— Tonight’s schedule is pretty slanted toward election coverage. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to distract you from the endless talk.
If you voted today, you did your civic duty. There’s no shame in avoiding the endless din and reading the results over tomorrow’s morning coffee.
Luckily, there are plenty of distractions.
— Lately, my go-to escapist fare is "Bojack Horseman," streaming its fifth season on Netflix.
At first, I was lukewarm to this absurd comedy about a horse/man (Will Arnett), a washed-up star from a ’90s family comedy called "Horsin’ Around." I thought it was just another "inside the industry" gag-athon.
I was wrong. It has emerged as one of the best-written and most narratively daring comedies. And despite its bizarre interspecies cast of characters, it might be the most deeply humane character study as well.
Just this season, we’ve seen Diane (Alison Brie) take a moving post-divorce trip to Vietnam in search of her lost heritage. There was remarkable a episode blending flashbacks (and sending up the cliches of the technique) of 25 years of bad Halloween parties at Bojack’s mansion, where we met all of Mr. Peanutbutter’s (Paul F. Tompkins) ex-wives and girlfriends. For the record, Mr. Peanutbutter is Bojack’s rival of sorts, a yellow Labrador and another former ’90s TV star who is as sunny, confident and shallow as Bojack is angst-ridden.
Amy Sedaris provides the voice of their mutual agent, producer and hand-holder, the beleaguered Persian cat Princess Caroline. Her adoption frustrations are played for laughs, but not without pathos.
This season also features an episode titled "Free Churro" that has already been hailed as a masterpiece.
Abandoning the cartoon format’s freedom to bounce around in time and space, it consists almost entirely of Bojack delivering a very awkward eulogy in front of his mother’s casket. Filled with rage, regret, resentment, misunderstanding (and this being "Bojack") self-absorption and self-promotion, it’s nothing less than astounding. It’s an episode for the ages, from a strange little show that gets better and smarter as it goes on.
For those who don’t get Netflix, episodes of "Bojack" also air on Comedy Central.
Over on cable, counterprogramming also abounds.
AMC serves up the 1980 comedy "Caddyshack" (8 p.m., TV-14). Its enduring appeal rests on more than sheer goofiness. Some of its archetypes still ring true. There’s the earnest striver in need of a scholarship (Michael O’Keefe); the rich snob who projects class, but rigs the system (Ted Knight) and the nouveau-riche rule-breaker (Rodney Dangerfield). And don’t forget Chevy Chase’s New Age golfer and Bill Murray’s rodent-obsessed groundskeeper, Carl Spackler.
If "Caddyshack" is the gold standard for "guy" comedies, 1993’s "Mrs. Doubtfire" (8 p.m., Freeform, TV-PG) has been viewed by millions unafraid to be "touched" by the prospect of a luckless actor (Robin Williams) eager to create the performance of a lifetime to be close to his family.
For escapist royal romance, Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews star in the 2001 bauble "The Princess Diaries" (8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., TV-PG, E!).
On a day that Americans go to the polls, TCM serves up two American classics, the 1943 romance "Casablanca" (8 p.m.) and the 1946 coming-home epic "The Best Years of Our Lives" (10 p.m.).
TV-themed DVDs available today include "The Good Fight" Season 2.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Look for network election coverage on "2018 Midterm Elections" (8 p.m., ABC); "Campaign 2018" (9 p.m., CBS) and "The Vote: America’s Future" (9 p.m., NBC).
CULT CHOICE
— Remade but never replaced, the 1987 comedy "Overboard" (9 p.m., Paramount) has probably aired on cable more often than any movie of the last 30 years.
SERIES NOTES
Gibbs gets custody of a refugee on "NCIS" (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … "The Voice" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) glances back at the season so far … The history of the Frost sisters emerges on "The Gifted" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Nora’s rescue may play havoc with time itself on "The Flash" (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG).
Cole’s past comes back with a vengeance on "Lethal Weapon" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Rumors of a school closing on "Black Lightning" (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
John Heilemann, Alex Wagner and Hasan Minhaj are booked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Billy Eichner, Chris Hayes and Franklin Vanderbilt visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Chris Sullivan, Lil Rel Howery and Sabrina Carpenter appear on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
