PBS airs a documentary about a New Jersey coffin maker and his mentees. And the final episode of “Conan” airs on TBS.
Monday
INDEPENDENT LENS: TWO GODS (2021) 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Hanif, a coffin maker in Newark takes a pair of mentees under his wing in this admirable documentary from the filmmaker Zeshawn Ali. Through intimate black-and-white footage, the film delves into Hanif’s life, and the way that his guidance bolsters his young students. Ali does this with “a matter-of-fact compassion,” Nicolas Rapold wrote in his review for The New York Times. “He cuts efficiently without turning anyone into a case study.”
I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK 10 p.m. on HBO. “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” a documentary mini-series on HBO, blends the true-crime story of the Golden State Killer — a man who committed a string of murders and rapes in California in the 1970s and ’80s — with an examination of the life of the author Michelle McNamara, who put an astonishing amount of effort into cracking the decades-old case. The series aired shortly before the killer, Joseph James DeAngelo, was sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms. This new, special episode of the series, best thought of as an epilogue, looks at the developments that have happened since the series originally aired, and revisits the roots of McNamara’s infatuation with true-crime stories.
Tuesday
MYSTERIES OF MENTAL ILLNESS 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). This four-part documentary series looks at the way that American society has discussed (or not discussed) the topic of mental illness over the decades. In interviews, experts also talk about the current disparities in the field of mental health care, and ongoing efforts to increase its availability in underserved communities.
Wednesday
THE AVIATOR (2004) 5 p.m. on HBO. Martin Scorsese mixed obscene wealth with obsession in this biopic, casting Leonardo DiCaprio as the business magnate (and pilot, and filmmaker) Howard Hughes. “The Aviator” primarily follows Hughes from the late 1920s through the ’40s, as his celebrity grows and his mental health declines. It shares some D.N.A. with another one of Scorsese’s downward-spiral stories, TAXI DRIVER (1976), which happens to be airing at 9 p.m. on Showtime, well-timed for a do-it-yourself double feature.
Thursday
CONAN 11 p.m. on TBS. In November, Conan O’Brien announced that he would be leaving late-night television to host a weekly streaming variety series on HBO Max. So he has had plenty of time in the intervening months to think about the guest he’d like to have on his final episode of “Conan.” That probably gave him some déjà vu. In 2009, he brought in Jack White and Meg White — the rock duo the White Stripes — to perform on the final episode of his previous show, “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” On Thursday night’s finale of “Conan,” O’Brien will go out with a wink: His guest is Jack Black.
WHEN NATURE CALLS WITH HELEN MIRREN 8 p.m. on ABC. For most people, the idea of a nature documentary series narrated by Helen Mirren probably conjures images of breathtaking natural splendor, paired with a dramatic voice-over that adds life-or-death stakes to the beauty. This series isn’t that. “When Nature Calls” puts a comedic spin on its coverage of the natural world, landing somewhere between “America’s Funniest Home Videos” and “Planet Earth.”
Friday
GREAT PERFORMANCES: VIENNA PHILHARMONIC SUMMER NIGHT CONCERT 2020 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). In an interview with The Times in December, the chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic, Daniel Froschauer, explained the goals that the orchestra had during the pandemic. “The Vienna Philharmonic doesn’t only want to be the best on the stage,” he said. “We want to be pioneers.” In that spirit, the orchestra devised ways of performing live during pandemic months, using a variety of precautions. One of their performances during 2020 was this Summer Night Concert, recorded in September in the gardens of Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace. Under the baton of Valery Gergiev, the orchestra performed works by Strauss, Puccini, Wagner and more, with the star tenor Jonas Kaufmann as a guest.
Saturday
VERTIGO (1958) 5:45 p.m. on TCM. Starting with SABOTAGE (1936) at 6 a.m., TCM is showing nonstop Alfred Hitchcock movies from Saturday morning through the wee hours of Monday. On Saturday night, they’re offering back-to-back Northern California mysteries. The first is “Vertigo,” Hitchcock’s identity-bending detective classic with James Stewart, Kim Novak and Barbara Bel Geddes. That film will be followed by THE BIRDS (1963) which moves up the coast to Bodega Bay. “The Birds” introduced crazed birds to Hitchcock’s horror toolbox, and was the film debut of Tippi Hedren.
Sunday
2021 BET AWARDS 8 p.m. on BET. After a virtual, socially-distanced ceremony last year, the BET awards are set to return in a more standard format on Sunday night, when Taraji P. Henson will host this year’s edition in person at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Musical guests are slated to include Tyler, the Creator, City Girls, Migos, Roddy Ricch, DJ Khaled, H.E.R. and Lil Baby.
LADY BOSS: THE JACKIE COLLINS STORY 9 p.m. on CNN. The British author Jackie Collins, who died in 2015 at 77, became a household name by writing slinky romance novels for modern women that pushed the boundaries of what was fit to print. This feature-length documentary about Collins looks at the experiences that led her to start writing, and what her life was like after her career took flight.
Source: Television - nytimes.com
