Streaming today on Hulu, “Nada” is a bittersweet comedy miniseries imported from Argentina, about Manuel (Luis Brandoni), an eccentric writer and food critic whose exacting demands about his diet and particularly, his coffee, have been met by his longtime friend/housekeeper/companion (Maria Rosa Fugazot), who may be the only person who can put up with him.
His life changes utterly when he has to hire a younger housekeeper, Antonia (Majo Cabrera), a naive woman from a small village in Paraguay. Her inexperience, lack of sophistication and darker skin sets tongues wagging. Rumors spread that the curmudgeon is having a midlife crisis or nervous breakdown. Suddenly, his ability to bluff his way through high society gets more difficult and his status as an arbiter of taste suffers.
Manuel’s work and exacting standards infuses “Nada” with rather sophisticated situations, art direction and photography. The camera pauses lovingly over gorgeous dining rooms of fancy restaurants, the sumptuous interiors of impeccably decorated rooms and, perhaps most importantly, over the preparation of fantastic dishes and the concoction of a cup of coffee for the world’s fussiest man.
Some of these elaborately staged scenes may appeal to fans of Wes Anderson movies. Additionally, comedy that arises from the presence of a young, attractive woman with a curmudgeon of a certain age is not unknown to fans of “Only Murders in the Building.”
The miniseries is basically a love letter to the beauties of Buenos Aires and seems certain to send tourists and gourmands flocking to that city.
Robert De Niro shows up in the last of the series’ five episodes, playing a fellow writer and critic from New York who swoops into town to try to save his friend’s reputation, only to have many of his words and gestures lost in translation.
— Apple TV+ streams the six-part documentary sports series “Messi Meets America.” It profiles the soccer legend born Lionel Andres Messi Cuccitini, an international star with 20 years of experience playing in Europe and his native Argentina.
His arrival in Miami to play for that city’s football club is said to be a very big deal for those who follow such things.
In pure television terms, this may appear to be the case of art imitating life, or vice versa. In the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso,” an international superstar, also with only one name — Zava (Maximilian Osinski) — was supposed to supercharge the team and turn around its fortunes.
More than a generation ago, Brazilian star Pele arrived in New York to play for the Cosmos, an act that was expected to singlehandedly change Americans’ sports appetites. It didn’t happen.
That event and the efforts to kickstart American soccer in the 1970s were the subject of the 2006 documentary “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos,” available to rent on many platforms.
— Prime Video streams the three-part docuseries “The Greatest Show Never Made,” about a fake series concocted at the dawn of the reality TV era.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Ben jumps into the role of a bank teller on the day of a violent robbery on “Quantum Leap” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— The second season finale of “America Outdoors With Baratunde Thurston” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) visits the rugged coast of Maine.
— A cyber-embezzler crossed the wrong Hawaiian shirt on “Magnum P.I.” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) looks into plunging temperatures that nearly extinguished life on Earth some 700 million years ago.
— Caught in a gang war crossfire on “Chicago Fire” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
— An aerial photograph reveals a submerged 4th century Turkish basilica on “Secrets of the Dead” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).
CULT CHOICE
Charlton Heston portrays a Mexican narcotics officer in director Orson Welles’ 1958 border town potboiler “Touch of Evil” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-14), and an idealistic doctor lured by the wrong rich woman (Lizabeth Scott) in the 1953 melodrama “Bad for Each Other” (10 p.m., TCM, TV-PG).
SERIES NOTES
“Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
“Snake Oil” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Fun and games in Vietnam on “The Amazing Race” (9:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “The $100,000 Pyramid” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Melissa Villasenor is booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Bailey Zimmerman on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Reba McEntire, Werner Herzog and Tom Odell visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
