Russian competition sends shockwaves through the crab-fishing industry on the season 16 premiere of “Deadliest Catch” (8 p.m., Discovery, TV-14).
“Catch” is probably the hardiest survivor of cable’s enduring genre of vicarious blue collar experiences. From “Monster Garage” to “Ax Men,” “Dirty Jobs” and “Ice Road Truckers,” viewers have enjoyed watching other people hard at work, all from the safety of their recliners.
The occupations celebrated on these shows are among the most dangerous. In real life, logging and fishing are often accompanied by mutilation, dismemberment and death.
Not unlike the Wallenda spectacles aired on Discovery and ABC, these series attract an audience who like watching other people work, or perform, without a safety net.
Speaking of safety nets, will current circumstances make such shows more popular? Or obsolete? It’s no secret that the pandemic has resulted in massive unemployment on a scale not known since the 1930s.
Simply put, many cable docu-series have celebrated rugged individualism of the “you’re-all-on-your-own” school of thinking. It will be interesting to see if this genre of blue collar “reality” fare survives an era of greater need for collective solutions to medical emergencies and economic calamity. At the same time, forced quarantine and idle time may make the vicarious drama of “Deadliest Catch” even more appealing.
— Rob Reiner narrates the documentary “The Definition of Insanity” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings). A well-worn bromide defines insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. “Definition” applies that meaning to our society’s treatment of the mentally ill. The film follows judges and advocates working in Miami-Dade County in Florida who hope to empty jails and prisons of mentally ill prisoners and defendants by establishing programs that help them get treatment, counseling and medication to live with their mental illness.
The most rewarding aspect of the film is spending time with counselors who are themselves “graduates” of the program. Not easy watching, but provocative.
— A fading TV Western star (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double sidekick and gofer (Brad Pitt) navigate a changing Hollywood scene in 1969 in director Quentin Tarantino’s period drama “Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood” (10:05 p.m., Starz).
A self-confessed film nerd, Tarantino gets really indulgent here. Nothing says you don’t care about your own audience like asking people to watch Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) watching her own performance in a near-empty movie theater. With this film, the “Pulp Fiction” director has become something I never thought possible: boring.
— TV-themed DVDs available today include the Acorn series “Balthazar,” a French criminal procedural about a stylish Parisian medical examiner who knows his way around the morgue.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Produced by Ken Burns and based on a book by Siddhartha Mukherjee, “The Gene: An Intimate History” (8 p.m, PBS, TV-14, check local listings) continues, exploring the promise of genetic science and manipulation, as well as the perils of unforeseen mutations that may not even appear for several generations.
— A rash of patients show the same disturbing symptoms on the season finale of “New Amsterdam” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— On two helpings of “FBI: Most Wanted” (CBS, TV-14): a rural officer’s paranoia may be rooted in truth (9 p.m.); a homicidal student heads south (10 p.m.).
— Lucious uncovers some of Andre’s blunders on “Empire” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Aaron takes on a long-shot case on “For Life” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— “NBC News Special Report: Coronavirus Pandemic” (10:10 p.m.).
CULT CHOICE
— Clifton Webb and Robert Flemyng star in the 1956 wartime drama “The Man Who Never Was” (9:45 p.m., TCM, TV-PG), about an elaborate plan to concoct fictitious papers for a bogus officer and plant them on a soldier’s corpse, so the Germans might discover his “secrets” and fall for an elaborate deception about an Allied assault on Italy. Based on a true story.
SERIES NOTES
A Pearl Harbor survivor’s special request on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Prizes galore on “Ellen’s Game of Games” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Under wraps on “The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Dan pursues Louise on “The Conners” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Flash lets the Sunshine in on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … Green(er) acres on “Bless This Mess” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
The ozone depletion blues on “mixed-ish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Dream weavers on “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14) … Pops does too good a job of drowning his sorrows on “black-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Keegan Michael-Key appears on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Michael Shannon and JJ Watt on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC).
