The best comedies tend to be ensemble affairs, with stars sharing screen time with others. A glance back at the history of TV comedies, notably those named for their primary characters (“I Love Lucy,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Seinfeld” and “Frasier”), spread the wealth around. Beyond mere generosity, the stars and the makers of those series also knew that too much focus on a principal star can be wearisome. Hello, “Carol’s Second Act.”
Which brings us to the comedy “Shrill,” streaming its second eight-episode season on Hulu. Aidy Bryant (“Saturday Night Live”) stars as Annie, a funny, plus-sized female writer and journalist learning to assert herself in all of the worst ways. As season one concluded, she had quit her job and hunted down the troll who had haunted her popular blog, confronting him in his home and breaking his car windshield. As season two commences, she reacts in the only way she knows: going on the lam without plans, money or resources.
A satire of self-help culture, a meditation on “fat-shaming” and a sendup of generational generalizations, “Shrill” is both amusing and bittersweet.
Not unlike “Girls,” it has fun lampooning men of all ages, presenting them on a spectrum from babies to bullies. Glimpses of her boyfriend, Ryan (Luka Jones), with his friends are both damning and hilarious. He’s often seen in his pajamas or underwear in a filthy room playing videogames with his 20-something pals who argue over whose “mom’s car” they are going to use. Her baby-boomer dad, Bill (Daniel Stern), is more confident in his condescension toward her, but hardly more “grown up,” particularly when he’s hanging out with his “jazz” buddies.
But the show’s main attraction is Annie’s passive-aggressive (but mostly aggressive) Gen-X boss, Gabe (John Cameron Mitchell), who runs roughshod over the millennial doormats in his employ while bragging about what a “nurturing” workplace he’s created. He just may be the best dreadful boss since Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) in “Office Space.” A generational torch has been passed.
As smart and funny as “Shrill” can be, it also keeps Annie’s principal concern (her weight) front and center. She can talk a good game about transcending her “shame,” her body issues and her health concerns, but they are always there.
— Another returning series, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” streams its third season on Netflix.
— Adam Conover hosts “The Crystal Maze” (7 p.m., Nickelodeon, TV-G), a game show very much patterned on video games. Aimed at a juvenile audience, it’s just as bright and loud as game shows aimed at “adults.” “Jeopardy!” deserves some kind of prize for avoiding screaming and the carnival atmosphere of its competition.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A night of figure skating (8 p.m., NBC) showcases the U.S. Championships: Senior Ladies Free Skate, live from from Greensboro, North Carolina.
— Also on ice, the 2020 NHL All-Star Skills Competition (8 p.m., NBCSN) showcases professional hockey players competing to be named fastest skater, hardest shot, most accurate shot and other categories.
— “MTV Presents: A 2020 Grammy Celebration” (9 p.m., MTV, TV-PG) anticipates the big night.
— A clairvoyant appears to be right (for once) on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— Robert Mitchum stars in the 1975 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled Philip Marlowe detective novel “Farewell, My Lovely” (10 p.m., TCM, TV-14). Supporting cast includes Charlotte Rampling, Harry Dean Stanton, Sylvia Miles and a glimpse at a pre-”Rocky” Sylvester Stallone.
SERIES NOTES
Pyramid sales schemes can be murder on “Hawaii Five-0” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Status-seeking on “American Housewife” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … An ancient curse still has kick on “Charmed” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … A chance to mentor on “Fresh Off the Boat” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
Yacht rock on “Magnum P.I.” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC) … Cristal and Alexis tangle on “Dynasty” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Penn Badgley are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., r, CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Milo Ventimiglia, Guy Raz and Carmen Lynch on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC)… Al Pacino, Florence Pugh, Nicky Jam and Daddy Yankee appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:35 p.m., ABC, r).
Larry David and Caitlin Kalafus visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Guest host Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish and Ali Wong appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
