Think of a typical summer movie set in a posh resort. Throngs of visitors behave as if finding a seasonal romance is a life-and-death struggle. And then add an endangered species showing up where they don’t seem to belong and you’ve got “Penguin Town,” the eight-part series that arrives on Netflix today.
We’ve all seen documentaries, live-action comedies and cartoons about penguins and the distances they will travel to mate, breed and survive. And we mostly associate those tales with icy latitudes, places where icebergs and polar bears abound.
Global warming has pushed African penguins to the brink of extinction and forced them to break the rules and turn the resort city of Simon’s Town, South Africa, to their breeding ground.
“Penguin Town” follows them as they take over streets, beaches and parking lots in their hunt for Mr. or Ms. Right. In addition to explaining their mating habits, it focuses on individual “couples” as they settle down to making baby penguins.
By shifting focus, “Penguin Town” offers overlapping lessons. The fate of African penguins as a species is dire. But new penguins are produced one mating ritual at a time. In this way, “Town” blends sobering lessons with dollops of silly, frisky and cute. What more could you want?
— The hip-hop comedy “Dave” (10 p.m., FXX, TV-MA) enters a second season. A trip to South Korea and a chance to produce a new video takes Dave out of his comfort zone — if someone as neurotic and self-involved as this character, played by real life artist Lil Dicky, can be said to have one. Jet lag and language issues leave him more insecure than ever. The season opener offers a glance at the massive influence of the Korean pop scene, a world that may or may not have a place, or patience, for Dave.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Women’s swimming finals in the U.S. Olympic trials (8 p.m., NBC).
— Kelsey’s nerves are on edge over the launch of her swimwear line on “Siesta Key” (8 p.m., MTV, TV-14).
— A member of a Broadway hit’s original cast is tasked with mounting a production in Havana on its 25th anniversary in the 2021 documentary “Revolution Rent” (8 p.m., HBO2, TV-MA), also streaming on HBO Max.
— Heidi and Spencer are surprised to discover that they are the subject of gossip on “The Hills: New Beginnings” (9 p.m., MTV, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, r, TV-G, check local listings) contrasts the daunting abilities of adult eagles in flight with the vulnerabilities of their hatchlings.
— An uptight hospital executive is wooed by an EMS pilot in the 2019 romance “Love Takes Flight” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Reddington shares secrets with Liz on “The Blacklist” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Even hardened crime-scene photographers are shocked by the sight of a multiple homicide on the second season opener of “Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death” (10 p.m., ID, TV-14). Pleasant dreams!
— After a professor’s execution in Tallahassee, a trio from Miami are arrested for murder. “Court Cam Presents Under Oath” (10 p.m., A&E, TV-14) presents their trial and how the decision to put one key witness on the stand almost unravels their prosecution.
— Separated from fleeting fame by at least a decade, talents vie to become part of a new manufactured supergroup on “BET Presents The Encore” (10 p.m., BET, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Gary Oldman stars in the 2011 adaptation of John le Carre’s espionage thriller “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (9 p.m., HBO Signature). Oldman was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for this role, as he was for playing Herman J. Mankiewicz in Netflix’s 2020 Hollywood epic “Mank.” He received the Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour.”
SERIES NOTES
Tiffany Haddish hosts “Kids Say the Darndest Things” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “Press Your Luck” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … They fought with expert timing on “Kung Fu” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG).
On two helpings of “S.W.A.T.” (CBS, r, TV-14): a family affair (9 p.m.); getting misty (10 p.m.) … “Crime Scene Kitchen” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “The $100,000 Pyramid” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Dwyane Wade hosts “The Cube” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … “Card Sharks” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
JB Smoove appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Seth Meyers, Annie Murphy and Coldplay on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Terry Crews, Ann-Margret and Stevie Nistor visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
