HBO debuts its eight-part adaptation of “My Brilliant Friend” (9 p.m. Sunday, TV-MA), based on the first book in a series of international best-selling novels by Elena Ferrante. A co-production with the Italian network RAI, “Friend” is presented in Italian with English subtitles. Episodes will unfold on Sunday and Monday nights through Dec. 10.
The disappearance of a close childhood companion inspires 60-year-old author Elena Greco (Elisabetta De Palo) to recall her youth in 1950s Naples, a place both warm and vibrant as well as suffocating and violent.
Elena (Elisa Del Genio) and her best friend, Lila (Ludovica Nasti), are clearly the brightest girls in their class, but that means little in a society that puts scant value on girls’ education and where children are expected to leave school and get jobs at an early age.
The two live in a world of their own. They devour “Little Women” and dream of writing novels. They stumble upon the basement hideaway of neighborhood crime lord Don Achille (Antonio Pennarella) and embark on a quixotic walk to the beach that ends in humiliation and disaster.
The young performers and the depiction of their private world are entirely believable. At the same time, there is a sad solemnity to young Elena that leaves her a little opaque. That may be intentional.
The production takes place on an elaborate set that is at once something to behold and self-evidently artificial, robbing the series of the vibrancy of Italian streets seen in so many movies directed by Rossellini, De Sica or Fellini in the 1950s, this story’s time period.
I suppose this jewel box setting and the series’ languid pace are supposed to evoke a dream world. I, for one, was intrigued but not entirely enchanted by “My Brilliant Friend.”
— As tragedies go, it’s hard to top the story behind “A Murder in Mansfield” (9 p.m. Saturday, ID, TV-14). Eleven-year-old Collier Boyle’s world was rocked on New Year’s Eve 1989 when his father, Dr. John Boyle, murdered Noreen Boyle after 20 years of marriage. With scant physical evidence, Boyle was convicted after the testimony of his young son.
Nearly 30 years later, Collier returns to the scene of the tragedy and agrees to visit his father in prison, their first encounter in decades.
“Murder” is produced by Barbara Kopple, a two-time Oscar-winning director for “Harlan County, USA” (1976) and “American Dream” (1991), documentaries about contentious strikes and labor strife. She’s also known for her 2006 film “Shut up and Sing,” about right-wing media efforts to silence country singers the Dixie Chicks. Not to be confused with “Shut Up and Dribble” (9 p.m. Saturday, TV-MA), the Showtime series about the NBA, politics and culture, concluding this weekend.
— Sundance invites viewers to spend the weekend with the four-part documentary series “Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle” (9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday), airing on the 40th anniversary of the mass suicide/massacre.
— The four-part series “Inside North Korea’s Dynasty” (Sunday, National Geographic, TV-14) concludes with a look at Kim Jong Il’s adjustment to the post-Cold War world (9 p.m.) and the massive famine that beset North Korea in the 1990s.
The fourth installment (10 p.m.) focuses on current leader Kim Jong Un and his ascension to the “family business” at 28.
The hour chronicles his peculiar fascination with Western sports and pop culture and how he ruthlessly had members of his family killed in order to consolidate power.
Like most things having to do with the secretive hermit kingdom, much of “Dynasty” seems too strange to believe. Clips include performances by Kim Jong Un’s personal K-pop band, consisting entirely of fetching young women playing electric guitars, violins and synthesizers. The theme to “Rocky” will never seem the same.
There’s also an exasperated aside from a CIA analyst who admits that NBA oddity Dennis Rodman knows more about North Korea’s ruling elite than anyone in the intelligence community. The series concludes with Kim Jong Un’s use of rocket launches to test the mettle of the West and how U.S. diplomacy in the region has taken on the trappings of reality television.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— College football action includes Duke at Clemson (7 p.m., ESPN), Kansas at Oklahoma (7:30 p.m., Fox) and Cincinnati at Central Florida (8 p.m., ABC).
— The family gathers for Thanksgiving on “Alaska: The Last Frontier” (8 p.m., Discovery).
— An overscheduled Chicago mom bumps into an old flame from her college band while on a holiday trip to Memphis in the 2018 romance “Christmas at Graceland” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— A child’s Christmas wish becomes a party girl’s means to land a handsome husband in the 2011 romantic comedy “Dear Santa” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-PG).
— Steve Carell hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), featuring musical guest Ella Mai.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): an interview with NFL veteran and author Tim Green; Naloxone and overdoses.
— Metropolis celebrates Thanksgiving on “Supergirl” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— Louisa and Spiro bond on the season finale of “The Durrells in Corfu” on “Masterpiece” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
— The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears meet in “Sunday Night Football” (8:20 p.m., NBC).
— Mel assists Maggie in some detective work on “Charmed” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
— George announces his knighthood on the season finale of “Poldark” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— Carol helps an isolated friend on “The Walking Dead” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— “The Clinton Affair” (9 p.m., A&E) recalls a sexual indiscretion and impeachment crisis in 1998.
— A kidnapping rocks Hollywood on “Ray Donovan” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— Elizabeth helps the vice president with a delicate matter on “Madam Secretary” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— A mousy prison employee aids and abets two convicted murderers in the miniseries “Escape at Dannemora” (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA), starring Benicio del Toro, Patricia Arquette and Paul Dano. Directed and produced by Ben Stiller.
— A dinner with the folks could not be more awkward on “Sally4Ever” (10:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
Born elderly, a man (Brad Pitt) ages in reverse in the 2008 adaptation of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (7:10 p.m. Saturday, Encore), a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
SATURDAY SERIES
Death by hazing on “Bull” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Two hours of “Dateline” (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., NBC) … Two helpings of “48 Hours” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., CBS) … A vintage edition of “Saturday Night Live” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
“Football Night in America” (7 p.m., NBC) … Friendships have no expiration date on “God Friended Me” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … A French film inspires Lisa on “The Simpsons” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Giving thanks on “Dancing With the Stars: Juniors” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … A bird pardon spirals out of control on “Bob’s Burgers” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
Domestic terror on “NCIS: Los Angeles” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Meg qualifies for the Winter Olympics on “Family Guy” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … On two episodes of “Shark Tank” (ABC, TV-PG), protecting purses (9 p.m.), hawking nontoxic adhesive (10 p.m., r) … Snowbound on “Rel” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
(Kevin McDonough can be reached at [email protected].)
