IT had to happen. “Pooch Perfect” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) offers a “Project Runway”-style competition for dog groomers. Take the flamboyance of hairstylists and the eccentricity of “animal people” and you’ve just begun to approach the special nature of some of the participating artists.
Rebel Wilson is an odd choice to preside over this spectacle. Also an inspired one. She delivers her lines in a curious deadpan and waits a beat for the audience to catch up.
“Perfect” is never subtle about tugging on the heartstrings. In the first competition, teams of groomers are asked to base their haircut on their “heart dog,” the first dog they fell in love with, the dog that made them dog people. To which I silently muttered, “Isn’t every dog a heart dog?”
The “heart dog” question dredges up plenty of sad stories of departed pets and a few three-hanky confessions. Silly, fashion-forward and shamelessly sentimental, “Pooch Perfect” seems more like afternoon TV than prime time, and maybe more Netflix than ABC. But my three pugs liked it.
— The “American Experience” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) presentation of “The Blinding of Isaac Woodard” takes a very particular moment and uses that to explain much larger historical themes.
Just discharged from the Army, decorated Black G.I. Isaac Woodard boarded a bus in Georgia to reunite with his wife after serving a year in the Pacific theater. Sometime during the trip, he asked the bus driver if he could get off and relieve himself at the next stop, in South Carolina. After an argument, the driver alerted a local lawman, who beat Woodward and used his club to gouge out his eyes, leaving him permanently sightless.
“Blinding” explains how many in the segregated South were wary of returning Black World War II vets, terrified that their experience and the respect they received in uniform might encourage them to assert their rights. After Woodard’s blinding, there were a series of murders of returning Black G.I.s designed to keep them in their place.
Orson Welles made Woodard’s case a central part of his weekly radio show. He approached the story as a whodunit and offered a reward for the sheriff’s identity. Once revealed, the lawman not only took credit, but bragged about the fact, certain that the culture of Jim Crow justice would protect him.
Most significantly, the case angered President Harry S. Truman. A descendant of Confederate soldiers, Truman was nobody’s idea of a bleeding heart. But he was a World War I veteran and horrified that any American man in uniform should be met with such contempt. Eventually, he issued an executive order desegregating the armed forces in 1948. This would inspire Southern Democrats to split off and form their own States Rights Party, paving the way for a political realignment still being felt to this day.
“Blinding” does a very good job showing how the story of one man, largely forgotten now, could set in motion an entire movement.
— “The Last Cruise” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-14) recalls the Diamond Princess, which left port from Japan in Jan. 2020, carrying a stowaway named COVID-19.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Lies abound on “The Resident” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
— A violent party on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Jack and Rebecca’s awkward years on “This Is Us” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— Group A returns on “The Masked Singer” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG).
— Brainiac struggles as “Supergirl” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14) returns.
— Terror at the border on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— Blood donors needed on “New Amsterdam” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Natalie Wood plays a troubled star in 1930s Hollywood in the 1965 drama “Inside Daisy Clover” (11:30 p.m., TCM, TV-PG), co-starring Robert Redford and Christopher Plummer.
SERIES NOTES
Fighting a cartel on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Giant steps on “Young Rock” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14) … A villain plays on victims’ fears on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … More than a squirrel on “Kenan” (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
Game night gets crazy on “black-ish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Grandma convalesces on “mixed-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “Soul of a Nation” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Dr. Anthony Fauci is booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Leslie Jones, Elizabeth Olsen, Nicky Jam and Romeo Santos on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC, r).
