Executive produced by Reese Witherspoon and the creators of “Vanderpump Rules,” the new Hulu series “Love in Fairhope” may be the addictive hybrid series you didn’t know you craved. It seems to answer the unasked question: What if the Hallmark Channel and Bravo had a baby midwifed by Oprah?
A pretty, small city on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, Fairhope seems like a great place to visit or perhaps spend one’s retirement years.
Or to set a Hallmark movie about a fetching young gastroenterologist who leaves her crowded New York office to visit an ailing grandmother in her hometown, only to rekindle a flame with her high school sweetheart.
The Bravo side of this production reminds us that Fairhope is also the kind of place where your dating app is bound to run out of options after two swipes.
The Oprah-fied content insists that we follow five Fairhope women from all phases of life as they search for love. And talk, talk, talk, mostly about themselves and their “journey.”
Fairhope is also an Instagram fantasy town — the kind of small Southern city where the mobile homes, dollar stores, Walmarts and Waffle Houses have been airbrushed (or is that Botoxed?) out of existence.
The plus side is that “Fairhope” episodes run only for a half-hour.
Help yourself.
— The recent retirement of Rupert Murdoch reminds us that Fox isn’t really Fox anymore. The entertainment end of Murdoch’s vast media empire was spun off to Disney some years back.
Recent Murdoch retrospectives remind us of how awkward and experimental the old Fox network could be during its infancy. At a time when “Cosby” ruled the ratings, the Fox Network replied with “Married With Children” and “The Simpsons.” Some found these shows rude, crude and audacious. But they couldn’t stop talking and writing about them.
Some of that ornery and upstart Fox spirit lives on in the new series “Snake Oil” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
Hosted and co-produced by David Spade, “Oil” is a blatant parody of ABC’s long-running “Shark Tank.” If that show celebrates entrepreneurialism and reinforces the late capitalist ethos that billionaires know best, “Snake Oil” trades in the cynical notion that half of what we’re being sold is complete balderdash.
Look for celebrities and athletes trying to determine if a product or business being pitched is the real McCoy or snake oil.
— Starting today, the Max streaming app will add a CNN hub, offering a 24-hour-a-day stream of content curated from that cable news outlet.
It’s an interesting development on a number of levels. A dedicated news feature distinguishes Max from other large streaming cafeterias like Disney+ and Netflix.
It also allows CNN to reach a streaming audience that has cut the cord. This sets it apart from other news outlets that have yet to crack the streaming code. Fox News’s streaming app, Fox Nation, does not have a significant number of subscribers. The standalone CNN+ app folded in less than a month.
This CNN boutique on Max makes a great deal of sense. In coming months, Max will also offer sports content. If they could only fix HBO.
— Netflix streams the movie adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short story “The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar.”
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— “Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) strands its 45th band of castaways.
— “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG), offers final performances (8 p.m.) and crowns a winner (9 p.m.).
— “America Outdoors With Baratunde Thurston” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) visits Oregon.
— Familiar faces return to judge the 35th season of “The Amazing Race” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
— “Evolution Earth” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) looks at polar bears.
CULT CHOICE
Dirk Bogarde, TCM’s featured actor of the month, stars in the 1967 drama “Accident” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-PG) as an Oxford professor whose furtive desire for a young student (Jacqueline Sassard) leads to disaster. Written by Harold Pinter, directed by Joseph Losey and co-starring a young Michael York.
SERIES NOTES
“The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “The $100,000 Pyramid” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Due to the Writers Guild strike, all late-night shows are repeats.
Michelle Williams, Phil Keoghan and Dierks Bentley appear on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Post Malone, Howie Mandel and Arcade Fire on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Jim Gaffigan and Richard Kind visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Billy Gardell, Joe DeRosa, Frances Dilorinzo and Bruce Bruce appear on “Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
