The word "debate" often suggests a one-on-one encounter. The two-night 2020 Democratic Candidates Debate (9 p.m., NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo) offers something resembling a scrum. Tonight and Thursday will offer viewers a chance to see and hear from 10 candidates on each night, 20 presidential hopefuls in all.
The announced moderators include Rachel Maddow, Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd and Jose Diaz-Balart.
Is an event this crowded a real debate? Will it serve any purpose? Is it even good television?
On the most basic level, this event will determine who is or isn’t ready for prime time. The most well-known candidates have the most to lose. One gaffe can derail or distract a campaign. Unknowns have a chance to make an impression. Will a president emerge from this two-night spectacle? Or just another television sensation?
— There are plenty of alternatives to the big debate, but sometimes even those choices seem overshadowed by the event. The race for the Democratic nomination is just beginning, but "The Amazing Race" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) is wrapping up its 31st season. Questions of privacy and security will certainly be raised by the moderators, as more people fear that big government and technology firms are creating a "Big Brother" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) environment.
With so little to lose, it’s no wonder that candidates with low standing in the polls have decided on a "Press Your Luck" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) strategy. Will the candidates be straightforward or trade in illusion, as they do on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG)? The real questions on engaged viewers’ minds is "Are You the One?" (9 p.m., MTV, TV-14).
— The blending of politics and show business did not start with tonight’s debate or with the election of our current reality television president in 2016. Based on real events, the 1985 biographical drama "Marie: A True Story" (1:30 a.m., TCM) stars Sissy Spacek as Marie Ragghianti, the head of Tennessee’s parole board, fired for failing to go along with a culture of entrenched corruption.
The film also featured Jeff Daniels and Morgan Freeman, but the most notable performance was by Fred Thompson, a real-life Tennessee lawyer who had acted as Ragghianti’s lawyer and who played himself in the movie.
Thompson, who had served as a Senate counsel in the 1973 Watergate hearings, would himself become a senator for Tennessee, serving from 1994 to 2003 before joining the cast of "Law & Order." He would leave that show to explore a presidential candidacy in 2008. The Republican nomination that year would go to Arizona Sen. John McCain, who had a brief cameo in the 2005 comedy "Wedding Crashers" (8 p.m., E!, TV-14).
— "True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality" (8 p.m., HBO, TV-MA) profiles the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that represents the incarcerated, the poor and disadvantaged in Alabama courts.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A bouncer and philosophy Ph.D. candidate (Patrick Swayze) joins forces with a local doctor (Kelly Lynch) to take on an unruly town in the 1989 thriller "Road House" (7 p.m., Starz Encore).
— Alessandra Ambrosio serves as a guest-judge on "MasterChef" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— "Rivers of Life" (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) explores the Amazon.
— Camera crews embedded in select cities follow "First Responders Live" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Wolves and grizzlies loom large on the season finale of "Yellowstone Live" (9 p.m., National Geographic).
— Beth begins buying up a protective corridor around the ranch on "Yellowstone" (10 p.m., Paramount, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
A runaway (Reese Witherspoon) runs afoul of a serial killer (Kiefer Sutherland) in the 1996 thriller "Freeway" (9:30 p.m., TMC), a wild and violent variation on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, written and directed by Matthew Bright.
SERIES NOTES
Contestants play "Ellen’s Game of Games" (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … "Card Sharks" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Work woes for Rafael on "Jane the Virgin" (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Alec Baldwin hosts on "Match Game" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Perry Bacon Jr. appears on "The Daily Show With Trevor Noah" (11 p.m., Comedy Central) … Bill Hader is booked on "Conan" (11 p.m., TBS, r) … Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Incubus appear on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Daisy Ridley, Colin Quinn and Little Big Town on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Terry Crews and Anthony Jeselnik visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC).
