Netflix is truly its own universe. It is so overstuffed with offerings that keeping up with its schedule is beyond the scope of any one viewer or reviewer.
It has so much “content” that sometimes it seems like some programming might exist merely to promote other Netflix fare.
Viewers awaiting the Dec. 20 arrival of the Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro” might be interested in the 2023 documentary “Radical Wolfe,” a profile of essayist, journalist and novelist Tom Wolfe (1930-2018).
Best-selling novelist Michael Lewis (“Moneyball”) praises Wolfe for his influence and audacity. In the 1960s, Wolfe and fellow writers Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, George Plimpton, Gay Talese (seen here), Truman Capote and Norman Mailer fused elements of fiction and reportage to present entertaining and irreverent accounts of obscure scenes, famous people and notorious characters.
In his books and essays, Wolfe popularized hitherto unknown subcults like California’s hot rod culture, North Carolina’s NASCAR scene, San Francisco’s burgeoning LSD demimonde and a young Phil Spector’s “teenage genius.” And in his later novels, he used fiction to explore the psyche of the space program (“The Right Stuff”) and the complexity of New York during its Wall Street-driven 1980s boom (“The Bonfire of the Vanities”).
While he brought these outsiders to readers’ attention, he would often chafe at New York’s clubby insiders. He wrote an essay that all but burned his bridges with The New Yorker magazine, dismissing it as a kind of a crypt. And his biting look at a swank society charity event held by Leonard Bernstein to benefit the Black Panthers resulted in his famously withering essay “Radical Chic,” a takedown that profiled the maestro as naive, condescending, detached and even absurd.
“Radical Wolfe” is shot through with lamentations about how a voice as witty, knowing and occasionally vicious could not emerge in today’s media — or social media. Bernstein defenders continue to complain that “Radical Chic” crossed the line into personal cruelty. Wolfe’s admirers argue that writers shouldn’t be concerned with their important subjects’ “feelings.”
— Now here’s a “reality” show worth watching. “Science Fair: The Series” (8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., Sunday, National Geographic, TV-PG) follows nine high school students from around the world as they struggle to advance in the International Scientific and Engineering Fair.
The focus is on teen exuberance, insecurity, bluster and wonder, as the contestants use science and reason to take on some of the biggest problems facing society today. “Science Fair” can also be streamed on Hulu.
— Now streaming on Britbox, “Archie” is a tale of the Cary Grant nobody knew.
It shows a man so strongly identified with his debonair image that he had to hide his real name and real story from fans and the world.
An often-quoted anecdote has Grant being greeted by a fan who tells him that he’d like to be Cary Grant. Grant’s reply: “Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant” is both amusing and revealing.
Jason Isaacs (“The Death of Stalin”) stars as Archie Leach (Grant’s birth name), a boy born into poverty in Bristol, England, who moved to America and Hollywood stardom. Much of “Archie” centers around the adult Grant, crippled by stifled emotions and memories of his long-missing mother, presumed dead.
“Archie” unfolds over four episodes. Viewers who can’t get enough Grant are in luck. He’s the star of the month on TCM, which dedicates every Friday evening in December to his movies.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— College basketball action includes UCLA and Villanova (7 p.m., Fox) and Notre Dame at Marquette (9 p.m.).
— An ogre decorates in the 2002 special “Shrek the Halls” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).
— The 89th Heisman Trophy Award Ceremony (8 p.m., ESPN) commemorates the college football player of the year.
— “Planet Earth III” (8 p.m., BBC America) looks at creatures that thrive in extreme conditions.
— “Trolls Holiday in Harmony” (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) celebrates a season of song.
— A busy woman returns to her family’s home on the range in the 2023 holiday romance “A Cowboy Christmas Romance” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-PG).
— Rival real estate agents develop feelings in the 2023 holiday romance “Meet Me Under the Mistletoe” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— NBA basketball action (8:30 p.m., ABC).
— A holiday challenge proves affirmative in the 2023 holiday romance “The Christmas of Yes” (9 p.m., OWN, TV-PG).
— Adam Driver hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), featuring musical guest Olivia Rodrigo.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7:30 p.m., CBS): Kherson’s resistance to Russian invaders; Wyoming’s climate strategy; tennis star Novak Djokovic.
— Can the animated musical “Frozen” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) really be 10 years old?
— The three-part profile “Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) continues.
— Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates co-host the 17th annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” (8 p.m., CNN).
— The Dallas Cowboys host the Philadelphia Eagles in NFL Football action (8:15 p.m., NBC).
— Gordon Ramsay hosts child contestants on “MasterChef Junior: Home for the Holidays” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG).
— A doting society husband (Hugh Grant) goes to great lengths to protect his opera-obsessed wife (Meryl Streep) from the reality that she cannot carry a tune in the 2016 true-life comedy “Florence Foster Jenkins (8 p.m., TMC).
— A roster of award-winning performers appears and presents on “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop” (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-14), offering a survey history of the musical genre and its impact on culture and society.
— The dubious verdict in the Milk/Moscone murder trial incites rage and political activism as the 1970s draw to a close on “Fellow Travelers” (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— “The Toys That Built America” (9 p.m., History, TV-PG) explores the use of Santa Claus in marketing and how his image has evolved over the years.
— A night of ceremony coincides with personal tragedy, financial ruin and romantic second thoughts on “The Gilded Age” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— An entrepreneurial couple’s good intentions become blurred by the scrutiny of a reality TV crew in “The Curse” (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
A neurotic milquetoast (director Woody Allen) stumbles into a Central American revolution to impress a possible girlfriend (Louise Lasser) in the 1971 comedy “Bananas” (8 p.m. Sunday, TCM, TV-14).
SATURDAY SERIES
Standup comics interact with contestants eager for cash prizes on four episodes of “Funny You Should Ask” (8 p.m. through 10 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “Dateline” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … “48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS) … A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
“The Great Christmas Light Fight” (10 p.m., ABC) … A widow fears her husband from beyond the grave on “The Equalizer” (10:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
