Gossipy ‘Feud’ on FX is not be missed
“Feud: Bette and Joan” (10 p.m. Sunday, FX, TV- MA) arrives as the must- see TV event of the year. Or at least the month. Rich in period details and gossipy Hollywood lore, the eight- part drama stars Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, two aging acting giants and offscreen rivals who united to make the 1962 horror film “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
Developed by Ryan Murphy, “Feud” largely avoids campy excess and offers a thoughtful and even poignant meditation on the plight of women of a certain age desperate to remain relevant in a male- dominated industry, personified by blunt mogul Jack L. Warner, brilliantly portrayed by Stanley Tucci.
Alfred Molina grounds the picture as Robert Aldrich, a journeyman director looking to break through with an artistic triumph and a comeback picture for the two castoff Oscar-winners whose raging egos he must babysit for months on end.
Lange and Sarandon make the most of their divas. The film contrasts Crawford’s desperate insecurities and dependency on Hollywood approval with Davis’ flinty New England confidence.
Dominated by these two legends, “Feud” still has plenty of room for delicious smaller parts. Jackie Hoffman is simply unforgettable as Mamacita, Crawford’s personal assistant, a blunt nunlike German woman whose Spanish nickname is never explained. Judy Davis flies in and out of scenes as the manic gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, a woman whose floral headwear defies description.
This tale of 1962 Hollywood is bookended by documentary-style flashbacks from the 1970s, featuring interviews with grand dames Joan Blondell (Kathy Bates) and Olivia de Havilland ( Catherine Zeta-Jones).
In a smart move, “Feud” avoids echoes of “Mommy Dearest” entirely. Crawford’s daughter, Christina, is away acting in a play. Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men”) appears as Davis’ pretty teenage daughter, B. D. Hyman, drafted into a small part in “Baby Jane.”
If “Feud” has a fault, it’s that it simply ends, suddenly and rather abruptly, after the Oscar ceremonies in 1963. If any tale deserved an “American Graffiti”-like coda explaining what ever happened to the cast of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” it is “Feud.” But that’s a small blemish on this gem.
A second “Feud” about Prince Charles and Princess Diana has already been scheduled for 2018.
OSCAR ON TV
Fresh from her Oscar win for “Fences,” Viola Davis (“How to Get Away With Murder”) stars as a judge at the center of “Custody” (8 p.m., tonight, Lifetime), a 2016 courtroom drama making its premiere tonight. Hayden Panettiere departs from her “Nashville” diva role to play a lawyer assigned to a messy domestic custody case. Look for Ellen Burstyn, Oscar winner for 1974’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” No stranger to television, Burstyn has appeared in “House of Cards” on Netflix and in “Flowers in the Attic” on Lifetime. In addition to “How to Get Away With Murder,” Davis’ TV credits are extensive. She also appeared in the Lifetime movie “Life Is Not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story” back in 2006.
BACK IN TIME
The creators of “Making History” ( 8: 30 p. m. Sunday, Fox, TV-14) know that the best way to introduce a time machine into a story is to not spend any time explaining its technology. In this slight comedy, a giant duffel bag seems to suffice.
Dan ( Adam Pally) discovers it in his late father’s lab. He uses it to travel back to 1775. He’s not there to witness the birth of America, but to hit on Deborah (Leighton Meester), the daughter of Paul Revere. The humor here consists of Dan charming the colonists with lame lines from “Titanic” and “Jerry Maguire.” If watching Sam Adams screaming “Show me the money!” is your idea of hilarious, “Making History” is the show for you.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS
› The Chicago Bulls host the Los Angeles Clippers in NBA action (8:30 p.m., ABC).
› Jungles are explored on “Planet Earth II” ( 9 p. m., BBC America, TV-PG).
› Wild in the city on “The Zoo” (10 p.m., Animal Planet).
› Octavia Spencer hosts “Saturday Night Live” ( 11: 30 p. m., NBC, TV-14), featuring musical guest Father John Misty. ›
“NBA Countdown” (8 p.m., ABC). ›
Human trafficking on “Ransom” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14). ›
A warehouse conflagration on “Chicago Fire” (8 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14). ›
The search for answers on “24: Legacy” (8 p.m., Fox, repeat, TV-14).
› “Premier Boxing Champions” (9 p.m., CBS).
› Family matters on “Chicago P. D.” ( 9 p. m., NBC, repeat, TV-14).
› Up close and personal on “APB” (9 p.m., Fox, repeat, TV-14).