In a move both daring and familiar, ABC will dedicate six Tuesday nights to “Soul of a Nation” (10 p.m., ABC), a docuseries focused on the Black American experience. Covering history and recent events, sports and music, celebrities and activism, triumphs and calls for recognition and reparations, “Soul” is hosted by Sterling K. Brown (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” and “This Is Us”).
Among those interviewed are Harry Dunn, an officer present at the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, an event that he feels — as do many — was fueled by an extremism very much in the tradition of white supremacy, a societal cancer dating back through slavery, violent resistance to Reconstruction and more.
segregation, Jim Crow and the rise of politicians, from George Wallace to David Duke and Donald Trump, who based their appeal on white resentments and unsubtle calls for violent intimidation.
“Soul of a Nation” arrives in the wake of similar programming. Just last week, PBS’s “Independent Lens” presented “Mr. Soul,” a profile of Ellis Haizlip, the producer and host of “Soul,” a showcase for Black talent and only Black talent, that ran from 1968 to 1973, some half a century ago. It can be streamed on the PBS Video app.
Now streaming on HBO Max, the HBO documentary “Black Art: In the Absence of Light” profiles museum curator David Driskell, whose 1976 bicentennial show on 200 years of Black art offered a wakeup call for Americans completely unaware of Black contributions to painting, sculpture and ceramic arts.
The film’s profile of contemporary artists also introduces a whole scene of creators, galleries and collectors who have emerged in recent decades. As in 1976, the scene is packaged or labeled as “Black,” because it is largely ignored by mainstream coverage.
And “Soul of a Nation” also arrives only months after the debut of the 2020 Pixar musical film “Soul,” streamable now on Disney+.
A highly conceptual contemplation of life, afterlife and individual identity, “Soul” is largely set in a jazz milieu, one of the great contributions of the Black American cultural experience. For this reason, some were chagrined at the choice of Tina Fey (“30 Rock”) to voice a pivotal character.
In the summer of 1968, in the aftermath of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., CBS News presented seven one-hour documentaries called “Of Black America.” Well received and revelatory, the films offered a wider audience a perspective on a little-reported reality.
It’s a bit sobering that after more than half a century, a series like “Soul of a Nation” is presented as both necessary and innovative. At the same time, it’s refreshing to see a network news division unleashed on a subject more significant than “true crime” and celebrities.
— “New Amsterdam” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14) enters its third season as a COVID-rattled hospital copes with a jetliner crash in the East River.
— Radical efforts to put speed back in Barry’s step go badly on the seventh season premiere of “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A veteran’s trauma on “The Resident” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Tiffany feels caught between two worlds on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Chairs swivel on “The Voice” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— A plastic surgeon expires on “Prodigal Son” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— A suspect goes on a shooting spree on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
A bored and nervous wife (Haley Bennett) develops the urge to ingest inedible objects in the 2019 psychological thriller “Swallow” (8 p.m., TMC). This film, concerning a disorder known as pica, was shot in New York’s Hudson Valley, also the setting of T.C. Boyle’s 1987 novel “World’s End,” depicting several generations of a single family, who, over the course of several hundred years, betray signs of geophagia, a nervous inclination to eat dirt.
SERIES NOTES
Sloane’s past resurfaces on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Bouts and battles past on “Young Rock” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “To Tell the Truth” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … An expanded schedule taxes resources on “Kenan” (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
Out of touch on “black-ish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … The kids aren’t alright on “Superman and Lois” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Stereotypes at work on “mixed-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Jon Batiste visit “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Nick Jonas and Rita Ora on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Regina King, Kathryn Hahn and Chang-rae Lee visit “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
