NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hosts and co-produced “Fight the Power: The Movements that Changed America” (8 p.m. Saturday, History, tv-pg). This one-hour survey offers a brisk glance at protest moments; from the labor rights struggle between the 1880s and the 1930s, the battle to give women the vote; the modern civil rights movement that emerged from the Montgomery, Alabama, bus protests and the murder of Emmett Till; the fight for gay recognition and the rights in the post-Stonewall era; and the recent uprising protesting police violence against men and women of color. Each of these historical currents could fill a documentary of their own, if not deserve miniseries treatment.
A fascinating figure who defies category, Jabbar was a perennial All-Star during his playing days with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. At the same time, he studied martial arts with Bruce Lee. In his retirement, he has emerged as what used to be known as a “public intellectual,” a writer and spokesperson unaffiliated with academia who has been vocal in his support of social justice movements. He’s also a widely published author. Like many famous people, he has written his memoirs, but has also co-written several ruminations on Sherlock Holmes and World War II.
“Fight the Power” is one among many commemorations of Juneteenth, recalling June 19, 1865, when Black residents of Galveston, Texas, were informed of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. History will repeat “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre” (9 p.m., Saturday, TV-14). Other notable cable offerings include “12 Years a Slave” (7 p.m. Saturday, Sundance, TV-14) and “Selma” (8 p.m., FXM, TV-14). CBS will air “Selma” (8 p.m., Sunday) as well, its network broadcast debut.
— Nothing quite announces a couple’s comfortable semi-retirement like a European tour. Unless, of course, you’re on the verge of splitting up and have a miserable teenage son tagging along.
That’s the gist of “Us,” a “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., Sunday, PBS, TV-14) presentation based on a novel by David Nicholls.
Douglas (Tom Hollander, “The Night Manager”) awakens one morning to his wife Connie’s (Saskia Reeve, “Luther”) announcement that she wants a change. Not a divorce as much as a separation. With their moody son, Albie (Tom Taylor), about to enter university, she thinks “their work is done” and can’t face the prospect of empty nesting with a man who can’t communicate.
Or so she says. This bombshell coincides with their long-planned grand tour of continental capitals, an expensive one at that. Douglas insists they call it off, but Connie persuades him that it might offer one last chance for him to bond with his sullen offspring.
So don’t go expecting an amusing travelogue like “The Trip” franchise with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. The spirit here is more akin to “Two for the Road,” the wistful 1967 anti-romance starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney.
Happily, it’s about this time that “Us” offers prolonged flashbacks to the first encounters of young Douglas and Connie (Iain De Caestecker and Gina Bramhill), back when he was a socially awkward biochemist and she a budding artist surrounded by a gaggle of pretentious friends.
Both the grand tour and the misty reminiscences unfold with a great deal of walking and talking, not unlike the charming and highly chatty 1995 Richard Linklater romance “Before Sunrise,” starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. At its best, and perhaps its most obvious, “Us,” suggests that this long wander is about to enter a new juncture.
It’s a bit of a shame that “Masterpiece” should offer this series over two Sundays in two-hour dollops. Sixty minutes of this talky and often heartbreaking story is more than enough at one sitting. Besides, who tunes in to British TV to listen to characters talk about their feelings?
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— 2021 U.S. Open golf championship (7 p.m., NBC).
— Major League Baseball (7 p.m., Fox). Check listings for regional coverage.
— Auto racing (8 p.m., CBS).
— A pregnant woman vanishes in the 2021 shocker “Secrets of a Marine’s Wife” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— Both clans face peril as “Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty” (8 p.m., BBC America, TV-PG) continues.
— Scheduled in the U.S. Olympic trials: swimming (9 p.m.); track and field (10 p.m.).
— When circumstances keep an event planner from attending her friend’s destination wedding, she turns to an old correspondent in the 2021 romance “Her Pen Pal” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): A profile of the Minnesota prosecutors in the George Floyd case; the Oath Keepers’ role in the Jan. 6 terrorist attack on the Capitol; Japan’s baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani.
— The Braves host the Cardinals in Major League Baseball (7 p.m., ESPN).
— U.S. Olympic trials (NBC) include swimming (8 p.m.) and track and field (9 p.m.).
— “Kevin Can FK Himself” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA) migrates to cable.
— Sessions continue on “In Treatment” (9 p.m. through 9:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Kiesha enters labor on “The Chi” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— Unfinished business on “Little Birds” (9:30 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— Dan wants to coach on “Flatbush Misdemeanors” (10:30 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— A Saturday of concert documentaries includes the 1959 gem “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” (2:30 p.m., Saturday, TCM, TV-PG), capturing the Newport Jazz festival, featuring performances from Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Gerry Mulligan and an incandescent Anita O’Day.
SATURDAY SERIES
“Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14) … “The Celebrity Dating Game” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14) … “48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS, r) … Glassman asks for a place in the operating theater on “The Good Doctor” (10 p.m., r, ABC, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
Stephen Fry voices a British secret agent on “The Simpsons” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Saving Sarah on “D.C.’s Legends of Tomorrow” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Judy gets excited on “The Great North” (8:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
A family portrait on “Bob’s Burgers” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “The Chase” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Black Mask won’t let up on “Batwoman” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Wedding bells on “The Moodys” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “To Tell the Truth” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
