DAVID WIEGAND
On TV
Lots of buzz for the first three episodes of “Marvel’s Runaways,” available on Hulu today. It starts slow, but keep going. It is a “marvel.” Netflix streaming offers include the kids’ special “Beat Bugs: All Together Now,” the documentary “Saving Capitalism” and a standup special, “Brian Regan: Nunchucks and Flamethrowers.” “Saving Capitalism ”is based on the book by former Treasury Secretary Robert Reich, who teaches at UC Berkeley and previously collaborated with director Jacob Kornbluth on the award-winning 2013 documentary “Inequality for All.” His columns appear in The Chronicle’s Sunday Insight section. A new episode of “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” airs at a special 8 p.m. time on A&E.
It will be followed by the series premiere of “Who Killed Tupac? ” at 9 p.m. on A&E. The sixparter follows civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump as he conducts an exhaustive investigation, 20 years after the slaying of hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur. The big deal of the day is the season 25 finale of “Dancing With the Stars,” a two-hour tease on ABC at 8 p.m. with the winner announced at 9:59 or thereabouts. But that’s why the finale is so much fun. Season five of “Fixer Upper” reports for work on HGTV at 9 p.m. Peter Frampton sits on the other side of the table
for “The Big Interview With Dan Rather ” at 9 p.m. on AXS TV. Jorge Ramos, the widely respected journalist who tangled with thencandidate Donald Trump during the campaign, has a new show on Fusion called “Real America
With Jorge Ramos.” The show premieres at 10 p.m. today with an episode unlikely to sit well with Trump. Ramos goes to Puerto Rico to find out what life is like weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated the US territory and tries to find out why it’s taken so long to get aid and electricity. He talks to San Juan Mayor
Carmen Yulín Cruz, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and others who are providing aid, including former New York Yankee Jorge Posada and his wife, Laura. The new OWN series “Checked Inn” kicks off on a special night, airing at 10 p.m. before moving to its regular 10 p.m. Saturday slot Nov. 25. The docuseries follows Monique Greenwood, who runs an upscale bed and breakfast. The third season of “Cyberwar” wraps on Viceland at 10 p.m. “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” welcomes a couple of dudes with Bay Area backgrounds, Benjamin Bratt and Daveed Diggs. Also on the bill: musical guest Gregory Porter. The show airs on CBS at 11:35 p.m. Jeff Daniels, who delivers a powerhouse performance in the new Netflix Western “Godless,” guests on “Late Night With Seth Meyers ”at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday on NBC. Also on the guest
list are Danielle Brooks and musical guest Daniel Caesar. Must be Daniels night on “Meyers.” Where’s Bonaduce?
WGN America airs a “Slapsgiving” marathon, beginning at 1 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21, with four back-to-back episodes of “How I Met Your Mother.” TV NEWS
Hulu and FX made a terrible and a decent decision respectively about two shows last week. Hulu axed “Difficult People” after three brilliant and hilarious seasons, while FX renewed “You’re the Worst” for a fifth and final season on FXX. Hulu has become a major player because of the increasing amount of content, but also because of its variety. No question that “The Handmaid’s
Tale” solidified Hulu’s status this year, but other shows, like “The Path,” “Chance” and, yes, “Difficult People” attracted a broadly diversified audience. I’m guessing “Difficult” didn’t bring in huge numbers, but there’s no question that it brought in important numbers — people who have no use for formulaic broadcast sitcoms and want, instead, edgy, snarky and relentlessly topical humor, which is what show creator Julie Klausner and her co-star Billy Eichner provided. As for “Worst,” creator
Stephen Falk told me earlier this year that he could see the show lasting seven seasons, and it definitely could have.
Chris Geere and Aya Cash are made for each other, the ensemble cast is terrific and it’s a beautifully written show. But it’s true that Falk has other commitments — he’s got a juicy development deal with FX Productions — and there’s no doubt that the show has increased the value of Geere and Cash’s stock in Hollywood. I respect FX’s decision to give the show one more season to tie things up. That’s the least Hulu could have done for “Difficult People.”