BritBox streams season six of “Line of Duty.” For the uninitiated, “Duty” is among the most popular series in the U.K., a police drama that puts a lot of emphasis on office politics and bureaucracy. Not unlike American police dramas, much of the dialogue consists of acronyms and jargon, and many of their operations resemble the kind of semi-military procedures seen on “S.W.A.T.” and virtually every drama on CBS.
It also resembles “Law & Order” in its use of talent familiar from other movies and series. Among its stars is Kelly Macdonald, familiar to fans of “Boardwalk Empire,” “Nanny McPhee,” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” Early in her career, she also appeared in “Trainspotting” and “Gosford Park,” director Robert Altman’s 2001 take on a British country house murder mystery written by Julian Fellowes, who later created “Downton Abbey.” A native of Glasgow, Macdonald’s accent is on full display here, so you might consider closed captioning.
Also starring in this season of “Line,” Northern Irish actor Adrian Dunbar was recently seen in the excellent Irish psychological thriller “Blood,” which streams on Acorn. He reminds me of American character actor James Cromwell (“L.A. Confidential”), a ruggedly handsome man great at playing the father figure hiding dark secrets or buried malice.
— Two amoral schemers (Tony Lo Bianco and Shirley Stoler) pass themselves off as brother and sister to swindle and murder rich women who respond to letters in the “lonely hearts” column in the 1970 shocker “The Honeymoon Killers” (9:45 p.m., TCM, TV-14). This has to be one of my all-time favorite movies! One that truly lives up to cult classic status.
Still shocking after half a century, it makes jarring use of “bad” acting to give the couple’s predatory behavior a documentary feel. There’s a scene of a deluded victim singing a patriotic ditty in her bathtub, shot years before Little Edie’s flag-waving number in the Maysles Brothers’ disturbing 1975 documentary “Grey Gardens.” And look for Doris Roberts in a brief role, decades before “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Stoler would later star in Lina Wertmuller’s art house favorite “Seven Beauties” (1975), on her way to becoming a regular (Mrs. Steve) on “Peewee’s Playhouse.” This was Lo Bianco’s second film. He would become a fixture on TV police dramas, from the original “N.Y.P.D.” to “Law & Order.”
Breathtaking and original, “Killers” was based on a true story and inspired an unnecessary remake, “Lonely Hearts,” in 2006, starring James Gandolfini, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Laura Dern and Jared Leto. You can’t improve on a classic!
Curiously, the film was directed by Leonard Kastle, a music scholar, professor and opera composer. He never made another movie. He was actually the film’s second director. The first, an unknown named Martin Scorsese, was fired early in the production. Whatever happened to him?
TONIGHT’S SEASON FINALES
— The stork arrives on “The Resident” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Rebel Wilson hosts “Pooch Perfect” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— The search for the Woodsman on “Prodigal Son” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— Dre mulls a career change on “black-ish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Back in the day on “mixed-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Time to leave the ranch on “Big Sky” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— “Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) looks at the antibiotics revolution.
— A restaurant shooting on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— The big day approaches on “This Is Us” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A split-level abused by its hoarder owners gets a facelift on “Unsellable Houses” (9 p.m., HGTV).
— An informant feels threatened on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— A burst pipe spews disaster on “New Amsterdam” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A deposition upends Jeanette’s case on “Cruel Summer” (10 p.m., Freeform, TV-14).
— “Frontline” (10 p.m., PBS, check local listings) examines the growing inequalities in medical care that have come to light during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CULT CHOICE
Jeff Daniels stars in the 1990 shocker “Arachnophobia” (6:30 p.m., IFC, TV-14), which puts the fear of spiders right into the title.
SERIES NOTES
Navy casualties on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Iris takes it to the max on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Troubles on the gridiron on “Superman & Lois” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Morgan Freeman and Tig Notaro drop by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Chris Rock and Willow on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Nick Jonas, Sam Jay, Deb Haaland and Brian Frasier-Moore visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
