"Tina" (8 p.m. Saturday, HBO, TV-MA) arrives to remind us of Tina Turner’s long career and her tale of pain and reinvention. Not unlike the recent HBO documentary "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," it may introduce a catalog of great songs to young viewers and remind us old fogeys of just how many hits Turner delivered over so many years.
While we can certainly root for Turner’s mid-career triumph, it’s impossible not to see "Tina" as a kind of anticlimax. To be blunt, most of the good, make that great, music in the film occurs during Turner’s suffering years. We all know, from Turner’s talks with the press, her best-selling memoir "I, Tina" and its 1993 film adaptation "What’s Love Got to Do With It?" that Ike Turner was a controlling, violent monster of a husband. So we’re glad, as human beings, that she moved on.
But that doesn’t make the song "Private Dancer" better than her work with Ike and the Ikettes. Art often suffers when seen through the prism of biography. We all know that Ike Turner and Phil Spector (producer of Ike & Tina Turner’s "River Deep — Mountain High") were capable of the worst behavior. They also brought out the best in her music. Tina 2.0 triumphed in a world made safe for People magazine, Oprah Winfrey and MTV. Biography trumps artistry in this case. It’s interesting to hear Tina Turner lend her unique voice to the Buddhist chants that bring her serenity. Is it wicked of us to prefer "A Fool in Love"?
— Discovery+ streams "Francesco," a profile of Pope Francis directed by Oscar-nominated Evgeny Afineevsky ("Winter on Fire").
Time was, a film featuring the pope airing on Palm Sunday would focus on the majesty of his office and the lessons of the season. "Francesco" focuses on Francis’ efforts to change the conversation about very temporal matters, most notably climate change and the global refugee crisis.
Francis argues that the two catastrophes are linked. Before Syria was plunged into civil war, it had been suffering from the worst drought in 900 years, forcing millions into cities that were then destroyed by war. He also looks at the American border woes as a result of environmental disaster in Central America.
In addition to such long-term, big-picture approaches to these ongoing problems, the pope insists on seeing the refugees as human. "Francesco" documents his visits to camps on Italian and Greek islands and his calls for humane treatment for the mothers and children huddled there.
"Francesco" includes interviews with the pope’s nephew as well as Benedict XVI, now serving in the unique position of pope emeritus.
— "City on a Hill" (10 p.m. Sunday, Showtime, TV-MA) returns for a second season. Set in Boston in the early 1990s, it offers a fictionalized account of crusading district attorney DeCourcy Ward (Aldis Hodge), bent on cleaning up a corrupt city and dragging it into a prosperous 21st century. Primary among his problems is the flagrantly crooked FBI agent Jackie Rohr (Kevin Bacon).
In the second season, Ward will work with housing activists to rid the projects of drug dealers, efforts thwarted by gang turf wars.
More than offering a contrast between two characters and their philosophies, "City" is almost two separate shows. Ward patiently navigates levels of Boston bureaucracy while on the receiving end of gruesome racism from the old hands and the disrespect of emerging young Black men who see him as a sellout. When Rohr arrives in Season 2, he’s careening out of control, driving his vintage car over the limit and against traffic, listening to oldies and snorting white powder while in the presence of a lovely young lady, not his wife.
Just when things could not seem more over-the-top, his "date" appears to overdose, sending "Hill" careening down a path well known to those who’ve seen "Pulp Fiction." Scenes between Jackie and his estranged wife (Jill Hennessy) feature a cacophonous clash of Boston accents. It’s just short of "Southie: The Cartoon" every time Jackie shows up. Among its scrum of executive producers are Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana of "Homicide" fame, as well as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, as if you couldn’t guess.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— The 52nd Annual NAACP Image Awards (8 p.m., CBS, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, Paramount, Pop, TV Land and VH1) will bestow dozens of awards and appear on nearly as many networks.
— Figure skating (8 p.m., NBC) includes the ISU World Championship Ladies Free Skate.
— Ruby returns to her bayou home in the 2021 shocker "V.C. Andrews’ All that Glitters" (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A reporter goes undercover at a boot camp for the lovelorn in the 2021 romance "Don’t Go Breaking My Heart" (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Maya Rudolph hosts "Saturday Night Live" (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), with musical guest Jack Harlow.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on "60 Minutes" (7 p.m., CBS): The World Health Organization looks into the origins of COVID-19; efforts to make robots move more like humans; retired sportswriter Dave Kindred discusses his new "beat" covering a local high school girls’ basketball team.
— On the verge of a breakthrough, a mathematician is kidnapped on "The Equalizer" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Ryan Seacrest hosts "American Idol" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— George Clooney receives a career retrospective on the "Movies for Grownups Awards With AARP the Magazine," presented by "Great Performances" (8 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings).
— "Q: Into the Storm" (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA) follows a three-year investigation into an anonymous source of conspiracies.
— Ruby dreams of a different life on "Good Girls" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A kidnapping victim is the son of a judge with many enemies on "The Rookie" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Based on an acclaimed stage play and directed by Fred Zinnemann, the 1966 drama "A Man for All Seasons" (8 p.m. Saturday, TCM, TV-PG) won six Oscars including best picture, best director and best actor. Robert Shaw was nominated for best supporting actor alongside George Segal for his performance in "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Both lost to Walter Matthau, for his work in "The Fortune Cookie." Segal died on Tuesday.
SATURDAY SERIES
"The Masked Singer" (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … Self-cleaning sheets on "Shark Tank" (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … "Game of Talents" (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … Ryan Seacrest hosts "American Idol" (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … A vintage helping of "Saturday Night Live" (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
"Ellen’s Game of Games" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Springfield discovers the hidden dimensions of Wiggum’s wife on "The Simpsons" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Decision time on "Batwoman" (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … An anniversary fete on "The Great North" (8:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG).
Enhanced interrogation on "NCIS: Los Angeles" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Best-laid plans on "Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist" (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14) … Multilingualism on "Bob’s Burgers" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … A ways to go on "Charmed" (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … An honor for Lois on "Family Guy" (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Protecting Sebastian on "NCIS: New Orleans" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
