Paramount+ streams the 2024 coming-of-age story “Little Wing.” Based on the New Yorker article by Susan Orlean, whose book “The Orchid Thief” inspired the 2002 film “Adaptation,” “Wing” is another tale of a small subculture and secret world hiding in plain sight.
Young actress Brooklynn Prince (“Cocaine Bear”) stars as the adolescent Kaitlyn, whose world is upended when her parents divorce. To make matters worse, her mother (Kelly Reilly, “Yellowstone”) is beset by money woes and fears of losing their home.
In the curious logic fueled by the raging hormones that make tweens so difficult the world over, Kaitlyn frets about getting enough money to save the day. She happens upon a plan when a friend (Che Tafari) tells her about the strange world of pigeon racing and that a local racer, Jaan (Brian Cox, “Succession”), has a bird worth more than $100,000.
A strange and obsessive pastime, pigeon racing has long been a fixture of the city-bound, people who create elaborate rooftop worlds from which they launch birds that can fly hundreds of miles in pursuit of victory. Invisible to many, it’s a sporting endeavor that has its own peculiar traditions and hierarchies. In the classic movie “On the Waterfront,” Marlon Brando’s character, Terry Malloy, was a pigeon enthusiast, a pastime that exposed the fallen palooka’s softer side.
It’s not giving too much away to reveal that once Kaitlyn enters Jaan’s world, her thoughts of bird theft turn to fascination as she discovers a “little” subject larger than herself.
While most adolescents are given to bouts of silence and indifference, Kaitlyn tends to describe her problems in whole sentences, if not paragraphs. It’s a bit of narrative cheat that undercuts her authenticity.
— Phil Keoghan hosts the 36th season of “The Amazing Race” (9:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG). For some time, “Race” was the most-honored reality series come Emmy time. Its globe-spanning production and coverage of elaborate stunts and challenges equaled that of professional sports or Olympics spectacles. This season, the action will include paragliding in Colombia, rally car racing in Argentina, swimming through waterfalls in the Dominican Republic and visiting music superstar Rihanna’s childhood home in Barbados.
Contestants include Rod, an NFL veteran-turned nutritional supplement CEO, and his wife, Leticia, owner of a fitness center. There’s another married couple who own an aerobics center as well as teams of firefighters and semi-active military, nurses, teachers and a food stylist.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Travel and drama on “Teen Mom: Family Reunion” (8 p.m., MTV, TV-14).
— A grammar school event draws three mothers from very different social strata on the 2023 romance “Field Day” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— On two episodes of “Abbott Elementary” (ABC, TV-PG): a much-needed librarian (9 p.m.); landmark status (9:30 p.m., r).
— Truman makes a last stab at completing (or perhaps starting) his long-promised novel “Answered Prayers” on the season finale of “Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans” (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
A young woman (Hope Lange) arrives in New York just as an older “career woman” (Joan Crawford) hopes for one last stab at romance and happiness in the 1959 melodrama “The Best of Everything” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-PG). A stylized look at Manhattan office culture as a playpen of hanky-panky and hedonism, it was a major influence on “Mad Men.” Look for “Godfather” producer Robert Evans in a small role as boyfriend-turned-cad.
SERIES NOTES
“Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Insurance woes on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14) … Songs from “The Wizard of Oz” fill the air on “The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Darlene helicopters herself into Mark’s trivia night on “The Conners” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Nell’s latest profile blames foul play on “Not Dead Yet” (8:30 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
New recruits and domestic disputes on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14) … Shred’s on the mend on “Animal Control” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Lois substitutes at Chris’s school on “Family Guy” (9:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Drive-by shooters strafe the facilities on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14) … “Judge Steve Harvey” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Paul Rudd and Cecilia Varga are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Angela Bassett, Noel Fielding, Mitch Rowland and Ben Harper on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Kristen Stewart and Walton Goggins visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
