Your TV GPS, Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert’s look at the week ahead in television, appears every Monday morning on BostonGlobe.com. Today’s column covers Jan. 25-31.
NEW ERA FOR ‘SNL’
Like every other series that relies on timely comedy, including the late-night talkers, “Saturday Night Live” is going to need to shift gears in the Biden years. I’m not precisely sure what that means, beyond paying much less attention to the last administration and its easily lampooned characters, such as Jeff Sessions, Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, and Rudy Giuliani. Kate McKinnon is going to need to find new outlets for her brilliance.
We’ll see what happens. Will real political events call for the level of ridicule that was triggered by a president who looked at an eclipse, suggested bleach as a coronavirus cure, and posted tweets loaded with misspellings and misinformation? Will the “SNL” cast, or a special guest impersonator, find a way to tease a new president whose definitive characteristic may be the tragedies that have marked his life — particularly at a time when he is addressing a country grieving over a health crisis?
The answers will begin to unfold beginning this week with the first post-Jan. 20 and (post-Jan. 6) episode, which will feature John Krasinski as host and Machine Gun Kelly as musical guest. Yes, it’s not really a big deal, but still: Historically, the “SNL” take on the president has played a sometimes important role in how the public defines the persona of that president (as well as other political figures, such as Sarah Palin).
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are certainly targetable; as Dana Carvey showed us with George H.W. Bush, the right comic can find absurdity in even the more boring presidents. Maya Rudolph has already charmed and amused with her softball Harris. But Biden is the more important and difficult one to capture. Jim Carrey tried, but largely failed, to do candidate Biden, with an impression that was too manic and Carrey-esque. Alex Moffat tried to do Biden in the most recent new episode in December, but I’ll need to see more before giving it a thumbs up or down.
Perhaps the series will pivot away from the relentless political comedy of recent years. Perhaps the “SNL” writers will need to summon more original humor since the government will not be providing them with so much easy material? That might not be a bad thing.
Saturday’s show is the first of five consecutive new episodes. After Krasinski, Dan Levy will host (with musical guest Phoebe Bridgers) on Feb. 6 and Regina King will host (with musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff) on Feb. 13.
WHAT I’M WATCHING THIS WEEK
1. PBS’s “Masterpiece” has veered from the dramatic intensity of “Elizabeth Is Missing” with Glenda Jackson to the feel-good sunniness of “All Creatures Great and Small.” On Sunday, the series swings back to intensity with a three-parter about the final years of slavery in 1800s Jamaica, and the transition to freedom. Framed as a memoir of an elderly Jamaican woman named July, “The Long Song” is based on the 2010 novel by Andrea Levy. Tamara Lawrance stars as July, with Hayley Atwell as the cruel, desperately single plantation owner and Jack Lowden as the handsome new overseer with big ideas about race. It premieres on GBH 2 at 10 p.m.
2. Put down your devil-worship icons, friends, and step away from your global child sex-trafficking ring. It’s time for a look at the virus, I mean the viral movement that crept into our lives in recent years. “QAnon: The Search for Q” is a three-part docu-series about the group, once on the fringe and now, strangely enough, in the mainstream. It originated on the dark web, and now we have elected politicians legitimizing it. The series premieres on Tuesday at 10 p.m. on Vice TV.
3. Hulu has imported a few good series to go along with its own originals, including the powerful, worth-watching coming-of-age story “In My Skin” and the fame satire “Maxxx.” On Friday, the streaming service is premiering “Jann,” a Canadian comedy starring Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden as a version of herself. She’s newly single, dealing with her mother’s increasing memory loss, trying to restart her career, and hoping to outshine her archrival, fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan (who makes an appearance).
4. HBO has a new four-part docu-series about Elizabeth Carmichael, the con artist who, during the 1970s oil crisis, promoted a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled car known as The Dale and promised 70 miles per gallon. Called “The Lady and the Dale,” the story includes arms smuggling, counterfeiting, and massive fraud. Two back-to-back episodes air Sunday at 9 p.m., followed by single episodes on the following two Sundays. It’s produced by Mark and Jay Duplass and directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker.
5. “Resident Alien,” a new series based on the Dark Horse comic, premieres on Syfy and USA on Wednesday at 10 p.m. It’s about an alien played by Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”) who crash-lands in Colorado and passes himself off as a small-town doctor. But his alien mission is to kill all humans, so he has some moral questions to wrestle with. Linda Hamilton, Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, and Alice Wetterlund costar.
CHANNEL SURFING
“Maz Jobrani: Pandemic Warrior” A stand-up special. Peacock, Friday
“Possessions” A French Hebrew-language series about a woman charged with murdering her husband on their wedding night. HBO Max, Thursday
“The Great Escapists” Richard Hammond and Tory Belleci spend six episodes trying to get off of a desert island using their ingenuity. Amazon, Friday
“Wendy Williams: The Movie” An authorized biopic of the talk-show host, who is played by Ciera Payton. Lifetime, Saturday, 8 p.m.
RECENTLY REVIEWED
“The Sister” A four-part British thriller from “Luther” creator Neil Cross. Hulu
“Miss Scarlet & The Duke” A six-part “Masterpiece” series about a woman solving crimes in Victorian England is a light procedural. GBH 2
“Mr. Mayor” The new comedy from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock starring Ted Danson and Holly Hunter is still finding its legs. NBC
“Masterpiece: Elizabeth Is Missing” Glenda Jackson is stunning as a woman struggling with dementia and with the disappearance of a friend. PBS, GBH 2
“Bridgerton” Jane Austen-styled melodrama, through the lens of producer Shonda Rhimes. Netflix
“Your Honor” Bryan Cranston’s uneven return to TV as a judge covering up his son’s guilt in a hit-and-run fatality. Showtime
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.