‘Sick Note’ debuts; ‘Romanoffs’ concludes
“As funny as cancer” is not a compliment. Fans of dark comedies should at least sample “Sick Note,” a new import series streaming on Netflix beginning today. Rupert Grint stars as an ambition-free man thrown for a loop by a diagnosis of terminal esophageal cancer.
Struck by how much nicer everybody treats him after his grim prognosis, he decides to keep the news to himself when his doctors declare him cancer-free. A curious supporting cast includes Don Johnson, and in the second season (also streaming as of today), Lindsay Lohan.
While the notion of a “cancer comedy” may seem outlandish, this isn’t even the first one to arrive this year. The CW tried to milk both melodrama and humor from “Life Sentence” just this spring. It had few takers and was canceled after one short season.
› Matthew Weiner directs the eighth and final installment of “The Romanoffs,” streaming on Amazon Prime. While the story is filled with holes and features a narrative framing device that simply does not withstand scrutiny, the episode (“The One that Holds Everything”) presents a spellbinding story told during a train ride, a mystery with a killer twist that evokes Agatha Christie.
While few can argue that “The Romanoffs” will be as memorable as Weiner’s “Mad Men,” it stood out as an intriguing if uneven anthology series. Each installment holds up as a small, standalone movie.
The notion that every episode featured some tenuous link to the Russian royal family never amounted to much more than a gimmick. The weakest element of the series was the title sequence showing the murder of the tsar’s family accompanied by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Refugee.” In spirit and tone, it simply had nothing to do with the rest of the series.
“Great Performances — Harold Prince: The Director’s Life” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) profiles a producer/director whose seven decades on Broadway spanned the eras from the original “West Side Story” to “The Phantom of the Opera” and earned him 21 Tony Awards.
› A health crisis inspires a standup special, “Jim Gaffigan: Noble Ape” (11 p.m., Comedy Central, TV-14).
› For those keeping score, Velocity will rebrand itself as the MotorTrend Network, starting today.
TONIGHT’S HOLIDAY HIGHLIGHTS
› Jimmy Durante narrates the 1969 holiday special “Frosty the Snowman” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-G), directed by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass.
› Boris Karloff narrates the 1966 holiday special “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-G).
› Fred Astaire narrates the 1970 stop-motion holiday special “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-G), featuring the voice of Mickey Rooney. Another RankinBass production.
› The 2000 cartoon “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” (9 p.m., CW, TV-G) animates the spirit of a 1979 novelty song.
› A workaholic finds only ardor when she returns home to care for her ailing mother in the 2018 romance “Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-PG).
Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin .tvguy@gmail.com.