1) “Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days,” 8-10 p.m., ABC. It was 51-and-a-half years ago that TV hatched a rare piece of near-perfection: Yes, “Sesame Street” (shown here) has lots of educational, good-for-kids details; a platoon of researchers made sure of that. But it also has clever songs, fun graphics, crisp editing, Muppets and lots of entertainment. This special will focus strongly on the serious side – from a 1992 attempt (which was scrapped) to address divorce to the current look at racial justice.
2) “Frontline: The Virus that Shook the World,” 9-11 p.m, PBS; concludes 10-11 p.m. Tuesday. A food-blogger, young and upbeat, had just married when her town (Wuhan) went into lockdown; she made videos in an empty cityscape. She tells her story cheerily and asks why others didn’t copy Wuhan’s shutdown. This vivid (and sometimes disturbing) film also shows unequal impact: A Russian ballet star simply retreated to a country home; a Brooklyn woman was wedged into an apartment with four kids.
3) “Bob (Hearts) Abishola,” 8:30 p.m., CBS. Abishola has decided to take a difficult path: A full-time nurse, a part-time caregiver and a teen’s mom, she’ll tackle medical school mid-life. Now, however, she makes an insensitive remark to her colleague (played by TV veteran Vernee Watson, 67), whose attempt to be a doctor fell short. Also, Abishola’s uncle tries to teach Bob some home-repair skills.
4) “Breeders,” 10 p.m., FX, rerunning at 11:06. Last week (rerunning at 10:32), Ally – forlorn and ignored – kissed someone other than her husband. At this episode starts, he’s in a tailspin – just as their teen son has a fresh problem. Not quite a comedy any more, “Breeders” does have a few solid laughs tonight. Mostly, it’s a drama about Englishfolks in despair. “We can’t just keep not talking about it,” Ally says. “We’re not the royal family.”
5) “Backstrom” any time, www.acorn.tv. Leif Persson created a character a lot like himself – a crime know-it-all who was big on Swedish TV. The difference: Persson was a professor then; his fictional counterpart is a homicide detective. “Backstrom” became a U.S. series (starring Rainn Wilson) in 2015, but now there’s finally this Swedish show (with English sub-titles). It starts with two major crimes and sprawls over six episodes, with lots of time to portray a cranky/caring/cruel/compelling character.