1) “State of the Union” debut, 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT), Sundance. “This is a ridiculous conversation,” Louise (Rosamund Pike) says. It is, but it’s also quite wonderful. She and Tom (Chris O’Dowd) are in a pub, waiting for their first marital-therapy session. She’s a doctor; he wrote about music until that market vanished. They skirt around subjects, in a ridiculous/sublime way. This is a series of ten 10-minute shows, one per weekday, for two weeks. Cleverly written by Nick Hornby, it’s perfectly played.
2) “The Bachelorette,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. The real season starts next week, with Hannah Brown doing the choosing. First, here’s a 15th-anniversary celebration: Chris Harrison travels to meet fans and visit dating sites from the past; then he hosts a massive reunion.
3) “Man With a Plan” season-finale, 8:30 p.m., CBS. After a “Big Bang” rerun at 8 – Sean Astin and Kal Penn trying to grab scientific credit – “Man” gets one more chance to draw viewers. Friends fret about the effect that Andi’s sister (Jessica St. Clair, the former “Playing House” star) has on Lowell.
4) “Chernobyl” debut, 9 p.m., HBO. Back in 1986, a steam explosion rocked the nuclear plant in the Ukraine city of Chernobyl; a fire roared for nine days … the health impact has continued ever since. Now this five-week mini-series has actors playing real-life people (including Jared Harris as a the scientist who led the probe) and composites, including Emily Watson as a physicist.
5) “Independent Lens,” 10 p.m., PBS (check local listings). This isn’t where you’d expect someone to discover his island culture. It’s Southern Arizona, midway between Scottsdale and Tucson; Hawaii sends men there, to a for-profit prison. We meet two who were sentenced for assault, drug charges and more – David for burglary and trespassing, Hale for robbery and kidnapping. They learn Hawaiian culture, then return home to try to live it. Beautifully filmed, this traces varied and painful transitions.