“POV” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) presents the acclaimed 2022 documentary “While We Watched.” Set in the newsrooms of NDTV, once India’s most esteemed network, and following the work of Ravish Kumar, a giant of independent journalism in India, “Watched” shows how the rise of state-sponsored media, corporate disinformation campaigns and airwaves filled with hate put the lives of journalists in danger.
Under Prime Minister Modi, India has moved toward acting as a regime solely identified with the nation’s Hindu majority. It has sponsored a kind of religiously infused media tribalism that has equated any criticism of the government with treason and even blasphemy.
Kumar’s embattled newsroom serves as a cautionary tale for our media and society as attacks on American journalism (Trump’s “fake news” mantra) have become baked in to political discourse and any number of media giants have embarked on strategies that put an emphasis on generating user “passion” and even hatred over reporting, research and investigative journalism.
— Is anyone still interested in “The Secrets of Penthouse” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., A&E, TV-14)? Publisher Bob Guccione went from unknown to fabulously wealthy by challenging Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine.
By the early 1970s, Hefner’s approach to publishing, and more specifically female nudity, seemed nearly quaint. The approach that had challenged the sensibilities of the 1950s no longer seemed appropriate at a time of radical social change. Playboy seemed stuck in an era of cool jazz and hi-fis. Penthouse was tailored for an age of casual sensuality, hot pants and backyard hot tubs, casual cocaine abuse, wife swapping and the kind of prepackaged consumer decadence that has been spoofed in Austin Powers and Ron Burgundy movies.
“Secrets” puts an emphasis on the cost of fame to Guccione’s family as well as his wildly expensive effort to produce “Caligula,” a 1979 effort that seemed to unite against it a rising Christian “moral majority” and a women’s movement tired of degrading imagery and soft-porn culture. For all his wealth and notoriety, Guccione died in 2010 estranged from his family and much of his fortune.
— Comedy Central presents “Office Race” (8 p.m., TV-14), an increasingly rare made-for-cable movie comedy about a cubicle-bound loser (Beck Bennett) who stumbles into entering a charity marathon where his main competition is his obnoxious superior (Joel McHale).
The cast includes Allyson Hannigan (“Buffy”) and Kelsey Grammer, whose rebooted “Frasier” is scheduled to stream on Paramount+ and Pluto on Oct. 12. It makes its broadcast debut on a strike-addled CBS on Oct. 17.
— The History Channel embarks on a three-night, seven episode look at “Ancient Empires” (8 p.m., TV-14) offering profiles of Alexander the Great (Monday); Julius Caesar (Tuesday) and Cleopatra (Wednesday).
— Directed by Barbara Kopple and released in 1976, “Harlan County U.S.A.” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-MA) documents a violent strike in Kentucky coal country.
As is customary, the television schedule is the very last place you will find any commemoration of Labor Day and the labor movement. This despite the fact that the entertainment industry is facing two major strikes.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Overdosed and underdressed on “NCIS: Hawai’i” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— “Tough Love With Hilary Farr” (9 p.m., HGTV) offers 10 episodes of radical renovations, beginning with a sledgehammer approach to a small dwelling trapped in its bachelor pad vibes.
— The 2023 documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything” (9 p.m., CNN) profiles the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose relationship to the music and mores of the Southern Black church as well as outcast gay and drag cultures informed his performances and left him with a lifelong crisis of identity.
CULT CHOICE
A reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) befriends a mentally ill homeless street musician (Jamie Foxx) who had been a promising student at Juilliard before suffering from schizophrenia in the 2009 drama “The Soloist” (8:30 p.m., HBO Family)
SERIES NOTES
Dave discovers the truth about his estranged father on “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “American Ninja Warrior” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Three repeat episodes of “Celebrity Family Feud” (8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
Besotted by a caregiver on “Bob Hearts Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … Frantic yet predictable action and frequent explosions propel “NCIS: Los Angeles” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “Weakest Link” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Due to the Writers Guild strike, all late night shows are repeats.
Sting and David Alan Grier appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott and Carrie Underwood on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Kumail Nanjiani, Matt Rogers and the cast of “Titanique” visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
