The things you learn on TV! Apparently, when director John Waters began making “Pink Flamingos” and other crazy, shocking movies, he had no idea he was descended from a hero of Valley Forge!
This is just one of the historical tidbits to emerge from tonight’s installment of “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings). In addition to Waters, director of such films as “Mondo Trasho,” “Polyester,” “Female Trouble” and “Hairspray,” Gates takes actress Glenn Close on a genealogical trip through history dating back centuries.
Close has made no secret that she was raised by religious cultists who submitted to something called “Moral Re-Armament” that took them all over the world doing missionary work.
She was later part of the super-cheerful choral society “Up With People.” Always intent on becoming an actress, she bolted from the family fold in her early 20s, when she emerged on both stage and screen.
To her surprise, she discovers that some of her ancestors were also steeped in deeply religious societies. One was a prominent Puritan in 17th-century Massachusetts, and another a Quaker who was expelled from the Society of Friends for taking a wife outside of the faith.
As much as John Waters identified with freaks and outsiders, his family had been well-off for generations. One of his ancestors was part of the Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1890s, and another an ironmaster who made a fortune. Waters, being Waters, can’t help making a ribald joke about the term.
“Roots” makes a good point of showing how ancestors might be genetic influences on each individual. But the series seems more interested in demonstrating how each individual has the potential to be linked to many chapters of our national story. Both Waters and Close are descended from rags-to-riches strivers. And both have ancestors who owned slaves.
“Roots” is also a celebration of record-keeping. Sadly, slaves are not given names at all and were listed as property, with only age and gender noted. Unless African Americans know who owned their ancestors, the search for their roots can become impossible.
Both Close and Waters seem sobered by dark chapters in their pasts. But Waters does not seem surprised that his story, like any story, includes “good guys and bad guys.” Waters concludes on a wistful note, saying that he wished he could share these revelations with his since-departed parents, who would have loved the melodrama and might share insights, being one step closer to the unfolding story.
— Sundance Now begins streaming “The Night Caller,” a four-part documentary series following an Australian serial killer who terrorized Perth in the 1960s. After tonight’s premiere, new episodes will stream each following Tuesday.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Dreams blend into waking reality on “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A surgery ends with complications on “The Resident” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “Wonderful World of Disney” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) presents the 2015 adaptation of “Cinderella.”
— Kevin’s trip proves troublesome on “This Is Us” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Bright reels after the murder of a priest on “Prodigal Son” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— An angry woman grows radicalized on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Wolf’s money woes mount on “Nurses” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “Frontline” (10 p.m., PBS, check local listings) anticipates tomorrow’s inauguration with a profile of incoming President Joe Biden.
CULT CHOICE
— John Cusack stars in the 2000 adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel “High Fidelity” (7 p.m., HBO Signature). Both the book and the film offer a mournful celebration of the passing of the record store as a gathering place for guys. A tale of a no-longer-young man (Cusack) who expresses himself through his opinionated take on pop music, it clearly inspired “The Ultimate Playlist of Noise,” now streaming on Amazon Prime. “Fidelity” was recently remade with a female lead (Zoe Kravitz) and streams on Hulu.
SERIES NOTES
On two helpings of “NCIS” (CBS, TV-14): no day at the beach (8 p.m.); exacting justice (9 p.m.) … On two episodes of “Two Sentence Horror Stories” (CW, TV-14): A gig worker thinks she’s stumbled upon a serial killer (8 p.m.); a finance worker is haunted by his double (8:30 p.m.) … Jared careens from one shock to another on “Trickster” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Aubrey Plaza appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Dakota Johnson, Yara Shahidi and Tate McRae on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Rachel Maddow, Guy Fieri, Billie Piper and Sarah Thawer visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Anthony Mackie and Machine Gun Kelly appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
