Brooding, quiet, intense and capable of anything — these are the traits associated with characters played by Giancarlo Esposito, especially since his turn as Gus Fring in “Breaking Bad.”
In the new series “Parish” (10 p.m., Sunday, AMC, TV-MA), Esposito portrays Gracian “Gray” Parish, an elegant, aging man overseeing a luxury car service in New Orleans, a business in decline since the advent of ride-sharing apps. He’s also mourning his son, murdered under mysterious circumstances just the year before. Early on, Gray is late for a celebratory family dinner with his wife, Rose (Paula Malcomson, “Ray Donovan”), and slightly spoiled daughter, Makayla (Arica Himmel, “Black-ish”), because he lingered mournfully over a roadside memorial.
Into Gray’s life arrives an old acquaintance (Skeet Ulrich), a fresh-from-prison reminder of the old days in “the life” of crime. He needs a favor, one last time, an easy chauffeuring job for Horse, an African gangster (Zackary Momoh), newly arrived in the Crescent City from Zimbabwe.
Formulaic dramas are often defined by what they include. And leave out. From its “one last heist” premise to its “Fast and Furious” chase scenes through a Mardi Gras parade in “The Big Easy,” this series can remind us of so many we’ve already seen.
In an early moment, one of Gray’s subordinates begs off an important job because he has a “res” (reservation) for dinner at the fabled Commander’s Palace restaurant. It’s never a good sign when characters written as “real” locals speak like tourists.
It’s also curious that the series, set largely in a Black milieu in New Orleans, avoids any popular music from the last half-century. Old blues, R&B and even a folky vintage recording of “House of the Rising Sun” set the musical tone. Because why would an “old school” guy like Gray, who shaves himself with a straight razor, listen to hip-hop?
Nobody can say that Esposito doesn’t anchor the series. He executive produces it as well. And he’s very effective as the tortured, taciturn Gray. But does he have to show up in Every Single Scene?
“Parish” departs from cliche to get vaguely interesting only when the African heavies arrive, most notably Shamiso Tongai (Bonnie Mbuli, “Wallander”), Horse’s stylish and suspicious older sister, a woman trailing clouds of malevolence. Around the 40-minute mark of an hour-long pilot, Horse and his entourage have a heated conversation in their exotic hotel. It’s the very first scene not featuring Gray.
— Streaming on Paramount+ since Friday, “A Gentleman in Moscow” (8 p.m., Sunday, Showtime, TV-14) stars Ewan McGregor as the central character Alexander Rostov, a former count who made the rather unfortunate decision to return to Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. He’s saved from the firing squad by those in power with a sentimental attachment to a poem he had written in his youth.
Instead of a death sentence, he is imprisoned in a former luxury hotel, consigned to sleep in a maid’s attic garret room, but afforded meals amidst the fading opulence of the dining room. In the best-selling 2016 novel by Amor Towles, Rostov’s life unfolds in flashbacks as his years in the hotel turn into decades.
Rostov is constantly reminded of his totalitarian captors’ “benevolence” in allowing him to live. As such, it shares a peculiar theme with “The Regime” (9 p.m., Sunday, HBO, TV-MA), where Kate Winslet’s mad queen Chancellor keeps an old suitor and rivals imprisoned in the basement.
In the early going, Rostov becomes the object of fascination of the 9-year-old daughter of actress Anna Urbanova (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who sees him as a link to a bygone era of aristocratic elegance. Fans of magical realism may enjoy their tour of Rostov’s 4-star prison. For the rest of us, it’s a little like “Eloise at the Plaza” as imagined by Franz Kafka. An acquired taste, perhaps. Or perhaps too darned cute.
— Moses (Charlton Heston) receives word from on high and leads the Israelites out of Egypt in the 1956 biblical epic “The Ten Commandments” (7 p.m., Saturday, ABC). While based on the Passover story, the film has been an Easter weekend tradition on ABC since at least 1973.
Other Biblical epics and interpretations showcased for the Easter holiday include the 1973 “hippie Jesus” musical “Godspell” (noon, Sunday, TCM). Director George Stevens interprets “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (2 p.m., Sunday, TCM) from 1965. Best known for “Rebel Without a Cause,” auteur Nicholas Ray directed the 1961 reboot of the silent classic “King of Kings” (10 p.m., Sunday, TCM). There’s also the thoroughly secular 1948 musical favorite “Easter Parade” (8 p.m., Sunday, TCM), starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. See you in the rotogravure!
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— The Houston Astros host the New York Yankees in MLB action (7 p.m., Fox).
— A woman discovers that forgiveness has its limits in the 2024 shocker “Living With My Mother’s Killer” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A fetching farmer enters a holiday floral contest and meets a handsome local pastor in the 2024 romance “An Easter Bloom” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Ramy Youssef hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14) featuring musical guest Travis Scott.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7:30 p.m., CBS): Mysterious ailments among Americans suffering from “Havana Syndrome”; a traditional Native American horse relay race.
— NASCAR action (7 p.m., Fox).
— Fred falls ill on “Call the Midwife” (8 p.m., PBS).
— Nolly takes to the stage on “Nolly” on “Masterpiece” (9 p.m., PBS).
— Reaching out to the lost on the season finale of “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA).
— After years of absence, an encounter rekindles old flames on “Alice & Jack” on “Masterpiece” (10 p.m., PBS).
CULT CHOICE
On assignment in war-torn Chad, a world-weary journalist (Jack Nicholson) decides to vanish by changing identities with a dead man, only to discover that he’s “become” an international arms dealer at the center of a civil war, in director Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1975 drama “The Passenger” (8 p.m., Saturday, TCM).
SATURDAY SERIES
A quirky lawyer inserts herself into an investigation on “Elsbeth” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … “The Wall” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG).
“48 Hours” (9 p.m. and 10 p.m. CBS, r, TV-14) … “Weakest Link” (9 p.m., NBC) … A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
A whistle blown on “The Equalizer” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … A mixed-up martial artist on “Tracker” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “Dateline” (8 p.m., NBC) … “American Idol” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … A colleague behind bars on “CSI: Vegas” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “What Would You Do?” (10 p.m., ABC).
