Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Sunday, April 18. All times are Eastern.
Top pick
Mare Of Easttown (HBO, 10 p.m., series premiere): “Kate Winslet buckles under the expectations of a small town in Mare Of Easttown. The Oscar winner stars as Detective Mare Sheehan, who’s a local hero thanks to a high school basketball victory and her dedicated service. Though she followed in her late father’s footsteps in joining the force, Mare is mostly fighting to get out from her own shadow. But this limited series from Brad Ingelsby has more in store for Mare than just crushed hopes—she also leads the search for a missing person. And as the investigation drags on, no amount of former glory can keep her fellow Easttown residents from getting restless. There are shades of Sharp Objects, what with the insular setting, the missing girl, and Mare’s contentious relationship with her mother Helen (Jean Smart). But HBO and Winslet already proved to be a winning combination in 2011, when the actor took home an Emmy for Mildred Pierce.” Read the rest of Danette Chavez’s thoughts on this new series, among others, in our April TV preview. Joshua Alston will recap.
Regular coverage
The Nevers (HBO, 9 p.m.)
Wild cards
Roll Up Your Sleeves (NBC, 7 p.m.): If there’s someone in your life who’s feeling skittish about the vaccine, you might want to set up a Zoom to watch this special with them from afar, as it’s designed to “raise awareness and encourage the American public to get vaccinated to put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Maybe Michelle Obama and Lin-Manuel Miranda can convince them? If nothing else, it might be worth tuning into this sucker to witness this surreal conversation: “Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Adviser to the President, will be interviewed by Matthew McConaughey.” A sentence we could never have imagined, that.
Confronting A Serial Killer (Starz, 9 p.m., docuseries premiere): Sound the true-crime klaxon once more. Of the latest entry into the genre, Saloni Gajjar writes:
Over its five episodes, the Starz docuseries offers the stripped-down, gruesome details behind Samuel Little’s killings of 93 women (possibly more), and the lapses in the criminal justice system that allowed him to remain free for over three decades before he was properly apprehended in 2012. Once a massive number like 93 sinks in, the viewing only gets more heartbreaking as the backstories of some of Little’s victims—who were primarily marginalized women of color as well as sex workers who battled addiction—come to light.
Journalist and author Jillian Lauren serves as narrator and guide into the horrifying tale. Lauren and Little formed a Silence Of The Lambs-esque bond in 2018, when she reached out to him for an interview for her book while he was imprisoned. He ended up confessing his crimes to her, and Confronting A Serial Killer includes audio footage of her interactions with him.
Read the rest of her pre-air review.