The Freeform series “Good Trouble” (8 p.m., TV-14) returns tonight. Now in its second season, this spin-off of “The Fosters” features Maia Mitchell as Callie Adams Foster, fresh from law school and already ensconced in the corridors of power, and Mariana Adams Foster (Cierra Ramirez), whose degree from MIT makes her catnip to every software firm.
At a time when many people under 25 are saddled with student loans, asked to work as unpaid interns, live at home and face few prospects on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, shows like “Good Trouble” can be seen as vicarious pleasures or as cruelly indifferent to reality.
Freeform is a corporate Disney cousin to ABC, where nearly every new legal drama features model-gorgeous newbies from only the most elite law schools, and where nearly every sitcom follows the “Modern Family” template of effortless affluence and product placement.
It’s interesting that those ABC comedies that depart from the norm are set in the past, like “Fresh Off the Boat,” “The Kids Are Alright” and “The Goldbergs” and its offshoot, “Schooled.” Then there’s “The Conners,” itself a reboot of “Roseanne,” a blue-collar comedy from the 1980s.
It says something that if you want to set a comedy amid “normal” people not besotted with Kardashian-level wealth or worn down by an indifferent economic system, you have to hop into a time machine.
It also raises the questions: Do viewers under 40 ignore television because they are so poorly depicted? Or do networks treat viewers under 40 with contempt because they don’t watch television?
— The 2017 documentary “The Lavender Scare” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG,) recalls the McCarthy era scare of the 1950s, when fear of subversives inside the government cost many people their jobs and reputations. In addition to the focus on Communists or affiliated radicals, efforts were made to rid the government of homosexuals, whose closeted behavior was seen to make them subject to blackmail by foreign agents.
This era was evoked in the 2007 book “Fellow Travelers” by the prolific historical novelist Thomas Mallon. In 2016, “Travelers” was adapted as an opera.
TV-themed DVDs available today include the miniseries “Patrick Melrose” and the second season of “Killing Eve.”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Auditions continue on “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— A safety inspector’s death hints at leaks at a nuclear plant on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG).
— The finest silver from the north of Spain on “Blood & Treasure” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— The Jonas Brothers sample new songs on “Songland” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— Blanca contends with a real estate queen of mean on “Pose” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
— The 2019 documentary “Wig” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA) looks at the annual drag gathering known as Wigstock, an annual event that began in the 1980s.
— The Parkers go all out to find Delilah on the fourth season premiere of “The Detour” (10:30 p.m., TBS, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— Famous for the politically charged musical “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” director Jacques Demy turned to Los Angeles for his 1969 English language debut, “Model Shop” (8 p.m., TCM) starring Gary Lockwood and Anouk Aimee, with a cameo by Catharine Deneuve. Famous for his role in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Lockwood played the commander in the pilot episode of “Star Trek.” His departure opened the pod bay door for William Shatner’s Captain Kirk.
SERIES NOTES
Jimmy’s father-in-law requests an illegal favor on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “First Responders Live” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … David shocks Darlene on “The Conners” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Colorful characters return on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … Greg’s spending spree on “American Housewife” (8:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
Evidence of a mad bomber on “9-1-1” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … On two helpings of “Modern Family” (ABC, r, TV-PG), Parade floats (9 p.m.), Haley needs advice (10 p.m.) … Clarke’s past returns with a vengeance on “The 100” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) … Video game design on “The Goldbergs” (9:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14) … Little-read about red Corvettes on “black-ish” (10:30 p.m., r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Sean Penn appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Willie Nelson and Adam Devine on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Eva Longoria, Jacki Weaver, Michael Torpey and Jessica Burdeaux visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Lily James, Millie Bobby Brown and Little Mix appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
