It seems like just last week we were discussing how much prime time has been taken over by “afternoon” TV. Networks’ scripted shows are being muscled out by idle “happy” chatter and games.
Can you get more juvenile than building blocks? Yes! You can watch people play with blocks. Contestants vie for a $100,000 prize and the chance to rank among “Lego Masters” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
In addition to games of skill, “Masters” unfolds like an unending product placement for the Lego universe that now includes movies and theme parks. Your host is Will Arnett, who provided a voice for “The Lego Batman Movie.” In the first episode, he presides over a contest where contestants complete sections of a theme park.
Having just watched the concluding episodes of “BoJack Horseman” send up the foibles of entertainment culture, it’s jarring to hear Arnett’s voice employed in this venture.
Because this is the afternoon/prime-time kindergarten, all of the contestants are super-overjoyed and stoked to be here. They have sacrificed their family time, friendships and even marriages to these little blocks. They appear to have been cast more for their hair than their personalities.
— Netflix begins streaming the docuseries “The Pharmacist,” a glance at the two sides of America’s opioid epidemic from a very emphatic perspective.
Dan Schneider presents himself as a relatively uncomplicated man. He first became a pharmacist in St. Bernard Parish, just outside of New Orleans, in 1975. To document a family man’s existence, we are shown quite a few home videos of elaborate Christmas celebrations and other neighborhood events.
His life changed in 1999, when his son was shot to death in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, a place described here by its residents as all but defined by the drug trade.
Deep in shock, Dan and his wife dedicate their lives to finding their son’s killer, spending time in the dangerous neighborhood, interviewing possible witnesses and dealing with a New Orleans police force notorious for corruption.
This story would be enough for most miniseries. But after seeking justice for his son, Dan notices an uptick in Oxycontin prescriptions being called in to his drugstore, with a concurrent rise in local addiction, overdoses and death.
He leaves his job to get to the bottom of the Oxycontin story, a search that leads him to Purdue Pharmaceutical, a powerful, well-connected firm. Rudy Giuliani was their lawyer/consultant. Dan describes them as not merely “white-collar criminals, but white-collar murderers.”
Rich in video footage, interviews and reenactments, “Pharmacist” takes its sweet time, as these things do. But plainspoken Dan offers a reason to stick around.
— Do not adjust your calendar, “Survivor at 40” (8 p.m., CBS) refers to the number of seasons for this epic CBS time-waster. It’s been on the network’s schedule since 2000.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Two patients from one family raise questions on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) explores the wildly different climates and conditions found at the Earth’s poles.
— An encounter with a grizzly bear goes as expected on “I Was Prey: Under Attack” (8 p.m., Animal Planet, TV-PG).
— “CNN Town Hall” presents three primary contenders: Joe Biden (8 p.m.); Elizabeth Warren (9 p.m.) and Andrew Yang (10 p.m.).
— A new truck brings mixed feelings on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A young pup sets the pace on “America’s Top Dog” (9 p.m., A&E, TV-PG).
— Extroverts learn to share on the fourth season premiere of “Summer House” (9 p.m., Bravo, TV-14).
— A pioneer’s wife senses something evil in the air in the 2019 shocker “The Wind” (9 p.m., Showtime).
— Concerns about a sex trafficking ring on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Undercover in the drug trade on “Stumptown” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— A middle-class college student enters the world of his much wealthier classmates in the 1990 comedy “Metropolitan” (8 p.m., TMCX), directed by Whit Stillman. A rare movie filled with characters who talk about books and ideas.
SERIES NOTES
“The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Investigating rivals on “Riverdale” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
On two helpings of “Criminal Minds” (CBS, TV-14): very specific demands (9 p.m.); Prentiss’ second thoughts (10 p.m.) … Trapped in a parallel dimension on “Nancy Drew” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Diego Luna appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Claire Danes, Lana Condor and Lil Wayne on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Ewan McGregor, Rob McElhenney and Ilan Rubin visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
