— Oh, grow up! We seem to be experiencing a phase where comedians have chosen to suddenly mature in public. Adam Sandler has taken on more serious roles. "Borat" star Sacha Baron Cohen recently starred in the Netflix period thriller "The Spy" and offered a thoughtful speech on the perils of social media. Eddie Murphy joked on "SNL" that, much to his surprise, he has become "America’s Dad," and Amy Schumer dedicated a season of stand-up to her difficult road to motherhood.
So don’t be surprised when a "Broad City" star sheds her anarchic, pothead, goofball persona on "Ilana Glazer: The Planet Is Burning," now streaming on Amazon Prime. The comic, who has entered her 30s and gotten married since starting on "Broad City," focuses on such hot-button issues as American Nazis, homophobes and climate change, and still has time for personal rants on subjects like the failings of women’s razors.
— Netflix begins streaming the third and final season of "Anne With an E," a Canadian adaptation of the beloved "Anne of Green Gables" novels. Amybeth McNulty has been a revelation in the title role as a precocious orphan so passionately enchanted with life and beauty that she often overwhelms her friends and her adoptive family.
Geraldine James ("The Jewel in the Crown") is her equal as Marilla Cuthbert, an older woman worried that she’s not up to the task of mothering her upstart charge. Spare with words and signs of outward affection, she offers the perfect foil for Anne’s torrents of conversation.
This series may be a perfect complement for fans of the current "Little Women," now showing in theaters. Both feature strident female characters set against the background of 19th-century Yankee (and Canadian) rectitude. Both celebrate young women as readers and people in love with the power of words and ideas.
— Far from Green Gables, the 2019 Mexican comedy "All the Freckles in the World" begins streaming on Netflix. Set in the 1980s, it follows a romantic 13-year-old boy desperate to gain the attention of a pretty classmate.
— Streaming on Hulu, the series "Vice Investigates" wraps up its season with "Disgrace," a look at the impact of allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct on the accused, victims and their community two years into the #MeToo movement.
— I love ghost-hunting shows when they get "specific." Apparently, there is a 14-foot-tall entity walking the corridors of an Iowa schoolhouse in the season four premiere of "Kindred Spirits" (9 p.m., Travel, TV-14).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A kidnapper from Pakistan schemes to kidnap a bride in the 2018 thriller "The Wedding Guest" (8:30 p.m., Showtime).
— Two women discuss their ordeal at the hands of a Cleveland kidnapper as well as their escape on "20/20" (9 p.m., ABC).
— Ambulance robberies turn deadly on "Blue Bloods" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Scheduled on "The Graham Norton Show" (11 p.m., BBC America, TV-14): Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Motsi Mabuse, Stephen Graham, Florence Pugh, Anthony Joshua and Melanie C featuring Sink the Pink.
CULT CHOICE
Starz Encore presents John Travolta in two defining roles: As a king of the disco in the 1977 slice-of-life drama "Saturday Night Fever" (6:58 p.m.), and as a gang enforcer dragged onto the dance floor by his boss’s moll (Uma Thurman) in the 1994 cracked narrative "Pulp Fiction" (9 p.m.).
SERIES NOTES
McGarrett and Magnum join forces on crossover episodes of "Hawaii Five-0" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) and "Magnum P.I." (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Prizes galore on "Ellen’s Game of Games" (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … "WWE Friday Night SmackDown" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … From hobby to business on "American Housewife" (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Illusionists audition on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … A sports milestone on "Fresh Off the Boat" (8:30 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … On two helpings of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (CW, r, TV-14): Heather Anne Campell (9 p.m.); Brad Sherwood (9:30 p.m.).
LATE NIGHT
Daniel Craig and Lena Waithe are booked on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Chadwick Boseman, Evan Rachel Wood, David Byrne and a performance from the Broadway cast of "David Byrne’s American Utopia" on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC, r) … Margot Robbie, Gov. John Kasich and White Reaper appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (11:35 p.m., r, ABC).
Adam Driver, Jonathan Groff and Hozier visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Kris Jenner, James Van Der Beek and half* alive appear on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
