Spend eight hours with ‘When We Rise’ miniseries
ABC launches “When We Rise” (9 p.m., TV-14). This ambitious eight-hour miniseries profiles a generation of activists who fought to bring LGBTQ people out of the shadows of invisibility and secure political power and equal rights before the law.
Created by Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”), “Rise” is rather unstinting in its confrontational politics and its portrayal of gay men and women as sexually engaged human beings. Twenty years after Ellen DeGeneres’ sitcom received a TV-MA rating just for announcing that her character had come out of the closet, “Rise” is still groundbreaking for commercially sponsored network television.
A great cast includes Guy Pearce as Cleve Jones, a Quaker from Phoenix who graduates from anti-Vietnam War protests to gay activism in San Francisco. Cleve narrates “Rise” and takes viewers through the struggles of the movement, from the political organizing that elected Harvey Milk and then saw him assassinated, endured the AIDS epidemic
and saw a national political backlash to calls for rights and marriage equality.
Mary-Louise Parker, Rachel Griffiths and Michael K. Williams also appear in a sprawling cast that includes David Hyde Pierce as Cleve’s straight and slightly disapproving father.
The story of “Rise” is too sprawling to digest in this space. It’s sufficient to say that it remains compelling over its eight hours. And that’s saying a lot for a story so filled with anguish, tragedy and anger.
The first episode of “When
We Rise” was written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant.
PRE-TAKEN
NBC bets on more cat-andmouse thrillers. Having doubled its supply of “Blacklist” shows, the network launches “Taken” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14), created by Luc Besson as a “prequel” to the movie series.
Clive Standen, better known as Rollo from “Vikings,” stars as former Green Beret Bryan Mills, whose history with drug lords involves him in a gruesome passenger train shootout before the credits even roll. The opening scene is both a greeting card and a bloodbath, mixing violence and sentimentality in equal measure, setting the tone for the series.
Jennifer Beals stars as the head of a super-secret federal agency using Mills as bait to capture a drug lord and any number of very bad guys along the way. Help yourself.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
› “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) begins its 12th season.
› The leader of the smuggling ring may have answers on “24: Legacy” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› “The Obama Years: The Power of Words” (8 p.m., Smithsonian) looks back at the speeches of the 44th president.
› Shopping on the black market on “APB” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
› “Cold Case Files”(9 p.m., A&E, TV-14) returns after a lengthy hiatus, now narrated by Danny Glover.
› A girl in a bubble needs help on “Scorpion” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
› Racing against a deadline on “The Big Bang Theory” (8 p.m., CBS, repeat, TV-PG).
› Andi surprises Nick on “The Bachelor” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
› Dean Cain guest-stars on “Supergirl” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
› Adam’s folks have big news on “Man With a Plan” (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).
› Gentrification hits close to home on “Superior Donuts” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG).