Creativity can be magic, but collaboration can sometimes be difficult. For those used to performing, writing or creating in isolation, the act of sharing the process or the stage can create either some wonderful new alchemy or simply frustration.
Imagine a star sharing the spotlight and the creative process with dozens of peers, each more famous and difficult than the other, and you are approaching the dynamics of “The Greatest Night in Pop,” a Netflix documentary recalling the process of composing the “We Are the World” charity single — a fundraiser to combat famine in Africa — that was recorded in January 1985 and released months later, eventually selling more than 20 million copies.
Singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte (who died last April) was inspired by the U.K. famine-relief single “Do They Know It’s Christmas” released in 1984. He consulted his Rolodex and called a pantheon of pop stars, many who agreed to participate without knowing who else had committed. “Greatest Night” spends a great deal of time documenting the difficulties that Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson had navigating their very different styles and approaches while coming up with the melody and lyrics for the song.
The recording session eventually included a who’s who of music of that period, a constellation of stars so bright that a cardboard sign in the recording studio that read “Check your egos at the door” became a symbol of the spirit of the occasion.
Released nearly 40 years after the hit single, “The Greatest Night in Pop” includes unseen footage and interviews with participants including Richie, Bruce Springsteen, Smokey Robinson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Loggins, Dionne Warwick and Huey Lewis, who join session musicians, engineers, and production crew in recalling how the night progressed from confusion and chaos to harmony.
— Blending issues of long standing with an emerging crisis, “Razing Liberty Square” appears on “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
Established decades ago during the time of segregated housing, Liberty City has long been synonymous with Miami’s Black community, one part of a mosaic of groups that has turned the old resort city into a bustling metropolis that some consider the capital of Latin America.
Located inland from Miami’s more fabulous beaches and hotels, Liberty City now faces new problems. Climate change has resulted in ever-higher sea levels, inspiring real estate investors to seek higher ground, making Liberty City ripe for gentrification.
— News as soap opera, “Bad Romance — A Special Edition of 20/20” (10 p.m., ABC) looks at a tale of love turned sour that gave way to betrayal and violence. Stories about a woman in peril at the hands of the man who met her at the end of an aisle on her wedding day have become docuseries fodder for some time now, propelling networks like ID to air shows like “Who the Bleep Did I Marry” on a regular basis.
Stories about heartache and love gone wrong have spurred newspaper columns, romance comic books, novels and TV melodramas for decades. Audiences, mostly female, apparently can’t get enough of feeling scared and harboring a keen schadenfreude toward women who delude themselves into thinking they have found the “perfect” situation.
It’s just rather odd and depressing when such stories are passed off as news or products of the news division like “20/20.” ABC is hardly the first to do this. In fact, ID, singularly focused on women’s fears, was once a corner of the Discovery Network affiliated with the New York Times. Where’s the fun — or the fear — in that?
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— On two episodes of “Yellowstone” (CBS, TV-MA): a bunkhouse battle (9 p.m.); brass knuckle negotiations (10 p.m.). The second episode is the third season finale.
— An arson case rekindles bad memories on “The Irrational” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
An insecure novelist (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) can’t accept her husband’s overheard criticism in the 2023 satire “You Hurt My Feelings” (9 p.m., Sho2).
SERIES NOTES
Negotiation tips on “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “America’s Most Wanted” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Old ties are hard to break on “Bob Hearts Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “TMZ Investigates” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes James Corden, Rob Gronkowski and George Birge on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Sterling K. Brown and Melissa Rauch visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
