1) “Red,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. This play is easy to love or hate, but mostly to respect. It catches painter Mark Rothko at his peak (and near his nadir), spending years on massive murals. He lectures constantly to an assistant who finally protests his “titanic self-absorption.” It’s brilliant, (but self-destructive) talk, perfectly rendered. On Broadway, “Red” won a Tony and Albert Molina (as Rothko) was nominated. In the London production (shown here), Molina links with Alfred Enoch (“How to Get Away With Murder”), who’s also perfect.
2) “Dollface” debut, Friday, Hulu. For five years, Jules (Kat Dennings) wrapped her life around her boyfriend. Then, while munching rancheros, he casually breaks up with her. She needs to re-find herself, but a clerk informs her: “Your friendships have expired.” Teetering between Jules’ life and her imagination, this is a wonderfully witty view of things that might outlast any romance..
3) More streaming: On the week that the massive Disney+ debuted (and the month that the ambitious Apple TV+ started), the other streamers are fighting back. Today, Hulu has the terrific “Dollface” … Amazon Prime starts the final season of “The Man in the High Castle” … and Netflix has two movies (the drama “Earthquake Bird” and the animated Christmas film “Klaus”), plus the series “The Toys That Made Us.” And that leads into the big one – a new “The Crown” season, Sunday on FX.
4) “20/20” (ABC) or “The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park” (Sundance and AMC), both 9 p.m. Here are two true-life crime stories: Wrapping up a well-crafted, five-hour series, we see the 1986 “preppy” case finally go to trial in ’88. And we see a 2017 case: Yingying Zhang, a University of Illinois scholar, disappeared on her way to sign an apartment lease. A doctoral student was arrested, after his girlfriend secretly recorded his confession.
5) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. Generations collide when Henry (Len Cariou, 80), the former police commissioner, is an investigative consultant. He soon clashes with his grandson Danny (Donnie Wahlberg, 50). Also, Frank (Tom Selleck, 74), Henry’s son and Danny’s dad, is in a dispute between his police department and the fire department.