Ruth Wilson (“The Affair”) stars in “The Woman in the Wall” (9 p.m. Sunday, Showtime, TV-MA). Set in Kilkinure, a small town in the remote reaches of Western Ireland, it is steeped in recent Irish history and that country’s toxic relationship with the Catholic Church.
Lorna Brady (Wilson) stands out in her little town. She’s a taciturn soul who lives alone and works as an assistant at a bridal shop, a place of hope, celebration and bright new beginnings that stands in contemptuous contrast to her dark past and muddled present.
As a teen, Lorna became pregnant and was committed to the notorious Magdalene Laundries, a place for “wayward” girls run by the church, where newborns were taken from their mothers and farmed out for adoption. The story was told in the heartbreaking 2013 drama “Philomena,” starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan.
Lorna’s trauma has manifested itself in mysterious acts of violence. She is known to be a sleepwalker, and is first encountered dead asleep on a country road surrounded by cows. She was once arrested for vandalizing religious statuary, an iconoclastic act of vandalism officially explained away as the act of a local eccentric in a dream state.
The murder of a priest in far-off Dublin introduces Detective Colman Akande (Daryl McCormack) to the story. He recognizes the victim as a kindly mentor who helped him through some adolescent scrapes. The case moves to Kilkinure, when the priest’s vintage green Triumph is found in a nearby ditch. This introduces two local constables whose folksy incompetence shows up Akande’s professionalism.
The presence of a big-city detective in town and Kilkinure’s links to a murder do not go unnoticed. Lorna recognizes the green Triumph as belonging to the priest who had forced her into the Laundries. The murder and Akande’s arrival coincide with messages from a stranger informing Lorna that somebody knows what happened to her baby. This sends Lorna on a desperate trip to a bar with sadly predictable consequences: socially awkward encounters and an alcoholic blackout.
Waking up the next morning, she not only can’t recall how she got home, but she has no idea how the dead body of a woman ended up in her house. Is this latest victim the source of the mysterious messages? Or the priest’s killer who drove his Triumph back to the scene(s) of his crimes against young women?
Lorna Brady’s story would be haunting without multiple murders, but they serve to propel this compelling character study and exploration of a social, political and religious war on women from Ireland’s very recent past. As one angry victim recalls, “This wasn’t medieval times. The Laundries were only closed in 1996!” The same year as the Macarena, she says for emphasis.
— A jazz musician (Jamie Foxx) on the verge of a big career break suffers a fatal fall and embarks on an afterlife journey in the 2020 animated Pixar musical “Soul” (9 p.m. Sunday, ABC, TV-PG).
Released into the headwinds of the COVID lockdown, the critically praised film became a streaming sensation for Disney+. It features the music of Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste. “American Symphony,” a documentary about Batiste, his music and his relationship with his partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, is currently streaming on Netflix.
— This weekend’s NFL playoff games (see below) will surely rank among the most-watched events of the year. Last week, both the NFL and Peacock rolled the dice on a playoff game between the Chiefs and the Dolphins, making it available only on that streaming platform.
It became the most-streamed event in history and consumed a good portion of internet bandwidth to boot.
It was streamed and watched by more than 20 million viewers and brought a sizable number of new subscribers to Peacock. Rival media companies amplified social media protests against the “exclusivity” of the event. The Murdoch media’s Wall Street Journal called it a “buttfumble.” Some argued that it would have attracted a bigger audience had it been broadcast on “old-fashioned TV.” And what exactly is that?
For cord-cutters and those outside of digital antenna reception, old-fashioned broadcast has an exclusive paywall of its own.
Last week’s playoff game was only the beginning of this trend. As I’ve been writing since at least 2013, once sports can be reliably streamed, cable television will soon wither away. It’s taken longer than I anticipated, but it’s happening.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— The San Francisco 49ers host the Green Bay Packers in an NFC divisional playoff game (8 p.m., Fox).
— A mother passes along her unhealthy food obsessions to her daughter in the 2024 shocker “Dying in Plain Sight” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— Seemingly destined to remain single, a woman may have found Mr. Right in the 2024 romance “Betty’s Bad Luck in Love” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Jacob Elordi hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14) featuring musical guest Renee Rapp.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— The Buffalo Bills host the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC divisional playoff game (6:30 p.m., CBS).
— A flashback to first encounters on “Miss Scarlett and the Duke” on “Masterpiece” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
— James’ new apprentice on “All Creatures Great and Small” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
— Grim evidence defies comprehension on “Monsieur Spade” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— Just as Danvers discovers new evidence, Anchorage claims jurisdiction on “True Detective: Night Country” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Barbara’s life changes when her show becomes a hit on “Funny Woman” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
CULT CHOICE
Outcast by his rough and tumble classmates, a prep-school student (John Kerr) grows close to his coach’s wife (Deborah Kerr) in the 1956 melodrama “Tea and Sympathy” (8 p.m. Saturday, TCM, TV-PG). This tale of forbidden intimacy has often been seen as a sublimated tale of homosexual love. Based on a Broadway play and directed by Vincente Minnelli, no stranger to sublimation.
SATURDAY SERIES
A lawyer is helped by her unorthodox son on “So Help Me Todd” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … On three episodes of “Will Trent” (ABC, r, TV-14): more than meets the eye (8 p.m.); a missing girl (9 p.m.); a sports hero’s wife is found murdered (10 p.m.).
Cinders and second chances on “Fire Country” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS) … A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
“Dateline” (8 p.m., NBC, r) … Burns is bamboozled by a Silicon Valley visionary on “The Simpsons” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
Prometheus gets a break on “Krapopolis” (8:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Gene’s dream contains the most perfect melody on “Bob’s Burgers” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … A washed-up detective works in a depressing town on “Grimsburg” (9:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Here’s mud in your eye on “Fire Country” (10 p.m., r, CBS, TV-14) … A blessed event for Rollins and Carisi on “Law & Order: SVU” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
