanwhile, tonight the two candidates have agreed to debate for what will be the second time, separated by plexiglass shields, and with mute buttons to keep one candidate silent while the other is speaking during his two minutes of allotted “solo” remarks. What could possibly go wrong? NBC’s Kristen Welker moderates. Good luck…