‘Mercy Street’ returns; ‘Beaches,’ ‘New Edition Story’ premiere

PASADENA, Calif. — The next few days in prime time mark the return of a popular historical drama, the debut of a music group biopic and the remake of a 1980s movie classic.

‘Mercy Street’

PBS’s Civil War-era hospital drama “Mercy Street” (8 p.m. Sunday, WQED-TV) returns for its second season, picking up right where it left off. But after clearing up some cliffhangers, the plot swiftly moves forward.

One character from season one doesn’t return (bye-bye, Auralia) but several newcomers enter the Alexandria, Va., scene, including an odd duck new head of the hospital (Bryce Pinkham) and a former slave turned activist (2006 Carnegie Mellon University grad Patina Miller, “Madame Secretary”).

“Mercy Street” remains strictly middlebrow fare, but it’s well done for what it is and better than in its first season.

Producers pair up the characters differently in upcoming episodes, which allows for fresh interactions and the opportunity for character backstories to emerge from the unexpected pairings.

‘Beaches’

Move over, Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey: Idina Menzel and Nia Long take over their roles in Lifetime’s “Beaches” remake (8 p.m. Saturday) with Ms. Menzel belting out new versions of “Wind Beneath My Wings” and “Glory of Love.”

Producers didn’t change much for the reboot.

“There is one other thread with Nia’s storyline that makes it different from the original, which is that she is a woman that has a career and finds her true joy and passion in being a mother, and that debate of career versus motherhood is something that will touch

a lot of women,” said executive producer Alison Greenspan. “It’s a new angle on that journey from the original.”

Ms. Menzel called the new “Beaches” an homage.

“If it can open a new discussion at this time about where women are, and how we balance and navigate all of these passions we have and ourselves, career and our family,” she said. “I think it’s similar to back then, but I think things have changed. So it’s just another way to start a conversation.”

‘New Edition Story’

For a musical experience in the R&B genre, BET offers “The New Edition Story,” a six-hour miniseries airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday next week.

Executive producer Jesse Collins said the group’s longevity was part of the appeal of telling their story in dramatic form.

“We’re talking about a group that started as a boy band and then evolved from there into adult superstars,” he said. “Not even just as a group, but as individuals. New Edition gave us Bobby Brown, BBD, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant, all solo stars on their own right. But then, collectively, you know, New Edition, ‘Heartbreak’ album, ‘Home Again’ album, mega success. And there is not another group in music history that’s ever done that.”

All the group’s members were producers on the film, and members were often at rehearsal, according to actor Elijah Kelley, who plays Ricky Bell.

“Some days, everybody would be there,” Mr. Kelley said. “The most invigorating part was them getting up in their older age and doing all the choreography in front of us.”

“Better than us,” added Algee Smith, who plays Ralph Tresvant.