“A Boston (R)evolution” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) examines a city coming to terms with its history after the election of Michelle Wu, the first woman of color to become Boston mayor, after centuries of white men holding the office.
Historians look at the city’s contradictions. It had been a cradle of revolution that resulted in a constitution that enshrined slavery. Before the Civil War, Boston was home to the Abolitionist movement, but in the late 19th century, it was a Boston-based legal case that established the “separate-but-equal” doctrine that buttressed decades of school segregation all over the nation. In 1974, just two years after Massachusetts earned the status of being the only “liberal” state to vote for George McGovern, Boston became home to some of the most violent racial confrontations over the busing of Black children into working class white neighborhood schools.
Some 50 years later, the city has become much more affluent and cosmopolitan, but there remain segments of the population that don’t feel entirely welcome.
— The MHz Choice streaming app has gained some traction due to the fact that it picked up the fourth season of “Babylon Berlin,” which ran for its first three seasons on Netflix. All four seasons now stream on MHz, home to dramas, comedies, movies and reality fare from Europe.
Arriving today on MHz is the German procedural “Tatort Bremen,” following odd couple detectives Inga Lursen and Nils Stedefreund as they fight crime and solve homicides in the historical and industrial German port city.
— Two friends in the hospitality business compete to see who can best renovate their new businesses on the “100 Day Hotel Challenge” (8 p.m., HGTV, TV-G).
— Netflix streams the comedy special “Matt Rife: Lucid.” The stand-up engages in what he calls “crowd work,” which consists of him improvising remarks based on the behavior and responses of his audience.
This is Rife’s second Netflix special. He’s also made several self-produced comedy specials and had a short tenure on MTV’s “Total Request Live.”
You have to wonder how spontaneous an audience can be when they know that Rife is engaging in his crowd work. Do they come prepared to be the subject of humiliating observations? If so, who exactly is working harder here, Rife or his willing victims?
Watching clips of “Lucid,” I was struck by how loud Rife has to shout to make his points, often over a thundering musical score and a crowd compelled to hoot in approval. It sounds much more like a sporting event than a nightclub. Help yourself.
— Speaking of coming well-prepared, the comedy series “Dirty Laundry” enters its fourth season. The talk show format allows guests to expose embarrassing secrets and other memories some would rather take to the grave. “Laundry’ airs, or rather streams, on Dropout, the subscription service dedicated to comedy.
— Streaming on Video on Demand available on many platforms, the 2024 documentary “It Came from Aquarius Records” recalls a tiny San Francisco-based record store that closed in 2016 after more than 50 years of cultivating a select clientele. Interviews include “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Time to make a federal case of it on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— It’s difficult for me to believe that a show called “The Real Housewives of Dubai” (9 p.m., Bravo, TV-14) is not a parody.
— A teacher discovers that her boyfriend is really a prince in the 2018 romance “Royally Ever After” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Far from home on “FBI: International” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
A petty crook (Jean-Paul Belmondo) befriends an American woman (Jean Seberg) after casually killing a policeman in director Jean Luc Godard’s stylish 1960 New Wave drama “Breathless” (8 p.m., TCM). While set in Paris, the film, its main character and director appear besotted with Hollywood gangster movies.
SERIES NOTES
Stuck inside on “Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Eleven acts perform live on “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “Beat Shazam” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “The Quiz With Balls” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Password” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … Two episodes of “Judge Steve Harvey” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG), the second being the season finale.
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Elizabeth Banks and Foster the People on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Mia Farrow, Patti LuPone, Myha’la and Simon Rich visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
