Moscow, Moses and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’
Nothing exceeds like excess, particularly when everything and everybody is for sale. That is the moral of the true-life documentary “Operation Odessa” (9 p.m. today, Showtime, TV-MA). Only the fact that “Odessa” is based on real events keeps it from seeming like some overeager script writer’s fever dream.
Its protagonists step out of the pages of spy novels or movie thrillers. They hail from three underworlds steeped in legend: the Russian mob, the Miami cocaine scene and the Cuban government. Together, these men would waltz into the free-for-all chaos of post-Soviet Moscow and broker the sale of a Russian submarine to a South American drug cartel for a cool $35 million. A must for fans of audacious heist movies.
EASTER TRADITION
As it has since 1973, ABC commemorates Easter weekend with an airing of the four-hour 1956 biblical epic “The Ten Commandments” (7 p.m. today, TV-G).
The network doesn’t continue a 45-year tradition with a 62-year-old movie out of charity or religious devotion. It’s still a ratings winner. Year after year, “The Ten Commandments” wins the battle for a TV audience, often attracting twice as many viewers as the nextmost-watched broadcast offering.
Tonight’s other seasonal or devotional films include “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (8 p.m., TCM), “Son of God” (8 p.m., Telemundo), “La Rosa de Guadalupe” (8 p.m., Univision) and “Barabbas” (11:30 p.m., TCM).
TCM continues its Easter theme on Sunday with the 1959 epic remake of “Ben-Hur” (1 p.m.), the 1961 version of “King of Kings” (5 p.m.) and the 1948 musical “Easter Parade” (8 p.m.).
Also on Sunday, select CBS stations will broadcast the documentary “Race, Religion & Resistance” (check morning and afternoon local listings), exploring ways that various faith and interfaith groups are confronting bigotry. After its broadcast, the film can be screened at cbsnews.com/ religion-and-culture.
ROCK OPERA
NBC continues its tradition of airing live performances of Broadway musical extravaganzas with “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” (8 p.m. Sunday). With music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics from Tim Rice, “Superstar” was born in 1970 as an LP — a “rock opera” hot on the heels of The Who’s “Tommy.” (A gatefold double LP at that!) The record inspired a Broadway musical in 1971, a 1973 movie adaptation and numerous revivals on the big stage in the decades since.
For the uninitiated, “Superstar” has no spoken dialogue, only songs, and unfolds from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, the doomed betrayer of Jesus Christ.
NBC’s version will star Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas. Dixon is currently starring in “Power” on Starz and has appeared on Broadway and in national touring companies of “Hamilton,” “The Color Purple” and “The Lion King.” Jesus is played by 10-time Grammy winner John Legend, and Mary Magdalene is portrayed by Broadway and pop star Sara Bareilles.
One major character will be played by a rock legend venerable enough to have been around when “Superstar” was first recorded. Look for Alice Cooper in the role of King Herod. This may be the best casting of a rock veteran in a passion play since David Bowie played Pontius Pilate in “The Last Temptation of Christ.”
GETTY MYSTERY
“Trust” (10 p.m. Sunday, FX, TV-MA), the best new series airing or streaming right now, broadcasts its second episode. And it pretty much belongs to Brendan Fraser as James Fletcher Chace. He’s J. Paul Getty Sr.’s (Donald Sutherland) head of security, sent to Rome to investigate the kidnapping of the billionaire’s grandson (Harris Dickinson).
Director Danny Boyle evokes classic thrillers like “The Italian Job” and “The Thomas Crown Affair” with generous use of splitscreen imagery and just a hint of Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western scores.
It’s hard not to love Fraser as a laconic Texas good ol’ boy trying to make himself understood while trailing suitcases filled with cash in an effort to contact Mafia kidnappers — or at least find some logic to a baffling mystery.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
› Winners of the Final Four will meet in Monday night’s NCAA Men’s National Championship game. Loyola-Chicago takes on Michigan (6 p.m., TBS) and Kansas meets Villanova (8:30 p.m., TBS).
› A wife rues her decision to hire a “Mistress Hunter” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14) after her husband and the other woman turn up dead.
› A busy professional event planner is lured back to her hometown in the 2018 romance “Home by Spring” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
› “Christiane Amanpour: Sex & Love Around the World” (10 p.m., CNN) visits Beirut.
Kevin McDonough can be reached at kevin.tvguy@gmail.com.