Among the best new series of 2021, “Reservation Dogs” returns for a second season, streaming exclusively on Hulu.
The first series to be written and produced by an entirely indigenous American crew, it presents the American Indian experience without sentimentality. Its bored and aimless teens are forever trying to flee a dead-end existence of squalid convenience stores, broken-down cars and a future without jobs or careers. Many of the adults they deal with are on disability or dispense with Native American “wisdom” of the most specious variety.
The show’s teen protagonists are not above petty crime, but they’re not very good at it either. As the second season begins, the group’s handsome leader, Bear Smallhill (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), is at a loss because Elora Danan (K. Devery Jacobs) has abandoned him and the gang to go on a cross-country trip with Jackie (Elva Guerra), the tough-girl leader of a rival group. Their odyssey careens from one disaster to the next, and their car breaks down almost immediately. Reduced to hitchhiking, they’re picked up by a creepy religious type and are nearly killed after trying to boost a car from a squalid compound. They then fall into the orbit of a divorced stranger (guest star Megan Mullally) on an isolated compound, a woman more lost than these teenagers ever will be.
The best thing about this downbeat series is its sense of random happenstance. Just when you think a story is headed in one direction, it goes sideways. Back on the Res, the soft-spoken and diminutive Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) worries life has gone to seed because a spell she cast last season has come back to haunt her.
She and Bear join forces to reverse the curse, a spiritual journey that requires some seriously amateur shamans. Just when you think their incantations couldn’t get stranger (or more self-referential), they break into Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” to wind up the ceremonies.
Mullally isn’t the only established star to cameo this season. Molly Shannon arrives for a brief minute as an impatient barmaid. I’m not sure the series needs this outside “help,” but it doesn’t hurt. I see it more as a sign the show is so good, its characters so decent, its atmosphere so strange and unpredictable that the “cool kids” want in on the action.
• The success of at least two Fyre Festival documentaries has created a genre: the failed concert movie. Streaming on Netflix, the docuseries “Trainwreck: Woodstock ‘99” recalls an anniversary gathering that was anything but three days of peace and love.
Netflix also streams the second season of the Brazilian series “Good Morning, Veronica,” about a traumatized female detective compelled to investigate abused women.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A spat about a transplant procedure on “Chicago Med” (7 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— Dierks Bentley and Elle King host CMA Fest (7 p.m., ABC), documenting a four-day gathering of country music fans in Nashville and featuring performances by Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna Judd, Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch, MacKenzie Porter and Lady A.
— A Malaysian tiger tests positive for COVID-19 on “The Zoo” (7 p.m., Animal Planet).
— A project decades in the making, producers Tony and Ridley Scott adapted the medieval legend of “Tristan & Isolde” (7:40 p.m., HBO Family) in the 2006 fantasy starring James Franco and Sophia Myles.
— A hostage crisis galvanizes the firehouse on “Chicago Fire” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (8 p.m., PBS, r, TV-PG, check local listings) explores the mysteries of black holes.
— Halstead mentors a rookie on “Chicago P.D.” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Producing films since the silent era, Alfred Hitchcock entered the 1960s showing a decided turn toward overt horror with the 1960 shocker “Psycho” (7 p.m., Showtime) and the 1963 thriller “The Birds” (9 p.m., Showtime). It’s been argued the master of suspense pretty much lost his way (or failed to keep up with the times) after these two hit movies.
— OK, that was weird. The least expected story of the week was the scandal involving Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) and Lori Loughlin, star of “When Calls the Heart” (7 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark, TV-G), in a bribery/cheating plot to get their respective daughters into elite universities.
This is obviously an ongoing case, and all sides must have their say, or day, in court. But the motivation at the center of this story is worth discussing. It involves some overwhelming need to do anything to get children into elite schools. As if anything “lesser” were unthinkable.
Television plays no small role in this insecurity. I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to describe an ABC legal drama where every single character hails from only the most exclusive Ivy and spends most of the pilot bragging about it.
There was a time, not that long ago, when John Grisham wrote best-selling books about young, barely accredited lawyers from no-name institutions who took on impossible cases against massive corporations and eventually won. And got the girl, to boot.
So, our current era’s neurotic obsession with elitism and inequality is hardly hard-wired.
If anything comes of this sordid affair, it’s an appreciation that shoddy efforts at snobbery are always essentially pathetic. Or on classic TV, comedic. Watching “Gilligan’s Island,” we identified with Mary Ann and the Skipper, and pitied the millionaire and his wife.
— CNN launches the four-hour documentary “Tricky Dick” (8 p.m., Sunday), profiling the life and times of Richard Nixon’s public career, which spanned the decades from the dawn of the Cold War to the Clinton years.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— An anxious new mother joins a group for solidarity and support, only to discover that it has darker plans on its agenda in the 2019 shocker “Mommy Group Murder” (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— The Thunder and Warriors meet in NBA action (7:30 p.m., ABC).
— An old kidnapper returns to form on “Ransom” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Embassy workers in China and Cuba complain of mysterious ailments; AOL founder Steve Case and his plans to invest in the future of overlooked American small towns and cities; a visit to Monaco.
— The duels begin on “World of Dance” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Auditions continue on “American Idol” (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Lex Luthor is on the loose on “Supergirl” (7 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
— Mr. Wednesday prepares for battle on “American Gods” (7 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— After learning about her royal lineage, an adopted 10-year-old becomes a little tyrant in the 2019 shocker “Mommy’s Little Princess” (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A secret room holds dangers on “Charmed” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— Hidden secrets revealed on “The Walking Dead” (8 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— A new trial is pursued on “The Case Against Adnan Syed” (8 p.m., HBO, TV-14).
— Axe is determined to destroy Taylor on the fourth season premiere of “Billions” (8 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— Ulysses pursues a conspiracy theory on “Now Apocalypse” (8 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— “Unsung” (8 p.m., TVONE) profiles the Jets.
— Pacific overtures on “Madam Secretary” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— Tensions rise on “Good Girls” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Mo’s past is revealed on “Black Monday” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— St. Patrick’s Day inspires many traditions. Syfy offers a marathon of “Leprechaun” movies, from “Leprechaun 5: In the Hood” (4 p.m. Saturday, TV-14) to “Leprechaun 2” (8 p.m.). TCM takes the traditional approach, ladling out the Technicolor blarney of director John Ford’s 1952 romance “The Quiet Man” (7 p.m. Sunday, TV-PG).
SATURDAY SERIES
“Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) ... “NBA Countdown” (7 p.m., ABC) ... The kids are all right on “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) ... “48 Hours” (9 p.m., CBS) ... A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
A visit from an old friend inspires Miles on “God Friended Me” (7 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Homer can’t leave Bart’s virtual realm on “The Simpsons” (7 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Empathy for all things on “Bob’s Burgers” (7:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
A walk down the aisle on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... On two episodes of “Family Guy” (Fox, TV-14), Meg’s winter Olympics (8 p.m.), fighting over a dowager (8:30 p.m., r) ... Aches and pains on “Shark Tank” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
SERIES NOTES
“Big Brother” (7 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... “MasterChef” (7 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Nightmares loom large on “Mysteries Decoded” (7 p.m., CW, TV-14) ... “The Challenge: USA” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Judges make the final cuts on “So You Think You Can Dance” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) ... On two episodes of “Wellington Paranormal” (CW, TV-14): A woman goes missing (8 p.m.); copycat cops (8:30 p.m., r) ... Hondo’s divided loyalty on “S.W.A.T.” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Ron Howard, Morfydd Clark and James Taylor sit down on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (10:35 p.m., CBS) ... Jimmy Fallon welcomes Kevin Bacon, Jo Koy and Katherine Blanford on “The Tonight Show” (10:34 p.m., NBC) ... Mark Rober guest hosts Demi Lovato and “Science Bob” Pflugfelder on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (10:35 p.m., ABC, r) ... Camila Cabello, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Pedro Pascal and Toni Cornell are booked on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (11:37 p.m., CBS, r).
— OK, that was weird. The least expected story of the week was the scandal involving Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) and Lori Loughlin, star of “When Calls the Heart” (7 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark, TV-G), in a bribery/cheating plot to get their respective daughters into elite universities.
This is obviously an ongoing case, and all sides must have their say, or day, in court. But the motivation at the center of this story is worth discussing. It involves some overwhelming need to do anything to get children into elite schools. As if anything “lesser” were unthinkable.
Television plays no small role in this insecurity. I can’t remember how many times I’ve had to describe an ABC legal drama where every single character hails from only the most exclusive Ivy and spends most of the pilot bragging about it.
There was a time, not that long ago, when John Grisham wrote best-selling books about young, barely accredited lawyers from no-name institutions who took on impossible cases against massive corporations and eventually won. And got the girl, to boot.
So, our current era’s neurotic obsession with elitism and inequality is hardly hard-wired.
If anything comes of this sordid affair, it’s an appreciation that shoddy efforts at snobbery are always essentially pathetic. Or on classic TV, comedic. Watching “Gilligan’s Island,” we identified with Mary Ann and the Skipper, and pitied the millionaire and his wife.
— CNN launches the four-hour documentary “Tricky Dick” (8 p.m., Sunday), profiling the life and times of Richard Nixon’s public career, which spanned the decades from the dawn of the Cold War to the Clinton years.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— An anxious new mother joins a group for solidarity and support, only to discover that it has darker plans on its agenda in the 2019 shocker “Mommy Group Murder” (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— The Thunder and Warriors meet in NBA action (7:30 p.m., ABC).
— An old kidnapper returns to form on “Ransom” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Embassy workers in China and Cuba complain of mysterious ailments; AOL founder Steve Case and his plans to invest in the future of overlooked American small towns and cities; a visit to Monaco.
— The duels begin on “World of Dance” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Auditions continue on “American Idol” (7 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Lex Luthor is on the loose on “Supergirl” (7 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
— Mr. Wednesday prepares for battle on “American Gods” (7 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— After learning about her royal lineage, an adopted 10-year-old becomes a little tyrant in the 2019 shocker “Mommy’s Little Princess” (7 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A secret room holds dangers on “Charmed” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— Hidden secrets revealed on “The Walking Dead” (8 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— A new trial is pursued on “The Case Against Adnan Syed” (8 p.m., HBO, TV-14).
— Axe is determined to destroy Taylor on the fourth season premiere of “Billions” (8 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— Ulysses pursues a conspiracy theory on “Now Apocalypse” (8 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— “Unsung” (8 p.m., TVONE) profiles the Jets.
— Pacific overtures on “Madam Secretary” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— Tensions rise on “Good Girls” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Mo’s past is revealed on “Black Monday” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— St. Patrick’s Day inspires many traditions. Syfy offers a marathon of “Leprechaun” movies, from “Leprechaun 5: In the Hood” (4 p.m. Saturday, TV-14) to “Leprechaun 2” (8 p.m.). TCM takes the traditional approach, ladling out the Technicolor blarney of director John Ford’s 1952 romance “The Quiet Man” (7 p.m. Sunday, TV-PG).
SATURDAY SERIES
“Dateline” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) ... “NBA Countdown” (7 p.m., ABC) ... The kids are all right on “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) ... “48 Hours” (9 p.m., CBS) ... A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
A visit from an old friend inspires Miles on “God Friended Me” (7 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... Homer can’t leave Bart’s virtual realm on “The Simpsons” (7 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Empathy for all things on “Bob’s Burgers” (7:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
A walk down the aisle on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... On two episodes of “Family Guy” (Fox, TV-14), Meg’s winter Olympics (8 p.m.), fighting over a dowager (8:30 p.m., r) ... Aches and pains on “Shark Tank” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
