When networks fail, they come to resemble dying shopping malls. With the exception of its animated Sunday night block and numerous Gordon Ramsay filler, Fox is vanishing before our eyes.
In this state of decline, Fox reaches out to one of its oldest franchises and familiar faces. John Walsh will join his son Callahan to co-host the latest iteration on “America’s Most Wanted” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
For decades, “Wanted” has presented old and sometimes cold cases and profiled bad characters who had slipped through the cracks of the justice system. On more than one occasion, viewers who had watched “Wanted” caught sight of a fugitive and brought him or her to the authorities. In many ways, “America’s Most Wanted” predated our current true-crime docuseries obsession by at least a generation. Not to mention the notion of an interactive viewer experience.
Following “Wanted,” Fox introduces another familiar program, “TMZ Investigates” (9 p.m., TV-14). While this showcase of tabloid sensation and freelance surveillance has had an irregular slot on the schedule as occasional specials, tonight marks the debut of “TMZ Investigates” as a series.
First up: the problem of celebrity stalkers. This begs the question: Just what are the “TMZ” gang and their contributors, if not stalkers?
— Nothing inspires documentary filmmakers quite like a subculture. People with particular obsessions are often rather passionate in their opinions and differences with others of their persuasion.
Hulu streams the 10-episode series “Superhot: The Spicy World of Pepper People.” It follows growers, sauce-makers, corporate buyers looking for new flavors and the so-called chili-heads, the intrepid exhibitionists who eat raw peppers in a competitive arena.
In many ways, this series is both tightly defined and global in its approach. There’s nothing less subtle than those who brag about braving blowtorch-level nibbles, and nothing more furtive than the secret worlds of pepper hybridists and cultivators out to hide their new creations from the prying eyes of competitors. In their own way, these keepers of pepper secrets resemble obsessives who populate the world of orchid enthusiasts or the shadowy underworld of ginseng cultivators. But those are subjects for another docuseries.
— Another film that begins in a tightly focused fashion before opening up to broader subjects is “Racist Trees” on “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
“Trees” offers a snapshot history of Palm Springs, the legendary resort town that was a mecca for movie stars during Hollywood’s golden age, a small desert city that sports a remarkable collection of mid-20th-century-modern architecture.
Its whiff of past glamour and cultural uniqueness has made it a magnet for tourists and new residents. It has been the setting for any number of shelter and renovation reality series.
“Trees” recalls a time when Black citizens, many hired as domestic help, formed their own community on the outskirts of the city. In the 1960s, golf course developers put up a row of trees separating their fairways from the Black community. While some say the trees were planted to protect homeowners from wayward golf balls, others cited the fact that they created a physical barrier that kept “the help” out of sight and virtually invisible to tourists and residents alike.
“Trees” interviews Black homeowners who complain that the green wall has reduced their views and their property values. Members of the current Palm Springs City Council argue that a city as liberal and gay as Palm Springs couldn’t possibly be racist. Newspaper accounts of the controversy have resulted in commentary ranging from the dismissive (“How can trees be racist?”) to the violent (“Say that to my Glock”).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) enters its 28th season.
— On two episodes of “Yellowstone” (CBS, r, TV-MA): Beth’s secret (9 p.m.); a toxic relationship explained (10 p.m.).
— Alan Cummings host the Peacock series “The Traitors” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— A Broadway schemer (Zero Mostel) and a depressed accountant (Gene Wilder) try to turn a surefire flop into a financial windfall in the 1968 comedy “The Producers” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-14), written and directed by Mel Brooks.
SERIES NOTES
“America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Artful Dodgers on “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … Christina seeks consolation on “Bob Loves Abishola” (8:30 p.m., r, CBS, TV-PG) … “20/20” (10 p.m., ABC).
LATE NIGHT
Trevor Noah and Ruby Bridges are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Dakota Johnson, Chloe Sevigny and Gaby Moreno on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Common and Tom Hollander visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
