Hulu streams the limited series “Black Cake,” based on a bestselling novel by Charmaine Wilkerson. Like many compelling family melodramas, it unfolds in flashbacks, following the posthumous revelations of a mother who only tells her children the truth about her harrowing background at the reading of her will.
While they grew up believing that their mother had been raised in an orphanage, the flash drives she leaves them reveal that even their mother’s name was a lie. Raised in Jamaica by a doting mother and resentful shopkeeper father who never lost his sense as an outsider due to his Chinese background, Covey’s (Mia Isaac) life was relatively comfortable until the end of high school, when her mother abandoned the family, and her father’s shop was torched by either racist neighbors or the loan sharks he turned to with too much frequency.
Like her mother, Covey escapes the island sometime in the 1960s. Just how she gets to the United States and why she keeps her background a secret will emerge in this limited series, streaming its first three episodes today and additional installments on subsequent Wednesdays.
— Britbox streams “This England,” a three-part 2022 miniseries about the brief, tumultuous tenure of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Kenneth Branagh).
It follows Johnson as he leads his party to a landslide victory in the 2019 Parliamentary election, winning over many longtime Labor seats with his promise to “Get Brexit done.”
Soon after he is installed in 10 Downing Street, the world is engulfed in the COVID-19 crisis. Despite his obsession with Winston Churchill and his belief that he possesses similar leadership qualities, Johnson reacts to catastrophe with his characteristic blend of bluster and disregard for the law and the facts.
Rarely has a public figure lost so much popularity so quickly. The fact that he nearly died from COVID and welcomed a new baby into the world during his brief time in office earned him little sympathy.
— It’s common knowledge that once Halloween ends, there’s simply no stopping the onslaught of commercialized Christmas cheer. But some manage to cling to the horror while acknowledging the powerful undertow of mistletoe that is now upon us.
Shudder, the platform dedicated to horror movies, streams the 2017 British zombie comedy musical “Anna and the Apocalypse.” Marketed as “Shaun of the Dead” meets “La La Land,” its story concerns the tiny town of Little Haven, threatened with a zombie apocalypse during the holidays.
The most wonderful time of the year becomes fraught with violence as Anna (Ella Hunt) and her friends fend off the shuffling undead and burst into song. Eat your heart out, Hallmark!
The creators of his musical have acknowledged their debt to “Once More, With Feeling,” the musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” from way back in 2001. Arguably the best musical “special episode” of any established series.
— Streaming on Netflix, the documentary series “Mysteries of the Faith” travels the globe searching for the sites, rites and relics that define Christianity.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— There’s a riot going on on “Quantum Leap” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— The Diamondbacks and Rangers meet in game five of the MLB World Series (8 p.m., Fox).
— An ersatz dolphin frolics with the real thing on “Spy in the Ocean: A Nature Miniseries” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
— A gamer goes missing on “Magnum P.I.” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) contemplates the origins of the human species.
— A man introduces his immigrant father (Robert De Niro) to his fiancee’s snooty parents in the 2023 comedy “About My Father” (9 p.m., Starz).
— Trapped in an elevated train on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— A body from the time of Roman-occupied Britain shows signs of possible crucifixion on “Secrets of the Dead” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
CULT CHOICE
More than a decade before “To Kill a Mockingbird,” MGM adapted William Faulkner’s novel “Intruder in the Dust” (10 p.m., TCM, TV-G). David Brian stars as an idealistic lawyer defending a wrongly accused Black man (Juano Hernandez) before a Southern jury in this 1949 drama. Filmed on location in Faulkner’s hometown of Oxford, Mississippi.
SERIES NOTES
“Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … “The Amazing Race” (9:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “The $100,000 Pyramid” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Adam Kinzinger and Willie Nelson are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Sylvester Stallone, Jack Antonoff and Bleachers on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
