“The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy” returns for a second season on Apple TV+. This allows the “SCTV” and “Schitt’s Creek” star to share his experiences in some of Europe’s finest hotels while all the time wondering why he left home in the first place. In one episode, he swills cocktails with Joan Collins on the Riviera.
Nice scenery doesn’t distract from the fact that some shows can actually damage an actor’s reputation. I never thought I would say or write this, but I find Levy less funny after watching this vanity project.
In other Apple TV+ news, the platform is making a major change that reflects a new philosophy. Since its inception, Apple TV+ has projected a “curated” vibe, streaming only series and movies that it had developed. This stood in stark contrast to Netflix and Prime, which offer vast quantities of product to stream.
Apple will now offer a collection of 51 Hollywood movies, including “Titanic,” “Argo” and “The 300” under a new hub called “Great Movies on Apple TV+.”
— “Survivor” fans who want to take things to another dimension can now play “Survivor: Horizon Island,” dubbed an “interactive social VR experience.” All you need is one of those virtual-reality headsets, the kind that works on the Meta (Facebook) wavelength. Apparently, this allows you to feel like you’re sitting around the campfire and interacting with other virtual participants, under the guidance of series host and VR camp counselor Jeff Probst.
— Max streams two big-budget reboots. Released last December and starring Timothee Chalamet, “Wonka” is the third iteration of the Roald Dahl story, after the 1971 musical “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” starring Gene Wilder, and the 2005 Tim Burton hallucination “Charlie & the Chocolate Factory,” starring Johnny Depp.
Also premiering on Max today is the fourth take on “A Star Is Born,” the 2018 version starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga as a fading idol and rising star.
— When you’ve got a niche, scratch it! Two horror spoofs with a very specific emphasis are now streaming. Shudder introduces “Satanic Hispanics,” beginning today. Not to be confused with “Cholo Zombies Monstro,” a shocker that can be rented on Amazon Prime.
— As we move into Oscar weekend, it’s always fun to debate which award winners hold up, what films were “robbed” and how the hype can often overwhelm the experience.
Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow star in the 1998 period romantic comedy “Shakespeare in Love” (6:55 p.m., HBO Signature).
The film has come to symbolize the Miramax touch, the ability of producer Harvey Weinstein to blend mass appeal with “classy” storylines and to lobby aggressively during awards season. The film won seven Oscars, including a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Judi Dench (as Queen Elizabeth I) who appeared on screen for only eight minutes. At the time, many argued that “Saving Private Ryan” and Cate Blanchett’s turn in “Elizabeth” were eclipsed by Weinstein’s Oscar campaign.
On another unexpected note, the movie inspired the 1999 “Star Wars”-inspired parody “George Lucas in Love,” a short-film comedy that gained internet exposure some years before the advent of YouTube and served as a professional calling card for its director, Joe Nussbaum.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— After two tours in Afghanistan, a soldier celebrates the holidays without her beloved K9 companion in the 2018 romance “A Veteran’s Christmas” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Danny’s old partner becomes a person of interest in a murder investigation on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Awash with cash after a legal settlement, a frustrated passenger (Kevin Hart) creates an airline that reflects his attitudes in the 2004 comedy “Soul Plane” (6:30 p.m., BET, TV-14), featuring Tom Arnold, Method Man, Snoop Dogg, Mo’Nique, Loni Love, K.D. Aubert, D.L. Hughley, Godfrey and Sofia Vergara.
SERIES NOTES
On two episodes of “S.W.A.T.” (CBS, TV-14): an arms dealer’s kidnapping plot (8 p.m.); armor-piercing bullets (9 p.m.) … “Deal or No Deal Island” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Robots prepare meals on “Shark Tank” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC) … “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC, r).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Naomi Campbell and Kneecap on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr. and Rory Scovel appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (11:35 p.m., ABC, r).
Austin Butler, Jenny Slate and Two Door Cinema Club visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts Riki Lindhome, Rob Huebel and Vinny Thomason “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
