If movies and series are like novels, the most provocative documentary specials can resemble an essay or opinion column. That description comes to mind when discussing “South to Black Power” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-14). The film discusses a notion proposed by Charles M. Blow, a columnist for the New York Times and author of the book “The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto.”
Blow believes that the lives of Black people and Americans in general would be greatly improved if more people moved South, undoing the “Great Migration” of the early 20th century, when millions of former sharecroppers migrated to Northern cities to enjoy higher wages in factory jobs.
His proposed movement from the North to the South might tip the political scales in some Southern states, where the Black percentage of population is already among the highest in the nation.
Traveling across the country, he meets activists and community organizers who seriously consider his idea as well as those who strongly disagree. Better to stay and improve conditions in Chicago, says one, than return to the South. Blow has relocated from New York to Atlanta, and even he admits to having some misgivings about his personal migration.
Others discuss efforts by some Southern states to restrict voting rights and challenge ballots.
Blow’s dream of people power may be completely theoretical, but it’s interesting to see him air it out. Sometimes such notions can seem powerful on the page, but evaporate when considered in the light of day. Will his idea withstand scrutiny?
He’s not the first to propose, or fear, such strategic shifts in population. The late Rush Limbaugh, in a rather absurd and rambling 2016 radio broadcast (weren’t they all?) warned his listeners of a conspiracy of “lesbian farmers” moving en masse to rural states to tip the electoral scales toward their “agenda.”
If Rush could have his paranoid lesbian pipedream, it seems only fitting that Blow gets his hour to explore his idea of radical reverse migration.
— There are times in the life of a critic or columnist when you have to say, “I just don’t get it.” Which can be roughly translated as, “I’m really too old to understand or care about” whatever “it” is.
The “it” under discussion here is Korean pop culture, the kind of romantic movies and series aimed at young girls, and the Hallmark-y films that entertain older audiences. And what about K-Pop music? As the kids (used to) say, “whatever.”
My crotchety indifference to this genre has certainly not stopped Netflix from importing a gazillion such films and series. In fact, Netflix’s access to this foreign pipeline kept the streamer pretty immune to the recent writers and actors strikes in Hollywood.
And having established the genre, they are now streaming the new series “Love Like a K-Drama,” a reality showcase that requires a working knowledge of the imported phenomenon.
“Love” features four actresses from Japan who proceed to “act” like the characters they have been watching. Will they pass their audition?
There’s a cranky voice inside me that wants to call this crass, commercial and insipid. But that would imply that I knew what I was talking about. And I’m the first to admit that I don’t.
— Viaplay streams the motorsports documentary “Taming Speed.”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A shark coughs up human remains with links to the U.S. Navy on “NCIS: Sydney” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Time for the semifinals on “Dancing With the Stars” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Young siblings use an enchanted pen to write “Letters to Santa” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G) in a 2023 variation on “The Parent Trap.”
— “Hard Knocks: In Season With the Miami Dolphins” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— An influencer vanishes on “Found” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A teen disappears on “FBI: True” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
An inventor (Greg Kinnear) is driven to distraction after Detroit infringes his patent for a new windshield wiper in the 2008 film “Flash of Genius” (10:20 p.m., HBO Family).
SERIES NOTES
Playoffs continue on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “Name That Tune” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Agents at work on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “Kitchen Nightmares” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Jennifer Garner, Baz Luhrmann and John Scofield are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Pete Davidson, Troye Sivan and Josh Johnson on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC, r) … Vince Morris, Edwin San Juan, Ritch Shydner and Judy Tenuta appear on “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
