This week on TV features a new series about Julia Child, a new Marvel superhero who’s sort of insane, a trip to Mars, a true-crime drama, an uplifting musical, the Oscars — and a particularly bad new sitcom.
“Julia”
Streaming Thursday on HBO Max • Love Julia Child! Love Sara Lancashire’s portrayal of her in this eight-part series! Like the series … but don’t love it. Which is a little bit of a disappointment.
Julia Child (1912-2004), of course, became an unlikely television star when she fought her way onto public television in “The French Chef.” And it was a bit of a battle, because (a) television was still pretty new in the early 1960s; (b) Julia was a woman in a business — and a time — dominated by men; (c) cooking shows were a new thing back then; and (d) Julia was not what anyone would consider a conventionally attractive woman, and television was and is dominated by attractive people.
The series opens with Julia and her husband, Paul (David Hyde Pierce of “Frasier”), celebrating the impending publication of her book, “The Art of French Cooking.” (Getting that done wasn’t easy, either.) And it’s beyond delightful when Julia makes an appearance on Boston public TV station WGBH, steamrolls the host and takes over the show. And when she produces her own pilot for the series that made her famous.
There are a lot of really nice moments in the series, which — don’t get me wrong — is good. And it’s worth watching just to watch Lancashire (“Last Tango in Halifax”).
But “Julia” is sort of the TV equivalent of comfort food. Good. Filling. Satisfying. But nothing new, different or challenging.
94th Annual Academy Awards
6 p.m. Sunday, ABC/Ch. 4 • Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes are the hosts, given the unenviable task of trying to make this too-long and too-slow show entertaining. If you’re not a huge movie buff, record it and fast forward through all the boring parts.
(Steve Dietl | Hulu) Elle Fanning stars as Michelle Carter in "The Girl From Plainville."
“The Girl from Plainville”
Streaming Tuesday on Hulu • This deeply disturbing eight-part series is based on the true story of a 17-year-old (Elle Fanning) who was tried and convicted of involuntary manslaughter after she urged her 18-year-old boyfriend to kill himself. It’s both engaging and repellent — it raises some important issues and the Fanning is very good. But it can be very tough to sit through.
“How to Survive a Pandemic”
Tuesday, 9 p.m., HBO • This is an outstanding documentary about the race to find a vaccine for COVID-19 is full of heroes and villains. It’s a tale of the amazing work that produced the vaccines incredibly quickly and the story of absolutely moronic political failings that made the pandemic worse. (Also streaming on HBO Max.)
(Marvel) Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight.
“Moon Knight”
Streaming Wednesday, Disney+ • This new series focuses on one of Marvel’s lesser-know characters, who’s sort of like a magic Batman, if Batman was insane. Oscar Isaac stars as Steven Grant, who shares a body with Marc Spector, whose alter-ego is Moon Knight. It’s weird and dark and violent and intriguing.
“The Queen of Versailles Reigns Again”
Streaming Wednesday, Discovery+ • In this sequel to the astonishing 2012 documentary “The Queen of Versailles” — which premiered at Sundance — Jackie and David Siegel work to finish the 90,000-square-foot (or is it 100,000-square-foot?) mansion they had to abandon when the 2008 recession hit. They’re still totally weird, and watching Jackie is sort of like rubber-necking a car crash — you know you shouldn’t look, but you can’t help yourself.
(Robert Voets | Nickelodeon) Audrey Grace Marshall as Viv, Susanne Blasklee as the voice of Wanda and Daran Norris as the voice Cosmo in "The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder."
“The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder”
Streaming Thursday, Paramount+ • The original, animated “Fairly OddParents,” which aired 172 episodes from 2001-2017, is vastly underrated. It was a hugely funny, inventive show. This sequel mixes live-action with animation. The kid in the original series, Timmy Turner, is older now, and he hands his fairy godparents, Cosmo and Wanda, off to his young cousin, Viv, and her new stepbrother, Roy. The mix of live actors and animation takes some getting used to, but it’s still funny.
“Moonshot”
Streaming Thursday on HBO Max • If you thought you’d seen every possible permutation of a romantic comedy … there’s this one. Sophie (Lana Condor, star of the “To All the Boys” trilogy) is a buttoned-down young woman in a long-distance relationship with a boyfriend on Mars. (It’s set in the future. Duh.) Walt (Dylan Sprouse, “Riverdale”) is a free spirit who meets a girl the day before she ships off to Mars. Sophie books passage to the Red Planet; Walt stows away on the same ship; and their relationship develops. It looks cute. But shouldn’t the title be “Mars Shot”?
“Better Nate Than Ever”
Streaming Thursday, Disney+ • If this seems sort of like a junior-high version of “High School Musical,” well, it was directed by Tim Federle, the show runner of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” It’s based on his 2013 novel, which was based on his life. Nate is an unpopular 13-year-old who dreams of a life in the musical theater, but he’s repeatedly rebuffed. He and his best friend, Libby, run away to Broadway looking for their big breaks. And heartfelt, uplifting entertainment — complete with original songs — ensues.
(Cliff Lipson | CBS) Pete Holmes stars in "How We Roll."
“How We Roll”
Thursday, 8:30 p.m., CBS • Yeesh. This new sitcom is about a guy (Pete Holmes) who gets laid off from his factory job and decides to become a professional bowler. Yes, it’s based on the life of Tom Smallwood. No, it’s not funny. Seriously, in the three episodes screened for critics there were no laughs. The characters are likable enough, but this is just painful.